FIAT 1500 rally car
Discussion
The mighty 1968 FIAT 1500 mk 3.
It is not mine, but I've been navigating it in historic forest rallies for well over a decade, and helping with prep / maintenance.
The car was first raced in 1974 by the current owner, but since it's been re-shelled since then, and continually modified, I think the only part from those days is the gearbox crossmber, and some of the instruments.
I was tidying up some old USB sticks, and found a bunch of photos I thought I'd share.
The colour is Lada blue.
Last respray:
All shiny:
The inside is full of scaffolding:
A "classic" dash, from my side of the car:
The engine as it was (it's now fitted with downdraft carbs and a better exhaust):
Not so shiny:
In endurance events, you don't stop for a broken spring:
A random action shot:
Transporting out of a night stage, with miles left to go :
We're going to strip it and patch the rust holes (again) over the next few months - if I find any more pics, I'll post them up sometime.
It is not mine, but I've been navigating it in historic forest rallies for well over a decade, and helping with prep / maintenance.
The car was first raced in 1974 by the current owner, but since it's been re-shelled since then, and continually modified, I think the only part from those days is the gearbox crossmber, and some of the instruments.
I was tidying up some old USB sticks, and found a bunch of photos I thought I'd share.
The colour is Lada blue.
Last respray:
All shiny:
The inside is full of scaffolding:
A "classic" dash, from my side of the car:
The engine as it was (it's now fitted with downdraft carbs and a better exhaust):
Not so shiny:
In endurance events, you don't stop for a broken spring:
A random action shot:
Transporting out of a night stage, with miles left to go :
We're going to strip it and patch the rust holes (again) over the next few months - if I find any more pics, I'll post them up sometime.
Breadvan72 said:
Excellent. Forwarded that to co-pilot. ThanksAW111 said:
Breadvan72 said:
Excellent. Forwarded that to co-pilot. ThanksSays we only need a couple of lottery wins, and we'll do the Monte
The car (and driver) had basically retired from competition in the early 90's due to rust & cumulative wear and tear.
Then the driver's son saw a tidy 1500 for sale about 15? years ago and persuaded his dad to buy it and get back into competition, he asked me to dust off my navigating kit, and here we are.
There are a few 1500's still kicking around here in Aus, (mostly in the back of someone's shed) but not many. They were never seen as a desirable classic, so most are long gone.
There was a pair for sale a couple of years ago, but too pricey.
We're not big-money classic car collectors, just historic rally enthusiasts competing on a shoestring budget.
One problem is that there are very few cars running in our class (H68), so we are usually lumped in with the H81 class - and thats full of newfangled cars like mk1 Escorts with much more power and much less weight.
That's our excuse, and we're sticking to it
We mainly do navigational events, which can still be fast & furious, but are less about raw speed and more fun for me anyway. I started in the days of mechanical Haldas (tripmeter), when an essential part of my kit was a swag of gears to adjust the reading for different tyre sizes etc.
Random pic of driver in his son's car, re-certifying his competition licence:
Then the driver's son saw a tidy 1500 for sale about 15? years ago and persuaded his dad to buy it and get back into competition, he asked me to dust off my navigating kit, and here we are.
There are a few 1500's still kicking around here in Aus, (mostly in the back of someone's shed) but not many. They were never seen as a desirable classic, so most are long gone.
There was a pair for sale a couple of years ago, but too pricey.
We're not big-money classic car collectors, just historic rally enthusiasts competing on a shoestring budget.
One problem is that there are very few cars running in our class (H68), so we are usually lumped in with the H81 class - and thats full of newfangled cars like mk1 Escorts with much more power and much less weight.
That's our excuse, and we're sticking to it
We mainly do navigational events, which can still be fast & furious, but are less about raw speed and more fun for me anyway. I started in the days of mechanical Haldas (tripmeter), when an essential part of my kit was a swag of gears to adjust the reading for different tyre sizes etc.
Random pic of driver in his son's car, re-certifying his competition licence:
Fabberoonie. Is that a Datsun?
The Fiat looks great. It must be a tad frustrating getting done over by Escorts, but, hey, we've all been there, right?
I really enjoyed a rally course that I did with my brother in the 90s, using Peugeot 205 GTis, but we did not take up the sport at the time, as the costs seemed high. I found the tiny experience of rallying that I had more fun than track racing. On reflection, it surprises me that I never got into motorsport as a participant, but I have perhaps had too many hobbies, all of which I do badly, rather than trying to become reasonably good at one thing.
The Fiat looks great. It must be a tad frustrating getting done over by Escorts, but, hey, we've all been there, right?
I really enjoyed a rally course that I did with my brother in the 90s, using Peugeot 205 GTis, but we did not take up the sport at the time, as the costs seemed high. I found the tiny experience of rallying that I had more fun than track racing. On reflection, it surprises me that I never got into motorsport as a participant, but I have perhaps had too many hobbies, all of which I do badly, rather than trying to become reasonably good at one thing.
Breadvan72 said:
Fabberoonie. Is that a Datsun?
The Fiat looks great. It must be a tad frustrating getting done over by Escorts, but, hey, we've all been there, right?
I really enjoyed a rally course that I did with my brother in the 90s, using Peugeot 205 GTis, but we did not take up the sport at the time, as the costs seemed high. I found the tiny experience of rallying that I had more fun than track racing. On reflection, it surprises me that I never got into motorsport as a participant, but I have perhaps had too many hobbies, all of which I do badly, rather than trying to become reasonably good at one thing.
It's a mid-70's Datsun 120y, powered by Datsun's improved version of the venerable pushrod A-series. A fun car when set up properly, but it's been hammered almost to death.The Fiat looks great. It must be a tad frustrating getting done over by Escorts, but, hey, we've all been there, right?
I really enjoyed a rally course that I did with my brother in the 90s, using Peugeot 205 GTis, but we did not take up the sport at the time, as the costs seemed high. I found the tiny experience of rallying that I had more fun than track racing. On reflection, it surprises me that I never got into motorsport as a participant, but I have perhaps had too many hobbies, all of which I do badly, rather than trying to become reasonably good at one thing.
The owner is slowly building a franken-motor out of a mix of parts, with a planned displacement of 1580 cc, twin 40mm Weber sidedrafts, etc., to go in the new body he has already.
Wouldn't that make a Sprite fly!
I have no idea of the costs of rallying in Europe, but here there's still a lot of club-level rallies, where you can have a lot of fun for not many dollars, unless your tastes run to works-replica Cosworth powered Escorts and the like.
It helps if you can do your own spannering and such - fettling a couple of Escorts is a part of how J. funds the Fiat., and building roll-cages and general rally prep is how his son pays for his Datsuns.
I've competed in one Targa Tasmania (not in the Fiat), and it was a lot of money for the pleasure.
When I first moved to London in 1984, Datsun 120Ys were everywhere. They have almost died out now. They are strangely cool. The closest I ever got to driving one was a very early Nissan Micra, which was an absolute blast for zipping around town in, but would I suspect have been horrid on a drive to Scotland and back.
Alas, I have almost no spanner skills, although my dad was a spannerman. I have a very good mobile mech to care for my classic cars, but paying him to look after a campaigning motorsport vehicle would be beyond my means.
The Frankencar sounds fab - pics please as it develops!
Alas, I have almost no spanner skills, although my dad was a spannerman. I have a very good mobile mech to care for my classic cars, but paying him to look after a campaigning motorsport vehicle would be beyond my means.
The Frankencar sounds fab - pics please as it develops!
That's a tidy looking 1200 ute. They are getting popular again down here.
I have no idea if the price is reasonable or outrageous.
I'm supposed to be sorting the fuel injection on a modified one of those when I get time.
I had a 120y wagon (estate to you, sir - sounds posher) that I bought 3rd hand from my brother. Living right on the coast at the time, it rotted away.
Mind you, we got salt spray on the house windows when there was a strong southeasterly blowing.
I fitted an A15 (direct swap - it bolts straight in) for a tad more torque, and a small downdraft Weber just because. Also beefed up the suspension and fitted a sump guard for dirt road use.
One advantage of being part of the club rally scene is that several of my friends are mechanics / machinists / workshop owners etc.
This helps when you start doing modifications and engine swaps - I do most work myself, but it helps to get trade prices for parts, and a hand with the difficult stuff.
In return, I have towed the bloody Fiat all over when I had a van, swept the workshop, and general dogsbody stuff.
Plus I have free access to a dyno (rolling road) through work
. I've run quite a few friends cars over the years.
OT: I've been paid more when I worked in the finance industry, but designing and programming noisy spinny machinery is much more fun than shuffling money around in ledgers. And you meet more interesting people, IMO.
I have no idea if the price is reasonable or outrageous.
I'm supposed to be sorting the fuel injection on a modified one of those when I get time.
I had a 120y wagon (estate to you, sir - sounds posher) that I bought 3rd hand from my brother. Living right on the coast at the time, it rotted away.
Mind you, we got salt spray on the house windows when there was a strong southeasterly blowing.
I fitted an A15 (direct swap - it bolts straight in) for a tad more torque, and a small downdraft Weber just because. Also beefed up the suspension and fitted a sump guard for dirt road use.
One advantage of being part of the club rally scene is that several of my friends are mechanics / machinists / workshop owners etc.
This helps when you start doing modifications and engine swaps - I do most work myself, but it helps to get trade prices for parts, and a hand with the difficult stuff.
In return, I have towed the bloody Fiat all over when I had a van, swept the workshop, and general dogsbody stuff.
Plus I have free access to a dyno (rolling road) through work
. I've run quite a few friends cars over the years.OT: I've been paid more when I worked in the finance industry, but designing and programming noisy spinny machinery is much more fun than shuffling money around in ledgers. And you meet more interesting people, IMO.
That Fiat 1500 does indeed look mighty. 
And congrats to you and the driver for keeping it competing!
I guess it must have been a run-out model as here in the UK we got the 124 in 1966 and the 125 in late 1967.
My Dad bought a 1970 125 in 1972 that became my 2nd car in 1977 and I just loved the zingy Lampredi twin-cam engine it had. But one with a couple of twin-choke carbs and a 4 branch exhaust manifold must be even zingier.
And congrats to you and the driver for keeping it competing!
I guess it must have been a run-out model as here in the UK we got the 124 in 1966 and the 125 in late 1967.
My Dad bought a 1970 125 in 1972 that became my 2nd car in 1977 and I just loved the zingy Lampredi twin-cam engine it had. But one with a couple of twin-choke carbs and a 4 branch exhaust manifold must be even zingier.
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