IDFs on LHD 2 liter

[jseabolt]

Hello again. I haven't been here for a while. Having too many projects the 131 has been on the backburner but I have been driving it lately. It still needs some work but I've been dedicating my spare time to getting all the bugs sorted out.

I added a low beam relay. The headlights still are not bright as I think they should be. Maybe it?s the blue H4 bulbs. Going back to whites this weekend to see if this makes any improvement.

This isn't the typical 131 your used to seeing. It's a 1980 US spec version. 2 liter twin can, Opel automatic transmission, air conditioning (which works marginal compared to American cars but does work somewhat) left hand drive, bumpers mounted 4? away from the body, quad headlamps.

Here's some pics:









Not trying to make a fashion statement with this interior. 131 Interior parts are so hard to find
On this side of the Atlantic. I had to do the best I could do with what I could find.



I haven?t yet got my Walter Rohl spoiler mounted someone on this forum sent me a couple of years ago. One
Reason is I haven?t yet figured out what type of paint to use to paint it with. Flexible bumper paint
Or vinyl paint.

I?m thinking of using it as a mold and making one out of fiberglass. There may be a market
For the remaining 100 or so 131s on this side of the Atlantic.

More pics:

http://s222.photobucket.com/albums/dd148/turbofiat/Brava/#!cpZZ1QQtppZZ16

I posted this on an American Fiat forum so I?m cross posting it here. I realize allot of
You guys are not as familiar with the 124 Spider as most of they were sold here in
The United States. But maybe someone can help.

My 131 feels anemic! Whether it's the weight of the car, the 3 speed
automatic transmission, the fact it's lacking a turbo like I have on my Spider and Yugo, sometimes running the
A/C or all four factors combined it needs something. It's still a blast to
drive though.

I haven't quite decided whether to put a turbo on it or just go with IDFs.
I'm really itching to build another turbo system. I've got a T25 and I'd like
to see what a smaller turbo would do on a 2 liter.

Not that you can't blow through a set of IDFs, air cooled VW guys do it all
the time, I just don't think know what the advantage of it is.

Anyway, I tried mounting these IDFs on my 131 a couple of years ago but ran
into a problem. The hole where the throttle cable exits the firewall is in a
bad location and puts the cable in a bind. See photos:






Is there any way to get around this issue? These carbs + the cam cover throttle
linkage and 79/80 throttle cable worked great on an ?81 124 Spider.  

I can't really remember why I had no issue on the Spider. I believe it was
because the hole in the firewall was in the corner of the engien compartment  further
away from the rear carburetor and perhaps the engine sat a bit lower?

One possibility is to use an early 70s Spider throttle setup. You know, the
type that people try to get away from. Or is that the type that uses no cable
and causes the throttle position to change as the engine rocks back and forth?

The setup I am thinking of has a cable that comes straight out of the firewall
and attaches to a linkage mechanism (sort of like on a fuel injected Spider)
between the carbs. I can't really describe this but the image is in my mind
because I've seen it on other Spiders (early 70 models). Not the ones that use
the cam cover mounted linkage in the photo.

So what's the cure for this issue? I know someone has mounted IDFs on a 131
before. I suppose what bothers me is I seldom give up on what I set out to do
and sort of gave up on this project because I couldn't find a way around it
and it bugs me.

I ended up using an 1800 carb and intake manifold and it does better than the
original 79/80 setup but "boggs down" for a second when the secondary opens.

It feels like the accelerator pump is not working despite using all new parts.
It also leaks fuel occasionally and I don't know why. I'll need to check that
tomorrow to make sure but last time I checked I'm sure the accelerator pump
was working.

[Tas131]

You could try a cable from a RHD car which is probably twice as long as what you've got. I've probably got one in the shed if you want a measurement. When I had IDFs on my 2 litre (RHD) I had the original 124BC linkage, the outer cable attached to a bracket off the rear cam plate and operated a rod mounted underneath the carbs.

[Robert]

This will solve the issue. Look at the picture below, my LHD 131 with twin IDFs. The cable comes from Ritmo (Strada) 130TC and is much longer than the 131 cable. Setup works perfectly.

[jseabolt]

On your car, it still appears the throttle cable exits the bulkhead in a different location than on mine. Like on the opposite side of the brake fluid reservor.

However someone on the Fiat Forum (US site) said they installed IDFs on their 131 and had the same issue and redrilled a hole  closer to the driver's side fender which maybe the same location as yours.

What sort of throttle mechanism is that? Is that custom or off something else?

Nice setup by the way.

[Robert]

If you stand in front of the car, the throttle cable exits bulkhead on the left side of the brake booster (between booster and engine), clutch cable on the right side. The throttle mechanism is IDF standard, only the holder is custom made (but fairly easy to make). Can make detailed pictures these days, if you are interested. Here is a picture showing the throttle cable not yet attached, you can see exactly where the bulkhead hole is located: