Just some old Fiat

Fueled by unrealistic expectations and a delusional level of self confidence, I have set out to build a rally car, a group B tribute rally car...

So I was thinking any homologated car of the late 70`s early 80`s era built to group B spec is a group B rally car even if it wasn`t built as one at the time. Although in this case it will really be closer to a Group G car with a turbo as the motor is a 500hp K20 not the asthmatic 65 hp 1300 4 speed it came with. And yes calm down I know Group G cant have a turbo, I`m still surly about it happing all those years ago...

Step one dust off the X19

First things first, Make a hole to fit the new motor and gearbox and add 1 Midwest Bayless conversion kit... sounds easy and no it was not easy, but I can now wield fiat steel which is as thin as the hair on my balding head.

So far so good, I will need to trim a bit more off to fit the exhaust and turbo, but getting there.

I noticed some rust in the wheel arches and as we all know the only way to safely fix that is a full set of Prototipo flares like the five factory cars that were made to be rallied and said by the factory drivers to be faster and easier to drive than a Stratos. Next i attacked the the wheel arches with the wheel of death and was surprised to find very little rust, so yea it had some spot rust... o well to late now. It wasn`t easy finding the fiberglass bits for a 70`s Fiat (who would have thought) and so far Africa is the only continent I haven`t ordered parts from, but they do sell a DSG gearbox conversion for the K20 so maybe one day...

Stop, Stop NOW.... Please stop and turn you bastard! Back to Midwest Bayless for some custom shocks, breaks and a sway bar that would do a lite truck proud. I even found some reinforcing plates for the shock tower in the UK

Over the years we learn lessons, some are eazy and some are not. One of the best logos I have ever seen was for the Navy fire fighting range at Jarvis bay. It had a burning war ship with the words Learn or Burn, now being in charge of a ships safety equipment means you are highly trained in many aspects of safety, my Uncle Mat`s work logo even says "Speed Safely"! So when we are planning out a rally car and its time to pick a spot for the fuel tank there are a few things to consider from a safety point of view, all of which I applied the "AIM" Principle. Which stands for Acknowledge Ignore and Move on! ITS GROUP B so guess what I put in the front crumple zone? I did make a reinforcing brace and surrounded the tank in a self extinguishing foam (that`s the bit that sounds safe) to keep the radiators heat away from the tank as the air from said radiators (one for the motor the other for a water to air intercooler) now exits via the bonnet vents, well it will when I find and fit some. the top tank braces need to be mounted to the fire wall in a more secure way and ill extend the roll cage to ad some more perceived protection.

I`m not even going to pretend the body work I do is acceptable if you were paying for it, but I do get a bit better each time and I don`t get headaches from the fumes anymore... which can`t be good, meh... Having said all that I find myself just sitting and looking at this beast and thinking holy shit that`s my car!

Totally the wrong choice of car to convert...GO FOR IT!!!

Yes that dawned on me when I went looking for wheels... and had to have them made... and then find tiny little wheel studs and nuts, so yes I do find myself saying why did I pick this thing again

I started out racing a Morris Marina, which was a stupid choice (too heavy, too underpowered, rubbish suspension), moved on the a Toyota Corolla AE86 (good power, too heavy, rubbish suspension design) and now am modifying a kit car for racing (too heavy for the engine, excellent suspension, chassis that bent at the front when I fitted decent brakes and the right rate springs).

The Morris Marina went on to win it's class in many sprints, the Corolla went on win it's class in many championships and kit car is shaping up quite nicely (already quicker with less power than the Corolla).

Everything can be fixed and you can learn a lot along the way.

My biggest concern with the X19 is the VERY short wheelbase. Any plans to increase it? An Exige, for example, is 100mm longer.

The life choices we make.. Datsun`s, Alfa`s, wrx`s and evo`s are all better cars on paper and they all have the pros and cons, but at least like the Morris a lot of people have to ask what the Fiat is. I don`t think ill be changing the wheel length any time soon but I would like to replace the floor and make it flat. even if I used the lowest point on the original floor it would drop my ass down by an inch which would let me use a helmet. Its that or put sticker of one on the window of one and sit still when the officials are looking.

I`m going to need some help to get through the next stage of the build... Any Haltech experts on here? I have a nexes r3 and a IO16 and I`m hoping that`s enough to run the whole car including break lights indicators ect

below this is from the Haltech info about the inputs and I`m wondering if some are more suitable for different jobs and if there`s anything to watch out for, so the magic smoke doesn't escape! keep it simple I don`t even know what a half bridge is..

OUTPUTS

6 x Half Bridge Outputs (HBO)

8A current (sink/source)Capable of 0-100% duty cycle2.2khz switching speed

NOT suitable for DBW throttle application

WARNING - When using HBOs, ensure the Nexus IO16 is powered using the constant power pins and power ground pins.

OTHERS

3 x 5V output (sensor power)4 x Sensor ground

Note: Any 5V and sensor ground pins can be paired when wiring sensors.

Another FIAT/Lancia lover here, I grew up building tuning and Racing Lampredi twin cams with my dad.

We have 16v Lampredis now.

I remember the Lancia 2ltr motor was the hot swap back in the 80s to give the x19 a bit more go., nice motor for its day. Did have a Lancia beta but it caught fire out side a fire station and while I filed out paper work it burned...