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

I had a 56 Dodge Coronet D-500 with a 4-bbl 315 back in the early 70s. That overweight beast was incredibly fast for a stocker. Sold a 325 sometime back. Wish now I'd kept it.

 

the thing that i like is if ya look at the torque curve on the hemi's....most of the stockers are pumping out a butt load of torque by 2500 rpms.....and that makes for a fun street driven hot rod...my blown 400 (off topic vega 72 wagon) made a ton of torque before 3900 rpms...so drivin around every day i had fun big time and hardly ever revved it past 3500...

Art, i dropped the covers on last nite to check em out...man they sure make the hemi look mean....super nice job of casting them by Dennis over at O Brien Truckers...thick and heavy,,,very clean casting....

 

Here is a good source for Fiat pic's. Most probably already know of it. Still alot of fun to look at all the different builds and styles.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=170635&highlight=fiat+toppolino+photos+anyone

 

Bob, i posted in a thread years ago....topolino owners, show us what ya got.....tons of great fiats theere too...any chance ya got some way or link to it???i tried to find it put the search thing wouldn't pull it up....

 

Bob, thanks for the pic. threads, I'll look through them, Kid, those valve covers make it look one step closer to pour the nitro in.

 

great pics!, I guess I'm getting ahead of myself here, but I've been thinking how to open the grill shell, and still airbrush a grill that looks real, I thought cut slots in the grill,and have someone airbrush the grill, or could I put a real metal grill in it?

 

You can contact Dan Baker at Allumicraft Street Rod Grills. He makes a aluminum grill insert for the fiberglass noses. http://www.alumicraft.com/
Here is a picture af a fiberglass Sedan Delivery before the aluminum grill and after. From what I have been told, Order way ahead of time because he usually has a waiting list. Hope this helps.

 

Bob s right ...Dan makes such a sweet grille tha i have kept my original nose section which came with all the bars cut out..one of his inserts would be th crown jewel on a topo...a cheaper way to go would to be cutting the bars into your nose and.buying the chrome trim that surrounds the grille...both are pricey...i went on e bay in europe and bought my nose section with factory screen insert and managed to get it shipped cheaper the either option mentioned..ya just got to check euro ebay every couple of days..but they do pop up..

 

thanks for the help guys, I'll check into Dan Baker this week.

 

Last time i talked to Dan he had just raised the price to 575..and that was. 1 1/2 years ago..quit a grille he makes....i got lucky and bouhgt mine out of germany...and have less then 400 in it counting shiping...took a few months. of watching..and i passed on a couple hopeful for a nice one....small ding found in it when i stripped it but was old enough it had been repainteed stock color....

 

well i finally got around to finish trimming the front shock mounts to fit the frame at the propper spacing....still have work to do on them...playing with what to do with mounting the headlites to them....and i think they are going to get a few holes drilled in them...keeping with the hard core, no frills, mechanical look....or as i like to call it the beastly look..............car moves totally different when ya get in or out of it now that it has suspension on all 4 corners.....

 

That looking so cool.

 

Kid, That thing is looking bad to the bone.

 

thanks guys.......been alot going on, not much garage time this past month....and the shop is slow..... commission shop...slow times is no money times to slow me down even more.....i get the headlite mounts figured out then i can drop the hemi back in to check the firewall bracing and side vent ducting i need to build......besides, i' really wanting to see the hemi in there with those big ol valve covers on it

 

Dig the look, its coming along
on the road for first run in the spring, Mark?

 

i hope so Randy...back in may when i got the good news on the cincy house i figured i'ld have it rented out by now....which would have been the cash boost i needed to get enough funds to at leaast roll the back alley by the end of the 4th year of trying to get Lil Beast together.....which was 2 weeks ago...........just been a really bad season st the truck stop...comission sucks when it's slow like this...hell ii haven't even got the house down there ready to go...lack of funds there too.....but at this point i'm hopeful we make it to Cobo this year..finally

 

I never thought that I could ever like this; WRONG!!!
I kept looking and kept getting 'closer' to it. Now I would love to own it and drive it.
It is one Fiendish Fiat!
Hope things pick up a bit for you , and everyone else !
Davo.

 

Your really getting close. The beast has come so far and it is looking great. Keep chipping away at it and you'll be there before you know it. The shock mounts look good and the overall stance is spot on. Nice Job Mark. Your dream is coming true. The best part about that is your sharing it with us.

 

Davo...first time i ever heard of anyone not like n a topo...maybe it was my lack of experience. buildin Lil Beast that turned ya away...love your honesty..lil thing does tend to grow on ya though doesn t it.....

Bob yeah it s been a long 4 years with Lil Beast...i never would have thought it would be this long...i remember when i carried the topo into the garage at 1 am that nite...lil thing was so gutted it liked to fold flat like a.broken down cardboard box..my wife watched it fold up on me a.couple of.times..she thought i lost my mind draggin it home...then i started selling my other hot rods.to get stuff for the beast...well she got scared.for.sure then....

the stance..it turned out. as good as i could.have.hoped...just a matter of keepin the balance when the hemi goes back in....but i think the battery and fuel will belp..

we re so close to.being able to make.a.run down the alley out.back...just need to find the funds for the clutch setup and radiaror...i still have a lot to do.while.waiting..firewall..rear tail.area. ect...so i just try to get what i can done when time permits...

 

Don't feel bad about it taking longer than you thought. I am in the same boat. I brought my Fiat home in Febuary 2006 and I am still piece mealing it together as the money will allow. For example it took me two years to save up the money to have the engine built. It was worth it because I got what I wanted, just under 500 hp on pump gas. When you put the hemi back in the beast I think that will light a fire in your belly to get it driving. Good things come to those who wait. I believe that when you are out cruising in the Beast you will look back and say ya it took longer than I wanted but it sure was damn worth it.

 

Bob i know you been working on yours a couple of years longer then i have...some days it seems there is no end to the waiting to get em on the road...i pulled the hemi to work on the firewall..and had hoped to install the clutch system while it was out...but i m going to jave to stuff it back in to cbeck a few things...i m worried thta the hemi new valve covers are not going to be too close to the body...they re really tall..also i. need to pro ably revamp the firewall bracing to clear the rear head water ports as i plan to use them for.the.heater...we ll see about. this hopefully this week...

so are you getting anywhere with the mods for not having your body tilt??? i thought it sounded cool. But wondered about the issues that could pop up.....

 

Mark, believe it or not, I learned to drive in one of those little devils; about 65 years ago. It had 500 HP, er CC and was just the right size for a 7 year old.
As I said, I was not too keen on the idea. Maybe I didn't think it was 'traditional' enough. lol
I have seen a few drag racing but had trouble visualizing one on the street.
You have fixed that; thank you.
Davo.

 

Not much new Mark. I kicked around the idea of stretching the front axle out to the end of the nose like yours but it didn't look as good. I had a problem with my ride hieght and engine setup. The harmonic balancer was only 1" above the front axle and I new this would cause travel and clearance issues. So I moved the axle forward two inches and raised the frame two inches to clear the balancer and allow for spring travel. That has been it here. Oh ya, got a great deal on ebay on a set of lower door replacement panels and inner door frame. Came in the mail Saturday and they are real nice. The door bottoms have a bunch of pinholes inside and out so they need replacing. The parts came from the Netherlands. It's amazing what you can find on these darn puters.

 

It won't let me post the link but there is a 36 on Ebay right now.
Item number 261105116211. I have nothing to do with the car but sure wish I did!

 

Davo never thought my fiat would convert amyone...let alone an older hot rodder..

Bob the fiat looks good!!!should be a real improvement in the ride and handling....i did the European e bay for parts myself..costly if ya don't have a helpin hand get stuff stateside..i got lucky on my nose....goes to show there are some really great guys on this site!!!!!i have a few pin holes in my right door..high up...looks like a rag got left in it over the years it sat...figure i ll just trim it out as it is small area and has good metal around em....


Art the fiat Rodney is talking about is the.one i was talkin about a few pages back..i found pics of it just after it had been put together..
be interesting to see what it goes for if it does sell..no bids on it as of yet...

i was out of town the last 5 days so nothing new with Lil Beast...hopefully i ll get my butt out there today...got some yard work to tend to first...beautiful day out ghere buy with cold wet weather coming after. today....

 

Had to drop the hemi back in last nite..needin room in garage to stuff new v 6 into my 1948willys jeep..

 

looks great Kid, what are you doing for exhaust ?

 

Art for the time being i have a pair of right side center dump stock exhaust manifolds...they re doable with the clutch n brake under the floor...they came with 2 1/2" long stock down pipe peices also...i have an idea as to some pipes for it to mimic an old AA/FA....i took 3/8 roll tube copper and stuffed it into sections of 1 3/4" old shop vac hose and bent it to look like header tubes...i need to dig em up and show pic of em

 

Looking good Mark, JW

 

ahhh that jeep can wait!