Hot Rods My Project....1938 Fiat Topolino.....Lil Beast...........

Randy, you're killing me.........[/QUOTE]


Hey, dont be bashful, if you need some help gimme a shout..

if you need a ride to Kazoo I think Dan and I are going to Truckpool to go check it out saturday morning

 

Nice thread! Love the Topolino.

 

That is ron boggs in the fiat was taken around 1968 i think the car was red when this picture was taken

 

haven't been able to get out to work on Lil Beast in a bit...getting ready to start doing weekend finishing the cincy house....so garage time is going to get harder to find

i dug out the original grille insert that came with the nose i picked up from germany earlier in the build.....heavy duty sucker....and way nicer then i remember.



worked tonite on the column drop and final column placement, and pedals...welded in the seat bottom hold downs.

.



..finally got smart and rasied him up onto the jack stands....all the bending was getting to my old bones

 

I got one that is not at nice as that one, so I'll trade you since your "disapointed" with that one

 

sure !!!!!!!!!! no problem!!!!!!!!!!! i'll even pay shipping for the both of them..hahahahh...honestly, i looked at it breifly when i received it ....seen the holes where it bolts on and figured it was toast....releasied last nite, i was too busy staring at the grille...my nose that came with my topolino had all the bars cut out of it....and i i was amazed at the curves the bars add to the frontend.....then i though i should sell it, figured i never use it,,,then i started pricing radiators.....figure if i'm spending $500 for a custom brass rad, i want all the armour i can get for it....

besides, it really changes the look from head on....

 

finished the steering column and pedal locations tonite...need to pull the hemi and the WC T-5 trans and finish welding the gearbox and support bearing along the frame...also started tacking in the last of the rear tail support framing and also for the hidden receiver to tow the teardrop trailer with..bit of luck i'll be shipping the frame out within the next month to the sand blaster and then will runn the brake lines....cincy house is going to consume the next 8-9 weekends, so....always something pops up just about the time i get a good flow going on Lil Beast

 

Any chance of having it on the road for a shake down this summer?

 

Love that mouse...................!!

 

that's the dream at this point, Randy...i just spent this past weekend in cincy...have to be weather tight by end of march..finished with the rest the end of april...been peckin away at Lil Beast thru the week...just needing to get the money together for the clutch and radiator,,,,but the house down there gets all the cash till its done...selling some saddles and a horse trailer, so should help...

thanks!!!!!!!!!!poor Lil Beast has been very long in trying to escape the confines of the garage,,,,getting closer

 

Neat build. Always loved the old Topos.

 

yeah Randy, i tacked in a few of the tail frame braces last week before i split for cincy, after 3 1/2 years it's cool to see the tail section not curling down under the car..i still have to finish the part that goes across the lower tail area and fab the receiver for the tear drop trailer..then throw some bracing in it to hold the load of the 530 lb trailer..tongue weight is about 50-60 lbs,,..i have everything pretty well completed for the steering, i am holding off final welding it together cause i need to pull the hemi and weld the heim support joint in solid, just tacked now....and i want a better vega box mount then the one i drilled and threw togeher to get it all aligned...so it's going, just a tad slow....

the cincy house is a 2 phase process...gutters and trim by end of march...electrical and plumbing by end of april....my brother bought a new house outside of Xenia ohio, and i stayed there this past weekend...he helped with alot of the material purchasing , ie said it was his way of making up for years of missed bd's and xmas while he did his 23 year stint in the airforce....love em for it...Thanks Lil Brother Brian........

 

Ive just read the whole thread. I love the altereds of old, one on the street is even better Keep at it so that when you drive it down the road it'll all be worth it.

 

thanks Dave.....love of the old AA/FA cars is what made me fall in love with the topolino's......we're getting close to being able to drive it....soon...........

 

WE'RE BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!





well after 3 months of hitting the cleves house every weekend and several weeks also, the place is off the villages list ...been along two year battle....so it's time to drum up some Lil Beast cash....

 

I think that this is a great thread. I have always loved the little Topos.
We have a stock restored Topolino at the AACA Museum in Hershey Pa.
Every time that I see it, I Imagine it with a blown rat motor.
Keep up the good work.
Dave

 

thanks Dave...with having spent the last 2 years throwing money and all my weekends at the cleves house, i felt at times as if my topo was in a museum.... in my garage

 

It's great news......"The Beast is Back !!!"
Keep us posted Mark

 

Awesome to hear..keep us posted, bring it on by for your first run if you can

 

well i went to Bob's tonite and used his drill press to blow all the holes in the remaining front flooring and seat tin.......this torn right side rotator cup and pulled bicesp tear makes hand drilling a bitch...should have passengers side buttoned up by weekends end.....left side floor pan is cut , but it's on hold till i get the brake and clutch systems in.....should get the last of the driver's side seat tin in also .....which will leave the trans tunnel....been playing with some scrap peices on that....

Randy, when i make the first streetable cruise, it'll be by your place....and if it makes it, i'll be buzzin Danny's place too ....but looking to roll the old alley here real soon...even if it is with the M/T slicks.......

 

bit more welding today.........

 

thrashed till 2 am last nite...yanked the hemi and 5 speed, knocked off all the tack welds holding the steering column to gear box off....relocated everything 1/2" more to the left frame rail....hey, ain't much space with 3 pedals in Lil Beast...so far it looks like a better alingment on the borgenson joints....drilled hte double D shaft for 1/4" pins??? (not sure what is best here...pins, bolts???)...waiting for me to wake up enough to weld it all tight....

lots of surface rust after 2 1/2 years of hanging in the garage....good excuse for sand blastng the frame.....if i ever get it finished.....looking at templating the firewall out , and detailing the 325 hemi....got a nice lil pile of vintage dress up stuff hanging for it......still hunting for that unique fuel induction system...man i should have bought that blower intake when i first started this.....

 

Looking good

 

hey Martian, long time buddy....missed ya at cobo this year past..................we're moving forward again...finally.......still lots to do before we roll the old alley out back....

 

column to steering box in and welded....had to let Lil Beast off the jack stands to get the hemi off the engine hoist...steering is very easy and smooth

 

It sure is a little strange seeing the beast without the Hemi in it. I like what you have done so far, especially your firewall framework and bracing. The steering is a huge step foward.Nice job.

 

thanks, Bob.........it was a bit of a bummer pulling it, seemed almost like i was going backwards........but it made getting the steering aligned easier then eatin pie.....and it's just about time to make up a template for the firewall.....and getting the clutch assembly with the hyd t/o bearing adjusted with the motor trans out of the car .....



plus the hemi was purchased as a runner, and i never have stripped the old red paint off it,,,


,,so it'll get cleaned, and the new valley cover installed...then there's the need to change out the timing cover,as i am going to be running the Lil John's Stuff sbc water pump i've had for about 20 years.......suppoesedly wasn't too many produced by John Buttuera???? (can't remember how to spell has name propperly) that have that scripted into the front of em....had the whole set, mounts, timing cover ect, but just down to the w/pump.....people asked all the time who it was made by when i ran it on my blown 400 sbc in my old 72 vega wagon......cool looking peice....






so i'll look more like a hot rod with the goodies on it....still up in the air over what to feed it with, but it's starting to really look like a 3 X 2 offy for that task...still can't beleive i passed up on that blower intake....if i only knew...........

so hopefully things will keep rolling along with Lil Beast....been thinkin maybe if it all comes together this summer, i might drop the tear drop trailer on the back and make a run up thru Georgia and swing thru NY on the way back to mi.....for my birthday first week of oct...visit some freinds , and see some beautiful fall colors along the 2 lane back roads...we'll see..

 

Fuckin eh, bro. I thought you moved to Cinnci!! Didn't I see you trollin around somewhere this winter? 'Rama for a few seconds? I thought it was a ghost!





Then again I could say, welcome to my world. Same shit, different cars and reasons. I'm litterally a few weeks from the last thorn being removed from my side. You know where to find me, and I'm now there all day, nearly every day. Welcome back...

 

hey Jocko, ya i been a bit below the radar for too long now......but we be gettin after it....haven't seen or heard from any of the local hambers in a bit,,,Danny and Von Rigg Fink Randy......cobo was my last social nite out so,...........but we'll have to get together in the next month or something...try and nail down Lil Beast spare tire inlay......i'll buzzzz ya up these week..maybe one nite we'll sit down and socialize........