131mirafiori forum

Hopefully my 131 Abarth is being properly sorted, without too much cost, by a chap recommended to me by Guy Croft. He's based in South London, and I'll let you know how good he is when I eventually get to drive the car again!

This chap is carrying out a full strip and service of the dizzy and the same for the carb including re-jetting.

I attach a couple of photos (if I've worked out correctly how to), one of the Arbie in the workshop and the other of the dizzy 'top plate' after it's been fitted with new components.

Cheers for now

Simon

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Hopefully this will now show the car in the workshop ???

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One very nice looking car. :)

Very nice looking car indeed!? ?:-*? But would you believe that Simon who owns that lovely looking Abarth is threatening to attend the 3MA in a 131 Mirafiori 1600 OHV Automatic Estate?? ???

That made me laugh Theo!  ;D

The threat still stands mate!

Incidentally - the wife asked me whether the whole family could attend the 3MA last night as both of my daughters have names from the area in Ireland we are planning to visit! (Shannon and Kerry!) What am I to tell her? :-[

The more the merrier..? :D

You might HAVE to attend in the 1600 Estate to be able to bring the luggage for all the girls along ...? ;D

So problem solved bring two cars,which ones is the wife allowed to drive ::)

The wife is actually insured to drive ALL of my cars, but with good reason. Having her on each of my policies actually reduces the premiums! :o

Yes, the Arbie is a good looking car but could actually benefit from a bit of TLC from me! It under went an extensive overhaul over last winter which I wrote about on the FIAT Motor Club GB forum at the time. Basically it went to Italian Race Services (Mark Nicholson) near Basildon, for an MoT, but was one of those situations that grew without me really noticing. You know, "Whilst it's here can you just take a look at..."! Well, Mark had the car for almost 6 months and did virtually every job the car needed to get it straight again.

The jobs included

1) Strip all underbody protection, repair all floor sections that needed it, and replace under seal.
2) repair the leaking diff unit - which ended up as a complete refurb (which cost me a small fortune in itself!)
3) Re-new all suspension and anti-roll bar bushes with poly.
4) Replace both rear hub-carriers (at a cost of ?135 each just to buy them!)
5) Overhaul and re-seal all brake calipers.
6) Replace the complete front drop link assemblies (another huge cost).
7) Full major service on the engine, including timing belt replacement.
8) Renew all brake pipes with custon made braided hoses.

These are just the things I can remember at the moment, but the list was endless at the time. I'd have to say though that the car now handles like a dream, and with the new engine works it should perform like one too! ;D

I'll let you know when I collect the car again tomorrow.

Cheers

Simon

The Abarth is now back where it belongs - at home with me! ;D ;D

The drive back from it's two week holiday was a pleasure, although the cost of this particular 'holiday' was high compared with what I thought it was going to cost! :o

The carb was refurbished with new gaskets, jets and needle valves, with the dizzy getting the same treatment with new cap, points, rotor arm and condensor. The plugs and leads were also replaced, as was the oil and filter.

The car now drives superbly, better than it has at anytime during my ownership, but it wasn't cheap (these things rarely are!). At least it appears to have been repaired properly first time, and it starts almost before you turn the key now.

The only slight downer is that the shims need adjusting, as the engine runs slightly rough when warm, but this will have to wait until I save up for it!!

Incidentally, the repairer was a chap called Mario Grech-Xerri, based in Tolworth, near Surbiton, Surrey. He certainly knows his stuff and I a pleased with the end result.

i'm very jealous.