Bringing my Fulvia back to life?

[cbudden]

Good afternoon,
Apologies for a rather long initial post, but I think a bit of background information may help. I have owned a S2 1.3S Coupe since 1984. Originally used as my daily car but due to changes in work/life in 1994 I officially exported the vehicle and drove it the 400+ miles to my house in France. I had intentions of registering it in France but never did and it has sat in a barn without moving ever since.....until late last year when I decided that I should resurrect it rather than leave it to rot and duly trailered the car back to the U.K. before Brexit introduced another level of complication. My goal for this car would be to end up with a tidy (not concours standard), safe and reliable(?) vehicle that I can enjoy. I am not a mechanic but am reasonably practical and I am currently trying myself ascertain the status mechanically and structurally of the car to decide if renovation (by me or others) is a realistic proposition. To start with I removed the plugs and put some fresh engine oil into the cylinders and left it to soak for some days. I removed the rocker cover and was rather surprised - no rust and a decent film of oil on most components. I then sprayed fresh oil onto the cams, valve gear, timing chain and down into the crankcase before attempting to turn the engine over by hand using a socket on the crankshaft pulley wheel. To my amazement and relief the engine turned freely - so I think the engine will probably be salvageable. I then jacked the front of the car so that the front wheels were off the ground and put the car into 2nd gear before gently turning the engine by hand again.......rather oddly only the offside wheel rotated when the engine turned. To confirm this I tried rotating the offside front wheel and this had the effect of turning the engine. When I swapped to the near side wheel it rotated freely but does not make the engine turn. So do I possibly have an ok engine but a dead gearbox (there were no horrible noises during the above tests)? Is there some sort of simple explanation (in as much that something in the drive train may have corroded away in the last 26+ years)? Is such a problem already beyond my abilities and should be tackled by a professional? I would be very grateful for any advice and guidance on this initial issue and the best way you think I should approach this project. Regards Chris

[lancialulu]

Firstly, well done for thinking about and acting on bringing your Fulvia back to life. I think you may be being caught out by the differential. Chock one side and turn the other and the engine will turn, and vice versa. The gearbox is the last thing to go wrong. You may find when you start the engine (fresh fuel and plugs) it will smoke a bit (not least due to your oil in the the cylinders but as the engine was presumably quite high mileage the rings may stick in the pistons. They should free up with use. The car has been standing for over 25 years so as a minimum it will need gentle recommissioning. Horrible things can happen such as valve heads popping off but if it runs for over an hour it probably will be fine.

Rot may be a bigger issue. Look at the rear mounts of the front subframe by the A posts, and also the cills and floor pans.

Good luck.

[cbudden]

Thank you very much for the reply - I  just got out of the garage having tried your suggestion, which of course worked perfectly. I guess I have answered my own question about competency!
I shall have a poke around the sub-frame mounting points tomorrow in the daylight, I’m slightly hopeful as I recall a lot of welding work being done by the mechanic just before I had to lay the car up.....but that was a long time ago!

[frankxhv773t]

The answer to your question about your competency is that today you are one step more competent than you were yesterday. Each day you will become more competent till one day a newbie asks you for advice and you realise that you are now the one with the knowledge. Relish the journey.