Abarth Stradale getting ready for 3MA14

[Fiat 131 Abarth#2]

http://www.ebay.de/itm/Fiat-124-Spider-Coupe-Pininfarina-Zundverteiler-Uberholsatz-2-x-Lager-Wedy-/360551563517?pt=DE_Autoteile&hash=item53f28c40fd

i think this will fit!

[simon131]

Purchased these too! DHL delivery promised for Saturday! Thanks Enzo.

Theo, do you fancy coming to my house on Sunday and getting your hands dirty on my Abarth? (again)Ppppplllllllllleeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaassssssssssssseeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

[Fiat 131 Abarth#2]

Purchased these too! DHL delivery promised for Saturday! Thanks Enzo.

Theo, do you fancy coming to my house on Sunday and getting your hands dirty on my Abarth? (again)Ppppplllllllllleeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaassssssssssssseeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Hi Simon,
I would love to come and help, but for me to much miles, maybe some day! 
we will see.
But i think Theo will do it 

[simon131]

Enzo,

I think that if my 131 Abarth comes to your garage it will be for more than just the replacement of an oil seal 

I too hope that Mr. Theo can again come to my rescue - with moral and emotional support even if he doesn't actually do the job himself.  

[Thotos]

Theo, do you fancy coming to my house on Sunday and getting your hands dirty on my Abarth? (again)Ppppplllllllllleeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaassssssssssssseeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Sure, I have a big hammer whivh is an essential tool for this job  Let me know what time the coffee will be ready and I'll be there 

[donk r8]

They look like they should do the job!! Hopefully the couriers are as good as their word..........You will need more tippex, you left it on the bench....  (or I left it on the bench.... )

[Thotos]

I have plenty of tippex and a strobe light 

[simon131]

A strobe light will be no good - if you set the timing to the marks it actually 'pinks'   Seriously!   Only an Italian manufacturer would make a performance engine with the ignition timing marks in the wrong place!

Thanks Theo. Coffee will be on all day Sunday so please get here whenever best suits you. Obviously if the part doesn't arrive as planned then I'll let you know and we'll have to abort the mission - at least until it does arrive.

Chris, I've had that Tippex since 2010 so it's part of the family   Take care of it for me. I forgot to give you something too - will rectify that as soon as I can.

[Thotos]

Assuming the timing is about right now, a strobe light can be used to set a mark before the distributor is removed and then used to set the timing to the same setting as before. That'll be easier and more accurate than tippex although it'll be useful to use tippex as well to get things statically more or less back in the right place.

Euro spec twin cams should normally be timed at 10 degrees BTDC but with 'modern' unleaded low octane fuels 5 degrees BTDC is recommended. I run mine at just over 10 degrees BTDC on 95 octane without any problems. Then again my car is so noisy I can't hear the pinking  If your car pinks at normal timing it could mean something else. If the bob weight springs are weak it could be that it's advancing the ignition too soon and that would cause pinking. I have a bag of various bob weight springs and I'll bring those with me too. 

[simon131]

Too technical Theo :-)

My car usually runs fine, with no pinking, but it does need a slight tweek after yesterday's removal.

[simon131]

Seal also now on it's way from Middle Barton Garage - so I hope one of them arrives before Sunday and that it's suitable.

Thanks for everybody's help and assistance with this. 

[Thotos]

Even if not by Sunday, they should certainly arrive before setting off for 3ma14. And I'm sure at least one of them will fit. Then you'll have plenty spare to sell on eBay but call them "Abarth" seals and sell them for ?200 each 

[simon131]

 

[idahobrava]

Simon,  Glad to hear that parts have been found and are on the way.  I was sad to hear that your Abarth was not to be in the running this year.  I always look forward to seeing pictures of your special car. Good luck on the distributor rebuild and happy motoring.  With 2 weeks left to the start of your yearly adventure I'll be following along via the computer.  Good Luck,  Mike Stinson p.s. I wish I could be there with you all

[simon131]

Thanks very much for your kind words Mike. I appreciate it.

To be honest we're not out of the woods just yet with the dizzy, but I think now that we have the same part (at least I hope it's the same part  ) coming from very different parts of the World, our chances of success have increased.

Luckily I'm in the enviable position that if for some reason my Abarth does not get the repair it needs at least I have two other useable 131s I can call upon for 'European Duty' if pressed 

My 'little seal problem' has really brought members of this forum together and I'm quite sure that without it I'd have struggled much more than I have to find a suitable supplier. The wonders of the internet 

Theo, Kevin and I are always amazed by how far reaching our little website and 'community' has become and I'm sure we're quite proud of it too. I'm also quite sure that between Theo, Kevin and Rene there'll be plenty of pics and reports of 3MA14 for all to view.

We wish you could be with us too, perhaps one year, if we win the Lotto, we'll ship our cars to the US for a 3MA