Topic: Starting new project: 600 Abarth replica

[molen586]

hello,

My name is Bob Molenaar, I'm from Holland and since tonight the owner of a Fiat/Seat 600 from '73
My plan is to converse the standard 600 in a Abarth 850 or 1000.

A pic:



Major future plans are:

abarth styling. (big TCR frontnose, wide fenders, motorspoiler etc.)
discbrakes, in front for sure and if not to hard to modify discbrakes at the rear.
lowering, stiffening, nice wheels
engine swap, 850 or 1050

I'm searching for parts that can make my my plans come true,
so if you have something useful for me and you want to sell, please contact me.

Advices for making changes like these are very welcome..

to be continued...

[evannice]

Hi Bob,

I look forward to watching your project, you are going to have fun.  Keep those photos coming!

Best regards,
Eric, San Diego

[Pantdino]

Hi, Bob,

Congratulations on your new purchase!  For someone in Europe the 1050 motor is the only logical choice--it is the final and best development of the 600/850/Abarth 1000 line and is not that hard to find there. (In the US they are hard to find and expensive.)  It puts out more HP in stock form than hotrodded versions of the earlier engines.

For lowering the front suspension you may find that just getting a reverse-eye leaf spring is all you need.  Guy says the double A-arm front suspension is really only necessary for racing.

For lowering the rear most people just use shorter springs. It is best to use a cable or rod to prevent the swing arms from dropping into positive camber, however.    See the discussions of this on the 1000 TC/ replica and 850 forums.

Just my opinion: Since Guy is nice enough to sponsor this forum, it would be nice if you were to check with him first to see if he has any parts you need.
Here are some photos of the replica I bought recently:

Jim in Los Angeles

[molen586]

Thanks for your information Jim and that is a very nice abarth you have there.

Yes I was thinking too, to contact Guy for parts.
Grant, a forum member, contacted me, he builds 1,0 litre engines and lives a few miles away from me.

Question, today I worked on the 600, the fuelpump seems to be broken. Can I use a 127 pump or maybe an electric fuelpump?
 

[Pantdino]

Hello, Bob,

Yes, you can use an electric pump.  I think most people do because they are cheap and work well.
I have never bought one for this application, so I don't know which ones have the right pressure. You may want to buy a pressure control valve (also cheap) so you don't send too much pressure to the Weber carb.  That would push gas past the seals and flood the engine with gas.

Maybe someone will respond with what the right pressure is for Webers.

Jim

[Abarthfan]

i know that here it is about your car but if you would like to see another car  http://www.ef600.wz.cz/galerie/abarth_zari/index.htm [nofollow]

is possible to use F127 fuel pump and F126p as well - very cheap. Electric pump is better i think and you have to buy pump which is for carburatores. (lower presure) i think that FACET electric pump works well.

[DaveA]

I would rather use a mechanical  fuel pump if it puts out enough fuel,

They work for years with no problems ,

Dave

[Pantdino]

I don't think mechanical pumps work any longer than electric ones--the rubber diaphragm wears out eventually.  But I suppose it's easier to just bolt in a new mechanical pump than have to run wiring to an electric one.  However, if he gets a 1050 engine he will have to buy an electric one then anyway.

Jim

[viotti600]

However, if he gets a 1050 engine he will have to buy an electric one then anyway.

He could just use the mechanical fuel pump that the 1050 uses, if desired. The 1050 has it fitted on the top/left corner of the timing chain cover.


-JS.

[molen586]

Is it possible to put an 127  1050cc engine in the 600, or only the 1050cc from the a112?

[Paul vander Heyden]

Hello Bob,

This is Paul Vanderheijden from Scuderia Topolino.  (www.scuderiatopolino.com)

Please have a look at my website as I specialize in the type of car that you are building.  While a competitor of Guy, we are friendly competitors. 

Please feel free to email me at pheyden@ieee.org or info@scuderiatopolino.com with any questions that you may have.  You can ask them in English or Nederlands, as I speak both.  Also on my website you will find literally hundreds of pages of information on this type of car.

Regards,

Paul Vanderheijden

Ref: Fuel pump, either will do.  If you are changing to a more high performance carburetor as part of your conversion, then you should consider a fuel pressure regulator.  Weber carburetors generally do not like more than 3-4 PSI of pressure, but they do need good volume.

[molen586]

Last weekend I bought some stuff:

Wide fenders,
reversed eye leaf spring, maybe in the future I will buy the crossmember, adjustable frontaxle,, but my budget is still limited,
Frontspoiler
steel 5,5J Rims

Today I was trying to fit the frontspoiler, it is an used one, and the man I bought from has used a lot of filler and polyester to fit on his car.
So first it didn't fits at all. But after long time of sanding, it is fitting much better, still there is a gap between the enf of the spoiler and the
front fender (second picture).
I don't think I can solve that with just a rubber strip. I know I have to grind a piece from the fender away but how much,
and will it fit better theN?

[Paul vander Heyden]

I have seen several instances of parts that fit badly.  Two reasons come to mind immediately. If the mold was made from an original part which was modified (car had some previous damage) then of course things are not going to line up.  Second, it could be that your car has sustained some damage at one point in its life and therein lies the reason for the poor fit.

Looking at the car, I would suspect the first reason that I gave.

If you would like any advice, please feel free to contact me at any time.  I provide a great many parts for the 1000 and 1050 cc A112 motors.  Grant is one of my customers as well.

Kind regards,

Paul Vanderheijden
Scuderiatopolino.com

[biketesting]

I remember these spoilers are sometimes from Abarth modified bodies or race cars which have had the front lowered significantly. Another feature is to have the wheel wells cut up and out of the way so that you can use the body of the car in a more aerodynamic position. Stock cars tend to have the wheels in a different position. If you look at pictures of the Abarth racers you'll see that the top portion of the fender is quite small, where as your stock car's fenders are quite large. Measure down from the top of the fender to the lip of the wheel well. When I got my car originally it had maybe 20cm. Later after I had been racing for a while this fender mysteriously got shorter and shorter. I think the final iteration was maybe 3-5cm. The car always handled well but with the wheel wells out of the way the tires turn better through corners and you'll see less rubber on your racing uniform.

[molen586]

An update from a long period, but i didn't do that much, because the small amount of time and other circumstances



First creation



And the second creation:







removing the old paint and filler, the pre-owner really used a lot filler, so i saw some bad repairs underneath that,









Fitting the cooler front

the supports:



polyester the supports to coolerfront:



Made holes in the front and fitted the bumper







pfff... more cleaning and scratching:









That's all for now:)