My New project - 76 128

" I did not go with a lithium battery because I've read conflicting reports on how to charge them with a trickle charger"

You don't really need to have a lithium battery on a trickle charger as they don't discharge very much while sitting.. I did buy a new charger especially for lithium batteries to condition and maintain it though...
 
Lowtechprime said:
" I did not go with a lithium battery because I've read conflicting reports on how to charge them with a trickle charger"

You don't really need to have a lithium battery on a trickle charger as they don't discharge very much while sitting.. I did buy a new charger especially for lithium batteries to condition and maintain it though...
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The subject of charging Li-ion batteries can be a little confusing. When I asked around several of the Li-ion battery manufacturers I got a wide mix of answers. However it has been a couple years since I looked into all this, so some things may be different now. But some Li-ion batteries are built with the charging regulation circuitry as part of the battery itself, so regular ('normal') chargers can be used. Others have that circuitry built into the charger, and therefore can be "proprietary" - you must use their charger with their battery - depending on the brand. Others require a Li-ion compatible charger but not a proprietary one. And some did not specify at all. Hopefully things have become a bit more standardized.

And yes, that was one of the big selling points about Li-ion batteries; they don't deplete anywhere near the rate of lead-acid (wet flooded) batteries. So no "trickle charger" maintainers are needed. That's a big benefit for hobby cars like the X.

Anyone have info on how Li-ion prices compare to conventional batteries these days?
 
Dr.Jeff said:
The subject of charging Li-ion batteries can be a little confusing. When I asked around several of the Li-ion battery manufacturers I got a wide mix of answers. However it has been a couple years since I looked into all this, so some things may be different now. But some Li-ion batteries are built with the charging regulation circuitry as part of the battery itself, so regular ('normal') chargers can be used. Others have that circuitry built into the charger, and therefore can be "proprietary" - you must use their charger with their battery - depending on the brand. Others require a Li-ion compatible charger but not a proprietary one. And some did not specify at all. Hopefully things have become a bit more standardized.

And yes, that was one of the big selling points about Li-ion batteries; they don't deplete anywhere near the rate of lead-acid (wet flooded) batteries. So no "trickle charger" maintainers are needed. That's a big benefit for hobby cars like the X.

Anyone have info on how Li-ion prices compare to conventional batteries these days?
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You might not need a trickle charger to offset the battery self discharge but you may need one if the car draws enough current to discharge the battery when it is off for long enough.
 
dllubin said:
You might not need a trickle charger to offset the battery self discharge but you may need one if the car draws enough current to discharge the battery when it is off for long enough.
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Good point. ;) Depending on how much parasitic drain there is. Personally I prefer to eliminate all parasitic losses on my hobby cars. But that requires a little compromise at times. For example no stereo system that draws current when not in use. It will also depend on how the car is used - I don't use my vintage vehicles as daily drivers so I don't miss eliminating a couple of creature comfort items if necessary.
 
I don't think think the drain from a clock circuit or feed to keep the presets will drain too much, but even if it does, the Antigravity ReStart battery will shut down before there isn't enough voltage to start the car... Prices are easily 30-40% higher than Lead acid, but supposedly they last 3 times longer so for me it seems worth the higher initial cost... I paid $215 for mine, you can get them cheaper on sale....
 
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I would probably look into Li-ion batteries if it was not for the fact that I've got this JC Penney Lifetime Battery that I bought in the 70s and gets replaced for free whenever it goes bad. Next time I need one, I may see if they will give me something smaller than a 24. One time they were out of 24 batteries so they put in one that was much smaller and lighter. Unfortunately, the place I went to next time saw the paperwork and would only put a 24 in.
 
Oh goodness, just drive the damn car once a month through the "off" season. Even NJ weather can't be that terrible.
 
Three things are certain in life.
1.A LS fixes everything
2. Weber Carbs fix everything
3. Miata Batteries are perfect
 
carl said:
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.
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The SL I got from you still had the mount in place but the corrosion was pretty severe. And there was plenty of fiberglass and POR-15 repairs in the area so I don't think it would have lasted long. One of these days I'll have to revive the links to all the photos in my post.
 
lanciahf said:
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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For USA cars - 4:42 (12/53) was for the wagons; 4.08 (13/53) was sedans thru '76; 3.76 (17/64) was sedans in 77-up (and Yugos). Not sure if the 3P got the 3.76. The SL coupes I'm fuzzy on... I have a '75 owner's manual that's says 4.42 and a '74 tech data manual that says 4.08. Maybe they changed it in '75 to compensate for heavy bumpers and catalysts or it could just be a typo and they were always 4.08.
 
Thanks, Courtney, for the information. Clears up some confusion on my part.

The gas tank was loose when I got the car so I dropped it to clean it properly. Found some surface rust underneath and treated it. All in all not too bad.
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Tank was etched and painted. Next is to get dry ice to remove the oem tar on the floor. There is a small rust hole that I need to fix

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Antigravity is the company name (presumably because their batteries barely weigh anything). ReStart is their circuit interrupt tech included in some of their batteries...
 
I think I am at the point of painting the floor, found some surface rust and treated it.
 

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