Thanks guys!
abarthcorsa , I've bought the part you have sended to me to mount on the gearbox for the speedometer, and it fits! Thanks man! I Always like with the oldtimer community to help eachother out, especially with old cars.
sheepers , most of the people think it is a big truck, but is isn't indeed. I think the proportions are just right to looks like a big one. I have a Mercedes 308 van, and the Fiat is like 70 cm or so lower than a flatroofed Mercedes van. So yes, it is small. It is so small, when you make a bend it is almost impossible to not hit the horn or the steeringwheel.
The last update was a little short because there were no pictures in it. I've managed to get them of my Phone, and on my computer now, so I will make a little timeswitch now. "But hey, it's Christmas eve... go to your family to watch Home Alone for the 76th time!", and yes indeed, it is.... but I'm in that much luck I don't have a girlfriend and a lot of family commitments on these days. They know me, and letting me do the things I love to do in life. My Christmas days are filled with searching for parts, making my hands dirty on the old Fiats and making a update here on the RR forum. The only differences for me on these days, shops are mostly closed, and I'm making a update with a nice glass of Italian red wine standing beside me.
Oke, enough of Chistmas now.... We're starting the time machine.... (first going to get a new glass of wine... brb)
Uhhhmmmm, where were we.... Yes, the Fiat. The engine was mounted on the previous previous update. So it was time to install it. The fuellines, oilfilter casing, fuelpump, gearbox and all kind of other stuff.
I wanted to set the clearance of the valves, when the next thing happened: (Such a disaster to show pictures from Google Drive.... man man, 30 minutes further and another glass of wine.....)
One of setting screws had enough of it after 50 years of hard work. There were some more of them that turned not as easy as it used to be.... so I've decided to change them all. After sorting out the part number and see change after change after change of the article number.... a Iveco part showed up. So after Ferrari and Maserati parts, there is also a little Iveco in the engine right now!
After putting it all together it was time to collect another Fiat. I was searching for a Fiorino for quite a long time, a this one was in such a good shape, I couldn't left her without buying. So after a drive of 3 hours single just to see her, the next week again the in total 6 hours drive to get her home... A Fiat Fiorino (Brazilian version) from 1986, with French papers, bought in Germany. I haven't done anything to it yet execpt the dutch legislation to get it on the road. Maybe in the next update, or a new chapter on the RR forum there will be more....
Back to the 615.... After the valvetrain was overhauled with the Iveco parts, it was time to get all of the waterhousing finished. So all the heaterhoses are renewed, the thermostate is renewed, but also a -non Original but very important major update- have been done to the engine.... mounting a coolant sensor. Fiat did originally nothing to let the driver know in what state of temperature the engine was into. The only information on the dashboard was the oilpressure (also very very important ofcourse!) and the level of fuel left in the tank. But I wanted to know if the engine is working at the right temperature and is not overheating without knowing it. In the past updates I already showed that the old waterpipe was broken down with unscrewing the thermostate. I already bought a new pipe after searching and searching on the www, and this pipe was the right place to mount the sensor. In this pipe the coolant comes right out of the cilinderhead. Mounting a sensor here was perfect, because there was no need to drill in the engine, and it was possible to mount the sensor out of sight, because I want to keep the engine look as original as possible. So I drilled a hole in the pipe, and looked for a nut with the same tread as the sensor. I have milled the nut (did this not be myself, a great colleague helped me out, thanks for that!), and welded it on, with the following pictures as result:
The gauge in the interior is not mounted yet. I already did some tests, and it works fine! So i'm very very happy with this update!! After that it was time to mount the thermostate, searched for it for a long time, and a company just a couple of miles away from my home sells this part. Sometimes the world is so small!!
Then it was time to change some heater hoses, and ofcourse.... I want to keep the looks Original, so I ordered some oldschool clamps to mount on the engine. Luckily there were still some old ones on the engine so I could look how it needs to be done. It the time they used these clamps on all the vehicles on the road, I was still liquid as they would say over here haha. The first picture shows some rust in one of the pipes that leads to the water pump. That rust was caused by using water instead of coolantfluid. In the previous updates it is clearly visible that is very important to use the proper fluid to avoid rust inside the engine, and not just trowing in water all the time. With all the rust in the engine I think it's a good plan to change the cooling liquid within a couple of months after driving the 615, so that all loosened rust is gone by then.
One of the coolantpipes that leads from the waterpump to the radiator has been welded in the past years. This pipe was rusted from the inside, and not looking as bright as it should be. So I decided to make a new one. After searching and searching on Ebay, it seemed to be impossible to find the proper one. So I started to make one on my own. It was not very higly-university-stuff, was going through my mind. Bending the pipe was the biggest problem without ruining it. In the nearby area of my work is a company located that is specialised in bending all kinks of iron. With the question to bend one pipe, they looked at me like this was not a normal question for this company.... setting the machines up for just one pipe was way too expensive they said. "If you came with the question to bend 500 of these, it wouldn't be a problem" they said. But with the question "how quick do you need it?" there was a turning point in the communication. There was no need to hurry, and I had plenty of time ofcourse... it's a hobby. If the company has a big order for a pipe with the same bending as mine example, and I didn't need to have the pipe as soon as possible, it was possible to leave my part over there.
After waiting for a couple of weeks the Phone rings.... my pipe was ready for picking up! "The price... hmm... that is a good question". "Well, surprise us". So after paying my pipe with some delicious cakes covered with inches of whipped cream I was the owner of a proffesionally bended pipe almost ready to mount. In the meantime I already made the other part, and when they came together a colleague welded it all together because it needed to be waterproof,
Finished product:
That's it for now.... we're getting in back in the timemachine.... What!! It is already 23:00! Damn... time flies when your having fun (and a glass of wine haha) The main thing for now is that I saw the engine seems to leak at some places. I think that is not unavoidable on a old engine, but I want to keep the liquids in as much as possible if you guys know what I mean.
Hope you have liked my update that was already dated when I started to writed it all down. See you next time.... I think that would be in 2018, so I wish all of you al merry Christmas and a lovely 2018!
