Race Spider project.

[LooLooSud33Spider]

Time to confess I’m embarking on a radical new project with the spider race car. The plan is to give the car a heart transplant . I apologise To all the purists but we’re fitting a FIAT engine yes we’re putting a 1ltr Fire engine from a panda !!!! NAHHHHH only kiddin we’ve recently bought a FIAT coupe 20VT. From everyone’s favourite auction site it’s a car that was being broken but it’s still got all the bits we need to transplant the running gear in to the spider. I know Kev has done a similar job into a 145 and I’ve been in touch with him. The reason is mainly it’s cheap power without going the V6 route I’ll post pics of the project as it progresses.
Btw If anyone knows anyone with a coupe that may want some spare let me know

Lou

[KevJTD]

As I said Lou, looking forward to following your progress

[LooLooSud33Spider]

Hi kev yeah I’m looking forward to the project. Only bits I’m short of are the exhaust manifold and injector rail also the turbo is toast. Don’t suppose you’ve got any spares from when you did yours ,
Lou.

[LooLooSud33Spider]

I meant to say obviously this means the car won’t be eligible for the ARCA series . The plan is to do some 750mc events . The Roadsports series is enjoying full grids with some real horny kit from mx5s , supercharged Minis ,BMW M3s and some turboed MR2s.
Sadly the poor ole Twin Spark just wasn’t going to cut it with out spending oodles of Dosh. Regs specify that any engine from the same manufacturer or group is eligible so this transplant made sense.

[LooLooSud33Spider]

We’ve already started to convert the car to 4x98 this means we can use our wheel and tyre stock on either the 33 or spider . The Rear was a simple job of swapping the hubs and discs off the 145. We’ll be running it on 17’s

Now with 9” inches of grippy fun

[Johnboy]

Nice project .good luck

[Kegsti66]

Awesome project Lou, would love to have the know how and space for something like that, don't laugh but I think a 156 would be nice.
Looking forward to the updates.

[NEG]

Yup great project Lou! Did you get my PM?

[LooLooSud33Spider]

Almost finished stripping the coupe. I’m hoping to have a mega sesh over Christmas. To get all the major suspension components swapped over
I’m going to strip the engine aswell as I’ll be giving a it full rebuild.

[LooLooSud33Spider]

Got the engine out of the Fiat on Christmas eve and removed the head . It’s lost a big end on #3 I’ll know how serious it is when I get the sump off later. it’ll probably need a grind and worst case a rod aswell . Depending how abused it was after it started to sound “bottom endy”
Apart from a. Dodgy looking exh cam Head all looks good with no bent valves or other issues so that’ll get fully stripped, cleaned and decoked then rebuilt with all new lifters and springs .
I have to say The guys on the Fiat coupe forum have been super helpful
And I’m giving them a chance to come and take any parts I don’t need off the car FOC.
Hoping to be shut of the shell in the next fortnight .

[LooLooSud33Spider]

Looks like this things been run low on oil. Crank need a grind on both mains and big ends. #3 was the rattley one. thankfully I think it’s std. so a 1st undersize should be fine. Even for racing. I’ll be getting the crank nitrided after its been ground.
And we’ll be fitting ARP big end bolts aswell
Clutch Is toast so I’ll replace with Helix paddle clutch (6 pad)
The exh cam is also knackered
So far it’s been a good Christmas got lots done.

[KevJTD]

I bought a complete donor coupe when I did the 145 Lou, it also had a blown engine, hole in the block and bits of piston in the sump!
Turned out it had been remapped badly and running extremely weak at high revs.
Worth getting the ECU checked out before you get a repeat....
These guys seem to have a very good reputation and maybe can check the ECU for you without being on your car?
http://www.midlandscarservicing.co.uk/
Agree too that the FCC forum were extremely helpful

[LooLooSud33Spider]

Hi Kev . Thankfully the block ,head. Rods and pistons are all perfectly reuseable crank needs a grind and the exh cam and turbo are trash. I’ve sourced an exh manifold and injector rail and we’ll push the boat out with a new turbo. So I’m hoping a nice straight forward rebuild should sort it . TBH for what we paid for the entire car we figure that if the engine was no good we’ve still had a our moneys worth. Ecu Isnt a problem at the moment as we ain’t got one. As a result and that this is a pure race car we were considering going straight to a DTA system. However if we can get a stock Ecu that would allow us to progress a lot quicker and Most guys on the forum rate the std system as being good for 400-450 hp. And we’re not looking for anything like that ( at least not yet)

[LooLooSud33Spider]

Big push on the Coupider today . All the front suspension swapped over. Using the std Fiat struts at the moment as my Konis won’t fit the Fiat uprights . Next big job is to remove the entire spider engine Wiring loom. And then fit the Coupe loom. (I’m not scared... Honest)
I’m aiming to have the engine back together and installed by the end of Feb
And possibly get a test session in March

[rsfruitbat]

Hope all goes to plan for you Lou

Rsfruitbat

[LooLooSud33Spider]

Thanks Ade. I’m currently laid up with a serious Bout of Flu

[rsfruitbat]

Take a break and look after yourself
It's no weather to be buffering about outside. Especially if you are feeling rough

Rsfruitbat

[KevJTD]

Yes, our Sarah has been suffering with similar for weeks now....but then being a YOUF she neglects to slow down and keep warm...so slow down and keep warm Lou

[LooLooSud33Spider]

Thanks guys

[alfadave]

Go to Tesco's pharmacy, and get a flu jab......bit late now though?

[LooLooSud33Spider]

Had a Goid push on the spider today and made huge progress . Engine and Box now in after a lot of Eff**n and Je**in . It does fit but by god it’s a snug fit . Still got a lot to do including a bucket load of wiring and electrics to work out. hoping to have it running in the 4-5 weeks .

[Kegsti66]

Awesome !
Love it.

[LooLooSud33Spider]

Thanks Keith

[KevJTD]

It is a tight fit Lou isn't it! 145 has the added advantage of the inner wing more pronounced too! That was fun too

Looks like it was always meant to be there though

[LooLooSud33Spider]

And ! I’ve got the flu again !! Damnit

[LooLooSud33Spider]

Lots of progress on the Coupider recently. Front Konis and race springs fitted (I’ve fitted inserts on this occasion as I got them cheap and they’re Brand new) intercooler mounted and most of the plumbing is now complete on both the Cooling system and induction system. we’ve got clutch and brake system bled but best of all we’ve got it turning over and we’ve built up oil pressure. Next move is to deal with the wiring . This is a bit more involved than we’d originally thought but we’ll get it sorted . All being well were aiming to have it running over the weekend .

[Kegsti66]

Great progress made there Lou, looking good.

[KevJTD]

Getting it cranking and good oil pressure is a great hurdle reached Lou, hope the wiring isn't too taxing

[LooLooSud33Spider]

Cheers Guys . It’s felt like a bit of a nightmare occasionally but I can see a light at the end of the tunnel now .
It’s all coming together

[Mufasa]

Brilliant work Lou!