500 (Classic) The forgotten 500

Here are some of the advert photos

When the poor thing arrived though it was easy to see the camera had favoured it

The car also came with 2 engines the original 500cc and a 600cc both of which were unfortunately next to useless so waste not want not I made some furniture out of the 500cc, at least it will be a reminder of its heritage.

Before I go further I wanted to address a little about myself, I've worked on cars since I was a child first car when I was about 15/16 (classic mini 850cc) I've been obsessed with cars ever since, building track cars, show cars and restoring classics.

I've met some great people and made some really good friends on the flip side I've met some very big headed ones.

I'm a strong believer that a car should be built to be enjoyed by the owner and doesn't have to comply to what is "correct" as long as the owner loves it.

"Your car is your story why let someone else write the book for you"

I say this as I welcome all to read my posts maybe even enjoy a few, but not everyone will agree with the way the car is built and I welcome advice and will stand corrected if wrong that's the beauty of the car community. Just remember you don't need like nor drive the car to I do

Back to the car the body work is going to be taken care of by a very good friend of mine who is currently taking very good care of it at r&r roadsters in brierley hill.

After a assesment of the car with some work and a few magic touches it should make a good little shell.

With a few custom personalized touches to be added to our taste.

I have quite the collection of flywheels in my spares box 5 in total so went to see another friend of mine whom lightned and refaced my flywheel for me with quite the large drop in weight and looking fresh! I'm very happy with how this turned out.

All ready for when it goes away to be balanced

So the search for a engine began, I decided to look for a decent condition 650cc and rebuild it.
I was offered many but for the ever rising price I couldn't find one within budget.

That's when a message landed in my inbox that a engine was sitting in a garage unused and would it be of use to me, asking price ? I wondered . Absolutely free !

I made the trek to collect said engine and sure enough there it was handed over to me for free by a very kind gent who shared his fiat 500 stories with me, also along with the engine came a synchro gearbox both had originally been used in a Biggie of some form and the gent intended to rebuild them but never got round to it.

On my day off I began to strip the engine right down and inspect the wear as you can see below a new set of big end shells is required. But generally good condition on wear

Big ends

Cam shaft bushing

I then set about cleaning up the other items in my parts washer removing all contamination and I was very happy with how squeaky clean they came up!

Well done, and thank you for the pictures. The 'freebie' seems to be in good condition. You are absolutely correct--the car is there to put a smile on YOUR face---if it puts a smile on other peoples faces, that will be a bonus. Don't be afraid to ask questions, even if they seem 'silly', we are here to help.
Don't discount the 600cc engine (a Mk1 '126' unit)---they can be tuned and make very good replica "Abarth 595" engines and if used sensibly, are pretty well unburstable. Are you intending to leave the 650 engine standard, or are you planning to 'improve' it?

I have many a plan for the 650cc I've managed to find some 35mm inlet valves and looking at either a 35/75 cam or I was recommended a 40/80 I've modified the oil pump as mentioned before by welding a adaptor of my design to the casing. Also having the whole engine balanced at a performance company near me and the head ported and polished

Welcome Navo and thanks for sharing the journey you and your 500 will undertake. You're right, the pictures were well taken! But the good news is that you have the skills and the parts availability to get the car back to it's former glory.

Don't worry about modifications that you want to do to you car. It's your car, do with as you see fit. For example mine is painted in a Porsche green and has many non standard / original parts fitted. Mainly to ensure safety and performance but other options which I wanted. My car won't appeal to someone looking for original but it's a big market and there are plenty of 500's around.

Keep posting your updates!
Cheers
Rob

Haha glad to have a warm welcome I look forward to seeing it looking smart

And great to meet new people

When parts arrive i get a warm fussy feeling ? finally starting to get a move on thanks toshi! Cleaned up and stripped down the head ready for porting and valve job.

Some progress has been made with the body work, with the paint removed we can see the metal underneath isn't as bad as first thought which is great news.

Some custom bodywork ideas have been pinned on the drawing board excited to see this come together

I've seen worse ! Hopefully not too bad a job to sort out.
R

Hi Stephan, so pleased the 650 turned out to be a good un, and that you're getting it back to service. It was wasted sitting in my garage. Well done

Cheers
Gary