[autodoctor]

Hello Everyone,

Can somebody confirm the steering shaft dia. and the spline numbers for 118 NE?
I am trying to get an alternate steering wheel+ Boss.

P.S: i am in a different place to car, otherwise i could have checked myself .

Thanks
Kannan.

[ilangop]

Dear all,

An year ago I started feeling a small wobble in the rear left wheel and also the brake pedal gave pulsating feel while decelerating. Initially I thought both problems were decoupled and hence faced the brake discs, brake drums, checked the front wheel bearings, balanced all the wheels and what not. Still the problem was not solved.
As I cannot live with it, I started to doubt the half shaft itself. Though a damage there could be rare case. After removing the rear left brake drum, started the jacked up car and slotted in first gear. Found the culprit. The half shaft flange was out of plane, not perpendicular to the axis of half shaft. Placed a small marker near the flange to see the offset. At the periphery it was around 1-1.5mm, which means a lot at the circumference of the tyre. No success in searching for a new half shaft. So I am only heading towards trying my luck with used ones. Hope the problem gets resolved.
Thanks for reading.

Just 1 question. Is the PP half shaft same as in 118NE?

-Ilango

[ilangop]

Dear All,
Most of our Fiat threads have remained silent since the demise of the great man Mr.Behram Dhabur. This will be an emptiness felt by everyone here, I guess.

I have been holding from posting this small upgrade done in my car to improve the life of the front suspension A-arm bushes. Having experienced in my own car and also from a few friends that the bushes available these days don't last for more than 5000 kms or so.
There could be 2 possible reasons. Either the quality of rubber bushes available today are to be blamed or just these vehicles are so less used that the rubber goes brittle and gives away over time though the kms covered is less. Whats so ever be the reason, a front suspension job becomes inevitable. And on every iteration of suspension work the parts cost goes higher due to lack of supply and labour cost is increasing. Hence I took the plunge to approach a PU bush manufacturer to get a set made for 118NE.

No success without a failure
Started off by checking the net for people who work on PU bushes. Talked to 4 of them who were close by my residence. Only one guy was interested in entertaining such a low volume. Thanks to this guy. He also poured in his inputs and finally we got the first set manufactured at the same hardness as that of the rubber bushes. Went for a 850km long trip. And the bush gave away. The lesson learnt was that for the same hardness the PU bush gives away soon.



The 2nd proto
From this learning, the second proto set was made with a higher hardness value. Thanks to our fellow bhpian Mr. Darryl (He sells PU bushes for off-roaders) for providing me key inputs to do it better.
Thus the second (better) set has gone into the car. Below are some pictures of the bush and the A-arm. Generous amount of Silicone Grease was used between the moving parts.





The car needs to undergo some more trials to fully comment on the performance, but the car is not being used owning to the problem mentioned in the previous reply. I would be grateful to anyone who can help me with a pair of rear axle cones / collars for the 118NE half shaft.

[autodoctor]

Hello All,

Can anyone tell me where can i get a distributor cap and rotor for 118NE.?

If you can't get one, Does any one other Distributor Cap fit?

Also, in search of the Ignition system details for 118NE.

Any help appreciated.

Thanks

[ilangop]

Originally Posted by autodoctor

Hello All,

Can anyone tell me where can i get a distributor cap and rotor for 118NE.?

If you can't get one, Does any one other Distributor Cap fit?

Also, in search of the Ignition system details for 118NE.

Any help appreciated.

Thanks

Hi,

Which distributor have you got? Hitachi or Lucas? Parts for both distributors are easier to find online if you are in the Europe or the US. Datsun 1200 distributor matches Hitachi version and Morris Lucas distributor parts matches the Lucas-TVS ones. In India you need to hunt in old shops in Mumbai / Bangalore etc. Is the car in India? Asking because your location shows Warwick.
-Ilango

[autodoctor]

Originally Posted by ilangop

Hi,

Which distributor have you got? Hitachi or Lucas? Parts for both distributors are easier to find online if you are in the Europe or the US. Datsun 1200 distributor matches Hitachi version and Morris Lucas distributor parts matches the Lucas-TVS ones. In India you need to hunt in old shops in Mumbai / Bangalore etc. Is the car in India? Asking because your location shows Warwick.
-Ilango

Thanks Ilango. The car is in India. My NE has Lucas TVS distributor.

Which Morris Lucas distributor i need to look for?

[ilangop]

Originally Posted by autodoctor

Thanks Ilango. The car is in India. My NE has Lucas TVS distributor.

Which Morris Lucas distributor i need to look for?

I believe the Lucas TVS distributor in 118NE is based out of the generic LUCAS distributor 45D4 (4 is for 4 cylinders). I would suggest you to go for a electronic conversion kit from Hotspark or any other make that fits into a 45D4. This kit includes only a magnetic rotor and a sensor. They both replace the point and condenser. The wire from the sensor has to be wired to a GM HEI unit that you could get very easily from prices starting from $15. The HEI unit comes with wiring diagram already mentioned. It has only 4 pins, hence easy to wire it too. If the primary of the existing ignition coil measures about 3 Ohm or so, you may use the same. Else you would need a M800 MPFI ingintion coil because the HEI unit is mostly a TCI setup. I would highly recommend you to go for this.

Since the mechanical advance and vacuum advance of the 118NE distributor is retained, the ignition characteristics is unaltered unlike the case of altering a HM Contessa electronic distributor.

[Sudhir284]

Hi!

Many thanks for your post. I have a 118 NE which was bought brand new in 1993. I still have this car and it is maintained in very very good condition. I am the first owner and my car has clocked just over 52000 KMS.

I now have a problem with my rear wheel cylinders and am unable to locate these in Indore, which is where I stay.

I read in your thread that you had replaced these on your car. Could you please tell me as to where you bought these? I shall be interested in buying a set of rear wheel cylinders for my car.

I shall highly appreciate if you would help me tide over my problem.

Many thanks,

Sudhir284

Originally Posted by ilangop

Congrats AJ on your new buy. You may contact our fellow team-bhpian "Funkykar" for any info or guidance for maintaining your NE. He is a Bangalorian and got an 118NE for himself.

Finally procured the tie rod ends, the connecting piece and set to work. For the jammed booster and the TMC, I preferred to go for a new one. Due to non-availability of brake booster & TMC and monopoly of sellers I had to shell out a 1000 bucks over the MRP for the TMC. That was difficult to digest, yet had no choice but to but it from him. Set to work at about 11:00 AM and was done with brake system by 4:00. Then started off with the removal of old tie-rod ends. But removing them was difficult without the proper ball-joint puller. So had to take help from the local mechanic who did it for free. Measured the centre distance between the old ball joints and adjusted the new ones for the same centre distance. Fitted them back. It was time to bleed the brake system and was all set to go for a test drive. Everything seemed ok, so I parked the car and had a peaceful sleep.

The next day I took the car for a longer drive, and found that the engine wouldn’t pull as before. Yes, it was a jammed brake. Took to my regular mechanic, who suspected improper bleeding of brake system and did it for me. Still the same issue cropped up this morning. Upon storming my brain, I guessed if the booster is in pressed condition while the brake pedal was in home position. This time, I went to the same mechanic and asked only for man-power and I was provided with one. Step-by-step I explained him the procedure and he did the setting upon my instructions. Upon removing the connecting the pin, the booster's plunger moved a little outward confirming my suspicion. The lock nut on the plunger rod was loosened and the connecting eye-piece was given a few tunes to move it inside and align properly with the pedal. Everything was put back, and yes now the brake feel is simply superb. The pedal feel and braking is comparable with my dad's Ikon. Of course I had replaced the rear wheel cylinders a few months back. So it is like the entire brake system is brand new, except for the steel pipes and the rear brake shoes. That was a good learning in the past 2 weeks.

[ilangop]

Originally Posted by Sudhir284

Hi!

Many thanks for your post. I have a 118 NE which was bought brand new in 1993. I still have this car and it is maintained in very very good condition. I am the first owner and my car has clocked just over 52000 KMS.

I now have a problem with my rear wheel cylinders and am unable to locate these in Indore, which is where I stay.

I read in your thread that you had replaced these on your car. Could you please tell me as to where you bought these? I shall be interested in buying a set of rear wheel cylinders for my car.

I shall highly appreciate if you would help me tide over my problem.

Many thanks,

Sudhir284

Hi Sudhir, Good to know of your 118NE. Should be feeling really proud of it. I can enquire at the sources from Pune. Will let you know. Please do share a few pictures of your 118NE in this forum.
-Ilango

[Sudhir284]

Dear Ilango,

Many thanks for your prompt and comforting reply. I felt very happy to see your reply not only because you have extended a helping hand but also for the fact that 118 NE owners still have respect and regard for other fellow owners and they are there to help others. I keenly look forward to your reply.
Thanks again!

Originally Posted by ilangop

Hi Sudhir, Good to know of your 118NE. Should be feeling really proud of it. I can enquire at the sources from Pune. Will let you know. Please do share a few pictures of your 118NE in this forum.
-Ilango

[KkVaidya]

Last month I replaced the Final Drive from 3.9 to 4.3 derived from PADMINI. This was a long due project since 2011 when it was suggested by the Guru, Late Sir Shri Behram Dhabhar. He had done this swap in his Himalyan Rally backup car, the famed MGQ8174. I remember him saying it was a rocket.
Now I have my own personal rocket which is an ode to the original MGQ8174.

Thanks and Miss you Behrambhai for all the guidance showered - there is hardly any day which goes without remembering a quote from you.

[KkVaidya]

Yesterday was memorable. While returning after a wheel alignment job (still not happy with the caster/camber adjustments), a black BMW 320D pulls by and the guys asks me the usual question - Hi, Want to sell your car? To which I replied NO with a smile. He smiled back saying the car is in real good condition that's why!

[ilangop]

Originally Posted by KkVaidya

Last month I replaced the Final Drive from 3.9 to 4.3 derived from PADMINI.

Hope you like the performance now? But how did you tackle the speedo error?

Originally Posted by KkVaidya

Yesterday was memorable. While returning after a wheel alignment job (still not happy with the caster/camber adjustments), a black BMW 320D pulls by and the guys asks me the usual question - Hi, Want to sell your car? To which I replied NO with a smile. He smiled back saying the car is in real good condition that's why!

I can understand man. Such questions take you high.

[shankar.balan]

Off topic.
However, with some modifications on the body and fat tyres and so on, as well as a nice new engine from a newer vehicle,
say maybe that 1.6 Baleno
Engine or similar, the ancient 118 NE could be modified neatly into something resembling an elegant Lancia Fulvia HF....basically it has the same shape.

I saw lots of these Fiat 124's in Egypt last year. Many being driven on the roads and tracks and an equal number in the scrap yards and and body shops and dealer places...

[KkVaidya]

Originally Posted by ilangop

Hope you like the performance now? But how did you tackle the speedo error?

The performance is very good. Goes to 80/90kmph in a breeze. And still more pep in the engine but was reluctant too push much. Also have some dirt in the Main/secondary jets as it started giving jerks at high speeds. Will clean them when I get some time.
I know for the speedometer error and that it will show less speed then actual but I am fine with it. An engineered way is to install the instrument cluster from the 1.38D which also had the 4.3 so I believe the speedometer was calibrated keeping that in mind.