500 (Classic) Fiat Newbie

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500 (Classic) Fiat Newbie

H8monday

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Oct 11, 2022
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Nevada
Hi all, I’m the new owner of a 73 Fiat 500L and brought her home 2 weeks ago to Reno, NV. I’m very much a newb with the Fiats. Wife fell in love with them in Italy and I needed a new garage project. For the most part the car has been restored except for the engine which is pretty tired. Being new to the forum, I have been searching like mad trying to figure out if I can rebuild the motor as a 595cc without having to machine the block, but when I search I find everything except. Also I’m looking for any reputable machine shops with experience on these motors. I figure if I am going to rebuild it, I should go ahead and get the head opened up and bigger valves. Any info would be great and thanks for such a great resource.
 
Greetings to the forum. There is a wealth of info on here, and even more info that hasn't been posted yet.

So regarding the engine. First thing we should do is determine what engine the car has in it right now. Its not uncommon for these cars to have their engines swapped and changed about. Most stock 500's came with the standard 499cc (110D/110F engine designation). early ones were 479cc(110 designation). There were also special Abarth blocks that were 594cc..

With that said, the fiat 126 shares nearly an identical engine layout as to the 500, with minor modifications to the starter location. Upgrading to a 650cc 126 engine will require the 126 mating transmission, or bell housing with the alternate starter location.

heres some of the block designations for 126 based engines.
126A5 000 - from 594cc fiat 500R's
126A 000 - from 594cc fiat 126's
126A1 000 - from 652cc fiat 126's
126A2 000 - from 698cc fiat 126 BIS engines.

The engine designation is stamped on the front case, right beside the fuel pump. If you snap a photo of it, we can then help with routes to go. This will help determine how mild or wild you can go without getting into too much machining work.

Engine number abarth'_0.png


Typically the cheapest and most pain free route to go is swap in a 650/126 engine combo.. However, that's not always the easiest route on this side of the world. Finding those engines and transmissions is not always easy. Importing one can also be hit and miss regarding its condition.

Do you plan to do most of the work yourself (minus any machining work to be done if needed)?


On a side note, my car (currently being restored), has a 540cc engine with some goodies thrown to it (soon to be dyno'ed). My 2nd engine, slowly being built will be a monster 866cc with some significant modifications and machining done. You can go mild to wild easily with these cars lol.
 
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Greetings to the forum. There is a wealth of info on here, and even more info that hasn't been posted yet.

So regarding the engine. First thing we should do is determine what engine the car has in it right now. Its not uncommon for these cars to have their engines swapped and changed about. Most stock 500's came with the standard 499cc (110D/110F engine designation). early ones were 479cc(110 designation). There were also special Abarth blocks that were 594cc..

With that said, the fiat 126 shares nearly an identical engine layout as to the 500, with minor modifications to the starter location. Upgrading to a 650cc 126 engine will require the 126 mating transmission, or bell housing with the alternate starter location.

heres some of the block designations for 126 based engines.
126A5 000 - from 594cc fiat 500R's
126A 000 - from 594cc fiat 126's
126A1 000 - from 652cc fiat 126's
126A2 000 - from 698cc fiat 126 BIS engines.

The engine designation is stamped on the front case, right beside the fuel pump. If you snap a photo of it, we can then help with routes to go. This will help determine how mild or wild you can go without getting into too much machining work.

View attachment 414459

Typically the cheapest and most pain free route to go is swap in a 650/126 engine combo.. However, that's not always the easiest route on this side of the world. Finding those engines and transmissions is not always easy. Importing one can also be hit and miss regarding its condition.

Do you plan to do most of the work yourself (minus any machining work to be done if needed)?


On a side note, my car (currently being restored), has a 540cc engine with some goodies thrown to it (soon to be dyno'ed). My 2nd engine, slowly being built will be a monster 866cc with some significant modifications and machining done. You can go mild to wild easily with these cars lol.
It’s definitely a 499cc. Engine is a 110F. The transmission is unquestionably a synchromesh and looking at the trans, my guess is a prior owner swapped the bell housing. There is non-stock RTV between the bell housing and transmission, so if I get my hands on a 650cc engine, I’ll need to swap bell housing again. As far as the work other than machining, I will be doing all of the work. Long history of mechanicing and rebuild experience with both cars and motorcycles. I moved to this area in Reno during the height of Covid, so I’m not overly familiar with local machine shops yet. I think the 540 build would probably be the most reasonable to minimize machining. I’d love to have a total sleeper, but for the time being, just need this tired old girl to be a bit quicker off the line.
 
Sounds like you got a good plan going forward. A fresh 540cc with a sporty cam and a upgraded carb will do wonders for the car.

For North American bound shipments i typically use Axle Gerstl just because shipping wise i haven't had any issues (shipping has been slow however and they don't offer any sort of express) and they seem to be the most economical in price to get parts in our hands. They also have a simple to navigate site to see what options are available.

There are many UK suppliers to also choose from also, shipping is typically much faster from there they do offer a few special parts that are harder to source if you don't have Italian contacts. Im sure others will chime in with suggestions.


Others will have their suggestions, but to start hunting i would recommend a 540cc kit, 35/75 cam, and at a minimum a 28IBM carb, but there are many options and suggestions. Having a carb with an accelerator pump will boost its response significantly. Im sure others will chime in models; ive forgotten about the model im using. Ill have to go out and check lol.


Incase you were wondering how wild one can go, my big bore engine build is using a Athena 82mm nikasil coated aluminum bore cyl kit with JE forged pistons, forged H beam rods and a 82mm stoker crank, efi. Its definitely at the upper limit, if not past what these little engines can withstand, the case is literally the only original part (126 case). est hp 67~71. Definitely will be a little monster
 
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Hi all, I’m the new owner of a 73 Fiat 500L and brought her home 2 weeks ago to Reno, NV. I’m very much a newb with the Fiats. Wife fell in love with them in Italy and I needed a new garage project. For the most part the car has been restored except for the engine which is pretty tired. Being new to the forum, I have been searching like mad trying to figure out if I can rebuild the motor as a 595cc without having to machine the block, but when I search I find everything except. Also I’m looking for any reputable machine shops with experience on these motors. I figure if I am going to rebuild it, I should go ahead and get the head opened up and bigger valves. Any info would be great and thanks for such a great resource.
Hi & welcome to the best car forum on the internet, although i am in the process of selling my classic 500 & moving to a modern Abarth I have to say the advice you receive from here is far better than any other forum wether it be in depth mechanical work or body repairs etc the speed of responding is tremendous, there are some brilliant mechanics on here. The 1st thing in the morning whilst having my breakfast is log in & read the new posts. Best of luck with the new car & enjoy. Barry
 
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