FIAT 850 Owners/Drivers.....Be AWARE !

lezesig1

lezesig1

expatriot
A couple of pics showing what MIGHT be common to 850 Spiders ?

Perhaps other owners can chime in on the issue.

I would like to congratulate the previous owner and or *mechanic ( I think the later) for emptying a few cans of aersol black colored paint in the engine compartment and aft panel.

Pretty, really, really, pretty. lol. In their defense....it DID prevent corrosion.




After 10 hours of steam cleaning to break the paint layer .....I found some interesting HIDDEN flaws that will be corrected.



You might want to take a quick peek and see if there is any evidence of this happening on yours :) That is...if it is not hidden by many layers of oilies, paint, and dirt like this one was.

out for now

lezesig
'72 850 Sp

* The previous mechanic performed some really outstanding work on this particular auto. I suspect resident (at the time) around the Kelso/Longview/Vancouver/Portland area. The fixes and repairs are topnotch. Notice the welding on picture two that was performed to address the same issue. The beads and penetration (without blow-through) suggest expert.



 
This is very common.

I have always wondered if this was the result of the manner in which the engine is attached back there.

The sedan and coupe have a spring and fairly compliant rubber bits that allow the engine to move a bit fore and aft with a stabilizing reaction strut to counter torque.

I haven't seen a sedan or coupe with this problem but nearly every Spider rear panel I have ever seen has had some of these cracks,usually at the top where the engine mount is.
 
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Yup...

As Karl noted, it's a fairly common occurrence on the 850 Spider/Racer models, most often due to stresses induced by constantly driving with a cracked/broken transmission mount. Another common reason is from stress induced by spot welds at the bottom edge of the panel having broken/rusted apart, thus letting the inner layer of sheetmetal (along with the engine perch) flex in/out when the car is driven, also contributing to...

Even more common with cars driven hard is for the horizontal seam just at/above the level of the engine perch (spanning the full width of the inner panel) to break its' spot welds, thus separating the inner sheetmetal from the outer layer. Vertical cracks (rips or tears) may also develop from each broken spot weld area, compounding the problem. The easy fix is to just seam-weld that whole span, or some folks reinforce the seam by fastening the two layers of sheetmetal together with a closely-spaced line of bolts or rivets (ala WW2-era aircraft design).

Your panel appears to have had this upper seam welded together. How's the seam on the bottom edge of the panel? :hmm2:
 
affirmed

Hi Karl,

Thanks for the glimpse. I suspected as much. Amazing we use sheet metal to support an engine...It works.

The spring versus rubber arrangement on the aft hanger. I did notice that difference between models.

This particular one had a fashioned cushion of HARD rubber. Obviously the prior mechanic addressed this concern before. I will probably stick with the original fitment and keep a watch on it for wear. Much more resilient rubber than what I found as an 'improvement'.

I suspect the stiffer rubber, in this case, transferred more motion to the sheet metal mount.

lezesig
'72 850 Sp
 
Good points

Thanks Jeff,

Indeed the upper portion of the panel has been welded the entire length.

You made me take a peek at the lower edge. Happy to report all spot welds intact....except one. This will now be addressed too.

I do like the description of your pull-rivet fix on both the upper and lower seams. Wet installed and fayed would probably a better bond than a weld for a multitude of reasons. Thanks for sharing that insight.


lezesig
'72 850 Sp
 
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