Hello Fiat friends,

It just so happens that I'm in a situation where I have a 1.4L GT Turbo engine and transmission and subframe, engine mounts and pretty much the whole front axle including brakes and aftermarket coilovers.. I have the computer too, pretty much everything is there save for the intercooler, blow off valve, fuel pump and turbo itself. I do however still have a nice (reliable they say) IHI RHB5 (or 6, but I think it was a 5) turbo lying around that works.

BUT, I do not own a Fiat Punto... (do/have own(ed) some other Fiats however)

So I had a few questions, because I may want to buy one or another car to drop the engine in.

1. Will the engine fit into later Punto's without it pretty much requiring the same amount of work as putting it into a lot of other random cars??

2. Heck, will it even fit into a non-GT Turbo Punto Mk1. pretty much bolt-on without too much hassle anyways?

(I'm not afraid to put some work into it, just wondering, one thing I don't want to do is have to modify the whole damn car to fit it though.. like I'd have to do with a Fiat 127 for example, which doesn't even have a subframe to begin with, it has to be a remotely feasible swap)

3. Are there any Fiat or related cars that I could fit this engine into fairly easily compared to others? That perhaps use the same bolt patterns or at least with some modifications would be suitable candidates for the swap?

-If I'm going to go through with a swap might as well take a few extra steps to put it into something else to make something truly cool and unique, although I'm not saying I wouldn't be quite happy with just a good ol' Fiat Punto (always loved them but never got one myself so far).

Lada Riva GT Turbo anyone? Hahaha, to be honest I have no idea where the feasible possibilities start and end, so I'm asking you guys, though I think a Lada would be a tad over the top (even if it'd be kinda cool in a way).. haha

Thanks in advance for sharing any information if you may have it, fellow Fiat nuts!

I am sure I have seen a turbo motor in a mk 1 cabrio before .

I'm not sure but it should bolt into any mk1 Punto that came with the 1.6 8v (Often referred to as '90') as the 1.6 is just a bored out GT engine without the turbo.
I don't know if it'll go into a FIRE engined mk1, would probably have to modify the mountings.

Mine is a prime example IMO, how much do you want to sell it for?

What to do? Eehhh, bring it to me, if Holland is not far away for you

More seriously, the engine is a derived from the lampredi SOHC engine (fiat 128), so a Punto would probably be easiest (I like the cabrio idea!), but any car with this engine would give more or less similar mounting points for the engine. A lot of fiats and lancia's have at some point, or in some model been produced with this engine (if you want to go communistic you have a choice of yugo's/zastava's), but the lada would definitely be a bit harder.
Gearbox (C510?) might also be a hard bit to fit in an other car, you might also consider this as a major item for your choice of car...

Thank you for the replies, everyone

Rcl said:

What to do? Eehhh, bring it to me, if Holland is not far away for you

More seriously, the engine is a derived from the lampredi SOHC engine (fiat 128), so a Punto would probably be easiest (I like the cabrio idea!), but any car with this engine would give more or less similar mounting points for the engine. A lot of fiats and lancia's have at some point, or in some model been produced with this engine (if you want to go communistic you have a choice of yugo's/zastava's), but the lada would definitely be a bit harder.
Gearbox (C510?) might also be a hard bit to fit in an other car, you might also consider this as a major item for your choice of car...

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I'm actually from the Netherlands And I've thought about the cabrio idea as well, would be pretty cool to have a carbio but I just like the look of a regular Fiat Punto a lot more, like the taillights for example. And it's not like it'll be an utility car but some practicality every now and then when the situation asks for it would be nice wouldn't be my daily driver anyways however, but my daily driver doesn't really have a lot of trunk space either.. so it's nice to have some available, sometimes.

My current situation is as follows, I have two cars on the road, one is a Yugo 55A and the other a 1983 BMW E28 on LPG that I drive daily. Long story about taxes, insurance and the fact that I also prefer it that way put aside though... I had been thinking about fitting it in the Yugo, but I'm quite afraid that this would require some serious modifications, plus some major cutting into the body and what not that would be quite irreversible and not really neglectible either (I think). The fact that Yugo's, especially originally Dutch ones, have become rather rare in the Netherlands is what makes me feel like I shouldn't stray too damn far from the original.

The way I saw it I can't just bolt in the engine with custom mounts alone, the engine of the Punto GT Turbo comes in a subframe for example and the Yugo doesn't even have a subframe... a possible solution might be to strengthen the chassis and install the GT Turbo subframe into the Yugo with some modifications done to allow this.. (but that's the thing where I wonder whether I really want to do that..) Or does anybody know if it'd be possible to strengthen the chassis and just fabricate custom mounts alone to fit the engine? (That I could live with a lot easier probably!) The Yugo is very similar to the Fiat 127 on which it was almost entirely based.

^ I also imagine most other older cars with the "lampredi SOHC engine" would have this same problem. But perhaps there are somewhat more modern cars that are built more like the Punto with the subframe and such? I could however tell that the engines in the Yugo's themselves and the 1.4 GT Turbo engine share a lot of inherent features, or at least appear to do so.

Sorry, my more knowledgeable Fiat friends, please bestow thine wisdom upon humble me and show me the light where I may be completely in the dark :worship:

Also, would a complete GT Turbo front axle (with that I mean the subframe and suspension and brakes as well) bolt into any Mk1 Fiat Punto or not at all? And how about the Mk2?

And @Didge3, you mean the engine + everything else? Well, just make me an offer that I cannot refuse, really

What about putting it into an X1/9?

digger58 said:

What about putting it into an X1/9?

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That'd be absolutely brilliant as well

I'd be willing to put practically aside entirely for something as awesome as that, already seen some pictures of people who have put the engine into an X1/9.

But it's pretty hard to find a decent one these days, I think, at least without spending a few grand...

For me the perfect receiver car would be a Fiat Tipo 1.4 or 1.6 if you can find one... exactly the same basic engine and the size is right for a nice turbo lump..

so basically all the cars that are gonna be either really easy or relatively so are cars that had the sohc lampredi engine in some form or another fitted originally..

so fiat and lancias there is quite a few but off top of my head:

Fiat's
128, Regata, Ritmo/Strada, Punto Mk I, Uno, Tipo, Tempra, X1/9

Lancia's
Delta, Prisma, Dedra

I think some of the Yugo models had an engine from same family too..

End of the day anything is possible but all the above you should be able to drop the engine in without fabricating mounts etc and just using off the shelf parts.

The engine is most suitable for a light weight car. This would make the 128 (or zastava/yugo 101, though a bit heavier), a x1/9, ritmo/Strada or tour beloved punto the best choice. In heavier cars like the tipo/tempra, the engine might be too light and loose too much of its attraction before the turbo kicks in, making it feel too 'average' for what it really is.
The lighter the car, the more spectaculair this engine will be. (My choice: a ritmo/strada , abarth 130tc-style; the same power, but with better performance and handling without the big 2L-lump between the front wheels!. But oké, the Punto is a very good runner-up.)