68 FIAT 500 Abarth Video

A bit more info on the car...
I built it 3 times for my buddy (each time a little wilder )
Meaning, I did the fabwork and then he had it painted and he did the assembly and engine work himself.

It is now a full tubeframe silhouette racer, roof and rear 1/4s are still steel, the nose and doors are Fiberglass.

My buddy ran it with a souped up version of the original aircooled 2 cylinder, but I put the 1000cc 4 cylinder in it to get a little closer to the lapitimes of the other cars that are running at the track.

In the video I'm running it without its 1 piece nose, because I was experimenting with different trackwidths.

Running it without the nose gave me a lot of info...

Once I have it dialed in a bit more, I am going to try and give it some more horsepower.
Hopefully around 100HP, instead of the approx. 65 it has right now.
I have some parts to build a stronger version of the engine it has right now.
But I'm also wondering what it would take to swap a modern Fiat 500 Abarth engine in there...
 
Alex... I'd like to extend a welcome as well, and...

You've come to the right place if yur considering a late-model turbo, Abarth 500 swap.

TonyK in Canada just went through "birthing" one into an X1/9. The PHYSICAL fabrication was somewhat extensive but nothing as compared to getting the all-in-one computer to ignore a plethora of now non-existent options.

I guess we love all things FIAT around here even though we are an X1/9 forum. I dunno if John in Tuscon has attended the "Best of France and Italy" (BFI) car show here in SoCal each November... but I think you'd BOTH get a kick out of attending. There is usually a handfull of old 500's and 600's as well... plain and Abarth!

Google it for details... and welcome again!
 
Thanks for the welcome.

I read TonyK's thread about his 500 Abarth swap, and another one has a few posts deleted.
What I've learned from those is that the everything is connected to everything, electronically, and it is all made to be tamper proof.

Seems to me, this is much more complicated than I need for a non emissions racecar that will be used on the track only.

So here are my questions...

Would it be possible to override the solenoid that contols the valve timing?
I think I'd only need the power mode ( plus possibly the low RPM torque mode).
I plan to use a Hewland racing transmission, so I will have unlimited ratios to choose from to keep it in its powerband.
As long as it will start, and idle, somewhat...

I'd probably get rid of the fuel injection system, and use a boost referenced mechanical Hillborn instead.
Or make a new intake to adapt a carb and pressure box off a '80s Maserati Biturbo ( I've done this on my Pinto powered sandrail, and it works very well )
Or pressurized IDF Webers, thanks to the off road VW guys everything is available for that as well.

Which leaves the ignition.
But it seems to me a simple & basic stand alone system would take care of that.

What I haven't been able to find out yet is what the engine weight is.
( stripped of everything it doesn't need, like A/C pump, power steering, and whatever else might be there. I'd like to keep the alternator, but I might put in a smaller one if it seems too heavy )

Engine weight is pretty crucial for me, my car is light and the engine hangs out behind the rear axle.
It would be really easy to mess up the weight distribution.

And the actual size of the engine is important too, I have lots of room to the sides and the rear, but not so much in height.


What are your thoughts on all this?

Is the engine itself sturdy and reliable enough to make it worth my while?
At the stock 165Hp it probably isn't stressed that high...
 
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