1967 Fiat 850 Coupe

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That's a fine looking motor Superfast...

Very nice! May I ask where you had the wheels made?

Wheels are from an Italian company called Di Diato. I got them from FAZA when they were in Daytona Beach Florida. They came in 5.5" and 6" x 13" with a very deep offset to fill the wheel-wells nicely. At 6" wide; too big of tire requires more modifications.

Here is the initial fitment before rolling the fender lips. Tires are 175/60 13's


Here is the front being checked. See marks where the lip had to be rolled. To do this on an 850 requires you to detach the leaf spring from the lower kingpin. Otherwise you can't create a bounce condition due the spring making it difficult. The floor jack is holding the wheel assembly up instead of the leaf spring.

Cooling System

Initially I didn't plan on running a front radiator, but after removing the rusty bottom of the front boot I had a change of thought. I didn't feel like spending all the time fabricating a new piece to hold a spare tire, so I began plans to install a front radiator. I never carry a spare tire in a Fiat, as it's more likely that something else will go bad at the worst time anyway.  
Based on the Abarth design of moving the radiator from the rear to front; I used the same materials as I did in my Fiat 600.
Due to the CCW rotation of the 850 engine, none of the water pumps I had were uni-directional or CCW; they were all CW units. I've used CW pumps in 850's in the past with no noticeable problems; but I never had a good feeling about it. I never could tell if water was flowing backwards or what was more likely; coolant moving in both directions or churning around.
I ran CW 127 pump on my 850 powered Bianchina (originally 2 cylinder car) with with a Chevy Vega radiator up front while living in Phoenix Arizona. Never had an overheating problem even in 120 degree heat! Could have been the size of the radiator (3-row) and/or the dual fans that helped it survive.
 
Below is a picture of the first pump installed on the car which I got off Ebay. It was listed as an Intercooler pump for an SVT Mustang and rated higher GPH than the 392 series Bosch pumps. It pumped so much water the engine was slow to warmup! Given I use an X/19 expansion tank (in the bypass circuit) that adds about a gallon to what needs to warmup before thermostat opens; it was a slow warmup. Which in a highly modified car makes it difficult to drive; I could've use 3 feet to manage feathering the gas and breaking at the same time.
After a month of driving the pump failed. I had some electrical problems with the Motorola alternator where it over charged and blew the regulator out along with the fuse to the water pump. After that the pump acts like it's jammed. It still tries to spin, but can't rotate. Don't think the pump failed due to the alternator; I'm just not sure, so I'm not buying another unless the price is right.
Here is the Chinese Ford Mustag SVT pump being mounted below the expansion tank. The tubing is 1/2" and 1" EMT.
 
Instead of buying the same pump again and possibly wasting another $60, I hooked up a small electric Bosch water pump from a Mercedes. I believe Mercedes, BMW and Porsche use these auxiliary pumps for cabin heaters. They are small, but that's all I had to keep the car drivable, plus I wanted to learn more about how these electric pumps performed. I knew it might be low on GPH/LPH, but it worked surprising well after I figured-out the Germans use brown for ground instead of black. These pumps have a brown and black wire and I had them hooked up to run in the reverse direction. In reverse the pump still worked good until the engine sees a constant 5000 RPM for more than 5 minutes then the temp starts to climb.
I've always been afraid of electric water pumps since you never know when they will fail. So I've always contemplated installing a 2nd pump as a backup. I happen to have 2 of the same Bosch pumps laying around so I got a 2nd pump mounted up front pulling coolant out of the radiator on the way to the rear pump. I guess you could say it's working as a "Booster Pump". The front pump is connected to a toggle switch under the dash, so I turn it on when I see the temp starting to climb and sometimes I just leave it on. The rear pump turns on with the ignition.
It's odd how all this worked out; stumbled into solving the problem of not having a backup pump. The way this configuration works is if one pump fails; the other will still allow the car to get home. 

Radiator from a VW Scirocco (below) with the fan being installed behind it. I didn't remember to check if it was a push or pull fan, so of course I had to remount it in front.  These radiators are very inexpensive: alloy/plastic, 2-row, crossflow and very light. Some drag race cars use them for a lightweight answer to cooling a V8 on the 1/4 mile. I figured it would be good for a 4 cylinder.

Mercedes/Porsche 944 auxiliary water pump mounted to the output side of the radiator. This helps pull coolant out of the radiator then pushes it to the second waterpump located next to the engine. Having two pumps provides an extra safety measure if one pump fails. These pumps come with a 5/8" nipples which were converted to 1 1/8" for this application. Don't remember exactly how I did it by looking at this picture. Remind me if you need to know and I'll have a closer look to remind me and I'll post it here.

Radiator dimensions worked out surprisingly well; fits between the frame rails with some extra room to spare. The front end sheet metal became flimsy with the removal of the spare tire tray. To make it stiff again I welded in a 1/8"x1/4" steel strap across on the bottom front fascia lip to strengthen it. Abarth did the same thing on his 1300 coupes after he went as far as removing the entire battery box too! You can see the strap still not completely welded the bottom lip.

Steel strap iron being welded to the bottom front lip to make it rigid again. Also visible is metal removal around the battery box to provide room for coolant pipes and a path for radiator heat to exit into the low-pressure area behind the front wheel wells.

Here is the construction of a cardboard pattern for the radiator shroud. I haven't convinced myself to cut hole for a front grill so I'm ducting air up from a scoop under the bumper. Hot air will exit into the front wheel wells and around the battery box.
Note the cut corner on the battery box cover to make room for the gas tank drain plug; it's a tight fit for it to drop low enough to clear the hood.
The battery cover front edge will also be flattened to hold the shroud down. New brackets where made to point the battery cover hold down studs in a vertical position instead of the stock horizontal. These brackets are visible in the Fuel System post.


Radiator air Scoop being fabricated in polished aluminum. Picture also shows some tape around the bumper mount holes while I'm test fitting a bumper.   This is just a prototype scoop made in 4 pieces to allow easier positioning. If it all works well, I can make a cardboard template from it and make a smoother 1 piece unit. It does have kind-of a desirable  "fabricated" look as it is; so I might keep it the way it is. 

Electrical conduit (1" EMT) is used to route coolant; just like in my Fiat 600. I used it in my 600 since it was easy to get, cheap and rust proofed, plus I had a set of EMT bending tools. What I discovered in my 600, is after a few years with common "green"  antifreeze, the zinc coating inside the EMT acted like a sacrificial anode. Draining the coolant after a few years, I noticed small chips of zinc. Since Dex-Cool became available; I've been using that instead of regular "green" antifreeze. I've changed the Dex-Cool too, and didn't see any zinc particles. Can't say for sure if Dex-Cool is better, but I've seen enough damage to  850 thermostat housings, temp sender banjo fittings and cylinder heads that I think I'm going to stick with the "orange" stuff.
In the pic below I'm sorting out how the system was going to fit together. I installed an empty transmission case and bare block to see how I could route all the plumbing. Notice the PBS "snail" water pump which uses a Toyota CW impeller. At the time, I didn't realize I was fitting up a belt driven pump which would rotate the wrong way. After awhile I discovered the problem and tried using a 127 and A112 pumps; but they were all CW vane rotors. Stock 850 pumps just wouldn't look good enough for me with the neck sticking out a foot from the engine block with no fan.
I've been following what Hillman IMP club members where doing for cooling. They discovered that using Bosch electric pumps to replace the stock pump works well; That's all I needed to know; something that's been tested and works!
I really like the idea of no longer driving a waterpump off the crank and gaining a little horsepower and loosing a belt.
Recently I looked-up "12V electric pump" on Ebay and found the SVT pump I purchased is a Chinese pump really designed for water fountains and water heaters. I still haven't found pumps heavy duty enough and in my price range, so for now I'm using a pair of used auxiliary Bosch pumps I mentioned above till I find something better.


Heater/defroster core being prepared with adhesive backed camper shell truck bed padding. This is a "closed cell"  foam which does not absorb moisture and stretches like electrical tape; very easy to work with. I think the same foam is used to wrap household plumbing to prevent freezing, but don't know if it's adhesive backed.
Narrow strips of the same foam was used to install the Lexan rear quarter windows and backlite.

This little 3-way tube simplifies the heater core plumbing. Still using EMT and it's mig welded together. Welding this type of steel requires cleaning off the exterior galvanizing. That is the reason for the black paint; it prevents rust.

This is where the 3-way is mounted to take the return line from the heater and form a 90 degree bend into the radiator. It's hard to see and install since it's mounted in  little pocket next to the battery box and wheel well. Electrical and fuel lines occupy the same space.

Originally two steel tubes ran through the center tunnel to feed the heater. I removed one tube since the radiator was moved to the front and doesn't have to travel all the way back anymore. A hole was drilled through the passenger footwell where the heater return feeds into the 3-way pipe.
Input feed to the heater is still the original pipe coming from the thermostat housing outlet.


Bracket location next to the trans mount originally for the heater hoses is now occupied by radiator hoses and a new clamp.

Chrissvb,
I truly know about the rust your talking about. They did rust incredibly well !

Love this!

Always used to love spotting things like this on holiday as a teenager in the 90s...
Constantly disappointed when I don't see anything like this when returning to the same places as an adult now though!

Looks lovely, have a real soft spot for the 850's My Mum had one when I was a kid (my old man swore blind we didn't have one, but I would know...) One day!

Dash Restoration


Dash: Veneer cut, backed with fiberglass cloth, stained, sanded and cleared.


I haven't been able to find a dash in good condition so I decided to take a different approach; Flocking.
Getting the dash flat without future cracks developing required use of similar materials to the foam already on the dash. Regular plastic filler would probably work or some other plastic filler, but I chose to use something I've never tried before.
Polyurethane Foam to fill seams and cracks. Using a putty knife or bondo spreader it's blended into the existing foam, pushing into cracks and air pockets from the factory casting procedure. Forgot to mention, don't try to remove the existing vinyl cover without a heatgun or else you'll take chunks of foam off with it; This only creates more filling work.  Also any warps in the dash need to be removed by another procedure posted later in this thread. This was not an easy project it took weeks to complete   Since it was all by trial-and-error it took much longer than it should have.  


As the foam drys it will look uncontrollable as it expands; but you can just keep packing it in and smoothing it in or just let it expand. After drying it's the easiest material to sand with 80 grit by hand and DA sander.


Polyester resin is brushed on in heavy coats to soak into the foam and then sanded. During sanding it's very easy to go through the resin to the foam as you get it back to shape. Reapplication of more resin was needed to soak back into the foam.


Epoxy primer was sprayed on the resin coat, then sanded lightly. Usually there are some pinholes or low spots where a fine glazing 2-part bondo is used to fill imperfections and re-primed. I think a rattle-can primer would work just as well.


The flocking procedure was very involved; So I forgot to take pictures
Here it is after flocking when wood veneer was being fitted.

Here is part of the procedure used to remove the warps out of the dash by actually fastening it to the car to conform to the proper shape. In this pic the headliner is also being installed.

Final assembly showing the smooth finish of the flocking and my "busy" (I.e. messy) workbench.

Fabulous! (And I would love to read the lesson on dealing with warping!)thanks!