1971 Fiat 850 sedan

Wow. 4 years and no updates.

Should I abandon this thread and start a new one or revive a thread with 20+ pages of dead pictures and out of date info?

Work has been going for quite some time now.

Keep the same, add updates.

Firstly, you should keep to this thread because multiple threads on the same car are not ideal.

Second, and more importantly, please don’t make us wait another four years for the next update.

Thanks.

I can see a picture!

Drivetrain.

I was actually quite happy with the little 843cc motors performance. The gearbox was what really let the car down.

Therein lies some issues. There are exactly two manual transmissions for rear engined cars with motors that turn counter clockwise. The 850 and the Corvair. To build what I wanted in the 850 transaxle would have been prohibitively expensive. I wasted a good deal of time faffing about with an Audi 80 transaxle but abandoned that idea.

Then I bought a Porsche 901 5 speed transaxle from a 68 911.

Seemed like a great idea. After much handwringing about making an 850 engine spin clockwise I decided that if I was making a transmission adapter I was going all the way.

Enter the Suzuki G13B


Compact, lightweight, capable.


So to make them work together


The Suzuki swift flywheel and a Suzuki Samurai pressure plate work with a MK1 VW 190mm clutch disc which matches the splines on the input shaft of the Porsche transaxle.

I didn't have enough space for the thickness of an adapter plate so decided on the path less taken





At that point I could tear down the transmission for fresh bearings, seals and gaskets. Luckily the synchros are in excellent shape




I modified an existing exhaust manifold.

The turbo I have uses a different flange and I need top mount, not bottom

The turbo is a GT1446 off an Abarth 500.

So to recap. A boosted Suzuki G13b twin cam, mated to a Porsche 901 5 speed gearbox.

Some of the worst parts were in the way so away they went


I was never happy with how I cut the opening for the front radiator. It was too big, the panel was rusty and... well a NOS unit was on eBay


And there was an NOS fender in the Midwest to replace the one damaged when the carport fell on it



But then after a lot of maths and a fair bit of screen time I have some geometry numbers for the front and rear suspension

This lets me know where the pivots are located in space and I can build the front subframe around those points




More hammer forming




And that is enough to get me to the next stages.

And then in the spring the shell came off the jig



and it was taken to be "acid dipped"


Acid dipping is a bit of a misnomer. In reality the car will spend a few days to a week in a tank of caustic materials at around 120C. That does the heavy lifting and softens the paint, filler, undercoating and seam sealer which is then pressure washed away. Then it goes into an acid tank for a few hours to remove any rust.

The company is very busy, this took 4 months for them to get it done. but done they got it.

In the meantime I changed my role at the shop from one of day to day personnel management to being the technical director behind all the builds. This also found me moving locations.



It is a smaller space, but I am making do.

A few days ago I got the call that I could pick the shell up



So pick it up I did



I hear a lot of misinformation about what happens when you "acid dip" a shell. From it will be dripping acid, acid will be trapped eating your car from the inside out, or it will be dipped in oil.

this is what I receive back from the dippers.



The factory panel stampings from 1970 are still there


This rear quarter is the best part of the car


And the area under the rear glass is the worst. Fiat stuffed this spot with insulation batting and any condensation on the glass rolled down, soaked the insulation and started rotting the car.



So back onto the jig it went.



And that is pretty much where I am now. I am sure there are a ton of details I missed in trying to catch you lot up.

I am trying to do at least 30 minutes of work a day. Progress isn't fast, but it is progressing

I was just looking through my photos folder.

The steering rack I am using is the ubiquitous Triumph Spitfire unit.


Which needed to be 162mm shorter than it was so I blew it apart and cut the shaft down


Cut a new thread on the end to the matching 14mm


I machined an new bushing holder piece for the right side


and bonded it in place with Loctite


Et Viola


I then went stared at the Moog online catalog for a while until I found an inner and outer tie rod that used the male M14 on the rack and was "about the right length plus a bit" so I could cut it down if need be. It turned out that the very same Suzuki Swift that the motor came out of was about as dead on as possible, so new tie rods were sourced and screwed in place.


On the front lower control arms, I will be using AE86 ball joints. I am not even sure how I settled on them anymore. I tried so many. Anyway the ball joint and suspension pushrod mounting blocks are almost done



Which means it is time to get the materials and finish the lower fronts.

I really want to start on the rear suspension.

Wow!

That is not as easy as you make it look...