Osterkraut wrote:Currently my favorite part: Nebraska allows you to run tags from the year the car was made. Too bad it's impossible to find a plate with my county code on it.
how'd you get away with only one?
Osterkraut wrote:
how'd you get away with only one?
belteshazzar wrote:Osterkraut wrote:how'd you get away with only one?
Vintage tag. Only one is required! Twice now a gate guard has given me crap about it while I'm trying to get on base, and pull out a copy of the law with that bit highlighted, and then drive away waving like an shiny happy person.
Have you ever been to the Cars and Coffee in Lincoln that keeps popping up on Craigslist? Once I'm sure the Fiat can make it, I may go one Saturday.
Also:
never been.
bring it out to lincoln airpark later this month for the autocross?
i've grown to really hate those tires
belteshazzar wrote: i've grown to really hate those tires
The 512s? I had them on my WRX and they were great, if you bumped the pressure up a bit. Plus they're stupid cheap.
This car won't see autox, I don't think. It's job is to look good and drop the top. Now, the RX-7 getting jealous in the other bay...
Looking good, good job dropping those monstrosity bumpers, either smooth or early bumpers all the way!!! I dig the wheels, very pretty.
Some notes, suggestions:
The 32/36 DFEV carb is great, though it's important to get your jetting right. The choke is also slowly progressive so let it warm up a bit and it'll perform much better, I've had bogging or lean/intake backfires when it's not warmed, but I'm running the smaller 1608, let us know how it goes tuning.
On the timing belt change, make sure you rotate the engine a couple times after you 'think' you've tightened everything and watch for any slack as your cams will move out of time and these are interference motors.
When you go to bleed the coolant system if you don't have one already, install a filler 'T' on the heater hose that goes from the back of the head to the firewall, as it's the highest point in the coolant system, I used some plumbing brass fittings from a big box store and sealed them with high temp RTV, it will let you bleed the coolant without any effort.
Finally, the cam cover is annoying as you have to take it on and off, but if timing is off or you want to check timing, you have to open the coolant system, and you need the bottom of the cover for the timing marks for the crank, but it hides the aux gear which also has to be lined up or it can hit, causing what sounds like a spun bearing. I found cutting off the top of the cover to be the best, but if you want to maintain it you can cut along where the coolant outlet passage goes and then you can secure the top and bottom separately and maintain protection from the spinny bits...
Drove this to work today:
Well that's about it cosmetically. Gotta figure out the front blinkers, resto the paint.
Then get greasy. Carb is at about 80%, I want to baseline the engine with a belt change and timing check before getting too far into the weeds with it. Also exhaust. Magnaflow with knockoff ANSA tips, for sure.
Lookin' good! Could stand to go a little lower, though.
I agree, it looks too off-road ready. See if you can find some early small bumper springs; that way it will still ride nice.
I always did <3 that body style. Looking good! I do agree it needs to go lower, though. OBTW, on the TB change: IRC all the 2000s and some of the 1800's had a left hand crank nut that is on there STUPID tight. Those bucket/shim motors will also try to 'push' the cams out of position when the belt is off. I fixed that on the Jensen by using two flat aluminum plates (LowesDepot aluminum flat stock) with a hole drilled in them and a sufficient length 1/4" bolt and wingnut. With the cams properly aligned and the old belt still in place, slide the two aluminum plates between the gears, one on top and one on bottom. Stick the bolt through and then spin the wing nut on. This contraption holds the gears in place while you swap the belt. Like this:
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Of course, remove it before you try to start the motor! 
Here's the fancy schmancy tool Keith et al sell to do that on Miatas.
IIRC there is some power to be gained by changing the cam timing. On both my X 1/9's, retarding the cam timing one tooth at the cam really woke up the top end power with no real harm to bottom end grunt. Or at least to what little bottom end grunt they had. 
Who's got two thumbs and dropped a tiny bolt into a spark plug hole? This guy. I can see the little berkeleyer, and it's most likely magnetic, so I'm going to try one of those little magnetic reacher things.
In other news, the timing belt has been changed, what an awful job. The tensioner barely went back far enough, and something always got out of alignment every time I finally got the belt on.
Telescoping magnet did the trick, thankfully.
Osterkraut wrote: In other news, the timing belt has been changed, what an awful job. The tensioner barely went back far enough, and something always got out of alignment every time I finally got the belt on.
LOL, yeah, the first time I did mine I was like "this will be a 5 min job"... 2 hours later I finally got it...
Raze wrote:Osterkraut wrote: In other news, the timing belt has been changed, what an awful job. The tensioner barely went back far enough, and something always got out of alignment every time I finally got the belt on.LOL, yeah, the first time I did mine I was like "this will be a 5 min job"... 2 hours later I finally got it...
Aaaaand I may have to do it again. Runs roughly when I give it gas, but won't hold an idle. I'm going to try the plugs and wires first, and I took them out to remove the air pump garbage, maybe something old and crinkly snapped. I have hope for this theory, because last night the FIRST time I got the timing belt on the car started right up and ran beautifully.
NOT looking forward to draining the rad, unbolting everything, and trying again, that's for sure.
Osterkraut wrote: NOT looking forward to draining the rad, unbolting everything, and trying again, that's for sure.
EXACTLY why I chopped my cam / timing belt cover along the top ridge line about 2/3 the way down the cam sprockets. This lets you check and recheck timing without having to drain/bleed the radiator. Also, when you refilled the radiator since you can take the cover on and off without opening the cooling system. You know that the coolant neck is lower than the top of the head and the heater core hose? You'll get a nice big air bubble in there unless you either install a filler T on the heater hose, or jack up the front end of the car when you refill...
Raze wrote:Osterkraut wrote: NOT looking forward to draining the rad, unbolting everything, and trying again, that's for sure.EXACTLY why I chopped my cam / timing belt cover along the top ridge line about 2/3 the way down the cam sprockets. This lets you check and recheck timing without having to drain/bleed the radiator. Also, when you refilled the radiator since you can take the cover on and off without opening the cooling system. You know that the coolant neck is lower than the top of the head and the heater core hose? You'll get a nice big air bubble in there unless you either install a filler T on the heater hose, or jack up the front end of the car when you refill...
I looked at cutting it, but with the 75's air pump, there's no "clean" line to use. Arg.
Timing belt...finally complete.
Reset the crank and cam timing (MUCH faster this time), stabbed the distributor rotor how I thought was correct... still ran like E36 M3. Well, time to play a fun little game I call "stab and start" till I make progress.
Progress was made, she timed perfectly after a few false starts, and now the 2k-3k hesitation is apparently gone, and there's no more backfiring...also no more burbling on decel...damn. Oh well, the price we pay.
Airpump and air injectors removed. Now it's reaaaaal tempting to find a header.
Lol, you couldn't get enough of the Spider so you went and got ANOTHER Fiat? 
Raze wrote: Lol, you couldn't get enough of the Spider so you went and got ANOTHER Fiat?
Wife was watching a Top Gear rerun, and it happened to be the one with the 500. "Oh my god it's so cute can I get one?!" At this point we'd be shopping for a new car for her for a few months and had decided on a Fiesta (she liked that Top Gear episode too, go figure), but were going to have to order one with a manual, so I told her if she could get a 500 for what we planned to pay for a Fiesta...spoiler alert: you can. Less, really, when you compared the options this thing has versus the Fiesta SE we spec'd out. I wanted a Mazda2, but hey, not my car!
What size tires did you put on your 15x6 Rota RB's?
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