‘61 Fiat 600 to 850TC
Discussion
Forgive me father I have sinned again. The highly addictive carandclassic.com has broken my resolve and is my downfall.
I’ve previously fallen foul trying to have too many failing projects running concurrently, and now have a rule of one enternal project at a time.
My 130TC nears completion having taken the best part of 14 years to do, which presents an opportunity for a new entrant. I nabbed a ‘74 500 a few years ago, a detailed inspection is vital with any car and particularly a 70’s Fiat. My research took 5 minutes before the auction completed fueled by a Friday night Barolo. A year later it went, a good giggle, one to tick off the list, but it needed a little more zip to keep my interest.
Where next after the 650cc 500? Enter stage left the ‘61 Fiat 600. Whilst externally shabby, it now conceals a 903cc Panda engine, 4 branch, twin carb, disc brakes and updated suspension. At c.55bhp and 600kgs it’s hugely amusing and a world away from the 500, suspension is tight and a longer final drive will see it into the high 80’s and possibly beyond.
I’ve plenty of tidying to do, wiring is a mess, interior shocking, cooling illogical and the black wheels really don’t work for me. The plan is to make it into an 850TC, boot props ordered and plenty of other goodies too. I haven’t decided just yet on whether it be the old school plain white or the later red with chequered roof and nose cone.
Old school:
Bold:
Pic with its stable mates, Turin’s finest from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s:
I’ve previously fallen foul trying to have too many failing projects running concurrently, and now have a rule of one enternal project at a time.
My 130TC nears completion having taken the best part of 14 years to do, which presents an opportunity for a new entrant. I nabbed a ‘74 500 a few years ago, a detailed inspection is vital with any car and particularly a 70’s Fiat. My research took 5 minutes before the auction completed fueled by a Friday night Barolo. A year later it went, a good giggle, one to tick off the list, but it needed a little more zip to keep my interest.
Where next after the 650cc 500? Enter stage left the ‘61 Fiat 600. Whilst externally shabby, it now conceals a 903cc Panda engine, 4 branch, twin carb, disc brakes and updated suspension. At c.55bhp and 600kgs it’s hugely amusing and a world away from the 500, suspension is tight and a longer final drive will see it into the high 80’s and possibly beyond.
I’ve plenty of tidying to do, wiring is a mess, interior shocking, cooling illogical and the black wheels really don’t work for me. The plan is to make it into an 850TC, boot props ordered and plenty of other goodies too. I haven’t decided just yet on whether it be the old school plain white or the later red with chequered roof and nose cone.
Old school:
Bold:
Pic with its stable mates, Turin’s finest from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s:
Thanks for the kind comments on the 600/850/903 thing.
I hadn’t seen the JK Vid before, and a quick nose confirms it is a 600 with Abarth goodies, although it’s a later normal door rather than having my funky flapperoonies. That’s a serious bit of geekery to have spotted and remembered it, mucho marks awarded.
I hadn’t really considered the magnitude of the increase being equivalent to a full can coke. It’s now just one and a bit short of a 4 pack, as our American cousins say “there’s no replacement for displacement”!
It is a simple swap so long as you get the right engine, the 903cc was used by Fiat in many models such as the 850, Panda and 127. However they don’t all rotate the same way, get it wrong and you’ll move quickly in reverse and have a choice of four gears.
I had a play with some old original CD30 Abarth rims today, that I thought would look befitting. I bought them 8 years ago to put on a 124 Spider, that I didn’t have but knew I would one day. I remember Mrs Dunk asking why I was buying wheels for a car I didn’t have? Not an easy one to answer. When I did nab my 124 it came with a set.
I’ve now found out why you don’t see 600’s with these rims of the era, the offset is totally wrong and 30mm out. 2 cars later I still will have to buy something to put them on.
I hadn’t seen the JK Vid before, and a quick nose confirms it is a 600 with Abarth goodies, although it’s a later normal door rather than having my funky flapperoonies. That’s a serious bit of geekery to have spotted and remembered it, mucho marks awarded.
I hadn’t really considered the magnitude of the increase being equivalent to a full can coke. It’s now just one and a bit short of a 4 pack, as our American cousins say “there’s no replacement for displacement”!
It is a simple swap so long as you get the right engine, the 903cc was used by Fiat in many models such as the 850, Panda and 127. However they don’t all rotate the same way, get it wrong and you’ll move quickly in reverse and have a choice of four gears.
I had a play with some old original CD30 Abarth rims today, that I thought would look befitting. I bought them 8 years ago to put on a 124 Spider, that I didn’t have but knew I would one day. I remember Mrs Dunk asking why I was buying wheels for a car I didn’t have? Not an easy one to answer. When I did nab my 124 it came with a set.
I’ve now found out why you don’t see 600’s with these rims of the era, the offset is totally wrong and 30mm out. 2 cars later I still will have to buy something to put them on.
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