1971 fiat 850t 3 years in and still welding

I knew how rusty it was but somehow still managed to massively underestimate just how much work it would need. The real question mark was over my own enthusiasm and sanity, though I'm now convinced an abundance of either should firmly rule out the other.


I told the seller I suspected there would be two years worth of welding and I'm now 18 months in.

Although desperately trying not to think too far ahead, I have been looking at colours and trying to figure out how the seats will work as these need to be custom made.

I've also been doing research into a potential engine swap and some of the work I'm doing now is with that in mind.

I'm still not looking forward to replacing this frilly chassis leg though.

Thanks, I have seen some of Scmicks projects, all interesting stuff and often very brave.

I'm trying to focus on the body and not get too side tracked by engine swaps just yet, but pretty soon I need to spin the van around and get to the business end.

Then I'll have some serious questions to answer.

That said I do have a plan involving a modern fire engine and a vw transaxle festering away at the back of my mind.
I'm all for chasing reliability over power.

Thanks, sometimes you've just got to take a brave pill and crack on.
At the end of the day its only metal and can always be repaired.

Very insteresting read, I absolutely love the 850 vans! Especially this 'fango' version which I never heard about... Good luck with the project!

This version is a carry over from the previous 600t fargo, though now you've said it I much prefer fango.


There is progress on this, it's just slow going at the moment.

Slow progress but Rome wasn't built in a day.
The offending sill/floor panels out for scrap



With everything cleaned up I repaired the rail ends and fitted the strip or gusset peice that still doesn't seem entirely necessary



This meant I could fit the larger sections of inner sill that I made up ages ago when I did the other side



The inside strengthening for the jacking mounts went in and then the closing plates




The bottom of the c pillar on this side was in better shape than the other so at least I could see what it should have looked like





I replaced this with a top hat section.
It's not as factory but it matches the other side.
This was then primed as I know it'll be a while before I get to finish it off and fit the outer sill.

In the meantime preparation is under way to strip the front suspension and finally swap that frilly chassis leg out.

Onwards and upwards.

Thank you, it's mostly just experience gained through practice, given the time most could do similar.
I suspect I'll be somewhere north of 65% new metal once finished.

Part of me wishes I'd been able to weigh the scrap coming off it but the rest of me really doesn't want to know.

Used to get loads of small triumphs like that, bolt would seize in the bush and wear a slot in the arm, they would throw a new trunion on and blob some weld to stop it moving.

A month slides by and although I have had some time on the van it feels like progress is slowing to a crawl.

Before I could go any further I needed to strip the front suspension off the van.
I began soaking these nuts and bolts months ago when I took the shocks out and the anti roll bar off

Despite that they put up a good fight.
It turns out the welding on the trunnions never really penetrated the cast iron cups so a little grinding released those



The hubs came out and the bottom arms came off the van really easy, allowing me to get them on the bench for grinding.



And then the bottom trunnions were out




There's a separate post coming that covers the refurb of the suspension so I won't delve to far into it now.

The top arms were a different story though. Despite being welded in the trunnions came out with a little grinding but the top arm mounts (held in by two through bolts and two nuts on captive bolts) took a lot more effort.



Out of eight fixings only one came out with the others snapping clean off at the head


Due to the nature of the top mount (cast aluminium) the through bolts (steel) are seized solid in the mount which is still fixed hard to the van.
There's not enough space to get a grinder in from the top so I had to carefully drill them out.




And they're off. They're going to need some extensive and creative fixes but I have a plan.

And obviously despite their size the revealed more rusty holes




Joy

At least now I can get on with the chassis leg suspension mount thing (still not sure what it should be called)


The old rail is still solid in a lot of areas but I figured it would be easier, neater and probably quicker to replace the whole section.




I spent quite a while grinding the old rail away from the body to preserve as much of the mounting points as possible.
I had already made up the new section a few months ago whe I had access to a 4ft sheet metal folder.
All I had to do was finish the side profiles and weld the flanges on.



Old and new side by side
Because I'd left so much of the mounting points in the fitting was pretty straight forward




Clamped and measured


Mostly welded from the inside, which is what I should have done on the other side at the rear.
But I hadn't so I did this side to match. Function over form, this was never destined to sit over a mirror in a show hall.


And then the thick bottom plate to match the other side




Despite beng a very simple structure this is the job I'd been dreading since the van first arrived. Now it's done I'm not sure what all the fuss was about but it was made a whole lot easier bu doing it in stages.
The repair section and installation is probably 30 plus hours which I wouldn't have found fun in one go.

Lying under the van now I can definitely see more new metal than old in the front half.

Onwards and upwards