500 (Classic) Enzo the Cinquecento - RestoMod

fiat500 · Apr 7, 2016

Welcome Renato.
The modifications that you are planning would not be my "cup of tea"

but I really applaud your enthusiasm and the technical skills which you apparently must have.
That computer simulation showing the turbulence behind the car is interesting and I would like to see one of a modern, computer designed car shell for comparison.
I wouldn't thrash yourself by maintaining a potential exit strategy back to original. The car will become very desirable if you are able to complete your plans in a cohesive and well executed way. I don't think anyone would ever wish to turn the clock back...not even me!

enzothe500 · Apr 7, 2016

Thanks fiat500. Deep down I really want to keep the car standard, and put a 500cc motor in it for prosperity sake. But the boy-racer in me won the argument so we'll see where we end up!

The CFD images shown there are the base body shape with the engine lid shut, but with a roof design I was working on at the time. As you can see from the last pic, that first design was terrible in terms of creating a horrendous low pressure from the leading edge of the roof, not to mention a chronic buffeting effect (based on a 120kph cruising speed) for that CFD model.
I will add that to my list of things to do, and will find someone with a new model 500 and scan it in for a base model vs base model comparison.
And when I get time to do it, I will update the CFD with the model including my CAD engine cover-stays etc.

If you're interested (and on Facebook) in the link in my signature you'll find my Facebook page for the car (yes, Enzo is on Facebook..) and there is a brief video of the CFD runs, of which you'll see the buffeting in motion as noted above.

Franko500 · Apr 7, 2016

Welcome Renato,
Look forward to this project.
This is going to be the Ferrari of 500's.

I would love to modify a 500 in a similar manner. However over time restoring my 500 I also have turned into a bit of a purist. The 500 is a genuine classic in its own right and needs no real modifications. Although I fully understand your passion for improvements.
Just don't forget a roll cage. There is not much to these shells and with that additional performance it wont take much to turn this into a crushed can.

Good luck & keep the photos coming.

the hobbler · Apr 7, 2016

Morning Renato;
That is one mighty great upgrade you have planned. I haven't gone through it closely, but one thing that I did notice is that you plan to put discs fore and aft---I would keep the drum brakes at the rear. The rear end gets pretty light under hard braking--discs could just lock up. After many years in the motor trade, I have noted that the most common brake parts fitted are REAR discs--the light braking just does not clear them (vis a vie the front) and the callipers tend to seize up as well. Try to get a set of LATE 126 hubs for both front and rear--the late 126 hubs/king-pin units are better lubricated and the brakes are slightly larger than the 500. You can get adaptor plates that will allow you to retain your wheels (with a 190pcd) as the late 126s went to 98pcd wheels. Whatever you do, all the best, the Forum is here to help (and be nosey as to how your project goes!)

enzothe500 · Apr 7, 2016

Thanks Franko500

Franko500 said:
Just don't forget a roll cage. There is not much to these shells and with that additional performance it wont take much to turn this into a crushed can.

And yes I certainly am considering a roll cage, however in Australia it will make it difficult to keep registered to drive whenever I like, and to do it properly I'd have to tie it onto the shell and I don't want to mess with the shell/body too much.

I hope it's a quick little car, but I'll never push it too hard. Even though I mention doing motorsports with it, that is just for the occasional club fun. I get to race professionally in other cars, so I'll take my frustration out on those cars, not little Enzo

enzothe500 · Apr 7, 2016

Thanks the Hobbler!

the hobbler said:
Morning Renato;
I haven't gone through it closely, but one thing that I did notice is that you plan to put discs fore and aft---I would keep the drum brakes at the rear. The rear end gets pretty light under hard braking--discs could just lock up.
...
Try to get a set of LATE 126 hubs for both front and rear--the late 126 hubs/king-pin units are better lubricated and the brakes are slightly larger than the 500. You can get adaptor plates that will allow you to retain your wheels (with a 190pcd) as the late 126s went to 98pcd wheels.

I really appreciate the advice on the brakes. I wasn't aware about the benefits of the 126 hubs you mentioned. One thing I didn't make that obvious in my notes above, is that the 4-wheel discs is totally dependant on my ability to work mechanical biasing into the car. If I can do that then I'd hope to be able to suitably bias the rear axle; and also then have a hydraulic handbrake for motorkhanas/tarmac etc. That being said, I can easily install just front discs first (which I plan to) drive it a bit, see how it feels, and then upgrade if need be.

Thanks again for the advice, and I'll do my best to get some more pictures info up along the way.

I don't know how to post video (i've not spent much time on forums before) but I'll read through the forum guide to figure that out.

stevehg · Apr 7, 2016

Welcome to the forum Renato and have fun with your project.

I assume you've seen some of the racing 500's with the rear wing adaptions. If not, I'll find some and scan them for you.

cheers, Steve

enzothe500 · Apr 7, 2016

Re: Enzo the Cinquecento - 500L 110F RestoMod

Thanks Stevehg.

If you are referring to the Fibreglass engine cover that has solid vertical sides, yes I've seen them. But sadly I've seen incredibly few racing variants here in Australia. I would love to laser scan one so I can verify its effect on the cars balance.

I'm thinking of using a normal engine cover for aesthetic reasons (and it will probably be more acceptable for registration/MOT over here) but then using a flat floor and diffuser to help develop some small low-drag downforce. The car should be less than 400kg when finished so I won't need to go crazy with aerodynamics to make it a bit gripper.

Any pics you can dig up would be appreciated though. Thanks again.

Apriliarider · Apr 7, 2016

Would love to have the balls (and skill!) to do something along these lines to my little FIAT. My biggest interest is to see what difference making the roof solid/bracing it does in terms of stiffness and therefore handling. Anyone else here done this?

Good luck with this, will watch with interest!

enzothe500 · Apr 7, 2016

Re: Enzo the Cinquecento - 500L 110F RestoMod

Thanks Apriliarider.

The goal of the hard roof is purely for aerodynamic gain (and cabin ventilation options on transit/road) as I don't think it will be of any benefit to chassis stiffness without adding a lot of extra mass to it (or welding steel bracing)

fiat500 · Apr 7, 2016

Apriliarider said:
Would love to have the balls (and skill!) to do something along these lines to my little FIAT.

...and money???!!!

enzothe500 · Apr 7, 2016

fiat500 said:
...and money???!!!

Haha. The labour is the single biggest component of the project, and luckily I've setup a little garage workspace so will do most of it myself.

I managed to buy the car for a lot less than the market valuation for these cars in Australia at the moment, so with what I budget to spend (which is not much, as I've already got a lot of components from other projects), I hope to be a long way in front of the curve!

the hobbler · Apr 7, 2016

The glass-fibre boot-lids with solid sides, which to the best of my knowledge was only fitted on the 1000cc versions of the 600, didn't come out on the works Abarths until about 1970, when the quickest version of the 600 based, '1000tc Radiale' came out. This version was also homologated with double wishbone front suspension and 'tubolare' rear suspension. The (Mazda engined) 'Abarth; that Dick Ward of 'Go-Gear' inperth races is basically the same body that he and I built up into a '850tc Radiale' back in (I think) 1970. For many years there was always a 'Abarth 750' competing in the 'Targa Tasmania'. Look at the 'gallery' section on the 'Scuderia Topolino USA' sight--there are lots of pictures of racing Abarth saloons, mainly 600 based but there are a few 500 based.
Just for interest, did you do an 'CFD Image' on a 500 with the boot-lid propped up? I would be interested to see what the outcome was.

enzothe500 · Apr 8, 2016

the hobbler said:
Just for interest, did you do an 'CFD Image' on a 500 with the boot-lid propped up? I would be interested to see what the outcome was.

I have the full 2D and 3D models for the car with the raised engine cover, I just have not had time to run the iterations required to establish a baseline for it, let alone optimise the angle and hinge-mechanism.

For the CFD I do runs in 10km/h increments from 80km/h to 160km/h, and each run takes about 45-mins (2D) and 3hrs (3D), so I need to queue them up to run when I don't need my computer, as it can only deal with running CFD (just a basic PC not a server/mesh)

enzothe500 · Aug 3, 2016

It's been a while since I updated this thread. I've just spent 10-minutes trying to figure out how to 'edit' my original post to update it, however I just cannot figure it out.

So here's a list of things either completed, or in progress.

I've done quite a few short stints on the car, but I've also had to build a workspace to work on the car properly, so that took up a bit of my limited spare time.

Currently the car is at a workshop for some fabrication work, as I need my garage space to move my furniture into for a full renovation of my unit - my timing is impeccable :bang:

I've been updating a basic Facebook and instagram feed for the car as it's easier for me to upload from my phone than it is to update this thread, but if anyone has any questions about work in progress, please feel free to ask.

Motor

780cc IL Motore competition motor - Completed, ready for install
ELX ignition - installed on the engine

Exterior

Install Abarth badging - all badging found and received
Install raised engine cover - fabricated the bars off own measurements of Abarth
Abarth Corse mirrors - chrome bullet mirrors received and test fit done
Abarth wipers - received, ready for install
Bonnet catches front and rear - received (I just can't bring myself to drill into the panels yet...)

Interior

Strip all existing carpet - Done, and inspected the floor etc for rust. Better than I thought it would be!
Replace with new carpet or alu/composite floor plates - received new carpet, slight modification required for new seat setup
Remove original seats, replace with 2 fixed composite SPARCO bucket seats - fabrication in progress
Remove rear seat entirely, create replacement panel over firewall with sound and heat insulation - seat removed, need to make final measurements once harness rails are complete
Replace steering wheel with SPARCO 3-spoke, small dish suede wheel - Sparco Volante wheel test install, modifying the steering column drop-link for better ergonomics with new seat position
Modify gear shifter to allow for shorter mechanical throw but with more clearance of seats with SPARCO gear knob - original Abarth lightweight shifter received, minor fabrication in progress
Replace dash with custom layout, composite wrapped in alcantara - Alcantara DONE

Chassis

replace current (lowered) leaf spring suspension with adjustable 2 or 3-way coil-overs - received custom inTrax 1K2 coil overs with 2 sets of custom spring rates
need to establish rigidity in rear frame and asses if brace required in rear - fabrication in progress

Brakes

4-wheel disc brakes - received, test fit with wheels complete. Modifying braided brake lines for correct Banjo fittings
hydraulic handbrake - no longer going to use hydraulic due to issue with Australian regulations for regular registration

Electronics

Strip and re-wire the entire car with a custom mil spec loom - started laying out the new loom

Fuel

Remove small fuel tank and replace with larger capacity rated fuel cell - fabrication in progress
Electric fuel pump - using a manual pump to save complexities around fuel tank system and regulations for road use

Wheels and Tyres

Yokohama A048 165/55,12 - ordered, waiting on supply out of Japan
Competition wheels (Wheeltech 5.5x12 +18) received, at powdercoaters

Paolo66 · Aug 3, 2016

Re: Enzo the Cinquecento - 500L 110F RestoMod

I'm following on here and instagram. That engine looks cool

enzothe500 · Aug 3, 2016

Re: Enzo the Cinquecento - 500L 110F RestoMod

Paolo66 said:
I'm following on here and instagram. That engine looks cool

Thanks Paolo! Yeah it's a work of art. ilMotore is an absolute craftsman and takes the details of each build very seriously. And we went back and forward quite a bit to decide on the final spec that will suit the things I'm after in an engine.

I'm really looking forward to taking it for it's first drive (but so much work to do until then!)

jackpe · Aug 5, 2016

Wow, what a project.. i'll be following with interest!

enzothe500 · Aug 7, 2016

Re: Enzo the Cinquecento - 500L 110F RestoMod

The engine cleared customs this week, and was finally delivered.

Had 30 minutes of spare time this weekend, so I uncreated the motor, transferred it onto a dolly-board, and took a couple of quick pics showing some of the details.

500 (Classic) Enzo the Cinquecento - RestoMod

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