Newbie here again, I was looking at this item on Axel Gerstl and would like to get some thoughts?

http://webshop.fiat500126.com/katal..._650_ccm_500-block_with_pistons_rings_premium

My idea is to install this kit for more power. I know the block would have to be bored for the new cylinder, but even though it says that it is for a Giardiniera, I worry that the new height might cause issues with closing the engine lid.

Has anyone on the forum installed something like this?

Thanks!

650cc is as big as you can go with the Giardiniera, any more and you will eliminate the sealing 'land' on the crank-case. By height he means length of barrel, so therefore on your engine (which is a flat twin), this means width. You will have no trouble shutting the engine cover. If you are going up to 650cc I would recommend that you look at a sport cam (the saloon and Giardy cams are different--it's where the distributor take-off gear is), also look at uprating the carb. If you look on Torsten Hanenkamp's web-site ( www.ilmotore.de ) --he can supply a 28mm carb (the original is 26mm), a sports cam-shaft and a sports exhaust. With the head ported and larger inlet valves combined with the above work you will have, in Aus. parlance, 'a little ripper'. the brakes on the Giardy are '600' spec, so they should be perfectly adequate.

the hobbler said:

look at uprating the carb. If you look on Torsten Hanenkamp's web-site ( www.ilmotore.de ) --he can supply a 28mm carb (the original is 26mm),

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Can I go ahead and upgrade the carb in the meantime? Seems like something I can do myself or will the 28mm carb not work with my 500cc engine?

Thanks for the advice!

On his web-site ( www.ilmotore.de ) Torsten says that you can use the Weber 28OC (a SIDE-draught carb, whereas the 500/126 carb is down-draught) on a 500cc engine. However, if you do this, I would suggest that you advise them when you buy the carb in-case the jetting is different to that for a 650cc engine. All the best

Giardiniera1969 said:

Newbie here again, I was looking at this item on Axel Gerstl and would like to get some thoughts?

http://webshop.fiat500126.com/katal..._650_ccm_500-block_with_pistons_rings_premium

My idea is to install this kit for more power. I know the block would have to be bored for the new cylinder, but even though it says that it is for a Giardiniera, I worry that the new height might cause issues with closing the engine lid.

Has anyone on the forum installed something like this?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

Yes.. I have converted my Giardiniera to 650cc last year. As per previous replies there is very little material in the Crankcase when you bore it out to 650cc.
You normally will need a 10mm spacer to fit 650 barrels into a 500 Crankcase to keep the compression correct (and stop the pistons coming out the top of the barrels)
I was concerned about the lack of material left in the crankcase lands after machining out the larger holes so I actually ended up milling down the face of the crankcase by another 3mm and having a 13mm spacer plate manufactured to strengthen the case and allow a decent surface area.
So far the results have been excellent- the engine has now travelled 2500km since Christmas and is running in nicely.
The 28OC carburettor is fairly pointless unless you enlarge the inlet port and valves as well- I purchased a cylinder head and Carburettor from Torsten at Il Motore which works well and I'm very happy with the results.
The overall height of the engine remains the same (within a few mm) which in any case is a horizontal variation so there is no problem fitting it all in.
Good luck- here are some pics to explain...

It looks like you did the work yourself! Very nice! I will have to take mine to Torsten for the upgrade.

I also noticed your air filter has a copper grounding wire coming off of it. Mine does not have that for some reason.

Giardiniera1969 said:

It looks like you did the work yourself! Very nice! I will have to take mine to Torsten for the upgrade.

I also noticed your air filter has a copper grounding wire coming off of it. Mine does not have that for some reason.

Click to expand...

Thanks, yes I did rebuild it myself and Torsten gave me some excellent advice. He will certainly be capable of making your Giardiniera much better to drive.


Your car should have an earth wire although not necessarily in the location I used. Mine is a 126 strap and I mounted it at the back because it was convenient and close to the starter motor- I think it would originally have had a much smaller wire mounted around the fan area.


I have also used a twin outlet coil from the later 126 so there is no distributor cap or rotor required- Torsten has an electronic ignition system available which might be worth also considering- I have rebuilt my distributor with 126 internals fitted in the Giardiniera housing.


You will also have a lot more torque with the 650cc engine so maybe also consider using a 126 Differential or Gearbox and 5 speed conversion as it will allow you to use the extra performance without running the engine at continuous high RPM.

My advice is to talk to Torsten, tell him how you want to use your car and he will advise you what is best.

Thanks so much! I will definitely give Torsten a call. His shop is about 5 hours from me so it should work out pretty good.