Technical Topolino rear end

[nellis003]

Hi all,

I'm new to the forum, so I hope I'm posting this in the right place. I have an old race car that uses a lot of Topolino parts - suspension and drivetrain, mostly.

The rear end is cracked, so I need to find a new one. Does anyone know if these are reproduced, or if there is a good source for replacements?

I'd also love to get a manual so I know how to disassemble the rear end.

Thanks for any guidance.

Nick

 

[babbo_umbro]

Hi all,

I'm new to the forum, so I hope I'm posting this in the right place. I have an old race car that uses a lot of Topolino parts - suspension and drivetrain, mostly.

The rear end is cracked, so I need to find a new one. Does anyone know if these are reproduced, or if there is a good source for replacements?

I'd also love to get a manual so I know how to disassemble the rear end.

Thanks for any guidance.

Nick

Can you give a bit more info? The Cooper 500 racers, for instance, used Topolino front suspension bits at both ends - transverse leaf spring mounted on top of a sort of ring-shaped bulkhead that had the gearbox poking backwards through it, with the engine cantilevered out in front; long lower wishbones with the dampers in line with the pivot initially and later, if I remember correctly, telescopic dampers as seen on the Coopers. Topolino rear end, on the other hand, started out as quarter elliptics with trailing arms and very small brake drums; this was later changed to semi-elliptics with no trailing arms and much bigger brakes, shared with the contemporary 1100.

You say the "rear end is cracked" - I'd be very surprised if it couldn't be repaired but you'd need to give more detailed info to judge better. If the crownwheel and pinion has failed - which it used to do, partly as people didn't maintain the fabric couplings on the propeller shaft and this led to hammering of the gears in the rear axle - you might have to do something like contacting the Topolino club of switzerland who have an amazing spares operation.

 

[nellis003]

Thanks for getting back to me.

The front suspension sounds very much like what you're describing - leaf spring mounted above the drivetrain, with the engine out in front of the front tires. The rear suspension is the quarter leaf spring type.

The crack on the rear end looks pretty significant, and it's pretty badly rusted, so even if it could be repaired I think I'm better off with a replacement piece. I tried to locate the Topolino club of Switzerland, but wasn't able to find them online.

I'm actually in the US, so do you know of any parts sources here? And are repair manuals available anywhere for these cars? Everything looks to be Topolino A parts.

Thanks,
Nick

 

[babbo_umbro]

Thanks for getting back to me.

The front suspension sounds very much like what you're describing - leaf spring mounted above the drivetrain, with the engine out in front of the front tires. The rear suspension is the quarter leaf spring type.

The crack on the rear end looks pretty significant, and it's pretty badly rusted, so even if it could be repaired I think I'm better off with a replacement piece. I tried to locate the Topolino club of Switzerland, but wasn't able to find them online.

I'm actually in the US, so do you know of any parts sources here? And are repair manuals available anywhere for these cars? Everything looks to be Topolino A parts.

Thanks,
Nick

Yes - certainly sounds like a Topolino A. The rear end of the chassis was pretty lightweight - a great bit of design, typical Dante Giacosa, with the rear section of the body self-supporting. The later semi-elliptic suspension necessitated a lengthening of the chassis side rails to support the back end of the spring - not so elegant and heavier, but more solid.

The rubber bushes in the trailing arms took all the breaking and accelerating forces so they had to be replaced quite frequently, but I suspect you could source some replacements by taking measurements. I suspect you'll have to get a specialist to fabricate a new section of rear chassis - shouldn't be too difficult.

I can't immediately find an address for the Swiss Topolonisti - I came across them years ago when they were doing (I think) a fiftieth anniversary of the Topo run to Italy. They seemed to have access to all sorts of spares, including crownwheel and pinions. I had my last Topolino over forty years ago but still have a spare cwp that I've lugged around through several house moves "just in case it comes in handy"!

I used to have things like spares lists for the Topolino but I'm not sure they're still around, I'll have a look in the next few days.

You could try contacting the UK Topolino fans - http://www.topolino.org.uk