Fiat update...slowly slowly.

Post by **callyspoy** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 12:16 am

Well it seems quite an age ago that i said i was going to do this conversion but after some time it is nearly complete.
I've been working on it most weekends for the last 5 weekends(plus one whole week) had a few snags along the way but nearly all sorted now.
I borrowed a welder from a friend and my dad set about doing some for teh first time in 15 years(he torched a Triumph Herald and got spooked, so never did it again!) i also did a bit for the first time which was quite exciting! only an insignificant bit in the battery tray, but hey, start somewhere!
so...
the engine and gearbox is all in,
clutch linkage made and working(fingers crossed, not pretty but workable),
rad supports all made and very ugly(need to play with them really),
new fan fitted(old electric one was too big, dammit!)
relocate the servo as it was in the way of the exhaust manifold
dad took it upon himself to shorten the handbrake, will work until i get a slightly better looking one (Hi Jonathon!)

Jobs left to do are all pretty small,
get the headed tank mounted
mount the prop(centre bearing)
reshape the gearbox tunnel
and make the exhaust. still need a downpipe, so any offers would be greatly appreciated!

this has taken faaaaaar longer than anticipated due to "glitches" but i am seeing light at the end of the tunnel, the jobs left to do(bar exhaust obviously) should hopefully be done by the end of this week, so once i get the downpipe, i will be ready to fire it up and may even put a pic up!

cheers so far to everyone who has helped me out, im sure i will be asking a few more questions about teh wiring up of starter motors/alternators etc. so bear with me!

Post by **luridhue** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 7:20 pm

Any chance of having a nose at some point? Would love to know what it looks, sounds and feels like.

Post by **callyspoy** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 9:25 pm

mike, feel free to pop round whenever, obviously if you just want to see it, it's ready whenever, if you want to hear it...you may have to wait a while! same for if you want to have a go in it. If your insurance covers you, you can drive it too. but that could be some time in the future if i don't get a downpipe soon!

Post by **Mogwai** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 9:40 pm

How complicated a shape is the downpipe, could a decent exhaust place make one? There used to be a place that made manifolds etc in Havant until the site got developed but I'm not sure where they moved to though

Post by **callyspoy** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 9:57 pm

yeah i've not really thought about that...it just seems a bit hard! i've got a standard Fiat one, so it has the scope to be cut and pasted to fit, but is a wee bit beyond me!

Post by **luridhue** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 10:00 pm

Are you planning on making the downpipes yourself?

Post by **callyspoy** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 10:09 pm

i don't have a clue what i'm doing. suicide is an option at the moment.

Post by **Peetee** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 11:09 pm

suicide is an option at the moment

Ooh! If you time it right I might get those shocks for free

Seriously though, someone in the midlands with the initials J*H does lots of different exhaust sections and sizes. Have a look at his website.

Post by **callyspoy** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 11:18 pm

yeah, i've bought a few off him! the downpipe is quite intricate, so not easy to do, it is an option, but awaiting some more info first.

Post by **jonathon** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 11:42 pm

Well, I collected the Fiat TC pickup today but the downpipe is a bodged affair, so no better off as yet. If I can borrow a good downpipe then production can start asap

Post by **callyspoy** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 12:31 am

well speak to the man Jules then! come on jonathon, don't be so selfish!

Post by **jonathon** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 7:37 am

Cheeky monkey

Post by **Innovator** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 9:56 pm

Making down pipes is quite easy. Get to an exhaust centre and get a load of old ones out of the scrap bin.

Use the first 50mm of the Fiat down pipes and get cutting out sections from the pile of scrap. Piece together a manifold. You should be able to make one up with a few sections each side.<br>

<br>

This is the one I knocked up for my first ever twin cam, conversion when 17 years old.

The routing of the pipes is critical with little clearance around the pipes as they pass out of the engine bay and the steering track rod. Therefore if the engine is positioned slightly different then the manifolds will be slightly different.

Thu Mar 19, 2009 12:37 pm

I can lend jonathan mine if you would like?

It is off the car and not needed for a few weeks/months

It is possibly the only good part of the car, I can send a few photos if you want to have a look before investing in the postage?