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M

maynard

Yoda
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Looks a little like a Triumph? :devilgrin:
 
A TESLA after running on auto pilot.
 
mikephillips said:
A Fiat, after all weren't they made out of compressed rust to save time...
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Or an Alfa Romeo. Seems the Italians have the attitude that rust signals that it's time to buy a replacement.
 
Having owned 3 Fiat 124s, I resemble that remark. And, I'm pretty sure they used Lucas electrics too.
 
Bayless said:
Having owned 3 Fiat 124s, I resemble that remark. And, I'm pretty sure they used Lucas electrics too.
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I've owned a few Fiats over the years, and rust was the least of my problems.
Definitely a love hate relationship.
 
Used to have a friend in college, she had a 70s Fiat. Only car I'd ever seen that the tops of the fenders has rusted out over the wheels to go along with the normal bottoms and rockers.
 
Dealt with a few Fiats in my time, most memorable was a 128 wagon owned by a girlfriend. Like travelling in a fifty-five gallon oil drum.
 
Magneti Marelli electrics. Rotor hitting the ground wire in the distributor and eventually shorting it out. Problem only cured by electronic ignition.
 
equiprx said:
I've owned a few Fiats over the years, and rust was the least of my problems.
Definitely a love hate relationship.
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I bought a Fiat 124 sedan. Got rid of it with 28,000 miles. That car could have been a stand-in for Christine :eek:
 
Gliderman8 said:
I bought a Fiat 124 sedan. Got rid of it with 28,000 miles. That car could have been a stand-in for Christine :eek:
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My mother had a '69 124 coupe. That is what I learned to drive and even took my test with it. When the DMV guy got in for the road test, he looked at the 5 speed and said "If you can shift that thing, you pass." It was pretty rusty as well.
 
Back in 1970, my then-girlfriend had passed a school bus in her dad's three speed manual Rambler. She got dinged a fine and had to re-test at a PA State facility, manned by State Troopers. Her family vehicle was unavailable so my MGB was driven to the test site. She went into the building and a six-foot-something Statie said he'd do the ride around the course to do the test. She told him she didn't think he wouldn't fit in the car(!)... indignant, he walked out and seeing the MG realized she was right. Red-faced he went back in and sent out a five-ten guy. After she'd maneuvered the car successfully around the course, I watched MY MG drive out of the facility, onto the four-lane highway and off into the distance! Turned out the cop just wanted a ride in the MG! :ROFLMAO:

pdplot said:
Magneti Marelli electrics. Rotor hitting the ground wire in the distributor and eventually shorting it out. Problem only cured by electronic ignition.
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Had a dual-point Marelli in the Spider in the original 2-litre mill, it would break down and fail in a rainstorm... Replaced it with a Bosch, rebuilt a 1750cc and transferred the Bosch into that. No more spark failure issues.
 
All my Fiat 124s were coupes and spyders. Had a whole different dual overhead cam power plant. Pretty respectable for 1.8 liter. And I really didnt have any problems with the Marelli ignition or the Webber carbs. Actually I found them to be quite enjoyable cars. The first coupe got totaled by a lady running a red light. The second coupe I put 120k miles on before turning it over to my new driver daughter. She had it a couple of years before Fiat left North America and parts became hard to get. It wore out two sets of Chinese ball joints in a year and I sold it. The spyder was really a fun car but sold it at a profit for capital to start a new business. Wish I had it back now.
 
Since the thread has morphed...... My wife had a mid-1980s alfa spyder. Top leaked and red carpet dye ran. Warranty replacement carpet also ran. If you needed wipers on "intermittent", you just honked the horn. Electronic cam timing device cut the cam loose at least once. Automatic seat belts got out of phase, moving forward on the doortop track when you got in, but going back to full "belted in" position when you got out. Much more that I can't remember, but, back to the original topic, we had no rust problems.
Bob
 
I'd have a pre-78 Alfa back in a heartbeat. The 1969 1750 was an absolute pinnacle of development. All it took was to fit a pair of 40 DCOE Webers to it.
 
actually, the pile of rust reminds me of the passenger side (more puddles due to the crown on the road) of a '72 MGB GT i rebuilt 10 years ago. it came from a town within sight of salt water.
 
Fiat Spider was the first car to use a timing belt. Had to be changed at 40K miles. My son had one. Metallic Blue. Front suspension collapsed and had to be welded. I told him to sell and he did - or rather I did for him since he was working in Denver.
 
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