re: GTV (4 cyl) Question

["Tony Sims" <simstony@domain.elided>]

John Wright wrote: (or is it right rote?)

>Now that I've got the 69 GT Veloce back on the road
>(thank you John) after it's disintegrating brake fluid
>reservoir trick, I have had a strange experience occur
>twice - latest was last night on the 880N in Hayward,
>CA.
>
>The symptoms are identical - cruising along at highway
>speeds (80-ish +/-) and suddenly the engine dies, I am
>able to coast to the side and the car will not
>restart.  First time this happened I tried to think
>through what was and wasn't happening - engine turning
>over, fuel in the tank... etc.  Pulled off the
>airfilter box to see if there was anything to loose.
>Tried restarting and it started immediately.  Last
>night when I coasted to the side of the highway, I
>simply popped the hood, removed the airfilter and
>presto, chango - the car started.
>
>The filters *appear* clean, there do not seem to be
>any obstructions to airflow, but removal of the airbox
>solved the problem both times.  Once I reinstall the
>airbox, there are no problems.
>
>Any words of wisdom?

I'm not going to even pretend to wisdom, but...

Does the car have Webers?  I used to have an X1/9 with a similar kink.  It
started when the carb was re-jetted after the engine was rebuilt with lots of
mods.  Usually after 20-30 minutes of higher velocity travel, it would die and
would not restart until I would unscrew the emulsion tubes (I think that's
what they're called), pull them out of the carb, drop them back in, and
tighten them down.

This was back in pre-internet days, so no digest to query for help, and I
didn't know anyone else with a Fiat, for my school mates "carburetor" was
synonymous with "Holley".  I kept fiddling with the jetting but I never did
cure it completely.  My suspicion was that some type of vapor lock or vacuum
condition was building up in the carb and causing the float to cut off the
fuel flow.

Quite late one night and quite far from civilization, returning with a friend
from a road trip to eastern Oregon, I accidentally dropped one tube down the
throat of the carb and into the intake manifold.  In a fit of adolescent
overconfidence, I had left my complete tool kit at home so there would be room
for more luggage.  I somehow managed to remove the carb from the manifold
using the adjustable pliers from the Fiat tool pouch, and fished the tube out
with some chewing gum on the end of a screwdriver.

OK, now someone with useful advice please help this man!

Cheers,
Tony
Portland, OR
74 GTV (at least it was when I took it all apart...)

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