Hi all,

I’m going to be fitting a 700cc D’Angelo Motori engine kit to my 500L, and was originally planning to stick with the 500 gearbox (albeit fitting a 5 speed conversion). I have however just secured a NOS 650 ‘box with 500 driveshafts fitted and given the synchro, would prefer to use this box.
So my question is, should I fit the 500 bellhousing to the new 650 ‘box, or try and source an old 650 engine as a base for my rebuild? I thought the latter, as I understand that the 650 crank and block are stronger, but spare engines seem to be a little thin on the ground nowadays.
Your thoughts/advice would be very welcome!

Thanks

Personally, I would hunt out a 650 engine as the base for your engine--Poland is a good hunting ground for them (they were made there!)--do you have any Polish friends or contacts? If you haven't, try LP Garage in Sudbury, Suffolk. Lucasz who owns the company breaks 126s and will probably have an engine. If you want to use my name (Tom Montagu) as a reference, feel free to do so.
If your 700cc kit comes with the instructions only in Italian, contact me direct. I have an Athena kit sitting in my study, with the instructions in English, which i can let you have a copy of.
Be careful with the 5-speed kit---it is not a "just bolt-on the extra goodies" kit. Quite a bit of engineering has to be carried out. I have found a couple of 'you-tube' films of how to fit the kits (with the neccesary engineering) and how to modify the gear-selector and make a '5-speed' gate.
The 5th gear must only be used as a 'cruising' gear--NOT an 'accelerate in it' gear.

Mcflozza said:

Hi all,

I’m going to be fitting a 700cc D’Angelo Motori engine kit to my 500L, and was originally planning to stick with the 500 gearbox (albeit fitting a 5 speed conversion). I have however just secured a NOS 650 ‘box with 500 driveshafts fitted and given the synchro, would prefer to use this box.
So my question is, should I fit the 500 bellhousing to the new 650 ‘box, or try and source an old 650 engine as a base for my rebuild? I thought the latter, as I understand that the 650 crank and block are stronger, but spare engines seem to be a little thin on the ground nowadays.
Your thoughts/advice would be very welcome!

Thanks

Click to expand...

I’ve used D’Angelo for the odd part. They do some lovely items. Shall follow your project with interest

Hi Tom,

Many thanks for your prompt and detailed response- much appreciated.

I will try and source a 650 engine, as you suggest.

The kit is fairly extensive- see https://www.dangelomotori.it/en/pro...zione-motore-700-cc-step-2-by-dangelo-motori/ but doesn’t come with any instructions. I’ll be getting the usual machining and balancing done of course.

Thanks also for the heads-up re the 5 speed kit- luckily I knew what I was getting into when I bought it and know that some engineering will be required- just need to find a suitable shop to do it, as possibly beyond my own abilities.

I’ll no doubt have plenty more queries as this project develops- thank goodness for this forum!

Mcflozza said:

Hi all,

I’m going to be fitting a 700cc D’Angelo Motori engine kit to my 500L, and was originally planning to stick with the 500 gearbox (albeit fitting a 5 speed conversion). I have however just secured a NOS 650 ‘box with 500 driveshafts fitted and given the synchro, would prefer to use this box.
So my question is, should I fit the 500 bellhousing to the new 650 ‘box, or try and source an old 650 engine as a base for my rebuild? I thought the latter, as I understand that the 650 crank and block are stronger, but spare engines seem to be a little thin on the ground nowadays.
Your thoughts/advice would be very welcome!

Thanks

Click to expand...

The crankshafts in the 500 and 650 engines are exactly the same and interchangeable. The crankshaft fitted as standard to the 704cc 126 water cooled Bis is regarded as an upgrade being a slightly different design. Some say it is stronger but the design makes it more stable at higher revs. Biggest difference, apart from starter motor position, between the 500 and 650 crankcases is the height below the cylinders. The 500 cylinders are 10mm longer than the 650 with the appropriate variation in the crankcases. I would check what crankcase that 700cc is designed to fit. I still have a couple of spare 650 crankcases if you find yourself needing one.

Toshi 975 said:

The crankshafts in the 500 and 650 engines are exactly the same and interchangeable. The crankshaft fitted as standard to the 704cc 126 water cooled Bis is regarded as an upgrade being a slightly different design. Some say it is stronger but the design makes it more stable at higher revs. Biggest difference, apart from starter motor position, between the 500 and 650 crankcases is the height below the cylinders. The 500 cylinders are 10mm longer than the 650 with the appropriate variation in the crankcases. I would check what crankcase that 700cc is designed to fit. I still have a couple of spare 650 crankcases if you find yourself needing one.

Click to expand...

Thanks Toshi, it's really helpful to know that it's basically only the crankcases that differ. I've just bought a 126 case on Ebay for £28 delivered, which seems a good result to me (assuming it's not cream-crackered).
I think I'll stick with the 500 crank then- I don't envisage wanting to exceed 6,000 rpm at most.
The D'Angelo kit is designed for both 500 & 126 and some machining will undoubtedly be required, and deck heights etc will all need working out.
I also bought a flowed/ported head with enlarged valves from D'Angelo, so it's all coming together nicely. They've been really helpful- I've communicated via Google translate which has worked ok.
I assume all other parts for building up the 650 casings are interchangeable with the 500, although I guess I'll also have to source a 126 starter/solenoid? I appreciate that some of the cables/leads will need renewal.
Thanks again for all the support.

If you get hold of a "cable-pull" 126 starter you will be able to retain the original starter system. Lucasz at LP garage normally has 126 starters for sale. For the126 starter you will also require the bracing bracket, the shield that goes between the starter and the crankcase and a special bolt that hold the starter onto the crankcase prior to fitting the engine. The distributors are different vis-a-vie the 500/126 engines.
If you are not sure what these parts are, contact me direct on [email protected] ) and I will give you the relevant part numbers from a supplier who can supply all the bits. Don't worry about the difference in barrel height too much, the kit comes with a spacer/re-inforcing plate that fits between the crank-case and the barrels which you will probably have to have machined thinner.
Where about in the UK are you---always usefull to know because there might be a Forum member close to you

Morning Tom,
Thanks for that reply. I will certainly try and get the starter and parts that you refer to, as I like the eccentricity of the pull start!
I don’t think my kit came with the spacer, but they are sold separately in different sizes. I was holding off buying this until I knew all the necessary measurements.
Interestingly, D’Angelo are adamant that no head gasket should be used on the build- has anyone heard of this before?
I’m based just south of Reigate in Surrey- it would be nice to know of other local 500 owners.