Engine Maintenance and Modification Bradley Artigue
FIAT 124 Spider Engine Maintenance + Modification - Artigue.com
FIAT 124 Spider Engine Maintenance + Modification - Artigue.com
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FIAT 124 Spider<br />
<strong>Engine</strong> <strong>Maintenance</strong> + <strong>Modification</strong><br />
installation (it is almost too tight to tune) may make this undesirable. The block-mount is<br />
available new from some parts vendors.<br />
Another option is an optical trigger unit, available from most auto parts stores. These<br />
units remove the wearable points in the distributor body. The most popular is the Crane<br />
Fireball, sold by many parts vendors. If you are considering one of these units you<br />
should speak with other owners on installation specifics, ease of use, <strong>and</strong> reliability.<br />
11.4 Exhaust <strong>and</strong> Emissions Control<br />
There are few options in the exhaust improvement category. There are the stock<br />
systems that have a four-two-one design, <strong>and</strong> aftermarket systems of similar design.<br />
Unless you have a specific need for an aftermarket design, the FIAT 4-2-1 is efficient,<br />
well designed, fits correctly (unlike many aftermarket systems), <strong>and</strong> has a stock look.<br />
For carbureted engines made after 1973 the 4-2-1 type used on the 1756cc Spiders will<br />
work well. The 4-2-1 type used on the 2000cc Fuel Injected spider will work on these<br />
models as well (although it may hang a little low for 1756cc Spiders).<br />
If you use the fuel injected 4-2-1 exhaust on a carbureted engine note that you will need<br />
to block off the oxygen sensor port <strong>and</strong>, unless you intend to use the catalytic converter<br />
<strong>and</strong> rear section from a fuel injected car, modify the flange under the vehicle for use with<br />
the carbureted, 3-bolt catalytic converter. A “full conversion” to the FI 4-2-1 is actually<br />
quite easy <strong>and</strong> saves the hassle of having to cut, weld, or alter the stock components.<br />
The emissions control devices installed on your Spider are probably inoperable. The<br />
parts to service these devices are also few <strong>and</strong> far between. In some cases the<br />
pollution control equipment operates so poorly that it can increase emissions. If you are<br />
concerned about emissions then it may interest you to note that EPA m<strong>and</strong>ated these<br />
devices be installed regardless of whether the engine was within good air quality ranges<br />
to begin with. An in-tune Spider engine without modifications to the fuel delivery<br />
system is a very clean burning engine; even without a catalytic converter many will pass<br />
all but the visual inspection of the vehicle.<br />
There are some emissions control devices that you should probably keep. The charcoal<br />
canister, which is designed to absorb the stink of raw fuel, is good to have functioning<br />
correctly. It can be “recharged” by simply cutting it open <strong>and</strong> refilling with activated<br />
charcoal (from a fish store). They can also be bought new from numerous sources as<br />
the FIAT part was used on various years of other European cars well through the 1990’s.<br />
The catalytic converter is another part you might consider leaving intact. Although it<br />
certainly consumes some power (it creates backpressure by its very design), newer<br />
types are far less restrictive than the original equipment FIAT types.<br />
Keep in mind that some states have laws around smog checks <strong>and</strong> original equipment.<br />
Cars made after a certain year may need to pass emissions tests <strong>and</strong> visual inspection s<br />
to verify that all of the original equipment is in place <strong>and</strong> working.<br />
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