purple haze said:

A bit of off topic info for you Si....I have seen a Mk1 4x4 local to me the same colour as yours just have to track him down...when i do i will get a pic...and its a "B" reg!!!!!!

kev

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Oh wow! And a B reg, that might be the oldest 4x4 around! Would be great to get it on here. A flyer parhaps if you dont catch him/her. Look forward to seeing it too, I wonder if it has the rare 4x4 decals. Red and burgendy double stripe and red 4x4. Odd how this now makes 3 of my ones colour in existence (soon to be 2 when the shotgun car goes to the scrapper).

I hope this doesnt end up in being an offer to rescue another mk1 4x4!! You know I cant turn down those cute mk1 headlights.

Si

Def had the double strip...i should have turned my car round and followed him...i will next time!!!

purple haze said:

Def had the double strip...i should have turned my car round and followed him...i will next time!!!

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The panda hunt begins....

Mine only has a single red stripe now though Rust eat its way underneath the majority and I cant find a burgendy replacement one lol. It looks ok with just the red though.

Anyway! Back on topic Kev

I have got most off the engine now. just the crank, pistons and pulley to get off now.

BTW, anyone know an easy way to take the crank pulley off as the engine turns and which is a pain....kinda.
You've got to hold the crank still I supose so maybe wedge something in there so to speak?

Tomorrows big op:

I have to lift the engine onto the engine stand which is going to be fun doing alone. I can use the crane to some extent but i need to free up some bolts to mount it on the stand. I'll sort it out I am sure.

Si

Take the sump off and get a block of hard wood and shove up by the crank. This stops it rotating a treat and is safe. This is a well-used method. Can be impossible to do by putting car in gear and stopping it moving, etc.

lewey said:

Take the sump off and get a block of hard wood and shove up by the crank. This stops it rotating a treat and is safe. This is a well-used method. Can be impossible to do by putting car in gear and stopping it moving, etc.

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Cool thanks, I thought so. Sumps all off and ready to go! Not long now before the block goes in for surgery!

Si

OT sorry, but theres a mk1 near me in a poor state, hand painted scooby blue :yuck:

Might hunt it out sometime

CLXCraig said:

OT sorry, but theres a mk1 near me in a poor state, hand painted scooby blue :yuck:

Might hunt it out sometime

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Haha, is this mk1 month? 4x4 or 2wd? Allways good to have spares so if the guy isnt going to keep it I'd be up for some more salvaging. Otherwise, I hope its a case of tatty but appreciated for the smurf panda!

Si

Well, the block is bare now. Will be going down to the machinist Friday, so that gives me some time to do some crank clearancing and give it a good old clean!

There is a redundant feature used when they make the block pictured below



the new crank fouls it so I'll be getting an angle grider to it later today.



Unfortunately the flywheels on the abarth engine and mine have different mounting arrangements so I may need to find an abarth one



Si

Have you considered putting in some lightened flywheel? It will give you better acceleration...

pandamonius_maximus said:

Unfortunately the flywheels on the abarth engine and mine have different mounting arrangements so I may need to find an abarth one
Si

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Have you considered a second mortgage lately ?!

Hi Si

Looks like you have been busy!!!!

Give me a shout if you need a hand lifting the engine. I'm sure I can pop round and help out.

gibanitza said:

Have you considered putting in some lightened flywheel? It will give you better acceleration...

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I have thought about it but I think for the moment I will leave it be. I dont want to change too much at once, although I know I have already changed a lot lol! The standard flywheel will make for smoother running which I am thinking is good on the 4x4 gearbox.

Panda Van said:

Have you considered a second mortgage lately ?!

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I havent looked at the cost of one yet , but I am hopeful. Just a case of keeping my eyes peeled for a bargain or making a dowel hole in my old one. Hard when the Autobiachi A112 Abarth was never sold in this country though, so I guess ebay italy is the place to be.

rfarey said:

Hi Si

Looks like you have been busy!!!!

Give me a shout if you need a hand lifting the engine. I'm sure I can pop round and help out.

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Hi Rob,

The block is nice and light now that its got nothing on it, but lifting aside you are welcome to pop round and see the progress over a cuppa (or juice in this lush weather lol). Just give me a ring or text to check I havent got my head stuck in the block (ouch).

News on the plan:
I have developed an interest in increasing the compression ratio (thanks rob! haha!) and after discussions with Paul of Scuderia Topolino (aka the oracle) I can go safely up to 11:1 but as the standard a112 abarth is already at 10:1, to be safe I am going to aim inbetween with around 10,5:1. That should be interesting enough

Si

Took ye old block down to the shop yesterday, and got hit with a couple of bricks (metaphorically fortunately ).

They are not too happy with some of the clearancing that is required, and beleive it will cause stress raisers. I cant say for sure unfortunately, as I have little experiencing in this area.
I also cant really turn back and use a genuine 1050cc abarth block as the crank has had the mains turned down to suit the 965cc block. Bummer! Wishing I had gone for the option of line boring the block to suit the bigger mains on the abarth crank instead now! Oh well.

There is a strong possibility that the cam lobes interfere with the longer stroke on the crank. So the cam has to have a lot of material removed which has me concerned. This has yet to be confirmed, but I am not hopefull.
Other than that, the ball is rolling and hopefully next friday will have some more news on it all.

All the best,
Si