My New project - 76 128

There was some rust under the battery tray so I broke out the Dewalt 4" grinder and different wire wheels and got to work. Really not to bad. Next I'll etch the metal. Of course I'm only doing this because Carl would not buy this project. Also Dan stopped today for a nice chat and some X springs.

My brain kept saying "this is not the Lancia you don't have to make it perfect." Shut up Ralph!View attachment 79482View attachment 79482
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carl said:
Plenty of room in the trunk of a 128 for a real spare unless you are prepping for a Costco Christmas run.
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I think Fiat Placed the spare and the battery over the trans to equalized the weight between the passenger and drivers side. That tranny is pretty tiny.
 
Nice job. That area under the battery is super critical as it's where the sway bar mounts to the body and the sway bar also serves as a lower suspension locating and mounting point. On one of my 128s it had been severely compromised with rust and welded up by a previous owner. The welds were terrible and looked like pieces of funnel cake all over the area. I came wailing down a highway entrance ramp and then a bang and no more forward movement. The whole mount had torn free allowing the axle shaft to pull out of the trans.

Yours looks to be in great shape so don't stress about my story. Whenever I go look at a 128 for sale it's the first place I look to decide if I'm walking away.
 
carl said:
Nice job. That area under the battery is super critical as it's where the sway bar mounts to the body and the sway bar also serves as a lower suspension locating and mounting point. On one of my 128s it had been severely compromised with rust and welded up by a previous owner. The welds were terrible and looked like pieces of funnel cake all over the area. I came wailing down a highway entrance ramp and then a bang and no more forward movement. The whole mount had torn free allowing the axle shaft to pull out of the trans.

Yours looks to be in great shape so don't stress about my story. Whenever I go look at a 128 for sale it's the first place I look to decide if I'm walking away.
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There was a nice thread a while back about rebuilding that area completely. It was a lot of work.
 
I think it was Courtney Waters repairing the 128SL with the ripped out mount I sold him. The level of work was/is amazing. I had another 128 with a lot of rust through in that area, especially the stamped beam along the lower edge of the inner fender on the driver side. Fortunately the car came with an extra front clip so I was able to remove a lot of that metal and use it on the 128.
 
Dr.Jeff said:
Batteries always tend to do a lot of damage under them. As far as rust developing below one, this seems to be in rather good condition.
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This why a poly battery box with venting is desirable. The Miata has two vent tubes attached to the battery which lead out of the trunk to minimize the damage the fumes can do as well as an acid blow out if the alternator goes into overcharge mode.
 
lanciahf said:
I used a Miata Battery in my Scorpion, nice and compact for a lead type battery.
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As I just put the Miata away for the winter the battery is sitting on the stoop and I was contemplating how much smaller and lighter it is than the X batteries I use (and double the price). Definitely a worthwhile change, especially if one has gone to a gear reduction starter.

That and the fact it really doesn‘t need to face a mid winter start up so those amps are just wasted :) and more weight to haul around.
 
kmead said:
As I just put the Miata away for the winter the battery is sitting on the stoop and I was contemplating how much smaller and lighter it is than the X batteries I use
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Ok...I'll bite.....so for example just how much lighter is a Miata battery than the rather large battery that an X was usually delivered with ?

Do the terminals end up in about the same place ? I would guess some massaging of the hold-downs is required ?

And on the subject....and sorry for the thread drift 🤮 ........but I always wondered about something I could never figure out. Here in Canada at least......back in the 70's...new Fiats were always delivered with a huge locally made Delco battery. Group 24 as I recall...same size battery as a full sized Chevy of the day. Great for winter starting. So...did they really ship new batteries all the way from here to the assembly line in Italy ? Which seems crazy..... Or, were the Delco batteries installed at the port of entry or at the local dealer ? In which case...how the heck did they get the cars on and off the ship ?? Can anyone answer that ?
 
rx1900 said:
Ok...I'll bite.....so for example just how much lighter is a Miata battery than the rather large battery that an X was usually delivered with ?

Do the terminals end up in about the same place ? I would guess some massaging of the hold-downs is required ?

And on the subject....and sorry for the thread drift 🤮 ........but I always wondered about something I could never figure out. Here in Canada at least......back in the 70's...new Fiats were always delivered with a huge locally made Delco battery. Group 24 as I recall...same size battery as a full sized Chevy of the day. Great for winter starting. So...did they really ship new batteries all the way from here to the assembly line in Italy ? Which seems crazy..... Or, were the Delco batteries installed at the port of entry or at the local dealer ? In which case...how the heck did they get the cars on and off the ship ?? Can anyone answer that ?
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I do not know about 1970's Fiats and if 'domestic content' was a thing then, but.. In 2001, I was thinking about buying a new VW Passat diesel. I noticed the new Passats at the back of the dealership fresh off the truck awaiting dealer prep had solar panels inside on the dash. I asked if one came with the car? No, they are all collected at PDI and returned to the port.
 
kmead said:
As I just put the Miata away for the winter the battery is sitting on the stoop and I was contemplating how much smaller and lighter it is than the X batteries I use (and double the price). Definitely a worthwhile change, especially if one has gone to a gear reduction starter.

That and the fact it really doesn‘t need to face a mid winter start up so those amps are just wasted :) and more weight to haul around.
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I'm also curious how these batteries compare. In addition to Doug's questions about weight and configuration differences, how much less are the ratings compared to the stock X battery? Also, what group size is a Miata battery?
 
Miata batteries are so small that some folks get lawn tractor batteries as replacements.
 
What does a Miata battery cost? I don't know why anyone in this day and age would still use a heavy lead acid battery.... If it's a premium price, why not use a lithium battery that weighs 3-5 lbs., can be mounted in any orientation, has lugs on all 4 corners, doesn't leak or corrode, and has low voltage protection if you leave something on accidentally? Battery technology has come a long way since lead acid...🤷
 
Lowtechprime said:
What does a Miata battery cost? I don't know why anyone in this day and age would still use a heavy lead acid battery.... If it's a premium price, why not use a lithium battery that weighs 3-5 lbs., can be mounted in any orientation, has lugs on all 4 corners, doesn't leak or corrode, and has low voltage protection if you leave something on accidentally? Battery technology has come a long way since lead acid...🤷
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I love Li-ion batteries, but haven't shopped for one in a few years. The last time I did they were considerably more expensive than a lead acid one. But I know lead batteries have gone up a lot since then. Are the prices comparable now?
 
Lowtechprime said:
What does a Miata battery cost? I don't know why anyone in this day and age would still use a heavy lead acid battery.... If it's a premium price, why not use a lithium battery that weighs 3-5 lbs., can be mounted in any orientation, has lugs on all 4 corners, doesn't leak or corrode, and has low voltage protection if you leave something on accidentally? Battery technology has come a long way since lead acid...🤷
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Mine cost about 100.00 a two years ago and they weight around 20 lbs. I did not go with a lithium battery because I've read conflicting reports on how to charge them with a trickle charger. That created enough doubt for me to avoid battery drama and concentrate on Scorpion drama instead.
 
Today was 128 transmission day at DCFIATS.

I brought along my new 3.76 / 17/64 Ring and Pinion from Fiat Plus and a two 128 transmissions from the 76 & 77. First we disassembled the 77 trans and found out the 77 already had a 17/64 R&P. Looks like the 77 trans was opened previously. The 76 trans had the expected 12/53 4.42 R&P. Also both tyrannies had broken shifter springs.

Does anyone know when the 128s came with the 17/64 R&P gear? I thought they were either 4.08 or 4.42?
Or better yet is there a chart specifying different R&P gears per year.

Thanks
 
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Going top to bottom, the Miata battery and then a Group 24. The Miata has the same orientation of the posts as a 24F.

The Miata battery weighs 25lbs.
The Group 24 weighs about 44lbs depending on the cold cranking amps.


As for tractor batteries, in my experience they are not well made batteries, low cost and short lived. On my tractors I use the same battery I use in my Honda Elements which is a group 51R.

I buy my batteries from Costco.

rx1900 said:
Ok...I'll bite.....so for example just how much lighter is a Miata battery than the rather large battery that an X was usually delivered with ?

Do the terminals end up in about the same place ? I would guess some massaging of the hold-downs is required ?

And on the subject....and sorry for the thread drift 🤮 ........but I always wondered about something I could never figure out. Here in Canada at least......back in the 70's...new Fiats were always delivered with a huge locally made Delco battery. Group 24 as I recall...same size battery as a full sized Chevy of the day. Great for winter starting. So...did they really ship new batteries all the way from here to the assembly line in Italy ? Which seems crazy..... Or, were the Delco batteries installed at the port of entry or at the local dealer ? In which case...how the heck did they get the cars on and off the ship ?? Can anyone answer that ?
Click to expand...
 
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1974 correct replacement battery size - thoughts?

Hi. I believe from what I’ve read here that 24R is the correct battery size for a ‘74 exxe? Seeing that the alternator’s now replaced, it appears the battery is still draining too quickly after charging. After I spend some time looking for a parasitic drain, if one can’t be found, does anyone...
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Or 25 lbs, plus still having the risk of corrosion....
 
I like moving the battery to the trunk if for no other reason that I can remove that intrusive battery support and free up some elbow room. Same reason for moving the spare tire to the trunk.
 
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