Next project - 38 fiat topolino

and a final 2

 

Who's car is this ?I'm about positive it was a New England area car back in the late 60S I remember seeing a twin to this car out here.I also remember that the chute on this car opened on the trailer going down the highway after some kids messed with the car in a restaurant parking lot while the owner ate lunch,That is if this is indeed the same Mighty Mouse

 

don't know if it is the same car, but i have pics saved...always amazed me as to how much stuff is stuffed between the motor and the nose........



and i wonder which hemi it is............

 

did Izio send ya those off one of his donors or are they repops???not that i need them..........the rear tail is what i'm looking for ...and a donor center roof section.........

 

My 38 also needs the rear tail, and I'm also looking for steel center roof section, I just don't like rag tops, everone that I've rode in hearing the rag top flapping just annoys me like fingernails on a chalk board.

 

here's a few pics of the factory seam .. the stripe is the factory lead filler along the seams...primer topo is great pic of the rear curves and window revel..notice how the window sets into the roof....then the other is mine and where it needs to be filled in...







thanks to Rich Venza for the pics of the full roof...........

 

Cool, thanks for the pics, and the info.
Here's a pic of the tail of my 38, the pic doesn't really show how bad it is bent up, I'm sure that someone (not me) could hammer, and dolly it out but I'd rather just replace it with a new piece.

 

looks like its gona be fun!

 

gotta ask, what is the rear end width in your's and what size/flavor of tires are those?????????????? got more pics?????

 

The rearend housing is 43 1/4" flange to flange
Axles flange to axle flange (overall width) is 48 1/4"
Tires M/T Sportsman 31"x18.50"x15"
The wheels are 14" wide with 5 1/2" backspace

More pics for ya.






I had a heidt's open wheel IFS on it, but I cut it off, and sold the heidt's ifs, now it's sitting on the back burner (without any front suspension) untill I finish a few other smaller projects first. When I get back started on it, it will look somewhat different than it does in the pics. Don't ask what the somewhat different is, it's "Top Secret"

 

i like top secret stuff!!!!!!!!!but i won't guess>>>>>>>>>>>>>>wait and see

 

hmm I thought this thread was about a car that I bought but it seems that every time I post update pics about the project moving along they all get ignored. I guess that means that you HAMB browsers think my work sucks.

 

I don't ignore you progress update pics, I save them on my computer for reference, plus your work looks good to me.

 

Keep it up. Many just like to watch and take in the progress instead of commenting.

But there will be plenty. Just be patient.

 

Zoomer,
I check this thead on a regular basis. I can't wait to see your progress and your work looks great also. I was affraid that someone would buy the Fiat and it would never be finished. I am glad to see you are tackling it and making good progress in a short time. Keep up the good work and keep posting pictures and updates.

 

well you'll find that the Hamb board moves very quickly...and it sometimes takes a day or so for threads to get follow up comments...but the biggest thing is threads getting hi-jacked....i took your thread a bit off track, in a small way....but ..........ya got a topolino!!!!!!!!!!! and that makes the other topo owners pop out of the woodwork....so keep on workin on your topolino, and it will inspire others here to comment on it....but ya gotta realise, it's a topolino, not a model a or 32 deuce or???????....topolino's are ...........well topolino's.......just not your everyday Hamb hot rod.....

do yourself a favor and read some more Hamb...you'll find that the topolino is pretty much on everyone's list of "fuckin badass hot rod wish i had one "

in so far as the quality of your work, looks good to me!!!!!!this site has some guys and gals here who do work that is insanely great....check some of the metal working threads....

just remember , this is the Hamb....it is THE MOST MIND BLOWING WEB SITE ON THE INTERNET!!!!!!!!! THANKS RYAN!!!!!!

 

more lousy work

 

The front end looks great. The coil overs remind me of the front of the Pure hell altered. Did it have a transverse spring in the front before?

 

shit guys I just found this thread.....I have a 50 Topolino (500C) that's gona be a pick up for the wife....it's just a flat packed body at the moment and i'm missing the front panels but it's gona be lower than a snakes belly and have some sort of track style front sheet metal.. I also have a Fiat twin cam and 5speed to keep it in the family....unless I can score a V8 at a reasonable cost. Just to make things different I am considering removal of the roof and turning it in to an RPU but have the original sunroof frame and mechanism so a bit of pracicality could be retained if I keep the original roof...I even have the sliding windows still in the doors....Zoomer, what Maddog has done so far is great in my eyes, nice and low and even the tyres are good..very late 60's/early70's, ET500s rear and either 10spoke radirs or Halibrand slots up front would just be the dogs danglies!!

 

I like the coilover front suspension (it makes it scream "Pure Hell" AA/FA)! I've never seen lower coilover mounts that looked like that, I like the way they capture the bones rather than having a single "bolt style" that goes thru the bones. The upper coilover mount looks nice, and clean. Nicely done!

 

more junk and mock up wanna be stuff

 

corrected pic

 

Keep up the good work, makes me wish I could get back to working on my 38.

 

Thought I'd add some pictures of the chassis I have kicking around.
This was from a 60's Topolino that was raced in Alberta, Canada. The body got moved onto a updated chassis in the 90's and someone picked up a glass bucket body as a project to put it back together.

 

re: Fiat Gasser Mad Dog was planning for a leaf across the front but I didn't want to hassle with changing the plates to get the ride smooth and the height what I wanted, as you know those two things NEVER happen at the same time in the same place. The coils, although NOT an easier design to fabricate do offer a better ride, better adjustment, and a better look.

The "collars" I built are unique in that they do not point load under stress but instead send the load around the collar and forward into the knuckle (which has the most material and is designed for max load/stress) I have one bolt that goes all the way thru the wishbone tube and another bolt that threads into the meat of the knuckle (they really aren't needed, yet more is better when it comes to building suspension).

Its always fun to "freestyle" and build a cool part, all sweepy and curvy etc. its the getting the other side to be a perfect match that is the challenge I really enjoy.

 

re: Kenneth S.

Thanks.... the upper supports where much more fun to build having a tubing bender in the garage, especially since the tubing has .250 wall thickness. The cross bar between the two towers bolts in. I'll get some up close pics later to show the copy tags I built on the ends of that bar.

I also don't like the single bolt thru the knuckle approach, a little to much point load for my likings.

Set the body today, its way just drifting around so I fabbed some temp tabs to secure in it one spot so I can build the full cage. Picked up the steel yesterday and received the tubing notcher earlier in the week. With the cage in place I can get on the rest of the steering, set the booster/master, set the pedals, build the floor blah blah blah.

Changed the fuel cell location ..again more to be reveiled on that next week.

 

Looks real nice. I wish you were a little closer than 6 hrs away. Then you could help me with my junk.

 

its only junk until your cruising, then its hardware : )

I'm looking to sell a few items, anyone interested in the parts pictured?
The manifold is an Edelbrock square port BBC, I have a 750 Holley to go with
it but no stack.

The drums are 45 fin buick fronts, will be sorting thru the remaining pile of parts sometime next week and putting up pics.

28 spline Ford 9" axles
three 9" diffs (no gears) two are open, one is a posi unit

Also have the rear wheels from the project, 15" Weld wheels, the tires are no good other than for mock up etc.

I suppose I should put some numbers up here but its late and I'm lazy.

Thought I would offer up some cool info (I wonder if I did this before?)
The Topo blowing the engine on the starting line is actually a longtime family friend, Jimmy Miles. He and my step father where heavy racing in the 50's. My pops held a world record C gas in a 57 Chevy at 13.20, right about the time they figured out that strapping the rearend down really wasn't such a good idea. There is one better picture of the engine pop and I'll try to find it in some old files we have, its a millisecond before this one and you can easily see ALL the pistons spinning on the crank, wicked cool.

 

Zoomer move it over to the Classifieds and put prices on that stuff or it will get deleted.

 

Zoomer,
The Miles Fiat photo is probably the greatest and most popular shot of a Fiat ever taken. I would really like to see the other pick if you can post it that would be great. Thanks