Well, my inexperience and the previous owner’s errors (according to Mr. Old FIAT Repair Guy), cost a lot of money today, including between five - ten hours of labor charges. Starter was $120. Hose, replacement lighter and some screws/clamps.
But in reality, not being able to figure out the ideograms system was the only thing I feel kinda stupid about, especially with the info and photos I posted. The solutions were simple, and ended up costing two/three hours of labor.
On the other hand, I wouldn’t have been able to loosen the clutch, adjust the carb, fix the hose error, replace the starter, fix the back-up light cable, know what I was looking for regarding electrical errors/alterations, quickly decide the best way to fix the hard-to-close driver’s door, stop the steering wheel from grinding, and readjust the timing belt (or, as has been pointed outbto me by another member, the timing).
Now, that last one - Mr. OFRG said that while the previous techs marked and had set it as per the manual, the car‘s timing (?) actually likes to be adjusted just slightly off from where the manual directs rookie techs to do so.
Anyone like to chime in on that knowledge? I’m a ‘by the book‘ guy, but when people who’ve been around these cars all their lives, used to build and race them, and are descendants of people who did the same, It’s hard to doubt them, you know?
He also wasn’t happy with the work done on the clutch, and expected I‘d be back when the throttle body started to fail.
So that was re-assuring, considering the previous owner’s put in a clutch re-build kit.
On the upside, it starts right up, way stronger than it did before. And that’s a beginning....
Happy Turkey/Tofurkey Day folks