I drove from Detroit to L.A. in a 1982 Strada with an old Italian race car driver. Somewhere in Oklahoma, a freak snowstorm hit. We struck a snowdrift in the middle of the highway that was like hitting a wall. The jolt to the car caused the timing belt to jump. We spent an entire day at some Okie mechanic shop with fellas trying to fix the Fiat, when out of frustration, I called the mechanic in Warren that had been maintaining the car.
The mechanic burst out into laughter... "Oh, you guys are trying to set the motor up with #1 @ TDC, you gotta' use #4 cylinder."
I hung up the phone, told the Okies to clear out and set the timing MYSELF. We then continued our trip with me bitching about the group of retards that chose #4 over #1, and questioning what other crimes might be lurking under the hood.
I understand that much has changed in the automotive world in terms of design and construction but this #4 @ TDC thing has jaundiced by opinion of Fiat FOREVER.