New member

[BarKoNY]

Happy to find this forum at last. I have owned a '73 850 Spider for 5 years But am now just getting it on the road. The clutch pedal has not functioned properly since I have had the car, but with no frame of reference to make a comparison, my hands were tied until a few weeks ago when I was able to get a parts car. This has been an invaluable resource. It has helped me determine that several key parts are missing in the clutch mechanism of my runner, and the pedal/rod assy. Is bent, causing the cable to bind. It's a bit of a mess, with a bent and broken vertical section where the rod pivots in the hump. A previous owner tried to shore it up with a Frankenstein bolt through the hump. I am wondering if cutting that portion out of the parts car and slotting it in to the runner is feasible? The red car is the runner and the green is the potential donor, which has a smoothly operating clutch. Thanks!

 

[BarKoNY]

Happy to find this forum at last. I have owned a '73 850 Spider for 5 years But am now just getting it on the road. The clutch pedal has not functioned properly since I have had the car, but with no frame of reference to make a comparison, my hands were tied until a few weeks ago when I was able to get a parts car. This has been an invaluable resource. It has helped me determine that several key parts are missing in the clutch mechanism of my runner, and the pedal/rod assy. Is bent, causing the cable to bind. It's a bit of a mess, with a bent and broken vertical section where the rod pivots in the hump. A previous owner tried to shore it up with a Frankenstein bolt through the hump. I am wondering if cutting that portion out of the parts car and slotting it in to the runner is feasible? The red car is the runner and the green is the potential donor, which has a smoothly operating clutch. Thanks!

Here's the red car pic again, but I have tried rotating it. The image does not capture the full amount of distortion of the hump, but a break in it can be seen where the bolt goes thru on the driver's side.

 

[NM850]

I would think repairing the tunnel on the red car would be possible, maybe welding in some doubling sheet metal.
I have not seen a break there, maybe it was caused by using the clutch without the proper linkage?

 

[JimD]

Welcome to Xweb BarKoNY!

 

[Loren Field]

Hi - there is a thread that started May 16 entitled "Fiat 850 Clutch Cable or Spring?" that has a nifty reinforcement repair from Greg Schmidt's book that you can consult - that repair might take care of a lot of your issues (it did wonders on my car) - Loren

 

[BarKoNY]

Hi - there is a thread that started May 16 entitled "Fiat 850 Clutch Cable or Spring?" that has a nifty reinforcement repair from Greg Schmidt's book that you can consult - that repair might take care of a lot of your issues (it did wonders on my car) - Loren
Thanks, I'll study it, and look to implement. Cheers to all, thanks for the welcome!

 

[kmead]

Indeed, welcome. The 850 contingent here is small but very dedicated.

Your red cars both look great.

Looking forward to seeing and hearing more.

 

[BarKoNY]

OK, I forgot I'd joined, and stupidly started a new thread about the same problem. When I opened up the tunnel, there was a curled piece of tin around the bell crank pin where the two-piece bushing would be. Once I got that replaced, I got the clutch working, but it binds. I have a parts car now that could donate its perfect tunnel with all the hardware in place where it should be. Is it a dumb idea to think about cutting the bent one out and replacing it with the good one?

 

[Frank L. Di Gioia]

Welcome aboard! It's often said a picture is worth a thousand words. Main idea is to tie the two sides of the tunnel together to stiffen it up. There are various ways of doing this. This is inspired by Greg Schmidt's book "Fiat and Abarth Tricks." With a lathe and time a beautiful one piece unit could be fabricated. Here's the cobbled together version.

 

[BarKoNY]

Yes, I did find that repair and wanted to do it, but the housing is so badly bent up that the access hole is no longer directly across from the bell crank nut. Maybe I need to ask if anyone has tips on how to bend the housing back into position. I can's seem to get any leverage down there.. Your pics look pretty nice Frank!

 

[Oriebi]

Hello!