Home rebuild project - Dino Spider 2.0 series II

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mostromilano
Posts: 46
Joined: Wed Mar 12, 2014 5:34 pm
Dino: Fiat Dino 2.0 Spider

Home rebuild project - Dino Spider 2.0 series II

Post by mostromilano »

Folks,

Thought maybe this would be a good place to share both ways: photos, reference, and hopefully entertainment for you from me, and some wisdom for me from you (as I will probably ask questions...) I also hope to demonstrate that these cars are pretty easy to work on and that completing major projects at home with simple tools and some time is doable.

The car is a 67/68 2.0 Spider, series II. Silver w/ black upholstery, blue carpet. Few longtime owners, unusually original car.
patient
patient
Engine was ingesting/leaking coolant. The compartment was grimy, all the hoses and most of the clamps were original, and it was best to just yank the whole unit. It all came out without issue. The manual outlined the process well, and it only took a few hours to prep the powertrain for extraction.

I lined the edges of the bay with painter's tape and stuffed cardboard and foam in the leading edge area to remove the hood by myself. A buddy came by to help crane out the whole assembly (definitely helps to have 2 people to steer out the powertrain unit). Exhaust headers were really tight to remove - the way we ended up removing the headers was to loosen and remove all nuts, loosen powertrain and start extraction process, and then remove the headers (still connected by the 3-into-1 merge units) once there was more space.

A few photos to get started...
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We used 4 of these to extract engine/trans without crushing or damaging nearby castings. Cheaply available at Lowes (USA).
Hooks required
Hooks required
Pulled from its oily tomb...
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Not too bad
Not too bad
3200psi of powerwashing helps
3200psi of powerwashing helps
Excavation reveals hidden stampings.
Stampings in the block...are these typical?
Stampings in the block...are these typical?


Will post some more photos later. Hope you enjoy.
HugoHarris
Posts: 230
Joined: Wed Mar 12, 2014 4:07 pm
Dino: Fiat Dino 2.4 Spider
Location: UK
Contact:

Re: Home rebuild project - Dino Spider 2.0 series II

Post by HugoHarris »

I will follow this with great interest. Thanks for sharing.
2400 Spider #1364
Guzzi

Re: Home rebuild project - Dino Spider 2.0 series II

Post by Guzzi »

Those headers are a harsh mistress. Beguiling yet deceptive. Originally the power train and front suspension would have been offered up from beneath which makes subsequent extraction awkward, especially the height required to clear the gearbox. Doing only the engine takes less than two hours for a solo operator, in my experience. Good work.

Interesting that yours has a black sump and cam covers. Normally I'd expect the sump to be natural alloy and the cam covers to be grey anodised.
mostromilano
Posts: 46
Joined: Wed Mar 12, 2014 5:34 pm
Dino: Fiat Dino 2.0 Spider

Re: Home rebuild project - Dino Spider 2.0 series II

Post by mostromilano »

HugoHarris wrote:I will follow this with great interest. Thanks for sharing.


Glad to hear it.
Guzzi wrote:Those headers are a harsh mistress. Beguiling yet deceptive. Originally the power train and front suspension would have been offered up from beneath which makes subsequent extraction awkward, especially the height required to clear the gearbox. Doing only the engine takes less than two hours for a solo operator, in my experience. Good work.

Interesting that yours has a black sump and cam covers. Normally I'd expect the sump to be natural alloy and the cam covers to be grey anodised.
2 hours? Bravo.

The sump, cam covers, cam cover end caps, oil pump housing, and oil filler necks (and maybe other parts) are magnesium. The dark color is a dichromate (otherwise known as Dow 7 treatment) and appears anywhere from gray-green to light brown - the camera makes it look black. The cam covers have a bit of corrosion that will need to be addressed, a regional aerospace contractor does magnesium fairly regularly and I may send everything to be re-treated. I think Fiat and Dino moved to aluminum covers in 1970 or so.

Some more photos.
DSCF1747.JPG
The cylinder heads seem to have never been removed. As a result they were very nearly welded to the studs and gasket face. I shoved foam-core nylon cord shoved through a spark plug hole with corresponding piston at BDC. Then, I used a long breaker bar and turned the crank thus forcing the piston into the wadded up cord - eventually this helped break free both cylinder heads. They were still very stuck so this process had to be repeated many times in each cylinder and was supplemented with lots of wood shims but eventually both let go. Removing the heads took longer than extracting the powertrain...
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Head gasket partially destroyed by wood shim and removal. It was actually very dry in the centers of the gasket.
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Number 3 chamber after quick use of scouring pad. This is where coolant was intruding apparently.
Number 3 chamber after quick use of scouring pad. This is where coolant was intruding apparently.
Labeling tappets. Use a large magnet to extract the tappets from the bores, don't forget the shim.
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Mayo in the sump...
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More pressure washing required. As you can see, I was able to remove the cams and then heads without removing the timing chain. And, I did not remove the sprockets from the camshafts either. It IS possible. First you must fully slacken the tensioner, then remove the exhaust cam, then remove intake cam. I had to remove the retaining nut on the distributor drive cam to remove the housing but didn't disturb the sprocket. The chains will eventually be replaced.
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Very tidy construction. Anyone know what these stamps represent?
What do these signify?
What do these signify?
Heads are at machine shop, radiator and overflow tank are getting boiled and checked.

Thanks for reading! More photos later.
Stefan2000
Posts: 167
Joined: Sat Feb 21, 2015 8:42 am
Dino: Fiat Dino 2.0 Coupe
Location: The Netherlands
Contact:

Re: Home rebuild project - Dino Spider 2.0 series II

Post by Stefan2000 »

Nice project!
Will follow with great interest.
mostromilano
Posts: 46
Joined: Wed Mar 12, 2014 5:34 pm
Dino: Fiat Dino 2.0 Spider

Re: Home rebuild project - Dino Spider 2.0 series II

Post by mostromilano »

Stefan2000 wrote:Nice project!
Will follow with great interest.
Thank you! Hope you enjoy.


A little project (among many) is restoring the radiator cooling fan motor, blade, and shroud assembly. It was really "tired" looking for sure and made a sound between ringing and clattering, but it did run.

These Bosch motors are very robust looking and have nice bronze bushings and seals and fiber oil washers. However, the commutator and brushes were oxidized and caked with dirt, and it was dry in the bushings, the fan was oxidized, etc. So, apart it all came.

Here it is as a "before."
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Here is the commutator after cleaning it up. I use scotchbrite green on the swept area for the brushes and then clean with alcohol. The fiber washers were totally dry.
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I put a small amount of grease in the end cap and on the brush side bushing. Fiber washers get 3-in-1 oil. Cotton swabs were helpful.
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The original finish on the motor was in poor condition so I cleaned it thoroughly and used a Rustoleum paint that looks unbelievably good. The motor case has 3 parts - the end cap, the magnet, and the bracket.
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Here it is all back together. Wiring was cleaned with acetone. The aluminum fan blade was straightened and cleaned and then buffed with a wheel, it is nearly a mirror finish now! This sometimes overlooked assembly will provide great visual "pop" in the front of the engine bay. The paint on the shroud is Krylon semi-gloss black, a great match for original finish. I tested the assembly with a spare battery and WOW does it move air now, it must be spinning 50% faster at least. Nearly blew my safety glasses off.
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We had some NOS rear lenses hanging around (the orange/clear ones), but they have still yellowed... I polished them to remove the storage marks but I'm not sure how to address this chalky white color. I've read that a peroxide bath in the sunshine will make them clear again. Has anyone tried or addressed this?
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Also, I'm looking for a set of original red rear lenses, needn't be perfect or even great. The car received some correct reproduction ones a few years ago (from a vendor who will remain nameless) and the lenses have literally crumbled away while the car sat in a climate controlled garage. Certainly poor quality units.

More later!
Guzzi

Re: Home rebuild project - Dino Spider 2.0 series II

Post by Guzzi »

The sump, cam covers, cam cover end caps, oil pump housing, and oil filler necks (and maybe other parts) are magnesium. The dark color is a dichromate (otherwise known as Dow 7 treatment) and appears anywhere from gray-green to light brown - the camera makes it look black. The cam covers have a bit of corrosion that will need to be addressed, a regional aerospace contractor does magnesium fairly regularly and I may send everything to be re-treated. I think Fiat and Dino moved to aluminum covers in 1970 or so.
Elektron alloy, I believe? My Guzzis also had this treatment on the valve covers. Will be interesting to see the results of the refinishing.
The cylinder heads seem to have never been removed. As a result they were very nearly welded to the studs and gasket face. I shoved foam-core nylon cord shoved through a spark plug hole with corresponding piston at BDC. Then, I used a long breaker bar and turned the crank thus forcing the piston into the wadded up cord - eventually this helped break free both cylinder heads. They were still very stuck so this process had to be repeated many times in each cylinder and was supplemented with lots of wood shims but eventually both let go. Removing the heads took longer than extracting the powertrain...
The rope trick is a good one, and you don't need to be a fakir (tip for those watching: remove cams first). I also know someone who slackened off the head stud nuts and drove the car around until the head came free.
Very tidy construction. Anyone know what these stamps represent?
A conundrum. Possible codes to match rods and caps to journals? Or maybe bearing shells to rods/caps?

Nice work
mostromilano
Posts: 46
Joined: Wed Mar 12, 2014 5:34 pm
Dino: Fiat Dino 2.0 Spider

Re: Home rebuild project - Dino Spider 2.0 series II

Post by mostromilano »

More photos.

Began stripping the engine compartment of accessories and loom to prep for cleaning and paint. Luckily the harness is super simple. I'm not looking forward to dealing with all the latches and brackets and hose near the brake reservoirs.
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Spilled brake fluid: this is what happens, years later.
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Cleaned up a Marelli coil and resistor. Waiting on a new foil decal.
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A bit more teardown on the engine. Front cover and pumps came off easily.
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Nice cast piece.
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No wonder it whirs and whines so tunefully. Nice gears.
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And a little scuffing here...need to file down the burrs. Also, broken cam gear bearing! It rolled pretty smoothly, but the ball bearing separator was totally broken. Hmmm.
DSCF1953.JPG
mostromilano
Posts: 46
Joined: Wed Mar 12, 2014 5:34 pm
Dino: Fiat Dino 2.0 Spider

Re: Home rebuild project - Dino Spider 2.0 series II

Post by mostromilano »

Dealing with the broken cam bearing was aggravating. First, I had to break out the inner race and remove the guts. I was stuck with the outer race firmly seated in place.
DSCF1954.JPG
After trying a seal puller, a chisel, and a dremel, I finally welded a bead inside the race. When it cooled, it was loose and ready to be extracted. The weld also gave something to pull on. That's a Kevlar sleeve around the crankshaft to protect from splatter.
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Ready for bearing inspection.
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Guzzi

Re: Home rebuild project - Dino Spider 2.0 series II

Post by Guzzi »

Well done with the welder! It's a technique I haven't had to use for years but SO effective. Good thing is you can't weld the race to an alloy block unless you're VERY clever.

On another note I'd suggest at least a few of the head studs are beyond redemption, but you probably knew that.
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