Motorcycle Powered Fiat (Episode 2) - Building Custom Control Arms

[ramona300]

Now I don't expect everyone will want to rush out and install a motorbike engine in their 850 but this Youtube video has some exceptionally clever engineering that I wish I had thought of. I've installed an aftermarket lower wishbone step up on my car with Tokico brake callipers. While I was doing this I was competing in track events in my MX5 [Miata] and enjoying the superb road handling. It certainly never occurred to me to convert to ball joints.

 

[gene cooley]

Now I don't expect everyone will want to rush out and install a motorbike engine in their 850 but this Youtube video has some exceptionally clever engineering that I wish I had thought of. I've installed an aftermarket lower wishbone step up on my car with Tokico brake callipers. While I was doing this I was competing in track events in my MX5 [Miata] and enjoying the superb road handling. It certainly never occurred to me to convert to ball joints.

Now I don't expect everyone will want to rush out and install a motorbike engine in their 850 but this Youtube video has some exceptionally clever engineering that I wish I had thought of. I've installed an aftermarket lower wishbone step up on my car with Tokico brake callipers. While I was doing this I was competing in track events in my MX5 [Miata] and enjoying the superb road handling. It certainly never occurred to me to convert to ball joints.

I'm not sure but I think I watched 3 videos. Never got past the replays. I do suggest that you dump the modded 850 a arms and just start from scratch, it will be simpler in the long run and you don't have to deal with the limited space available to pass a pushrod or a coilover/shock though it.
I will look forward to more videos, especially your choice in engines.

 

[ramona300]

The lower control arms on my car are special units made in New Zealand and are probably the most expensive part of the car. I modified the kingpin uprights to take coil-over clubman Bilsteins.

 

[gene cooley]

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Now I don't expect everyone will want to rush out and install a motorbike engine in their 850 but this Youtube video has some exceptionally clever engineering that I wish I had thought of. I've installed an aftermarket lower wishbone step up on my car with Tokico brake callipers. While I was doing this I was competing in track events in my MX5 [Miata] and enjoying the superb road handling. It certainly never occurred to me to convert to ball joints.

Now I don't expect everyone will want to rush out and install a motorbike engine in their 850 but this Youtube video has some exceptionally clever engineering that I wish I had thought of. I've installed an aftermarket lower wishbone step up on my car with Tokico brake callipers. While I was doing this I was competing in track events in my MX5 [Miata] and enjoying the superb road handling. It certainly never occurred to me to convert to ball joints.

Here is a pic of the 600 front suspension

 

[Dave Bassett]

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Here is a pic of the 600 front suspension View attachment 55467

Gene, do you only use the car with double A arms for racing or also on the street? If you use it on the street, what do you think? Is the manufacturer still offering it? People talk about how pricey they are but lots of things are pricey. I just paid $1200 for a washer and dryer that I did not even want to replace. Any feedback will be much appreciated.

 

[gene cooley]

Gene, do you only use the car with double A arms for racing or also on the street? If you use it on the street, what do you think? Is the manufacturer still offering it? People talk about how pricey they are but lots of things are pricey. I just paid $1200 for a washer and dryer that I did not even want to replace. Any feedback will be much appreciated.

Strictly for autocrossing. The uprights arefrom an '88pontiac Fiero. We modified them to use heim joints. My son had the a arms made up at work from some sketches he drew. They have been on the car for a couple of years. They work really with the lowered car and the 8" wide front slicks.We added some structure to the front spring mount rails to locate the lower arms and the plates for the upper arms(We did pop some fender sheetmetalwhen I spun it last week

 

[Dave Bassett]

Strictly for autocrossing. The uprights arefrom an '88pontiac Fiero. We modified them to use heim joints. My son had the a arms made up at work from some sketches he drew. They have been on the car for a couple of years. They work really with the lowered car and the 8" wide front slicks.We added some structure to the front spring mount rails to locate the lower arms and the plates for the upper arms(We did pop some fender sheetmetalwhen I spun it last week

Thank you. I will not be racing and don't have machine shop access. However, I am intrigued by the idea of converting my 850 Spider to double wishbones using one of the kits that is available. They seem to be obtainable in the range of $700 and include coilovers. I need shocks anyway. D'Angelo Automobili offers choices on spring rates. This just seems like a much more modern setup with adjustable ride height.

 

[kmead]

Gene, do you only use the car with double A arms for racing or also on the street? If you use it on the street, what do you think? Is the manufacturer still offering it? People talk about how pricey they are but lots of things are pricey. I just paid $1200 for a washer and dryer that I did not even want to replace. Any feedback will be much appreciated.

The 850 is already effectively already a double wishbone suspension system. The spring is the lower a arm and spring all in one and if you read the Dante Giacossa’s memoir it also offers some additional geometry value which isn’t immediately apparent.

Personally for day to day driving I would change the steering system first to the 126 steering rack to get rid of all the slop in the existing steering system and all the wear items.

If anything getting rid of the kingpin system to a system like the Simca 1000 front end would be a much better change. There is nothing particularly good about the kingpin assembly.

For most uses the OE spring with either a reversed eye on the leaf, the welded kingpin assembly to change the location point of the standard spring or the add on lower mount ( http://www.bernimotori.com/abarth_suspension_en.html ) to lower it should suffice without adding additional stresses into the chassis.

Lowering an 850 excessively is not a good strategy as you are already into the bump stops in normal use with regularity. The lowering of the front is problematic from a geometry perspective.

Personally I am not convinced the front structure can take the spring and shock driving the load through the one mount but others may differ.

 

[ramona300]

The top mount for the shock absorber has to be reinforced. John Edward's videos show how to do this. I also have a tube across the inside connecting the mountings together.