Technical 650cc swap on a '69 500L

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Technical 650cc swap on a '69 500L

Miramontesj

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Hey everyone,

I'm starting my restoration and want to tackle the engine and gearbox first. I want to swap in the engine and gearbox from a 126. I want to buy used and rebuild myself but I wanted to get some input before I start shoping around for the parts.

Are any of the parts in my 499cc engine and the 650cc engine interchangeble?

Any upgrades that I should be doing to the new engine and gearbox for better performance?

Any input will be appreciated, thanks.
 
Thanks for the vote of confidence .... :eek: .... though I'm sure that there are many others much more qualified.

Are any of the parts in my 499cc engine and the 650cc engine interchangeble?

Any upgrades that I should be doing to the new engine and gearbox for better performance?

Any input will be appreciated, thanks.

First, welcome to the bb. Lots of nice people, tons of useful information and plenty of great photographs.

Now to your question - the short answer is no. Whilst they are both rear mounted, two cylinder, air cooled, four stroke engines driving the rear wheels through a combined gearbox-differential unit mounted ahead of the engine, the similarities stop there. Different carbies, cams, bores, bellhousings, rear track, exhaust manifold/muffler etc. etc.

However two things are in your favour :

The engines and drivetrains are easy to rebuild with a good supply of available parts

and

transplanting a 650 engine/drivetrain into a 500F/L is quite simple with no major work required on the chassis. Have a look at the various threads in this section of the bulletin board.

Let us know how you go and post a few photos sometime,
Chris
 
Started tearing down the engine this week. Here's some pictures.

Looks like a lot of heat on these cylinders!
6350298539_e4563e07fb.jpg


Inside walls and cylinder don't look too bad.
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Valve spring and push rods
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Got impatient and snapped off the manifold bolts.
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Is the hollow bolt that secures the Oil filter pulley to the crankshaft reverse thread? I'm having a really hard time removing it.
 
No, it is a normal clockwise thread- punch back the lock tab and then wedge the ring gear with a bolt or punch in between the teeth and crankcase and use an air wrench with a 32mm impact socket. It can be a bit hard to hold on to the engine when undoing the bolt with a spanner or bar. If you haven't got a rattle gun you can wedge the flywheel and hit the end of the spanner with a large hammer which will usually move it.
Good luck!
 
My 500 is still a daily driver and it takes me to work everyday. I have not had as much time as I would like to complete the engine rebuild. This afternoon when I was headed home from work, I drove over an average sized bump from a bridge joint and the rear engine mount snapped. This made a pretty loud noise but the fiat kept running... lol.. The exhaust manifold was actually resting on what is left of the mount. I drove the car for another mile until I got home. The aluminum on the timing chain cover and the aluminum mount on the spring mount snapped off. It's unlikely that I'm going to have time to complete the engine rebuild anytime soon, so off to the shop we go.
 
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