fiat500 said:

Tony, are you sure that they are drip tubes? Mine is an earlier engine than yours and doesn't have them. It has a small hole through from the top surface of the tray and oily residues do slowly collect there from somewhere and then drip onto the cowling safely.
Both of those pipes look like they should have a flexible pipe attached. If they are drilled through and meet up in any way with the carburettor throat, uncapped I would expect them to mess up the running of the engine in any case. Is there possibly another sensor that these should be connected with?

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I agree they both are shaped like they would have pipe on. I don’t think even Polish built 126’s were sophisticated enough to have some sort of mixture sensor on, as that is the only reason I could think of any type of sensor in that vicinity.

I don’t recall if the pipes go straight through to the inlet manifold but this link from AG suggests they do. https://webshop.fiat500126.com/en/katalog/artikelinfo/2773/bakelite-piece-_base_-for-carburetor

It’s odd because the engine bench tests fine with nothing attached to them. Well the proof of the pudding will be tomorrow as hopefully I should start it for the first time in the car. I’ll just make sure I have my fire extinguisher nearby.

Hmm found this video on YouTube and it does have rubber tubes attached. I am not sure what that black plastic box is for on the left hand side that appears to have one of the rubber tubes attached to it?

The other one appears to go to some sort of valve which I do have, which connects to the ignition control unit, so I assume that is to advance and retard the ignition?

[ame]https://youtu.be/ePcLQia6NZw[/ame]

Vitesse said:

Hmm found this video on YouTube and it does have rubber tubes attached. I am not sure what that black plastic box is for on the left hand side that appears to have one of the rubber tubes attached to it?

The other one appears to go to some sort of valve which I do have, which connects to the ignition control unit, so I assume that is to advance and retard the ignition?

https://youtu.be/ePcLQia6NZw

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I think you'll be correct on the first one and it will help with the efficiency of the engine but I doubt it is essential.
The other connection will be evaporative control and again, you can probably disregard as I think that it simply sucks in the petrol fumes from the tank breather which the 500 doesn't have. So one, possibly both, could be sealed off or use an earlier 652 spacer.

.....or just loop them in together with a short length of pipe.

fiat500 said:

.....or just loop them in together with a short length of pipe.

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Yeah I was thinking exactly the same thing. I’ll try running it up with advance/retard valve attached and the other pipe blocked first. Then try it with both blocked and see if it there is any difference. I am sure it will be fine, as it seemed to run ok when bench tested, which is a bit surprising to say the least considering it’s effectively two holes into the inlet manifold!

Well the beast starts and runs needs a bit of fine tuning as it sounds tappety also I have a knocking which you can hear in the video, seems to be coming from the fan housing area. I suspect the fan maybe catching but I need to do a bit of investigating tomorrow.

It is a bit odd staring it with a key but I have to say it does start really easily now that it’s got the solenoid. I haven’t checked the voltage output yet but I don’t have the gen warning light on, it was initially but obviously chucked enough voltage into the battery to top it up.

It selects all the gears ok but I was only running it and driving the rear wheels with it on the axle stands and first sounded a bit rough but that I am hoping that may improve when the car is actually on the ground.

[ame]https://youtu.be/52ZzVVETUJI[/ame]

Welcome to the big boys 650 club
I bet you cant wait to give it a roar around them country lanes and try that new modern synchro gearbox out.

Vitesse said:

Well the beast starts and runs needs a bit of fine tuning as it sounds tappety also I have a knocking which you can hear in the video, seems to be coming from the fan housing area. I suspect the fan maybe catching but I need to do a bit of investigating tomorrow.

It is a bit odd staring it with a key but I have to say it does start really easily now that it’s got the solenoid. I haven’t checked the voltage output yet but I don’t have the gen warning light on, it was initially but obviously chucked enough voltage into the battery to top it up.

It selects all the gears ok but I was only running it and driving the rear wheels with it on the axle stands and first sounded a bit rough but that I am hoping that may improve when the car is actually on the ground.

https://youtu.be/52ZzVVETUJI

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The engines always sound more tappety on recordings. My theory is that it's the cam and followers more often than the tappets as when I had to replace both on this current engine it's been a lot "smoother".
Remind Sean Franko500 that just like with me, this is just for advanced bench-testing the engine....not a permant mod or upgrade.

Well I got there eventually!!!!! Probably started the strip down and rebuild nearly four years. Started fitting in May this year and hit for few hurdles along the way but boy does it sound sweet now with the new alternator. This is the distributor less version with electronic ignition.

It is so responsive to the throttle and ticks over like a dream. When you rev it, it just returns to a really smooth tick over and doesn’t miss a beat. Didn’t get a chance to road test today but I am really pleased with the end result. The video below is pretty much a cold engine that had been running about a minute beforehand.

[ame]https://youtu.be/F_997XG0wYk[/ame]

Brilliant, drive down to The cafe in Westerham and I'll buy you a coffee ....dammit, just remembered I'll be on a plane back from Zakynthos. Happy driving, you'll need my postcode now, you're welcome any time, especially in Luigi.

fiat500 said:

Brilliant, drive down to The cafe in Westerham and I'll buy you a coffee ....dammit, just remembered I'll be on a plane back from Zakynthos. Happy driving, you'll need my postcode now, you're welcome any time, especially in Luigi.

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I’ll pop up Weds or Thurs the weather looks alright! I’ll probably arrive the following week though!

Vitesse said:

I’ll pop up Weds or Thurs the weather looks alright! I’ll probably arrive the following week though!

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I'm looking forward to seeing you.

All other comers in a Fiat 500 welcome.

fiat500 said:

I'm looking forward to seeing you.

All other comers in a Fiat 500 welcome.

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It’s very tempting...

1500500 said:

It’s very tempting...

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You're very welcome.

fiat500 said:

You're very welcome.

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Stupid phone.

Sorry Tony - I’ll stop now. Hope the 650 is going well

Little bit of TLC today!

I need to tweak a few bits and bobs, like the clutch bite point. It’s a bit vicious at the moment to say the least. My knee is nearly on my chin when it bites

Hoping to test drive in the next few days but I am awaiting the delivery of a cigarette lighter socket, so I can film the episode on dash cam.

I really can’t believe how well it starts and runs, hot and cold starting is instantaneous. Having a solenoid on the starting motor and starting by key now, it literally starts on one turn of the key.

Vitesse said:

Little bit of TLC today!

I need to tweak a few bits and bobs, like the clutch bite point. It’s a bit vicious at the moment to say the least. My knee is nearly on my chin when it bites

Hoping to test drive in the next few days but I am awaiting the delivery of a cigarette lighter socket, so I can film the episode on dash cam.

I really can’t believe how well it starts and runs, hot and cold starting is instantaneous. Having a solenoid on the starting motor and starting by key now, it literally starts on one turn of the key.

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It's good to hear of another engine doing exactly what it should do. This fallacy of temperamental starting and running that seems to overshadow many cars on this Forum is once again well and truly debunked . Good mechanic-ing.

Love your car setup, looks beautiful - great colour scheme and engine to go with it.

Vitesse said:

Wiring is as good as finished, I have bolted the ignition control unit in and all connected up. I have run a new wire from the ignition switch for the starter solenoid, so it will start now with a twist of the key. Dummy voltage regulator for alternator conversion.

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Is this a normal set of required mods for the 650 upgrade?
I know you lose the pull starter, but is the ignition control unit + solenoid + alternator all required as a part of the upgrade?
(I'm a bit behind on this one)...

BambinoClassic said:

Love your car setup, looks beautiful - great colour scheme and engine to go with it.






Is this a normal set of required mods for the 650 upgrade?
I know you lose the pull starter, but is the ignition control unit + solenoid + alternator all required as a part of the upgrade?
(I'm a bit behind on this one)...

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We were lucky in Europe that the 126 continued to be produced by Fiat Poland 20 years after Fiat themselves stopped producing in 1980. The engines with no distributor and an ignition control unit were from a model introduced by Fiat Poland in 1994 called the EL. The ignition control unit was borrowed from the Fiat Cinquecento (which I think was only produced in Poland, Peter will know?) obviously if you buy one of these late Polish engines you don’t get a distributor, so if you want one you have to change the crankshaft and engine block.

My engine and gearbox are from a 1997 126 EL, advantages are you can’t adjust the timing it’s all determined by the timing marks on the crank pulley. It has harden valve seat guides for unleaded.

Most people who upgrade to 650 engines stick with the alternator upgrade for obvious reasons, it’s a fairly simple wiring upgrade. A lot of people like to stick with the pull starter, I think for the uniqueness of it? Therefore if you have bought an engine with a solenoid starter you need to source a pull starter motor to replace it. I am Mr Originalty, so most would expect me to keep the pull starter, but I am also Mr Practical and the solenoid starter is far more efficient than the pull one, it spins the engine over far quicker.

I bought my engine and synchro gearbox for £250 off of eBay and have probably spent another £250 on parts to rebuild it, including driveshafts. £150 for the alternator and I think a new carb was about £100, so it’s still a bargain for the £750 spend.

Ah that’s pricing (and a setup) to dream of in aus!