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General 850T Garage find after 24 years. Soon back on the road

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General 850T Garage find after 24 years. Soon back on the road

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martinz

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Apr 5, 2013
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Hello
I thought that as this is something a little different i would post the work that i do to it.
From the very top this van hasn't moved for 24 years, the owner has told me that he drove it in the garage and decided it would be a good idea to take some of the engine apart then lost interest.
So its my job to find out what its going to take to get it running again. See below how it has been kept over the years.
Very much so looking for getting started with it, When i conceder how old this van is, its is remarkably great condition, the only real fault on the body is with the near side rear where it looks like its been driven into a wall or something.
 
So hears how it was found.
479479A5-0742-4A83-9BBE-AA4EEA879F75-465-0000022F552A76D8_zps719f84e4.jpg

1st job was to clear all the wood and stuff that had been piled up over the years.
D75B1541-BC44-4DAB-950F-68EBD48E94A9-2026-0000043189A540BB_zps3c0055a0.jpg

So much stuff in a small garage.
511072FA-DBD5-4AC3-B36F-8D493B663708-2026-0000043191FBCEBD_zps0bb11f41.jpg


Engine looks clean ish but it's in bits.
F342503F-35F6-4199-8282-BF6E65A4CA10-465-0000022F2895F3F6_zps1945f03b.jpg


Bolting the engine cover and engine mount on
0AD581E6-EF51-4546-A741-0515599CD9F3-2026-0000043114187157_zps4ea9bd07.jpg


All 4 wheels are flat, but luckily they all touch air so that it can be pushed. Also only one wheel was seeded on.
A0A1E7C2-F0BE-4D97-B608-BA3F4868F08E-2026-000004312F765246_zps66626544.jpg


We got it moving, havnt tried to move the engine yet but have put some wd40 down all 4 boors.
Hears a couple of picks of what it looks like.

B95CE09C-20B4-4E0D-AFCA-3A98DB630DF0-2026-000004313C138B6F_zpsa98a43cb.jpg

7F79DE44-68BE-4829-B7DF-3F67F4CC969C-2026-0000043129351F1A_zps6bf0b721.jpg

FF0D5FBE-6FC5-4725-8DA2-AFA541581296-2026-00000431349760B5_zpsc2e67a47.jpg

1A7464C5-07F7-48A7-B281-03E6CA00EF76-2026-00000431422E60DC_zps93dfc432.jpg


Hopeing to colect it in a week or so.
Looking for all advise that people can give. Would like to get some parts orderd for it so I can get it running, I of caurse need new brakes all round along with brake pipes.
 
Thanks guys, thanks for the heads up on the engine turning the other way. As for help.. Where do I start with the questions. Anyone know witch Tyers I should replace them with? Would I be right in saying that the Fiat 127 has the same Engine in this one? The reason Im woried is because the spark plugs have been out for all this time, eventho the garage has been dry for all this time I'm woried that water may of been sitting in the boors.
Thanks for the kind comments I do feel very lucky to have it. By the way how Many of these are still on the road?
 
martinz said:
Thanks guys, thanks for the heads up on the engine turning the other way. As for help.. Where do I start with the questions. Anyone know witch Tyers I should replace them with? Would I be right in saying that the Fiat 127 has the same Engine in this one? The reason Im woried is because the spark plugs have been out for all this time, eventho the garage has been dry for all this time I'm woried that water may of been sitting in the boors.
Thanks for the kind comments I do feel very lucky to have it. By the way how Many of these are still on the road?
Click to expand...

The 127 engine sits transverse and turns clock wise, but it is the same basic engine from what research i have done. because of this i am toying with the idea of fitting a VW type 1 gearbox in mine and picking from the many engine options that would then be possible using an adaptor plate.
But that can wait because my engine seems to be fine atm.
As for tyres mine has Vauxhall wheels on that run 185/60/14, but the choice of wheels is good because the PCD on your van is 4x98 so any Fiat, Alfa, Lancia ect will fit or with the use of wobble bolts you could fit 4x100 wheels Vauxhall, VW, even the new (bmw) mini cooper has 4x100!
But if you want to keep it original 155/70/r12 radials similar to tyres fitted to trailers are cheap and easy to find.
 
Hi (again, just replied to your other post). For spares you can try Ricambio or JBS. No doubt the brakes will have seize as they have a steel pin in an aluminium shoe (so they fuse together). Try some penetrating oil (or even heat, avoiding the pipes) then loosely fit the nut on the back of the pin and give it a tap. If you do manage to get it running be careful with the temperature (keep an eye on the temp gauge & dont let the needle get further than half way) as the rads clog up causing the engine to overheat which results in warped cylinder heads (being alloy), though these can be skimmed. Though different in format I believe that the engine also has a bit in common with the Fiat Panda 903cc unit. The engine is the most closely related to that of the Fiat 850 Sport (not that that really helps as these are rare too!) The bodywork looks lovely from what I can see, the wheelarches look original. The tyre in your photo looks to be the orginal one fitted when the van was new too! What is the mileage? You are indeed very lucky! Cheers, Andy ([email protected])
 
I had a 900T camper van in the 90's. Used it regularly to go skiing. To give it a bit more go I fitted the 850sport bits off a wrecked Sport.
Carb and head.
Exhaust system
Aluminium sump
Camshaft
I didn't change the wheels to keep it quick on the mountain roads.
You could consider 850sport wheels (13")
I had trouble with the tyres designed for tubeless 12" car rims. High wear rate and the tubes leaked after chaffing on the tubeless tyre internal ribs. A good solution I found at the time were spare tyres off imported Japanese trucks that had dual 12" tyres on the rear. Lighter steering and much better wear.
 
Hi guys. Thanks for the tip on the engine not getting too hot. I think I'm going to keep the original wheels and tyre size. We only found one wheel to be seesed so was very pleased. Going to replace the brakes anyway, it's done 17000 miles and the chap that owns it tells me that's correct, hopeing to pick it up Friday so will be putting more pictures up later
 
spannerdude said:
Re: Overheating.

Make sure the undertray and radiator ducting is in tact. It's important to make the air flow into and out of the engine bay correctly:

Undertray:
http://spannerdude.wordpress.com/pandora/opening-pandoras-box/
Ducting:
http://spannerdude.wordpress.com/pandora/the-blown-diffuser/
Click to expand...

Seriously nice effort. You have done a great job of that. Do you fancy making me one for some extra beer tokens?
I havnt a clue weather it's going to be made of biscuit or not as I havnt got it home until this weekend.
 
Shiny bits turned up today, is it a little sad that I'm buying parts for a car than I have not yet got home, and have no clue if it's going to run or not.
21E05231-1CCD-47E3-B459-78FEFEA89803-949-0000019C44FB1571_zps789c49f2.jpg
 
martinz said:
Shiny bits turned up today, is it a little sad that I'm buying parts for a car than I have not yet got home, and have no clue if it's going to run or not.
21E05231-1CCD-47E3-B459-78FEFEA89803-949-0000019C44FB1571_zps789c49f2.jpg
Click to expand...

No not sad mate, i have been busy buying allsorts of new bits for mine! Not long now for the time when its sprayed and i can start fitting them¬
Looking forward to seeing lots of photos friday when you get your van (y)
 
martinz said:
Seriously nice effort. You have done a great job of that. Do you fancy making me one for some extra beer tokens?
I havnt a clue weather it's going to be made of biscuit or not as I havnt got it home until this weekend.
Click to expand...

Thanks Martinz, when I first got asked that question I didn't think there'd be any mileage in making parts for other people but I've had more interest than I thought possible, so I'm thinking about it now.
The trouble is there's a lot of time goes into maiking them and I'm not time rich at the moment. Curse that day job!
 
Hey guys, great find.
I bought an 850T Fiesta just before Christmas from the original owner.
Mine has only done 33,000 ! Last on the road in 1995, was living in a garage and is in good solid shape
Bodywork is great and have just started the engine tonight after doing some refurb, purrs like a kitten now :)
 
Pouch said:
Hey guys, great find.
I bought an 850T Fiesta just before Christmas from the original owner.
Mine has only done 33,000 ! Last on the road in 1995, was living in a garage and is in good solid shape
Bodywork is great and have just started the engine tonight after doing some refurb, purrs like a kitten now :)
Click to expand...

Great to hear, (y) Please post some pictures of yours.
 
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