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

I figured you had to be close , unless you had a second vehicle, saw the jeep out back..But I'll be dammed if I was going to cross that sea of teeth to go shake you back to the living

the pups are getting big

Topo looks like its moving along

 

Yeah i was out of it....out here lookin at Lil Beast...tryin to get motovated...some days the light at the end of the tunnel is pretty damn dim.. but there's still lots to do.....so back at it....

 

got the right side upper located and welded....finished cuting out the other pair of brackets for the left side....should get it in tomorrow.....got in the right side of Lil Beast and it was weird feeling the car move under my weight....still have to adjust them once car is finished, but i have plenty of adjustment available......fuel and tank, battery is the only weight missing from the rear of the topo at this time....and the coil overs are screwed all the way down on the spring adjuster.....

 

Hi TopoKid.Lovin` the build.The Topo`s are really cute little boogers,but like you know not a lot of room inside.Like the "LilBeast"monicker.You could sub title it"The mouse that roared".Hehehe.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

yeah Leo , i'm overly aware how small they are ....became a serious reality when i stared working on the 3 pedals....and trans tunnel...... i'm barely 5'6".......but have a 8 1/2 extra wide foot so.........

the topo was dubbed "Lil Beast" by my friend Rich Venza ...originally started the project mocking in a sbc...as i had a blown 400 sbc on the stand at the time....still do...but then the hemi bug bite my ass and i started looking around the area to see what there was....in the end i bought 2....treaded the 354 rebuilder for some work and parts for Lil Beast...and picked up the running 325 for the fiat..... i liked the way Lil Beast sounded... and never saw or heard of another topo named L/B....so it has stuck..besides, it should look extremly beasty rolling down the road, i think......

 

well we have a working rear suspension now.....still have a couple of gussets to install after moving the coil over mounts....and then adjust everything once the fuel tank and battery are installed....

 

wOW!!! The beast has a great stance. It looks really good Mark.

 

looks great, whats the measurments on the rear housing ?

 

Thanks Bob..i M like n the look..adjusted on the soft side. still more weightt to be added. ..and i have room to raise the coil overs up or down...the rear hoising is exactly 38" Backing plate to backing plate

 

Thats a very wide housing. Mine is only 29" wide flange to flange. The wide stance should give it a nice stable ride.

 

Bob that s. the difference between keepin fenders n lettin your junk just sorta hang out.i had people buggin me as to why i didn t tub the topo...stability and my wheel wells are just about erfect....Beast looks a bit high as pictured but fuel n tank. plus battery will bring em ba k down a bit....besides we ne buildinf for rhe usa road trip...comin to a city near you...soon.

 

I have a 28" and a 32" left over from the anglia race days, I'll just have to get the body here, and measure. got a hauler lined up for 1st of oct. then I can get to work. thanks for the help guys, Art

 

in case ya didn't catch it, i'm still using the factory inner fender wells....they are just to nice to cut...and they helped stablise the body over the years of trying to geet it past the egg shell stage...i think with either or housing you're gonna be looking at tubb n it ,,,,me i was going for an old style look...and felt that the wider i kept it in the rear the better it would do on the road vs being a track car....did the same with the hemi....shoved it back as far as i could to try and balance the car a bit...the rear of the hemi block is right at the forward edge of the door pillar along the lower of the door..but ii keep saying it...me's only 5'5"+ a hair....

 

front shot.................

 

Mark, it sure has come a long way and it is looking real good. I bet you can just about taste tak'in it for a test ride.

 

yeah Bob, i can taste it...just can t envision it....good pics there too..i have never put em side by side like that to see where it started and where it is currently at....

i'm going to make a run at the firewall i think next....i made a template, but i need to modify the side vents as i want them to be fuctional again...they brazed and welded them on the corners inside to keep em closed when it was a drag car body....and the controls are gone for them...hinges are shot....so i need to cut it all out and fab in some piano hinges...i have an idea as to how i want to duct them into the cockpit of Lil Beast....and i plan on a bit more bracing for the firewall and to support the the hood in front of the tilt nose...also trying to come up with attachment for the nose stock latches...they're beef sucks....hell i got tons to do....just need to find some cash for the clutch system and custom brass radiator

 

On the vent you could look at peterbuilt sleeper vent hinges. I had a repair job come in off of one and it is damn close and the vent door is close to the same size. It may be worth taking a look at. I do alot of work for a couple truck body repair shops and would have access to possibly getting one or two if you need 'em. You probably have them at work.

 

Great tip on the vent doors...but mine are in great shape inside and out...i already cut have the welds off one door..my dremel died so ion t have anything small enough to finish em

 

I thought you might be able to use the hinge setup from the peterbuilt vent door. That way it is spring loaded so the vent on your Fiat will stay open when opened. just a suggestion.

 

sounds good Kid, yeah, I will have to tub it, don't know how much tire will be hanging out yet. I don't want the entire tire inside the body with it being open wheel, I can get a better idea when I get it in the shop. and about the 5'5", yeah, thats me too, never was any good at basketball, and as I get older, I'm getting wider. Art

 

When I was young I liked being the taller kid in class. Now that I have a Fiat I wish I was shorter.I'm btween 5'8" and 5'9" so you guys have an unfair size advantage. Mark my engine sits back farther than yours. I am just hoping I fit in it when it's done.

 

When I was young I liked being the taller kid in class. Now that I have a Fiat I wish I was shorter.I'm between 5'8" and 5'9" so you guys have an unfair size advantage. Mark my engine sits back farther than yours. I am just hoping I fit in it when it's done.

 

I just wonder with the vent's open if they would channel in any heat, or fumes off of the engine. Just thinking out loud.

 

Art, if ya look at the frontal pics in the last few posts prior to doing the coil overs, ya can get an idea of how close to the inner fender wells my slicks are...at the bulge i am right at an 1 1/2"+ of clearance ...i've got plans for the Radir 12-00 15 series cheaters back there...and the slicks spec at just about the same dimensions....

you're gonna have to post a pic for me to believe ya big guy on that engine set back....ain't too much room in mine before ya could open the doors and see the rear of the engine

Kenneth, i've mulled this or many hours now...i came to beleive that if the vent duct between the vent door and the cab of the topo is tall but reallly thin, it might help..as opposed to having a super sized duct similar to the size of the vent door....plan is to have duct full door height, but thin in width...also it should help keep the firewall and engine compartment clean looking...i might go out and poster board template it tonite, if so i'll post a pic (hey everyone knows i'm a pic whore here about me fiat).......

also i have planned to use the firewall area to help channel the air flowing into the engin area to funnel most of it down and under/out to the side of the car....some will be directed out the rear of the hood louvers ...at least it smoke tests that way with a fan.....and i plan to insulate the inside of the duct, so....i ever get Lil Beast rolling, we'll find out

 

Kid, the wheelwells look good to me, I wouldn't do anything to them. I think it gonna look the look (like a badass aa/fa ). as for me, in my opinion only, I look at the bad news fiat as the coupe that has set the bar, as to what a topolino should look like, yours is right up there. as for the panel fiat, looks like Bob is gonna set the mark on how a foregone should look. I look at yours, Bobs, the badnews, and zoomers and get ideas for mine from all of yours. keep up the good work so I can keep getting ideas, and inspired from you, and Bob. have you thought about a color? and wheels ? oh, I almost forgot, I saw a badass blue street fiat on here somewhere, I think it was chopped, but not sure, I can't find it anywhere, would you, or Bob happen to lnow where it is ? Thanks, Art

 

What compression are you running?

 

my 325 is a bone stocker at this point....there aren't any numbers in front of the valley cover....but also no tag on the block...so compression??? it runs and sounds good..sittin in the garage

 

the new O'Brien Truckers valve covers came today...talk about beastly suckers!!!!!! i love em!!!!!

 

Art, i posted an old pic of a blue one rolling into a lot along time ago...i had a collection of topo pics in the hundreds...but lost them in a puter crash...
Rich Venza ........
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/member.php?u=50533

here has one of the largest topo pic collections ya could imagine...
i just tried to search for it but can't go tat far back when the search thing...
wheels... i have 10 wide by 15 slots in the rear now...7 wide slots up front...but want to change these out to some modern spoke wheels, like Bob's...color???still a dream, but is in black and white....i really would like to incorporate some teal green metal flake like the color of my steering wheel....but thats still a bit away, so........

 

thanks for the help on the pic. those valve covers look great.