I rebuilt a 78 completely over the pandemic. I rebuilt the engine, made a new wiring harness, big brake kit, custom half roll cage, interior, etc. it is a fun car!
Fiat's of that time had relatively small engines because of Italian fiscal rules. To still get a decent topspeed, they came equipped with pretty tall geared gearboxes and a tall final drive. The result was cars that didn't win any redlight drags, but were pretty fast when driven in anger on the road.
I drove one back in the 70's, and drove it hard. You needed seatbelts not just for safety, but keeping you strapped in during turns. It is a driver's car, body by Bertone . . . worth 'derustification' if you know what I mean. Interior parts are still being made, last I checked.
The 124 was a fun car to drive in its stock form. The light weight, suspension and capably performing engine made it fast and tight in the turns. A comparison against its stock performance and what it will do after the modifications will be interesting.
I owned one in 1995 for about 9 months down in San Juan. That thing was an utter beater, it had 82 hp, no air cleaner, it had two alloy wheels on the passenger side and two steel wheels on the drivers side, it had a broken sway bar connection, and a stupid GM Turbo 200 transmission straight from a Chevette. That thing was great! I look at David's videos about convertibles with power tops. How stupid can you get? My Spyder: Unlatch two latches at the top of the windshield, flip the roof over your head, and down the road you go, it was awesome! Me with my Wayfarers and airline pilot uniform on, the Puertorriquenas noticed me.... -AND there was almost NOTHING that could keep up with that car on the clover-leaf curves into the airport in San Juan! Kids in hopped up Honda Civics would come roaring up behind me and I would just floor the thing, and look down the curve the way you do with a motorcycle. I could hear them braking and flooring it and braking....To no avail. That stupid rusted old Fiat just left them in the dust! Of COURSE they made a point of flying past me when the road got straight. Mmm hmm.... How you doing?
I learned to drive as a kid in a 1967 Fiat 850 Sport Coupe and 1969 Fiat 124 Sport Coupe in the same blue. My Dad autocross, hill climbed and tracked them for years. And never lost his class in Arkansas and Oklahoma and sometimes took fastest time of the day. He even took the 124 to the Tulsa speedway back when it was at the fairgrounds and won all the run what you bring races he entered. I had a great childhood in Fiats. Yeah there were Mustangs, Jags, Porsche, BMW, muscle cars. But the Fiats cornered like they were on rails with a bit of setup work. The little ovhc mini hemi is a work of art in the 124. I remember dads 124 had a engraving from the factory on the front wing windows. " Do Not Open Above 115 MPH "
I watched a gymkana in Kaiserslautern, Germany, in the early 70's, with American GI's driving muscle cars (Mustang, Corvette) and German's driving Euro cars (BMW, Porsche, etc). Not sure how they decided the sequence to run them (biggest first?), but the 2d fastest car was a Fiat 500 Abarth, and the fastest was an NSU Wankel.
You have done a great job there Daniel. What a pleasure it is to work on the little Fiat. It's already got some pep so it will fly with that turbo! Really enjoy your style and enthusiasm!
The Fiat 130 Coupe with its 2.8L V6 was considered the epitome of Fiat Engineering. The engine was designed by a Ferrari Formula One engineer. Very light car - very strong torquey engine. Sadly too few were made.
@@dennisfahey2379 - The Twin Cam in this car was also designed by the same man, Aurelio Lampredi. It is a good engine and did very well in motorsport. Especially World Rally Championship, where it powered Fiats and Lancias to 10 championships from '77 to '92. Including the Lancia Delta HF (like the one at 10:27) which won 6 consecutive times from '87-'92. The Lampredi Twin Cam still holds the record as the most successful engine in WRC.
Its great to see professional mechanics getting the job done. Wizzard has a knack for getting top hands to work there. My neighbor had a Fiat the same color and it would really run. He bought it new.
As I mentioned in your first Fiat 124 video, I was a Fiat service manager, for about 9 years. In that time we did LOT of Valve jobs due to customers allowing their Timing Belts to fail and bend valves. REMARKABLY, only once I recall, seeing a Fiat with bad cylinder walls! The cars rust away but the cylinder walls and pistons hang in their for over 100,000 miles, or more! I THINK, as you stated, the Rings might be your cause of blowby. I RECOMMEND adding a carbon busting solvent to each cylinder and let soak for a few days. That may very well free up said rings.
Yup on the timing belt, "interference design" before it was popular. I botched a new belt install on one due to not checking after tensioning the belt, but saved time after fixing the bent valves since I'd done the teardown before! I loved the valve shims, the Fiat dealer would loan out the set and just count the total when you brought it back.
That engine is the famous "bialbero Lampredi", sounds and runs nice. FIAT, mechanically speaking, was second to noone. Body work maybe rusted in certain climates, but the cars could run. The "c" in Lancia is pronounced like the "c" in "champion"... so it's not Lansia, but Lancha.
You make it look easy, great mechanic, credit to your skills mate. The Wizard is lucky to have you working for him. Watching from Brisbane Australia.🔥👍
Yeah quick run on work is great and instructive. Simplicity construction makes its much effortless to get a standstill car going again. Looking forward to the next episode
I'm from Orlando, but older. In 1999 I used cruise Orange Avenue downtown and then hang with a bunch of guys in the parking lot of the Greek restaurant at Orange and Colonial. We all had Volkswagens and the "leader" was this guy about 20 at the time named Brad. I found out about this one day in traffic. I'm in my '92 Corrado SLC and I see this MK2 Jetta doing all kinds of crazy stuff to catch up with me in my mirror; He got along side finally and told me about the group so I hung out with them Friday nights if I was in town. It was tons of fun, and afterwards I would go to the clubs on Orange. Orlando has an AMAZING car community! -The very best mechanics I have ever seen where 20-something Puerto Rican kids in Orlando. One of them took a $1200 RX-7 and put it in the 9's for less than $2000....
Great to see your channel picking up steam. Gave a sub months ago hoping to see you get some love. You have improved soooo much dude! It's awesome to see. Now I have to watch more.
The Spider is a really fun car. It's well balanced and responds nicely. I had to laugh because driving a Fiat of this vintage was like driving in your dining room chair - you are pretty much straight upright. Also the rack and pinion steering is foreign to anyone who has only driven a post 2010 car. Its a bit of a workout on U-turns. These cars, fully restored, are very sought after and as Daniel-San noted - parts are readily available even after almost 50 years. The modern Abarth 124 Spider is a blast to drive.
I had about 4-5 videos on my list to watch today. I chose yours first. 👍 I like this series. I remember seeing several of these 124s at a local car lot back in the 80’s. There was a steel-blue one I wanted so bad.
This thing seems to have some potential. I look forward to see how this rig turns out. I was having Vice Grip Garage vibes once you started tearing into the rusty stuff. You might have a modern style rat rod on your hands at the end.👍
And it spun the tyres when you gave it a "little" gas. 👍 Watching you do the work on the brakes takes me back decades. Skimming discs was part of my training at college, but TBH, I've never had to do it. Easier if you don't have access to lathes and grinders to just replace them, if you can, as I bet finding those rotors might be difficult and expensive due to it's age. It goes', it stops. Get that carb cleaned, tuned and dyno it 😄
After draining and refilling the cooling system, you MUST open the Heater valve and bleed the air, at the coolant aluminum "T" Fitting. (IFO the Timing belt) This may be why your rans did not come on.
That little Fiat's engine and tranny are healthy as hell. Most problems with these cars were due to bad grounds and their tendency to rust out quickly due to poor metal sheets. Other than that, old Fiats are a delight to drive and have fun with. They are easy to work on as well. I own a 1979 and I do love my "Sofia the Fiat" very much!
My first car was a 78 124 spider same color, my father showed me how to replace the starter , and clutch cable / throw out bearing , had it painted midnight metallic blue put a white top on . That was a fun car to drive , the next car was an x19
I rebuilt a set of those calipers on my 124 spyder and almost lost a finger when I used shop air to push the piston out….at Mach Jesus. Better lucky than good that day.
The 124 is such an easy engine and suspension to work on. Timing belt pretty easy once you have done a time or two. Very interested in seeing the FI system and turbo. There are so many of these and very cheap. Of course in California would not want to do anything on a 1976 or newer as needs to be smogged.
The brake calipers must be sliding on those locking tabs as the pads wears. Steel against aluminium causes galvanic corrosion. So, you really need to take it apart again, clean the old steel tabs 100% for any rust, and then cover the tabs as well as the complete machined contact surface on the caliper with cupper grease. Otherwise they will seize as soon as they see water!
Enjoy your evening with all your family around you,Daniel-San Can't wait for the next video 👍 INSIGHTFUL,Daniel-San Daniel-San,take care From Nick Ayivor from London England UK 🇬🇧 18:30pm Good Evening
I actually love the old 124s. I remember when they could be had all day long for a few hundred bucks. To an American shadetree mechanic in the 1970s, these things looked like the work of the Evil one.
When I had mine, I was surprised to see the callers were aluminum; (4wheel disks, uncommon at the price point) a nice touch for an “affordable” sports car. The problem was the steel bleeder screws would freeze inside the aluminum caliper, (galvanic corrosion) the only solution was replacing the caliper. The manual specified periodic loosening and tightening of the bleeder valve, which Americans were unaccustomed too, contributing to reputation that Fiats, were cheap or badly engineered, but deferred maintained wascreall the culprit.
Awesome editing, just hitting the highlights, which makes a concise and informative, and interesting video. Thanks.
Excellent editing on this one. Starting to look pretty awesome....
Dang 25k subs! Congrats
I rebuilt a 78 completely over the pandemic. I rebuilt the engine, made a new wiring harness, big brake kit, custom half roll cage, interior, etc. it is a fun car!
That car wasquicker than I expected
Fiat's of that time had relatively small engines because of Italian fiscal rules. To still get a decent topspeed, they came equipped with pretty tall geared gearboxes and a tall final drive. The result was cars that didn't win any redlight drags, but were pretty fast when driven in anger on the road.
You’ve just restored her Fiatissimo! She’s coming back… with your help. Bravo! 👍❤️😎✅
I drove one back in the 70's, and drove it hard. You needed seatbelts not just for safety, but keeping you strapped in during turns. It is a driver's car, body by Bertone . . . worth 'derustification' if you know what I mean. Interior parts are still being made, last I checked.
Designed by Pininfarina not Bertone.
@@rocketscientist007 Tom Tjaarda, American - to be precise.
New Pininfarina badges add at least 5hp…
@@rocketscientist007 Thanks. I was going to say that and then saw the badge and got that wrong too. I stand corrected.
@@paulm3538 You can add another 10 hp with pinstripes.
The 124 was a fun car to drive in its stock form. The light weight, suspension and capably performing engine made it fast and tight in the turns. A comparison against its stock performance and what it will do after the modifications will be interesting.
I owned one in 1995 for about 9 months down in San Juan. That thing was an utter beater, it had 82 hp, no air cleaner, it had two alloy wheels on the passenger side and two steel wheels on the drivers side, it had a broken sway bar connection, and a stupid GM Turbo 200 transmission straight from a Chevette.
That thing was great! I look at David's videos about convertibles with power tops. How stupid can you get? My Spyder: Unlatch two latches at the top of the windshield, flip the roof over your head, and down the road you go, it was awesome! Me with my Wayfarers and airline pilot uniform on, the Puertorriquenas noticed me....
-AND there was almost NOTHING that could keep up with that car on the clover-leaf curves into the airport in San Juan! Kids in hopped up Honda Civics would come roaring up behind me and I would just floor the thing, and look down the curve the way you do with a motorcycle. I could hear them braking and flooring it and braking....To no avail. That stupid rusted old Fiat just left them in the dust! Of COURSE they made a point of flying past me when the road got straight. Mmm hmm....
How you doing?
Brilliant videos Daniel, always enjoy them 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻🇬🇧
Great build ! She looks like a fun ride ❤. You are definitely not wasting your time on this one 😊
I love the traditional Italian car driving position. Steering wheel is at a bus driver angle!!!
I learned to drive as a kid in a 1967 Fiat 850 Sport Coupe and 1969 Fiat 124 Sport Coupe in the same blue. My Dad autocross, hill climbed and tracked them for years. And never lost his class in Arkansas and Oklahoma and sometimes took fastest time of the day. He even took the 124 to the Tulsa speedway back when it was at the fairgrounds and won all the run what you bring races he entered. I had a great childhood in Fiats. Yeah there were Mustangs, Jags, Porsche, BMW, muscle cars. But the Fiats cornered like they were on rails with a bit of setup work. The little ovhc mini hemi is a work of art in the 124. I remember dads 124 had a engraving from the factory on the front wing windows. " Do Not Open Above 115 MPH "
I watched a gymkana in Kaiserslautern, Germany, in the early 70's, with American GI's driving muscle cars (Mustang, Corvette) and German's driving Euro cars (BMW, Porsche, etc). Not sure how they decided the sequence to run them (biggest first?), but the 2d fastest car was a Fiat 500 Abarth, and the fastest was an NSU Wankel.
Fantastic video! Daniel-san was such an awesome addition to Omega and I can’t wait to see what kind of exciting projects come in the future!!
This looks like a fun little project.
You have done a great job there Daniel. What a pleasure it is to work on the little Fiat. It's already got some pep so it will fly with that turbo! Really enjoy your style and enthusiasm!
The wheel spacer in OE.
Don't need a lot of power with a light car; that is the mantra of Lotus, McLaren and...old Fiats? 😆
Looking forward to the next video - cheers!
The Fiat 130 Coupe with its 2.8L V6 was considered the epitome of Fiat Engineering. The engine was designed by a Ferrari Formula One engineer. Very light car - very strong torquey engine. Sadly too few were made.
@@dennisfahey2379 - The Twin Cam in this car was also designed by the same man, Aurelio Lampredi. It is a good engine and did very well in motorsport. Especially World Rally Championship, where it powered Fiats and Lancias to 10 championships from '77 to '92. Including the Lancia Delta HF (like the one at 10:27) which won 6 consecutive times from '87-'92. The Lampredi Twin Cam still holds the record as the most successful engine in WRC.
@@dennisfahey2379 That engine had one problem: it needed an oil tanker following the car, i.e. it was very thirsty.
This has been interesting to watch. My uncle had a 1974 124 Spyder and as a mid-teen, I thought that was one cool car.
124 were the Miatas before the Miata. But MUCH BETTER LOOKING.
Having owned and loved both, I can agree. The Miata was utterly care-free but my Fiat was prettier and never let me down either.
I agree! Being in the military in the early 80's in Europe, these things were great fun to drive.
That would be the MGB, the Fiat didn't sell quite as well.
@@redbarchetta8782with extra supplies of Lucas solenoids and left over windshield wiper refill
Welcome to the wonderful world of 124's. They put a smile on your face. Restore it 🙂
Its great to see professional mechanics getting the job done. Wizzard has a knack for getting top hands to work there. My neighbor had a Fiat the same color and it would really run. He bought it new.
The rust problem doesn't seems too bad. Someone that like this car will most likely get to restore it.
Really enjoying this build... good mix of talking and wrenching, and the car seems to appreciate the attention! Keep up the good work Daniel-san.
This is the way. A bit of context, and then wrenching :)
You are doing everything right you got the Fiat running properly and stopping
As I mentioned in your first Fiat 124 video, I was a Fiat service manager, for about 9 years. In that time we did LOT of Valve jobs due to customers allowing their Timing Belts to fail and bend valves. REMARKABLY, only once I recall, seeing a Fiat with bad cylinder walls! The cars rust away but the cylinder walls and pistons hang in their for over 100,000 miles, or more! I THINK, as you stated, the Rings might be your cause of blowby. I RECOMMEND adding a carbon busting solvent to each cylinder and let soak for a few days. That may very well free up said rings.
Yup on the timing belt, "interference design" before it was popular. I botched a new belt install on one due to not checking after tensioning the belt, but saved time after fixing the bent valves since I'd done the teardown before! I loved the valve shims, the Fiat dealer would loan out the set and just count the total when you brought it back.
Fiat were pioneers of mass-market timing belt engines. Right through to the 90s they were quoting a 72,000 mile replacement interval !
marvel mystery oil in the cylinders and some in the oil and some in the gas, clear cylinders out and take it for a beat run.
@@johnmoruzzi7236 No! 2 years or 24,000 miles. Not only that they were and still is least reliable car brand
10:25 that's a 1987-88 Delta HF Integrale 8V with the wrong hood, wheels, seats, gearknob, rear badge and instrument cluster to name a few things.
Still expensive though, not sure in the US but here in Europe the Delta's are expensive....
Nicely put together, video pacing is just right.
I love these old Fiats! Great video
Yep, you have the thing for wrenching videos, keep going men. Congrats for the 25K subs🎉🎉🎉
That engine is the famous "bialbero Lampredi", sounds and runs nice.
FIAT, mechanically speaking, was second to noone. Body work maybe rusted in certain climates, but the cars could run.
The "c" in Lancia is pronounced like the "c" in "champion"... so it's not Lansia, but Lancha.
You make it look easy, great mechanic, credit to your skills mate. The Wizard is lucky to have you working for him.
Watching from Brisbane Australia.🔥👍
Like the other people have commented I like your editing style on this one. Do more videos like this! Perfect. ❤❤❤
WOW! This channel will blow up if you keep this up. Nice work sir.
Great series! I like you showing the wrenching!
Yeah quick run on work is great and instructive. Simplicity construction makes its much effortless to get a standstill car going again. Looking forward to the next episode
Great video, edit and progress. Good series and thanks to you and the wizard!
I'm from Orlando, but older. In 1999 I used cruise Orange Avenue downtown and then hang with a bunch of guys in the parking lot of the Greek restaurant at Orange and Colonial. We all had Volkswagens and the "leader" was this guy about 20 at the time named Brad. I found out about this one day in traffic. I'm in my '92 Corrado SLC and I see this MK2 Jetta doing all kinds of crazy stuff to catch up with me in my mirror; He got along side finally and told me about the group so I hung out with them Friday nights if I was in town. It was tons of fun, and afterwards I would go to the clubs on Orange. Orlando has an AMAZING car community!
-The very best mechanics I have ever seen where 20-something Puerto Rican kids in Orlando. One of them took a $1200 RX-7 and put it in the 9's for less than $2000....
Its a healthy engine for sure! ready to chase delta integrales any day!
Great Video - excellent chapter by chapter coverage - Thanks.
Great work! My second car was a 1973 124 Spider. In around 1987.
Great to see your channel picking up steam. Gave a sub months ago hoping to see you get some love. You have improved soooo much dude! It's awesome to see. Now I have to watch more.
I applaud you for showing the shake test.
Sixteen minues flew by in what seemed like six minutes! Excellent video! Waiting for the next one!
Old ford design calipers. Good sign break fluid dripping. 👍
I like this small, lightweight, cheap old things. More of things like this please :)
Run valvoline restore and protect. 😉
Great job!! Wonderful content. Maybe this old girl can be saved??
It really sounds good too - nice work!
The Spider is a really fun car. It's well balanced and responds nicely. I had to laugh because driving a Fiat of this vintage was like driving in your dining room chair - you are pretty much straight upright. Also the rack and pinion steering is foreign to anyone who has only driven a post 2010 car. Its a bit of a workout on U-turns. These cars, fully restored, are very sought after and as Daniel-San noted - parts are readily available even after almost 50 years. The modern Abarth 124 Spider is a blast to drive.
Really digging this build dude!
Love this format Daniel-San!
Thank you for showing the work.
Let's get this boy more subscribers
You make it look so easy-great video-John in Texas
It sure is nice having all the right tools!
Great video! Those are the thinnest rotors ever!
I had about 4-5 videos on my list to watch today. I chose yours first. 👍 I like this series. I remember seeing several of these 124s at a local car lot back in the 80’s. There was a steel-blue one I wanted so bad.
Sweet! I’m excited to see you finish this project. I plan on building a turbo version of the same car so I might use your videos for ideas haha.
The Turdbo moves again after fifteen years. I'll bet that was a fun car to drive when new. Nice work Daniel-San
ABSOLUTELY AWESOME 🤩
Great content from a real pro - keep'em coming and show us how the ""Turdbo" can perform
What a fun project. Cool little car.
Would De Carbonizing the the piston rings with a chemical oil flush additive help in this case?
grew up with three of these as transport (between ages 8 and 11); would've never guessed they were four wheel disc. Great job on the vid!
I love the editing on these videos. 👌🏼👌🏼
This thing seems to have some potential. I look forward to see how this rig turns out. I was having Vice Grip Garage vibes once you started tearing into the rusty stuff. You might have a modern style rat rod on your hands at the end.👍
And it spun the tyres when you gave it a "little" gas. 👍
Watching you do the work on the brakes takes me back decades. Skimming discs was part of my training at college, but TBH, I've never had to do it. Easier if you don't have access to lathes and grinders to just replace them, if you can, as I bet finding those rotors might be difficult and expensive due to it's age.
It goes', it stops. Get that carb cleaned, tuned and dyno it 😄
Sounds great too.
I think this is your best video yet. 👍
Come across from Tavarish's video - Tuning Wizard gave you a shout out :)
Great show .
Very cool 😎 I can't wait for a Honda Civic build!!!
Great editing!
After draining and refilling the cooling system, you MUST open the Heater valve and bleed the air, at the coolant aluminum "T" Fitting. (IFO the Timing belt) This may be why your rans did not come on.
That little Fiat's engine and tranny are healthy as hell. Most problems with these cars were due to bad grounds and their tendency to rust out quickly due to poor metal sheets. Other than that, old Fiats are a delight to drive and have fun with. They are easy to work on as well. I own a 1979 and I do love my "Sofia the Fiat" very much!
Tavarish sent me over, glad he did, this is really nice, subb'd
That's cool Grimes has his own channel!
nice video. on point edits.
My first car was a 78 124 spider same color, my father showed me how to replace the starter , and clutch cable / throw out bearing , had it painted midnight metallic blue put a white top on . That was a fun car to drive , the next car was an x19
You can't just tell us you visited Grimes without giving us Grimes! We need his comments shitting on your car 😂😊😉. That's his super power!
Cleaning the idle jets on the side will help with the idle
your doing great
Sir, will you say that you are Italian Station Specialist? You're knowledgeable for all Italian automotive products. THANK YOU
Hello from Nova Scotia, Canada!
I rebuilt a set of those calipers on my 124 spyder and almost lost a finger when I used shop air to push the piston out….at Mach Jesus. Better lucky than good that day.
The 124 is such an easy engine and suspension to work on. Timing belt pretty easy once you have done a time or two. Very interested in seeing the FI system and turbo. There are so many of these and very cheap. Of course in California would not want to do anything on a 1976 or newer as needs to be smogged.
You aren't going to want to sell that.
Great wrenching!
New sub ,,, watching from the Philippines 🌴
Daniel San, lets make that thing haul!
The brake calipers must be sliding on those locking tabs as the pads wears. Steel against aluminium causes galvanic corrosion. So, you really need to take it apart again, clean the old steel tabs 100% for any rust, and then cover the tabs as well as the complete machined contact surface on the caliper with cupper grease.
Otherwise they will seize as soon as they see water!
Enjoy your evening with all your family around you,Daniel-San
Can't wait for the next video
👍
INSIGHTFUL,Daniel-San
Daniel-San,take care
From Nick Ayivor from London England UK 🇬🇧 18:30pm Good Evening
The brakes were usually AP or Girling depending on the market.
They certainly aren’t 4-pot Brembos ! 😅
@@johnmoruzzi7236 You don't want to flip a car of that size with Brembos.
I actually love the old 124s. I remember when they could be had all day long for a few hundred bucks. To an American shadetree mechanic in the 1970s, these things looked like the work of the Evil one.
that thing with efi and 200hp track weapon i reckon
Does it need new shocks? Maybe some coil-overs will make it handle better?
Nice vid!!
These cars are super simple but actually the basics are well engineered brakes and suspension
Steering wheel a little BIG ? haha
When I had mine, I was surprised to see the callers were aluminum; (4wheel disks, uncommon at the price point) a nice touch for an “affordable” sports car. The problem was the steel bleeder screws would freeze inside the aluminum caliper, (galvanic corrosion) the only solution was replacing the caliper. The manual specified periodic loosening and tightening of the bleeder valve, which Americans were unaccustomed too, contributing to reputation that Fiats, were cheap or badly engineered, but deferred maintained wascreall the culprit.