nothing to see here - move along.......

notes -

Garage is painted

spares are being unpacked - junk tossed out....

new baffled windage trayed sump purchased via trademe - thanks Paul http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~pcia/index.html

the ignition controller from  the 128 is the same as on the Peugeot 405 Mi16..... (ask me how I know)

Price for a flowed big valve head with cam to suit is $1300 +gst from kelfords in Christchurch or $4500 from the guy in New Plymouth... hmmm choices - choices

I still don't have a roll cage

I will no longer be predicting a completion date

 

 

that's it - see you next year

 

x

x

w

 

 

 

 

more of the same

Spent a bit of Sunday afternoon grinding the last of the roll cage stubs out - in total its taken 7ish hours to get the old cage totally out - which is about half as long as it takes to put one in.... do not try this at home!

(do what I did - use someone else's garage - its a messy job!)

 

Pulled the head of the Super Ritmo Cabrio engine - these were the hottest SOHC available to the public - 1600cc and rated at 100hp as apposed to the super 90 Strada - head is dated 1983 and has bigger everything compared to my the 1500 head... off to the engine doctor to get a diagnosis - I just hope he can do something for this patient.

 

applied paint to the garage at home - hmmm patchy white is much better than black and gray timber....

w

make haste slowly

No much going on in the lair of the #67 Fiat at the moment -

 

cut the roll cage stubs down for final grinding (nasty horrible job) seam welded the wheel tubs where they failed when the old roll cage came out.... came up nice.

Threw a bunch of nasty little dabs of weld in the corner of the left A pillar - and then ground it back to look almost kinda just about not quite sick making.... its going to get a skim of filler to make it smooth - I just cant get a weld bead to come out good there - too much braze and seam sealer close to the joins... oh well! add in another 3.5 hours

 

Another two weekends should see it ready to slide back to my own garage - yay!

 

From the other weekend I have a bunch of  photos from my trip to Auckland plus a very gratefully received 1500 ported and milled head many thanks to Carl and Bob Hayman - the photo below is of Carls 1500 block with 88mm bore for 1560cc and IAPEL Pistons - looking forward to seeing this back in the #888 car  along with the big and beautiful Lynn Rogers Tipo Head for the Leisure Time series next year. Just hope the gear box hangs in there! on a personal note I am sorting out the cost of the engine for next year just so I have a total to aim for.

 

Cleaned out the garage at home ready for painting the walls and running the lights hopefully will be done by Christmas.

 

So empty it echoes

friggen roll cage - did you know that it takes one bloke 3.5 hours armed with an angle grinder a hacksaw and a big hammer to remove one fiat 128 roll cage - and not completely f*%k the rest o the car.....? and its not and easy 3.5 hours either - its hot - dirty - smoky - loud and generally antisocial. In fact it sucks.

 

but the cage is out - the rear section was 48mm steam pipe and must weigh about 30 kg plus on its own - to big too heavy and really ugly - the front section weighed less than half that and it had more tubes.... removing the cage also meant a few wee welds on the right rear wheel tub went ping - so a bit of welding is in order... see below

 

now for the bad news - due to the fact the new house needs a new kitchen - and that needs $$$ the car budget has been frozen while management decides *when* we can logically chuck 2.2k at the 128 for a jungle gym... but that just means I get to drag the thing into the new shed at home base and sort out all the inside mods that I was going to do after the cage went - plus a few I just thought up - since its going to be easier now to do that. so basically the list looks like this:

• make transport frame
• Pedal box and drivers floor area - new panel
• Exhaust tunnel (rear passengers floor area) - new panel (and if you have been keeping up that leaves the front passengers foot well and a tee shape in the middle of the car as the only Fiat floor left!)
• windscreen pillar - finish off nasty little patch
• various cracks - weld
• remove all extraneous bolts and brackets - more sparks
• patch firewall - brake booster hole etc etc
• tidy parcel tray remains - (did I mention I cut that out as well?)
• fuel cell frame
• beat out rear towers for shocks
• tidy engine bay and boot
• new front strut mounting plates
• Finish the seam welding in couple of hard to reach places
• wire brush underside and arches - seam seal and underseal including wheel arches
• prep for paint - and prime/seam seal etc
• paint interior and inside roof
• fabricate a throttle pedal

plus a bunch of stuff I haven't thought of but not much that costs real money.... i.e. a good few weeks of solid work - so say about 5 months at warwick speed?

 

later

 

w

 

 

lazy sunday afternoon

been selling surplus stuff on trademe the last couple of weeks - amazingly have managed to pay for the new shocks - wonders will never cease! still have a bit left over just rats and mice...

 

Spent a happy afternoon on the 67 car fizzing some patches on to the front valance - in the vain hope that it adds some support  and helps the front suspension mounts hang together. - applied some filler - and bobs your aunties live in lover - Just bear in mind this is *not* a restoration project, its just a rebuild of an old race car that was once an even older road car assembled by people ho saved money by *not* painting the backside of any panel!! - I also used the opportunity to measure up the car for its new cage - the original concept has to be revised per new Motorsport Manual 33 - i.e. no Larry and Garry bars (windscreen X bars) and for some reason there has to be a gap in the door opening - go figure! will draw that up this week.

 

that's it really - will shoot out to the shed after work on Tuesday to sand the panel filler while its still kinda fresh.

 

add another four hours

 

latter

 

w

Left wheel tub - prior to uderseal and painting

right wheel tub - the flash makes it look untidy

Left and Right wheel tubs and new drivers seat tray - if you look closely you can spot the odd hole in the floor pan from the spot weld removal - I didnt dust that day!!

October 2005 - The Bomb Factory #67 Fiat in fully stripped mode - note rear wheel tubs

Other Peoples Race Cars

Just for fun the bomb factory went for a nice relaxing weekend of visiting with Team Enzed Abarth in sunny Rota-vegas - the plan - shift some stuff in the toyshed - go for a test drive in the Abarth (fresh(ish) engine for this years Targa (3 weeks away)-  apparently it feels a little *tight*.....) move the Chinese Peoples Army bmw side car combination out of the way - chuck the spare Fiat Dino on the trailer and have a bit of a general tidy up.

 

That was the plan

 

first job - after measuring some spare 600 parts cars up - start up 'Barty (Team Abarths F-Abarth 1000tc Berlina Corsa) and warm up prior to giving it a bit of a run around the lake.... starts - idles - miss - fart - miss - clunk..... dead - loud swearing noises.....

long story short - brand new oil pump drive ate itself - mangled - ripped to shreds even - but the break away shear pin did not shear - the clunk was the disturber shaft finally locking solid stoping the engine - looks like the shear pin was responsible by being a little too long - causing the gear to drag and eat itself - no wonder it felt TIGHT!

 

Targa now looking very unlikely

6 working hours later we had stripped rebuilt and reinstalled various oil pump combination 4 times - replaced two oil filters and one oil gauge (wrecked when one combination didn't do *any* oil pressure relieving at all......) used 8 litres of castol RS - and took some lengthy breaks to evaluated progress - note we are not really engine guys and are consequently suspicious - until we restored normal oil pressure service.....

 

Targa was looking more likely.

 

The only thing left to do was to find out how the car went -

noisy

fast (down hill anyway - Team Abarth just loves going down)

scary

or more succinctly -  'Barty? well him, he was back........

the last five minutes felt like being an ice cube stuck to the side of a cocktail shaker powered by DC 10 jet engine.... while playing in traffic -

Dr. Phil you have all my sympathy....

 

Targa will be happening - this will make 11 years straight - same car - same engine - same driver (and the same sponsor...)

 

oh and the side car combination went away - so that makes  two things done.....

 

The Bomb Factory also used the opportunity to up-lift the rear wing for the 128 - ah yes - if nothing else it will give us something to put the beers on.....

 

All in all a Great weekend - its always better to break in the shop with somebody around and no deadline,  than to do it - Day One - Stage One in the middle of somewhere rural - see I can be positive....

 

Raining

sanded some bog - smoothed some welds - ran out of primer - marked out the rear parcel tray for amputation, I am not sure it that's a smart idea or not but it will be in the way and I want the damn thing gone.... had a close look at the front valance, gonna be an icky job that one - pouring with rain - went home.

 

2 hours added to the tally

 

need to add a another smoothing coat of panel filler to the rear quarter, smooth and prime then fix the valance - it was too wet for that this weekend -  then the cage is coming out - then another weekend dicking about patching anything that will be masked by the *new* cage then make a dolley to transport it on - then its gone.... end of October at the earliest is my bet!

 

off to Rotavegas this coming weekend to play cars with Team Enzed Abarth (TEA) principle Ing.Mike Lowe and to pick up a few Bomb Factory Parts that have been hanging out in the care of TEA.... 

 

ciao

 

 

 

 

Bogged

Another five hours on a beautiful day and the back end looks like its part of the 128 again - ground back the wheel tubs flush with the side panels - resulting in a lot of popped tack welds - finish welded the resulting gaps - and the welder is running really well - even I was impressed with the results... hit the welds inside the wheel tubs with the flap wheel (I love this things... expensive but they last forever) and applied some very sticky polyurethane gap sealant...... and lastly did the the bog thing - some nice newtech aluminium filled stuff to start with - which I will go over next week with the standard issue pink putty....

 

I couldn't bear the thought of the car going into some one else's workshop for the cage work looking like a stockcar refugee

 

There is always more work to do - found some very interesting rust in the front valance - both left and right corners which back on to the front cross member i.e. exactly where the front pickups are sighted (its a natural water collection point)  - after considering this for a while I have decided to let in a patch panel to assist the rigidity of these points a little and to to at least let the car look somewhat solid

 

The "spare" 128 arrived in my drive way this week - after sitting around at the local transport yard for a few months (unde a tarp) along with the rolling (just) shell was supposed to be a 1500 'short block' - what I got was a block - crank and pistons - nothing else - my definition of a short block is obviously different to that of my vendor.... still you get that when you don't apply the "bull shite" filter to deals.... I wont be taken for a ride again!

 

comments section is now open for use - go for it!

 

Later

w

 

Front Shocks

Quick Rack

Quick rack and Shocks

Shiny Bits

The photos above are some new toys for the bomb factory 128 - Coil Over Konis and Quick Rack and Pinion

The Konis are freshly rebuilt items that have had a previous life in a hot rod SCCA Autocross Yugo - as full coilovers they eliminate the rear transverse spring - spring rates are in the filling shaker catagory - 650# rear 400# or 500# front - the camber plates are custom jobbies and there are some very simple but very trick thrust bearings inbetween which will help my puny arms somewhat!

The Rack asembly is compliments of the White Horse Blitz racing club founder in the UK (Blitz are a 126 based off-road racer) and is probably the last one in captivity (maybe) it features a 6 tooth pinion which gives 20% or so faster ratio -

The whole project is taking on a UN flavour.... wonder if I can get any french bits in the car -anyway - the budget got a hammering and consequently completion is either a way off or closer depending on how I look at things

Next item on the list is the roll cage... after I have done some bogging :-)

...and on the seventh day he did weld

well I did anyway -
Sooooo I have now reduced the free flow boot ventilation to zero(ish) - i.e. the back end is all welded up now....
Fixed the right-hand A pillar lower hinge plate with a rather nifty butt welded repair section - even she who ignores the car thought it looked good...
Finally - three years after finding the left-hand wind screen corner was a bit dodgy it is now patched (still a little dodgy - but its 99% solid zinc coated metal and the odd spotty weld)
ummm that's it really - another five hours in the shed and my list of things to patch prior to the rollcage getting done is down to one little bit of the dash panel that is currently hiding behind the dash tube... will get at that when the current roll structure is out (hopefully the car does not bend in half.....!)

Next mission is to get the welds all finished and filled/primed - the old cage out and dolly made to trundle the little pest around on (the car......) so its going to be noisy for a while - my in-laws will be happy to se the back of me after that....

Oh and the quick rack arrived - 6 tooth pinion vs. the std 5 tooth = @ 20% reduction or there abouts (half a turn)

New Shocks are in Transit - watch this space

Onwards

the bomb Factory is Back in the game this weekend - progress is seen to be made - and I even took photos (now just have to develop the film - see previous comments re - luddite.) All this took 8 hours to do.... and it looks so easy in the books!

Rear wheel tubs - both are now in and welded - I also hacked them back a bit - still need final trimming and a bit of panel cream (delicate way of say ing they need bogging) looking at them there will be ZERO chance of fouling  the metal work when the car is at full bump - just need to find a flare big enough to cover them as I do not want people slagging off my fabricating skills and clunky welding - rust is all repaired on the right boot well  and the left boot well needs one panel folded up and welding on.

Made a patch for the left front corner of the windscreen opening - now I bet all you Fiat owners are wondering why that rusted out..... nope didn't think so - need to now remake the lip to support the windscreen and finish the welds etc etc.

After reading a number of comments on the inherent weakness of the front sway bar pick ups - I had another look at that area - sure enough there were more cracks in evidence - weld em up - now that should be okay for a bit - I can see that the front of the chassis is going to be an issue over time - the roll cage will help but the suspension loads are hanging out in the breeze - with the change to track rods at the front the cross car twisting load will be taken off the mounts so that may help a bit but who knows.

NEWS ITEMS

I have also paid for a quick rack for the car - watch this space for a monologue on fitting this item

Also in process are a complete set of Koni Coil overs - custom items - I will update when these hit the factory floor as well.

Ran out of welding gas so only got the one day in - good job to as I am obviously out of shape. The welding is still a bit off and on but I think its getting better - although the tin foil Fiat built the 128 outer skins with is a bit of a trial.

The bomb factories new home is coming along need to put in some lights and paint the inside and we can drag the old tart home (the car.....)

 

My estimate of having the cage in by September is looking a bit on the hopeful side of hopeful - October is more likely as it seems to take me 3 times as long to do a job as I guesstimate and the family are still apparently quite fond of seeing me - or least having me do stuff around the place anyway.

 

Okay back to the real world...

W

Update

In answer to fiatracer's subtle hint  below - it is beyond time for an update:

 

There is nothing new to report on the body work front - no time due to reality intruding into the weekends. butttttt I will back in the in-laws shed this coming weekend to get into the little monster again.... I cant hardly wait.

On the mechanical front there is a bit to report - yay!

• Shock absorbers - watch this space for a serious surprise (okay its about four weeks away but trust me it will be worth the wait.)
• Big (valve) Head - yup its a happening thing - the key to making these non cross flow heads produce more than their share of bhp is the head - so the bombfactory has made a deal on one - now that's worth writing here about!
• Header - no comment but we will make the stainless thing in the shed fit if it takes a month....

But the big news is the forthcoming bombfactory clearance sale of (mostly) Fiat 128 race related bits. Everything from Bilstein and KYB Shocks, camber plates, Kent Cams, coil over kits and springs plus some Honda and Ford escort rally bits - I need the space and the dollars so there will be some bargains for those in need.... I though I might pop them on TradeMe so keep an eye out of email me or whatever...

 

nuff for now - back to the paying job!

 

w

 

   

 

Heads up

bOmB FacToRy

 

 

Random 128 Pictures

I have rummaged around and found some photos - nothing to do with the Bomb Factory car - but anyway...
Here is a shot of fellow fiat fan Phil Greys 128 SL coupe - freshly painted and just prior to a physics lesson at Pukekohe's castrol corner - havent seen the *after* shots yet - I hope the damage is minor....

The car above is a South American 4 door in Orange - the Bomb Factory likes this car very much and it mimics our proposed ride height and front roll cage concepts

Patch Work

Been a hectic couple of weeks - family has all been down with the flu.... no car time ( walking dead might be a better descriptor) anyways - welded in some the right hand side patch panel in the boot well and completed the wheel tub - needs a bit of trimming and a good skim of filler but its in - amazing how much that tightens up the unibody.... some small patches to finish on that side and then repeat on the left... take a full day for me to do a side.

 

Just bought a new house - so the car will hibernate for a while (about 6 weeks I am betting) then another three days of  work should see the shell ready for its new roll cage......

 

I have decided against a steering quickener at this stage - the jury was out on whether it would add to the package so I will do some empirical testing and try the std setup first - with  the 12inch wheel I have it should be okay.

 

later

 

w

 

 

 

Reconstruction

<news flash> The 128 now has a drivers floor tray..... all welded in and fitting okay.... next stop the wheel tubs  hopefully in by this time next week. - will take the camera along next time and do some updated shots - as a confirmed luddite I don't own a digital camera.... they cost as much as a set of shocks - which I do own... simple really

 

later

w

 

 

Evo 2 Stripped out and looking ugly - note the cross member visable in this shot is the one that is no longer there - 2004 (progress was slow - okay?)

Evo 2 - stripped and caged 2003

ibid

EVO 1 - the day the bomb factory took ownership

me an' fred

flintstone that is - major three day session on the body shell -

seam welding complete on main frame rails (I can now weld upside down....) big hole in the drivers floor area (650x520) - wheel wells cut out and finished ready for welding. I haven't decided on how much more seaming I will do.... Also the car has had a bit of a seam up previously? (Mal?) probably look at doing the rear shock towers and leave it at that...

 

I hate Fiat underseal.... it stays in seams and causes major weld splatter resulting in bird shite welds - 30% of the underside welds are ugly and I have some additional holes in my hands as a result....

 

Ordered the new floor tray and wheel tubs.... will pick up this stuff on Friday....

 

later

 

w

 

mid week musing

Quick update on thoughts and plans

This car is an opportunity to try out some ideas that have been hanging around in the back of my mind for a while now. So I thought it was timely to put some of this stuff down on paper (bytes?)

 

My idea is to have a bit of fun building the thing with my own hands (the therapy bit)  - and then go out and have some fun racing the car - as it is the car has sat around so long now that it is up to Evolution 3 status without having turned a wheel in competition under my ownership - last event was as a half caged rally car in 2001 with Mal Simmonds www.fiatparts.co.nz (there is picture in the gallery) running around the Taupo race track - so that makes 4 years on ice, with at least another six months of fiddling to go. I could have just tarted the old thing up and had a skid - but I didn't, in hindsight I should have - but that's just life. So with all that in mind here is where I am at.

1. I have a thing for the 128 - boxy unloved and kinda funky. So I have an excuse for not building an Uno or a Golf or a mini... just don't like em
2. I have owned a factory Group 2 Fiat 128 (built by Trevialato Racing and campaigned by Scuderia Filipinetti in 1971/72)  - see the photo from a few days back - so have had the opportunity to drive the best "classic" set up there was and its good... but....
3. I cant leave anything alone....
4. I don't actually like the ergonomics of a 128 - sad but true...
5. I have a thing about the BTCC, German Group 5 touring cars, American SCCA GT3, 4 and 5 cars and the Kiwi SS2000 / Shell Sport cars - fat flares, big slicks low low ride height - wings - anything to make it all work...
6. So taking some ideas from those who should know - I have settled on the following mods
• Lower and centralise the seating position - means a new drivers floor tub (underway)
• Use floor Mounted pedal box - in this case willwood - means a tub for these as well (underway)
• move the seating position 250mm rearwards (underway)
• extend the steering column and add quick release (done)
• Add a steering quickener - 'cause I cant find a quick rack - still haven't confirmed this bit...
• mount the seat to the roll cage - (next job)
• Jungle Gym roll cage - I make it out to require 44 metres of 38mm Southward Tube... or 1/2 what an Aussie V8 Supercar has in it - only question is will the cage builder agree?
• ditch the front anti roll bar and fit tension struts with insitu adjustors (done)
• seam weld (underway)
• fit coilovers front and rear (done)
• Lexan glazing all round - including the windscreen (job for later)
• Glass fibre Boot and Bonnet (done) and Front doors (later)
• Weld rear door skins  to shell (later)
• Tub the rear wheel wells (Done)
• 13 x 7 wheels (done)
• Disc brake rear, Vented Fronts (done)
• Ditch the hand brake (done)
• remove the parcel tray (underway)
• Ditch the dash
• run the exhaust inside the cabin (in a fabricated tunnel) exit out the lh rear door skin
• plus all the Normal racing stuff - rewire/replumb/fuel cell/window neat/race seat etc etc oh and fix the rust in the boot wells
• Big rear anti roll bar & small front anti roll bar - both to be sorted out in testing
• Front air dam and splitter
• Rear Wing - (done)
7. Plus it will need painting as is the worlds most awful shade of light blue (it was the 1970's after all) - I like the idea of a semi gloss black..... white doors and big skunk stripes...
8. Engine is a 1500 SOHC - 40mm delortos Alquatti Intake - Stainless Headers - Big valve head - Cam to suit etc all pretty average really (see previous note on resources)
9. Gear box is standard 4 speed - but there is a development plan for that...
10. Will it actually all work? - who knows - its all been done before just generally not on the same car... but I am sure that there is an almost identical spec 128 somewhere - I just haven't found it.
11. Will it be fast? - actually who really cares? I don't... my toy .

If anybody feels the need and has a set lying about  I am looking for a set of 450# 2.5"x8" coil springs for the fronts....

email warwickg@inspire.net.nz

later

w

 

 

bomb factory Faza Fiat 128 purchased 1995 - now sadly missed - it is the genuine article! 

Sunday May 29 2005

Seemingly Obvious

Another day of fusing metal - got the welder dialled in a bit better and it lays some good beads - engine bay is 95% - just need to get rid of the tower bars and seam the back of the towers and fill a few holes (from drilled out spot welds etc.) Cabin is 70% - ran out of abrasives... burnt a couple of new holes - and filled half the holes from the cross member - once I dialled the amps back a bit this bit of the operation went smoothly enough, no majors and nothing an angle grinder wont fix anyway! long weekend coming up and I have booked three days on the car - fun and games!

 

w

 

Saturday 21 May

seems like a long time:
The new welder welds - yeah! first day of seam welding the chassis - some nice welds some not so nice - only one additional hole in car - hit some rust down on the off -side inner wing....probably another day - day and a half on the top side of the car including the inside - then we have to go underneath - I think I will tip the whole thing on its side to do this, including stripping the blasted underseal.... I am not looking forward to this - mega headache from the burning underseal today although the New auto welding helmet works a charm.
need to get some 3m rust and paint removing discs to clear the seams out - Fiat used a nasty seam sealer on these bodies and it screws up the welds no end (blobby blob)- Next time I am getting the shell dipped! (next time - madness - must be the fumes)

w

18 May 2005

raining again - just what you need when you have a bunch of expensive race car parts in "almost" dry storage. Bitten the bullet and carried out major surgery to the interior - shifter platform and cross member have been removed - 150 small holes to weld up and a new floor pan tub to fabricate - driving position will be right of centre with the left hand seat rail 10 mm to the right of the centre line - almost central seat - tub will lower the seating position 120mm from standard (about 5 inches) should just be able to see over the dash....

 

Welding the shell this weekend - new welder as yet un-tested - so may just end up swearing at the car

 

w

 

day one

well finally the sound of fingers being pulled - welcome to the brain dump of one very confused bureaucrat with an abideing fixation with motorsport and the ability to weld - just...
random thoughts to follow

bomb factory - I race old Fiats generally - namely Fiat 128's and old Fiats fall into the category of bombs.... known as bangers in the UK and probably something else in the Americas - cheap and one step away from mechanical destruction (and rust) - of course the race car is none of these things hence the witty name... oh well

I have been asked by friends so many times to get the car finished that this is away of explaining the progress - distractions and generally bloody confusion that has surrounded this build -

i.e. I am not Jessie James - okay and I don't have the resources of Prodrive either, so these things take time...

Work is progressing to date I have (among other things - I do have a life...);
-had the roll cage compleated and homologated and am now contemplating cutting the whole thing out-
- Stripped the car down to a shell
- cut out large portions of fiats finest steel
- purchased - shocks - springs - seats - steering wheel - camber plates - carbs etc

so whats the idea?

easy - take a 1971 Fiat 128 4 door sedan and spend light years turning it into a FIA group 5 wanna be

.... why not?