Technical My Panda 4x4 Abarth Project

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Technical My Panda 4x4 Abarth Project

Just ondergin about tackling a project like this from the other way around – starting with a 100hp and adding the gearbox, suspension and diff from a 4x4 – would that be possible? :idea:
 
Yes, and indeed my mate Paul is doing just that right now. I will be reporting back on progress once I've seen the work with my own eyes! All looks to be going together fine right now though.

He bought a written off 100HP and is putting that engine into the 4x4 in place of the original 1.2 8v. Lots of hairy wiring and ECU transplants, but it could be a very good alternative to the route I took for more power. And probably a lot cheaper. Maybe....
 
Yes, and indeed my mate Paul is doing just that right now. I will be reporting back on progress once I've seen the work with my own eyes! All looks to be going together fine right now though.

He bought a written off 100HP and is putting that engine into the 4x4 in place of the original 1.2 8v. Lots of hairy wiring and ECU transplants, but it could be a very good alternative to the route I took for more power. And probably a lot cheaper. Maybe....

Hollister proposed quite the opposite. To have a working 100 Hp and put the gear boxes and diffs from a 4X4. That way you don't have to re wire all the systems. Just bolt on the gear boxes, axle and so.
 
His decision was made for him in that the 100HP was the write-off, not the 4x4, but the challenge remains big whichever way you look at it. Either hairy wiring and electronics but easy mechanics, or huge re-engineering of drivetrain-to-chassis and simple sparks.

But that's the fun of doing what we do I guess! I look forward to posting a write-up of his finished product when I've got to see it in action....
 
any updates ringa? did ur mate managed wthi that 100hp wiring or anything new to report from ur end?
i was looking to get same seats, where did u get ur?
 
Not much more to report other than the fact that I'm now nearly 7000 miles into my boosted experience and the little car continues to exceed all expectations. Fuel economy has averaged 35.45mpg over those 7000 miles (proper brim-to-brim calcs each fill-up) and it really is the perfect UAV for todays Britain in my view!

My mate with his 100HP is also very happy with his conversion and his is particlarly slick in the completeness of the 100HP / 4x4 integration. Full climate and 100 interior sits nicely with a 4x4 exterior and 100HP dark windows and roof spoiler. No wiring issues to report apart from the rear washwipe it seems - for whatever reason it refuses to play nicely and parks in a different position each time.

My seats came off Fleabay from a Fiat dealership who were selling off the old stock that they removed from customer cars when they had the Sabelts fitted to their 500 Abarths. There are leather versions up for grabs too sometimes, which would be the ultimate I guess. Keep a watch on eBay and the Classifieds section on http://www.abarthisti.co.uk/classifieds/

I'm being strangely attracted by the shots of the new Panda 4x4 with the TA engine - the press shots were in a metallic green and looked magnificent. Not to replace my unique 4x4, just to get another. Maybe.... ;)
 
The installation of the compressor was by TTS at Silverstone and they were excellent. The quality of their work is faultless and I have a fully CNC machined billet mounting bracket that looks 100% factory, matched to a billet machined pair of crank and s/c pulleys, running perfectly true, with the crank pulley machined for a perfect fit with the OEM crank pulley. It really is very professionally done.
Phil
Would that bracket also fit the newer 69 hp 1.2 8v engine. ???
 
Nope, no A/C in mine.

Is it posible to install the bracket and Rotrex without removing the engine from the car. ???

btw, sit the dynamo/alternator still on his own bracket and runs on the same belt as the Rotrex. ???

Rotrex was installed without removing engine, but the offside engine mount was undone and the engine jacked slightly to give the clearance required to get the pulley fitted. Machining of the crank pulley to fit the billet s/c pulley is critical - it needs to be a perfectly machined fit with minimal tolerance as that assembly need to be absolutely rigid and this is an area that has failed on other folks conversions. I bought a spare complete engine to have the bracketry and machining completed without the car and this has paid dividends for sure.

So Rotrex sits proud of the Alternator belt run - it's an 8v serpentine belt with its own tensioner and it runs outside the alternator run. I need to do cambelt next spring, so there'll be a bit of undoing to be done. I also need to find a set of Snap-On short neck Allen Keys, as those are the only ones that can fit in the gap between the new blowing hardware and the side of the engine bay!
 
I wonder if TTS will start selling it as a "DIY Bracket & Pully kit" soon. (they sell other kits like that)
In that case i can buy the Bracket & Pully kit from them and buy the Rotrex myself and start building.
It would be a waste of development IMHO, if they don't start to sell it as a kit.

THX for the info.
 
TTS asked if I wanted to package the requisite bits as a kit, but I wasn't prepared to stump up the £££'s to have a batch made at the time. They will of course have the CAD drawings for my hardware and I am sure they'd run another off for a reasonable fee. Richard Albans (Mr TTS) and Darren his head Development guru are really nice guys and they are bound to be accommodating I'm sure. Mention my name if you speak to them (Phil Gardner).

Remember that I had a custom 4-2-1 manifold, 200CPSI CAT and stainless 50mm exhaust system built too, so I am unsure of the results if using the std manifold and pipe. For info, my Rotrex is a C15/16 - the smallest they did - but the first attempt with the C15/30 gave more mid-range but ultimately too much boost on std internals. Might have been ok with additional boost control, but that was too complex as I wanted Simple.

As it happens, I'm looking to install as recirculating dump valve, as there's a lot of air stalling when I lift off at high revs and I think it will be kinder on the Rotrex to remove some of the pneumatic shocks that happen when boost can't go anywhere on a slam-closed throttle It's an interesting science that still fascinates the hell out of me...!
 
TTS asked if I wanted to package the requisite bits as a kit, but I wasn't prepared to stump up the £££'s to have a batch made at the time. They will of course have the CAD drawings for my hardware and I am sure they'd run another off for a reasonable fee. Richard Albans (Mr TTS) and Darren his head Development guru are really nice guys and they are bound to be accommodating I'm sure. Mention my name if you speak to them (Phil Gardner).

Remember that I had a custom 4-2-1 manifold, 200CPSI CAT and stainless 50mm exhaust system built too, so I am unsure of the results if using the std manifold and pipe. For info, my Rotrex is a C15/16 - the smallest they did - but the first attempt with the C15/30 gave more mid-range but ultimately too much boost on std internals. Might have been ok with additional boost control, but that was too complex as I wanted Simple.

As it happens, I'm looking to install as recirculating dump valve, as there's a lot of air stalling when I lift off at high revs and I think it will be kinder on the Rotrex to remove some of the pneumatic shocks that happen when boost can't go anywhere on a slam-closed throttle It's an interesting science that still fascinates the hell out of me...!
Had contact with Richard several time about a Rotrex kit but did not like the 5 figure price i had to pay for a complete development.
I don't expect a acceptable price for a Bracket & Pulley kit if i can buy one TBH.
Will be happy to start with a stage 1 configuration with around 90 hp and work further from that in the future.

I don't know if Fiat engines need a recirculating dump valve other wise you can use something like this.

dump-valve-kit-ktr-renault-megane-rs-225-230.jpg
 
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I am aware that TTS have potentially moved away from one-offs and are focussing on their more popular 'productionised' kits. They do some quite remarkable kits for Honda Type-R's and a truely outstanding 4.2 V8 Audi setup for the S5, RS4 etc and these make big big power. The S2000 Stage3 kit is 450bhp on std internals and is reliable as hell - then 650bhp out of the RS4 engine with the biggest Rotrex blower.

Having said that, they will have the CADs for my bracket and I would be surprised if they wanted to charge a lot for a second copy. You'd need that crank pulley machining too though.

There's no MAF on the 1.2 FIRE so the engine won't care if the dump valve is a recirc or not, so my main concerns are 2-fold;

1) Will a dump valve be able to 'flow' enough volume of air to be effective, as the blower will continue to blow hard when I lift off, unlike a turbo.
2) If I go for a dump-to-air will it be noisy as hell and make me sound like a Jonny Nova boy.....?

I will investigate one of those Samco hoses, as that would be a neat solution. If I want to go recirc, I'd just dump it back into the airfilter feed.
 
I reckon it will be a 4 figure price tag for it easy.

If you use a diverter valve like this you can dump it back into air filter feed.
There is a spring inside that can be changed for weaker or stronger ones to regulate the working.

fmdv006.jpg
 
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Had contact with richard, he was under the impression your car was a 1.4.
When i told him your car was a 1.2 he could not say for certain that it would fit the newer 69 hp version.
i will not gamble on that and will not order one any time soon.
So, i wiped the Rotrex idea from the table for good.
 
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