As far as projects go, doing a dual weber conversion is probably next in line in difficulty to pulling an engine/transmission. Not because of the work, but because of all the little things that will need your attention in addition to the mechanics of just removing four nuts and putting them back on. If you've done Fiat projects before you know nothing is as simple as it seems, and things just seem to happen along the way that can delay progress no matter how thoroughly you try to prepare or plan out your steps. Indeed, I'll cover most of what I encountered with my car, but you might not have to deal with some of the things that were most frustrating for me and you might encounter a number of problems that I didn't have.

Now that I've half talked you out of it, let me say that it really isn't brain surgery, and there are enough of us out here that have done it and run into every problem that you are likely to encounter so have no fear and get out the fender protector and a couple of towels and proceed to pull your pride and joy apart to amaze and mystify all your friends when they look at those four throats the size of silver dollars, and you beam with pride that you "done it myself".

You will need to set yourself aside a weekend to complete the project depending on how much you want to accomplish each day. There will probably be a few things you will want to freshen up when you remove the old manifold. For instance, it is the best time to change a starter short of having the engine out of the car!

Update 4/12/04:
A couple of updates from Tom Nicotera. Tom has run into a few wrinkles that I've not seen before. First, the European Alquati 131 IDF manifold is designed with longer runners and will not fit between the brake servo and the engine. Also, the waffle manifold will not fit on 1438 heads due to the rear water passage having no material to clamp on as the rear of the head has a different design than the 125/132 engines. If you have one of the 1438s you can use the Alquati DCNF manifold or the PBS IDF variant. Neither are water heated, but will do the job.

Tom also sends along an aircleaner substitution for the desireable "Turtleback" aircleaner, if you are lucky enough to have one of these you can use Purolater A50991. The original Fiat part is getting hard (expensive) to find. To add a little more interest, Tom reports that this part number will also cross reference to a K&N filter for those of you looking for the ultimate snob appeal.

Planning ahead. Here's what you will need:

• Fender protector and a couple of towels to protect your front fender and nearby areas.
• Hand drill with a fine wire brush. Hand brush is OK, but tougher.
• Various metric wrenches especially 10mm, 12mm, 13mm.
• 13mm swivel head socket (for the rear bolt for the back carb.
• Intake manifold gasket
• Appropriate gaskets for your carb/manifold combination. Most use a stock Fiat gasket.
• Extra nuts, washers, lockwashers (I like the nylon self locking type).
• Hacksaw (don't panic...... not always necessary just the early cars need it).
• Hammer and large screwdriver
• Magnet on a stick or spring (like duh!).
• Bucket and some antifreeze.
• PB blaster penetrating oil (don't try anything Fiat without this stuff).
• Faithful companion is handy only if they don't ask a lot of questions while you are trying to get a blind nut on.
• Good 9pt. socket set with long and short extensions.
• 13mm metric manifold (boomerang shaped) wrench for the back intake bolt.
• Though you don't need to have this item it is really valuable. A digital camera.

The following are not related to this project but you might consider these ideas while you are in there.

• replacing the fuel pump if manual
• replacing the hose from the block to the vapor separator.
• As mentioned above replacing the starter.
• Replacing the ends on the starter cable (maybe even the whole wire if it's old enough)
• Giving the whole side of the engine a coat of gray paint.
• Changing the oil and filter.
• Replacing the engine mounts.
• Replacing the fuel lines and clamps.

You are getting the idea by now that there is going to be a big hole when you take off the old intake manifold, and there will be wholesale access to everything on that side of the car. A little planning here will pay off in the future when you are out there two hundred miles from home and you flip on the wipers.

Well, if you are ready, click on continue and away we go.