My 79 idles rough and has really bad MPG

25

Asked by 79Pinnenfarinna Mar 30, 2014 at 10:20 AM about the 1979 FIAT 124 Spider

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I have tuned the car and rebuilt the carb. (with the so called kits available) but still have
a Hard starting, rough running; poor gas mileage Spider. My plan is to replace the carb,
but I was told that this model had fuel system issues and that I should replace the
intake and carb to an older model system from 1975-1978. If so, where can I purchase
the manifold; (carbs are available); and what is the cost. Will also need info. on required
linkage and other possible hick up for the conversion.

3 Answers

44,755

WOW- a Fiat question- make sure it's not the distributor- it sounds like the carb is the problem- the 2 liter spiders with the carb are real problems- the carb is so compromised with emission controls that they are some of the worst Webers ever made- a year later, Fiat just made the leap to fuel injection to get those sexy thangs runnin' right- I don't think you need to replace the manifold- "Vick" sells a Weber 38/38 that should just bolt right on- I have a 1974 Sport Coupe 1800 and the carb has a manual choke! That's the way to go, but mine came with it- there are so many ways to go with these engines, you should get all the info you can, then make a decision- call Vick and get them to send you a catalog- that's a good place to start- and if your spider has no rust, it's worth puttin' money into, because the value is just goin' up on anything "Made in Italy"

25

Thanks I'll try the new carb first. Worst case is that I get a need to get a manifold if it isn't completely fixed.

7,175

What was the solution? I remember when I had a 78 124 Fiat Spider and was running poorly. After changing the points I thought it would solve the problem. But no, I found the bearing on the distributor shaft was worn and caused it to move thus make the points go out of time. Another good used distributor did the trick

2 people found this helpful.

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