Rusted Out 1970 850 Spider Fix-Up

Dang. 42 bucks for one of these. Wonder if I can fix this one? Hmmm...

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My 4th wheel came today! Thanks again Mike! Time to order up some tires.

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Crusty , but not too bad. Still waiting on pads. The calipers still have fluid in them, so I am going to run compressed air into them and see if they are stuck. Rubber appears soft still!
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All 4 wheels are unstuck now. New rubber hoses in place. Kingpins greased.d
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Oh, and this turned out well. Watertight! I am going to put on another layer of fiberglass just to be sure. Those louvers on the hood let the sunlight kill it. Might want to check yours.
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Does anyone have advice on getting the master cylinder out? I don't see how to easily reach all the brake lines.
 
Crow foot wrenches can help. I replaced mine 20 years ago (or longer) but don’t recall all the details.
 
Daniel Gibson said:
Jeff, when I tried to access the page, I get this. View attachment 23826
Click to expand...

That's FB for ya! (I copied the link directly from one of my FB photo albums). I'll cut & paste the text & photos concerning the brake m/c access directly to Xweb, instead...

Fiat 850 modification for improved brake master cylinder access:

"...Looking at the previous photo showing the steering box, it really bothered me how much grease & dirt were caked-on the steering box & steering arm. With the front suspension still off of the car, this is the ideal time to remove the steering box for cleaning & service, if needed. I also wanted to remove the old brake master cylinder in order to install a new one, the first step in overhauling the complete braking system.

Probably THE worst design of the car is the service access opening for the brake master cylinder & brake lines/hoses. All you get is an opening about 5"x5", as seen to the left of my hand in this photo. This gives you about 25% of the room needed to get the proper wrench in there (& be able to turn it), let alone room for your hand!

The solution is to cut away some of the sheetmetal in order to provide an opening large enough to easily work on the brake system (& the steering box mounts). Seen above my hand is a diagonal cut I made in the sheetmetal that follows the same contour of the main (larger) battery access panel/lid opening.

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With the diagonal cut completed, a vertical cut is made straight down on the right, along the forward edge of the battery tray. The sheetmetal is then carefully folded down & away from the brake master cylinder, with the fold strategically set at the same horizontal level as the boxed member on the main firewall (seen on the left).

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The brake lines & hoses are disconnected, & the master cylinder is easily removed. This also provides more room for the next step...

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The Sawzall is used to make a nice, clean horizontal cut along the folded edge of the sheetmetal, just as you'd use scissors or a sharp knife to cut a folded sheet of paper.

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Violá! Annoying sheetmetal is gone, providing excellent service access to the brake m/c & steering box. The lower 1/3 of the side wall that was just cut away is retained in order to keep the battery held firmly in place when installed, so it doesn't slide over into the brake m/c during any sharp right-hand turns.

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The steering box now removed - look at all of that room! The sharp edges where the sheetmetal was just cut away will be filed flat & then carefully rolled under to match the rest of the border around the battery tray opening, both for aesthetics & for personal safety. This entire opening is normally covered by the battery lid, which sets down into the groove you can see running around the entire perimeter & is then held in place by 2 black plastic knobs on the front edge of the battery shelf (you can see one of the knobs on the right).

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None of the work just done will be visible once the battery lid is in place - this was simply a job done to make it easier to remove & reinstall the parts I'm currently fixing, and easier for me (or any future owner) to perform any service work here, if needed..."
 
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Hmmm. I didn’t do that on my Coupe, I was lucky my car was a dry sitting in Burbank for 20 years or so object and everything was not corroded. Clearly not likely to be your experience Daniel.

It certainly does open up the area and will make future steering box adjustments a good bit easier.
 
Jeff Stich said:
That's FB for ya! (I copied the link directly from one of my FB photo albums). I'll cut & paste the text & photos concerning the brake m/c access directly to Xweb, instead...

Fiat 850 modification for improved brake master cylinder access:
<snip>
None of the work just done will be visible once the battery lid is in place - this was simply a job done to make it easier to remove & reinstall the parts I'm currently fixing, and easier for me (or any future owner) to perform any service work here, if needed..."
Click to expand...

Gosh, I dunno about cutting into my car...
JK! I will be out there this afternoon with my cut off wheel! Thanks for the great advice!
 
kmead said:
Hmmm. I didn’t do that on my Coupe, I was lucky my car was a dry sitting in Burbank for 20 years or so object and everything was not corroded. Clearly not likely to be your experience Daniel.

It certainly does open up the area and will make future steering box adjustments a good bit easier.
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Yeah, if this car had been left inside it would be as rust free as an 850 can be. Weird thing is...the sheet metal is rusty, but stuff like the brake lines...no prob, the line connectors inbolt with no issues.
 
Jeff, you are DA MAN tonight! I did not cut down the battery box, but your suggested cut across the top made it possible to get the master out. I am not sure it would have come out any other way. 2 minutes of cutting, and maybe 10 minutes to get the cylinder out. SWEET!

I would not be surprised if more cars have this mod someday.

BTW...are fiat master cylinders bench bled?

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New master cylinder installed! Felix the Cat, you better watch out! Did a little painting while I was under there.

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Oh dear...disaster! Anyone have a set they can sell me? Or should I just hook some nozzles up to a piece of Tupperware?
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My apologies I don’t have any extras. Which means I should think about getting some.
 
kmead said:
My apologies I don’t have any extras. Which means I should think about getting some.
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The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of making my own out of some small Rubbermaid containers. It is not like these do anything special. I am going to check at the local ace hardware today and see if they have any nozzles that would work.
 
Daniel Gibson said:
The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of making my own out of some small Rubbermaid containers. It is not like these do anything special. I am going to check at the local ace hardware today and see if they have any nozzles that would work.
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I've got some that came on an early X. Not the same, but similar. Shipping should be reasonable, but you can probably find something that will work closer to you.
 
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