The world is divided between people who want to start shit and people who want to help. I think you could argue that the balance of the universe requires both groups to function, but what you absolutely cannot argue is that David Tracy is in the group that helps. That’s what David does. And if there’s a car involved, get out of his way. We saw this in action right as we pulled into Pebble Beach, where David helped out a motorist in need. What makes this especially great, though, is that the car that motorist was motorizing was something wildly, incredibly special, and David had no idea.
I mean, sure, David could tell it was a lovely old Fiat, and an unusual one at that – he noted the tiny but impressive V8 engine under the hood and the elegance and drama of the design. He’s not made of drywall, after all, but I don’t think he realized he was poking at one of the fifteen 1953 Fiat 8V Supersonics ever built.
This is a $2 million car, friends. People dream of just standing next to these. And the man who eats groceries out of the bed of a pickup truck was gently caressing its carburetors, feeling for moisture.
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Let’s talk about this car a bit: in 1952, seemingly out of nowhere, Fiat shocked the automotive world by building the Otto Vu, or 8V, which featured Fiat’s first V8 engine. They didn’t call it a V8 because Fiat mistakenly thought Ford had a trademark on the name “V8” so they flipped the characters to get around the problem that didn’t actually exist.
Everyone was surprised by the 8V because it was so unlike the sorts of inexpensive workhorse cars that Fiat was known for – this was an all-out sports car with a tiny (for a V8) 2-liter displacement and advanced independent suspension and overhead valves and a finned oil pan and all sorts of refinements and innovations that added up to a real, no-joke race-ready car. The body design was dramatic as well, but Fiat was very open to custom bodies from coachbuilders, so of the 114 8Vs built, there’s a surprising number of bodies, with big names like Zagato and Vignale and Ghia all making their own versions.
The most beautiful version, if you ask me (and, unusually, many people with good taste as well), is a run of 15 built by Ghia to the design of Giovanni Savonuzzi. These were called the Supersonic because the design was inspired by the burgeoning jet age, with all of its wonderful visual vocabulary of aerodynamics and fins and intake and jet exhausts and an overall sense of exuberance and love of speed, in its pure, undistilled form.
Look at that roofline and you can see the Ghia signature 1950s look as clear as fresh gasoline. Its the same roofline and window design as, most familiarly, a Volkswagen Karmann-Ghia. Those Ford-like taillights are prime jet age exhaust designs, and holy crap, look at those incredible bent-tube bumpers.
Looking close, you can see a bit of patina on this one, because it’s essentially unrestored, which makes this example even more incredible. The car is absolutely stunning, perhaps the best-realized example of mid-century, jet age-inspired car design, perfect in proportion and line and character, but it was not in the mood to run well.
The owner had to have his car pushed into the parking lot where we had parked our cars after shooting some Pebble beach intro videos you’ll see soon, and that’s when David sprung into action.
The fact that the car was having trouble shouldn’t really be too surprising; Back in the 1950s, a GM designer had ordered one and had it imported, but was having trouble with it as hedrove it on a daily basis. He wrote to Fiat about it, who replied that the car was never intended to be a daily driver, but was intended for amateur racing drivers.
David’s assessment of the issue, after rolling under it to check an auxiliary fuel pump (a popular item to fit for owners of 8Vs) was that the problem was much simpler: it was flooded (as you can see in the embedded Instagram video above).
Yes, those twin Weber carbs had delivered too much fuel, so the mixture in the cylinders couldn’t be ignited by the plugs, and, really, the only thing to do was wait it out. I’ve had to do this in my Beetle plenty of times, and I think all of the old carbureted shitboxes I drive.
Shitbox or icon of automotive art, the solution is the same: time. And then starting with the gas pedal held all the way down, no pumping. David checked everything out, waited, coached the owner on how to start it, and then that incredible little V8 roared back to life, making this likely the most valuable car David has ever had a hand in getting back on the road.
Good work, David. Now they definitely can’t kick you out of here.
[Editor’s Note: I’m not sure I’d quite call this a “fix,” but it did get the gentleman back on the road. His initial inkling was that the auxiliary fuel pump he’d had installed was having some wiring issues, but I reached down under the car and squeezed the outlet line: I could feel the pulses; the line was clearly being pressurized. Looking under the hood, not only did I smell gas, but evaporated fuel vapors were pouring out of the intake. It looked like dry ice in a haunted house, spookily creeping out. A closer look revealed some gas-soaked gaskets on the carb, so it was clear to me this sucker was flooded. I’ve flooded my 1966 Mustang, 1965 Valiant, 1958 Willys FC-170, 1948 Willys CJ-2A, 1985 Jeep J10, 1976 Postal Jeep and I could go on and on — flooding carbs is just part of the game when you own old cars. And in this case, the common malady found in my junkers and in this $2 million masterpiece brought us together. I suggested that the gentleman keep his throttle open for a few minutes, let the fuel vapors evaporate, and then crank the motor. That little V8 purred to life; it was glorious. And it was a reminder that, though on the outsides these machines are totally different than cars perhaps you or I own, underneath they share a lot of traits. And these traits connect us as car enthusiasts. This guy seemed like a nice fellow, and I look forward to seeing him at the show, proudly displaying his beautiful Italian sports car. -DT].
I just thought of something else:
DT, now you know your purpose there! Ask that fellow if he or any of his buddies have an extra guest house laying around. Network yourself into some fancy digs in trade for simple repairs/diagnostic knowledge before they pay the assuredly big money private mechanics to dig in. 🙂
Network the shit outta that event for you, and the company!
“what you absolutely cannot argue is that David Tracy is in the group that helps. That’s what David does.”
This, times 2,000,000.
This is why we put up with/glory in David’s insane self-destructive tendencies to own total shitbox cars and make questionable decisions regarding them. This is why we overlook the fact that he lives like a filthy animal. He is a wonderful, caring, selfless person and the world needs more people like him.
He should have told the owner to park it under a tree before taking pictures of it.
DT found his Zen moment already!
The equation I took from all this:
$200 Postal Jeep x 100,000 minutes of David Tracy = $2,000,000 Fiat x 10 minutes of David Tracy
Is that a Mercedes-Benz C111 parked next to it?
Much rarer than a 8V!
I didn’t know any were in running condition or privately owned much less street driven.
Google tells me that 16 C111’s were made. This article says 15 of this style of 8V were made.
So this particular body of 8V was… over six percent more rare than that C111. So close!
I think there were about six or so Wankel engine cars, then they made some diesel cars with long tails that looked very different and then a v8 car. This looks like a 4 rotor car, specifically the gold four rotor car from the M-B museum. From what I understand the 16 C111s didn’t exist at the same time because some were taken apart and made into new prototypes.
What you are saying is David is the MacGyver of the car world.
I would take a road trip in confidence with him knowing he will somehow get is running. If not the rest of the trip, to nearest garage.
Yeah, but with chewing gum, a cigarette lighter, and a couple wires stripped out of an auxiliary wiring harness, that fix only works a miracle once.
Then you gotta fix it for real if you haven’t finished the episode.
Owner after David fixes his $2,000,000 car- “Thank you!”
Owner 10 minutes later- “Hey, where did all of this rust come from?”
I am 6′ tall and circumferentially challenged to such an extent that when I go to the beach the tide goes out but I stand in David Tracy’s shadow. What a giant of a man – getting down and dirty just because he could help without knowing what he was working on was so valuable.
I pride myself on my knowledge of European Cars but I originally thought this was a coachwork body on a Volvo P1800.
It’s got that vibe doesn’t it?
Good work DT!
That was fantastic. And the Car!!! *chef’s kiss*
I guess the question is – why was it flooded? I gotta wonder if that fuel pump was still a culprit. Either way, cool stuff David!
Pretty much everything with carbs will flood itself at some point.
Normally of it hasn’t caught on the first or 2nd try, and the person starting it decides that “it needs more gas!”
Used to ride a Vincent Comet with a downdraught carb… If it didn’t fire by the 3rd kick it was time to get the plug out and dry it off!
This is a good point. You don’t have to wait for it to evaporate. Pull the plugs out, and burn off whatever is on them with a propane torch or even a Ronson lighter, check gap, and reinsert, and she’ll start right up.
Depending on your level of flooded. If my pressure washer doesn’t catch on the first or second pull, don’t try a 3rd or 4th, because it’ll hydrolock on all the gas that’s poured into it and get yanked onto its side.
Instead, shut the gas off, pull the plug and thread a rolled up paper town in to wick the gas out. After that it’ll fire right up, then you turn the gas back on.
Jeez, that sucker must really guzzle the dino juice….
It deserves it.
Coupla years from now.. when everyone is so engrossed in their own online bs.. that this car would be ignored.
SCREW THAT.
DRINK THE DINO FUEL!~
I was concerned about that as well, but once it gets done blowing some white smoke on startup it runs like a champ. That’s why I haven’t put any effort into deducing the problem.
Propane?
Just wipe it off with a rag!
In older cars, lawn equipment, and poorly maintained small engines in general, there is usually some residual oil fouling in conjunction with the flooding. The propane torch is hot enough to bake it off, just like one of those self-cleaning ovens. And I always check gap, because it’s truly amazing how many people never even do that basic thing.
But sure, if all you’ve got is something to wick the liquid out, that’ll do it most of the time.
Once you’ve lived with carbureted cars for a while, the questions quickly becomes “why hasn’t it flooded in such a long time”. That’s when I start fearing something may be wrong. Flooding the carb? Business as usual.
My old Jeep kept flooding last summer. Fired it up this year and it ran great. Until it started flooding again. Turn out the brass float in the carb has a microscopic leak and would slowly fill with gas over 2-3 months until it would no longer float. Over winter, it must have evaporated and then worked fine in spring.
Anyways, it was only $35 for a new plastic float so problem solved.
Fix
It
Again
Tracy
BRAVO!
BRAVA!
Are we doing COTD on this site? Because this definitely deserves it.
Jah pretty. Ugh a gimme
Once that engine got going, it sure sounded glorious.
Right? And it was so cool the owner was not at all afraid to rev that thing UP!
“Stand aside, citizen! I’M an engineer!” *busts out Superman pose*
“I’ll need a bucket of water and a Catchers Mitt”
“Is anyone here a marine biologist?”
Owner: Hey Stranger, here’s a hammer. Please hit my $2 million dollar car before I show it off at the best car show.
David: OK
I think I’ve been lucky. Of the… uh… (counts on fingers… and a toe) eleven carbureted cars I’ve owned (nine as daily drivers), I think I’ve only flooded one twice.
the sea was angry that day, like an old man in a deli sending his soup back….
the night was sultry, like a dirty grease stain on a ham sandwich
Sounds like an early Tom Waits lyric!
Soupback was a short lived body style around the late 1950s. I think there was talk of Torch doing a deep dive on the topic at some point. I’m looking forward to it as it’s pretty esoteric information.
Aim-n-flame down the carb throat is also effective, but not on a car that anyone cares about.
This is brilliant. Something like this is exactly what I was hoping would happen while you guys were there.
“Yes, those twin Weber carbs had delivered too much or too rich fuel, so the mixture in the cylinders couldn’t be ignited by the plugs, and, really, the only thing to do was wait it out.”
I think this is written a little weird. The fuel itself isn’t too rich (expensive, though, sure) – the mixture is too rich. The mixture being too rich is too much fuel.
Quite possible. Yet I wonder about the psi of the add on electric fuel pump. With something this old and valuable also wonder how he wired up the pump. Fires are a bitch. May the Internet/Rust Gods take pity on David after this good deed. Amen.
Yeah, the float may be too old and deteriorated to be bouyant enough to keep the needle valve closed too. Or the needle valve and seat assembly itself may be too worn out to stop fuel from entering the Webers. That’s pretty common with those old Webers, even before you increase the delivery pressure to the carb with a secondary fuel pump.
A rebuild is a simple fix though.
Ugh, I had a float fill with gas. What a pain in the ass.
This is awesome! Almost as awesome as capt_lawrence’s comment on the post.
“David not your only clean shirt!”
Absolutely incredible. Hahaha.
Strange that the owner didn’t diagnose it as flooded, but also awesome, since it meant David got to mess with it.
That’s pretty cool!
Millionaire? Billionaire? Broke?
Still going to suggest hitting things with hammers, just using a hammer matching their standing.
Good work saving the poor fuel pump from abuse.
This is amazing. Well done David. We all kind of knew that you’d eventually fix something, even at Pebble Beach.