124 Spider Rack and Pinion

Road-race engines and ancillaries - general discussion
Guy Croft
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Post by Guy Croft »

well, me, I wrote to the exhaust firm in very bad German, got no reply. Text below.
If any kind German member would like to write or phone him and ask them to state whether their exhaust header fits the LHD Spider with rack and pinion steering I'd be pleased to hear.

From: Croftengines@aol.com
To: info@gb-motorentechnik.de
Cc: branda@sportspider.wanadoo.co.uk
Sent: Thursday, November 30, 2006 3:11 PM
Subject: Faecherkruemmer - 4-1 Fiat Spider exhaust manifold

Guten Tag!

Auf meinem Forum mochte Jemand wissen ob Ihre 4-1 rostfrei Eisen Faecherkruemmer (bitte sehen Sie Foto) kann auf dem Fiat Spider 2 liter (LHD) benutzt werden, wenn das Auto Zahnstangenienkung hat.
Ihr Konnt seine Frage an:
http://guy-croft.com/viewtopic.php?t=579
sehen.
Ich bedanke mich sehr fur Ihre Hilfe! Sie Konnen zum Kunde direkt antworten, Ben Ellis, wenn Sie wollen, sein Name ist oben.
Mit freundlichen Grussen

GC
branda
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Post by branda »

Thanks Guy - I didn't have a clue what you wrote but it all sounded good to me. I could definitely find a home for one of these manifolds if they stock them. I think from looking at the site that they probably do.
Spider 1969
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Re: 124 Spider Rack and Pinion

Post by Spider 1969 »

I'm in the middle of a rack and pinion steering conversion on my 1969 124 Spider AS. I've found all parts of the latest (post 1985-5) Spider DS except the steering arms as bolted to the king pin / steering knuckle. They do differ from the ones used with the regular steering box. Using the old ones will probably induce bump steer and or a change in turning radius.

Can one of the respected members help me out with pictures comparing the pre 1985-5 with post 1985-5 (rack and pinion) steering arms. Any measurements would also be appreciated. This'll help in assessing wether I can modify a regular set. Any leads to a pair for sale will also be highly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Charles
GC_26
Sandro
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Re: 124 Spider Rack and Pinion

Post by Sandro »

Hi Charles

I have a crossmember off an 85.5 spider, a 131 rack, and those steering arms. I have both sets off the car so I can help you out. I wan to keep them as I want to make this conversion at some point. I would be interested is knowing what you have done on your conversion too if we could swap notes.

regards

Sandro
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Spider 1969
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Re: 124 Spider Rack and Pinion

Post by Spider 1969 »

Hi Sandro,

Missed your reply this weekend during my daily check inns; sorry for that. If you could make and post side to side photos from different angles comparing the steering arms that would be great.

* So far I have removed all the front suspension with the engine in situ on my car lift.
* During removal of the cross member two bolts (one on the right and one on the left) were spinning so I had to remove them using a disc grinder. I have replaced the bolts from the under side of the rail.
* The DS crossmember differs from the AS one (and possibly all European pre 1976 models) in that the crossmember itself is "lowered" 5 mm below the frame rails and engine mounts. This has been done by adding a 5 mm thick steel bars onto the crossmember and between the crossmember engine mount supports. See attached photos. I have removed these steel bars to make the crossmember height in respect to the car as intended for my 1969 AS.
* Next ops will be to install the modified cross member and related suspension/steering parts. (No steering arms at this moment of course).

I will post progress here.

Best regards,

Charles
Attachments
FIAT_SUSP_REMOVED-001.JPG
FIAT_SUSP_REMOVED-001.JPG (111.44 KiB) Viewed 25496 times
FIAT_FRAME_RAIL_BOLT_REPAIR-001.JPG
FIAT_FRAME_RAIL_BOLT_REPAIR-001.JPG (88.81 KiB) Viewed 25496 times
FIAT_FRAME_RAIL_BOLT_REPAIR-002.JPG
FIAT_FRAME_RAIL_BOLT_REPAIR-002.JPG (88.9 KiB) Viewed 25496 times
This how Fiat lowered the cross member relatively to the frame rails
This how Fiat lowered the cross member relatively to the frame rails
FIAT_Rack and Pinion-001.JPG (87.14 KiB) Viewed 25496 times
FIAT_Rack and Pinion-002.JPG
FIAT_Rack and Pinion-002.JPG (95.95 KiB) Viewed 25496 times
FIAT_Rack and Pinion-003.JPG
FIAT_Rack and Pinion-003.JPG (113.29 KiB) Viewed 25496 times
FIAT_Rack and Pinion-004.JPG
FIAT_Rack and Pinion-004.JPG (90.08 KiB) Viewed 25496 times
FIAT_Rack and Pinion-005.JPG
FIAT_Rack and Pinion-005.JPG (100.25 KiB) Viewed 25496 times
GC_26
Sandro
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Joined: August 30th, 2006, 12:30 pm
Location: Chester
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Re: 124 Spider Rack and Pinion

Post by Sandro »

Hi Charles

apologies I didn't see the reply either. I can take pictures when I am back at home Friday for you side by side. I have both types loose.

regards

Sandro
GC_33
Spider 1969
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Joined: September 22nd, 2013, 7:21 pm
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Re: 124 Spider Rack and Pinion

Post by Spider 1969 »

Hi Sandro,

No probs, did catch your reply only today due to a stay in South Africa during which, I don't know why, could not open this website.

In the mean time I have found the right steering arms so I won't need the comparison photo's anymore. Thanks anyway!

Upgrade has been halted due to vacation but I will start up again and post progress on this site.

Best regards,

Charles
GC_26
Guy Croft
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Re: 124 Spider Rack and Pinion

Post by Guy Croft »

forum is deliberately blocked to some countries because of hack attacks in previous years..

G
Guy Croft, owner
Spider 1969
Posts: 159
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Re: 124 Spider Rack and Pinion

Post by Spider 1969 »

Struggling a bit with the steering column positioning as the angle of the steering column of the DS series is more horizontal than my on my AS series. As this angle is given by the design of the pedal box this means I have to modify my pedal box.

If anyone has a DS pedal box I would appreciate it if he could measure the angle of the steering column by noting and posting the triangle sides A, B and C as given in below picture. Total length D of the top side of the pedal box would also be nice.

Best regards,

Charles
Attachments
AS_PEDAL_BOX-001.jpg
AS_PEDAL_BOX-001.jpg (62.07 KiB) Viewed 24960 times
GC_26
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