FIAT 500, 5 speed?

[Gardin]

Hi!

I'm searching the galaxy for a 5 speed gearbox for a FIAT 500. I have heard it exists but have had no such luck as to find one. So do anyone here know anything about this???
It must fit the original 2 cyl. engine and be a regular car transmission. I've seen people fit 4 cyl. engines, motorcycle transmissions and such.... That has no interest to me.

[drakkie]

Originally Posted by Gardin

Hi!

I'm searching the galaxy for a 5 speed gearbox for a FIAT 500. I have heard it exists but have had no such luck as to find one. So do anyone here know anything about this???
It must fit the original 2 cyl. engine and be a regular car transmission. I've seen people fit 4 cyl. engines, motorcycle transmissions and such.... That has no interest to me.

read my PM

[spi-ti-tout]

Greg Harvey might be able to help, he owns one of them fine things

[greg.harvey]

Hi,

I've never come across a 5-speed 500. To be completely honest, I don't think it will be possible without an engine modification, because the original engine simply is not powerful enough to tick along in a 5th gear. It slows down on an incline in the factory 4th, so realistically, 5th would only be usable on a long down-hill run! FYI, one conversion which might interest you is a Panda modified head on the original 2-cylinder engine block and Panda running gear - longer bore, higher compression and better suspension makes for a fairly comfortable experience compared with the original, and with those mods a 5-speed box could be an option as the extra power will make it usable. This is what our 500 mechanic did to his. It's very effective and doesn't spoil the authenticity too much, while making the vehicle much more practical for modern motoring.

For more detail, your best bet is to ask here:
http://www.fiat500club.org.uk/boards/fiat500/

They sometimes take a few days to reply on the "Chat" board, but these are a seriously knowledgeable bunch of home mechanics who are always happy to advise you. And they will have experience of all sorts of modifications over the years. One of the members even has a V8 500!!!

Cheers,

G

[Gardin]

Thanks guys!
I'm looking into your suggestions. By the way, engine power is not a problem as you might think. Mine runs 130km/h or 80mph easy, and it's standard engine and transmission. But I'm told it can't handle the high revs over longer distances, wich is why I'm requering the info. Next year I'm going from Copenhagen, Denmark to Torino, Italy in it to celebrate it's 50 birthday;-)

[drakkie]

Originally Posted by greg.harvey

One of the members even has a V8 500!!!

i might have seen that last weekend on the back of a truck black/dark blue with Abarth stickers and a small spoiler. seriously lowered and racing bodywork ? Huge engine in the back

[pimento]

Anyone heard of a 5 speeder for a mini? My gearbox is on its way out, and it'd be nice to have an extra cog in there...

[McReis]

Originally Posted by pimento

Anyone heard of a 5 speeder for a mini? My gearbox is on its way out, and it'd be nice to have an extra cog in there...

There are plenty of 5 speed gearboxes for Minis. A great part of racing Minis have 5 speed.

[VtecMini]

Originally Posted by pimento

Anyone heard of a 5 speeder for a mini? My gearbox is on its way out, and it'd be nice to have an extra cog in there...

Over on this side of the pond, a company called Jack Knight do one. I think they're fairly costly though, about £2000 or thereabouts. Add shipping onto that and it's probably gonna cost ya.

[pimento]

Ouch. I hear a re-built 'box would put me back about an aussie grand, so maybe I'll just get the longest standard one there was.. at the moment it's a 1098cc engine with the 'box from an original 850cc unit, so at anything above 50mph it's screaming.

[greg.harvey]

Originally Posted by Gardin

By the way, engine power is not a problem as you might think. Mine runs 130km/h or 80mph easy, and it's standard engine and transmission. But I'm told it can't handle the high revs over longer distances, wich is why I'm requering the info. Next year I'm going from Copenhagen, Denmark to Torino, Italy in it to celebrate it's 50 birthday;-)

Hi,

Nice - I drove mine back from Milan to London originally...

I'm not saying you're lying, but you are either mistaken or have been lied to I'm afraid. I have a Fiat 500 F and I assure you, neither the Nuovo, Gardiniera, D, F or L are capable of any more than 60mph (about 95km/h) with standard engine and transmission. It simply is not possible. Apart from anything else, the suspension is not up to going more than that, so modding the engine without modding the suspension is extremely dangerous. Also, the Panda head/suspension conversion of an L (I mentioned) is only good for 90mph (which is actually about 135km/h) at a push on a long straight.

60mph is flat out for the vast majority of standard 500s which means one of two things:

- Yours is not standard and is already modded - make sure the suspension is too, if the engine is and you don't want to die

- Your speedo is fairly wildly inaccurate

The 500 R is the only proper Fiat 500 with slightly improved performance as standard. I believe it was produced in 1975. It has the 594cc Fiat 126 engine and suspension in it factory fitted, but even this only makes it good for about 70mph (105km/h) according to all the websites I could find, not the 80mph you claim for yours. My guess is you have a combination of an R with a dodgy speedo. If you do have an R then you might just get away with a 5th, but seek professional advice.

Be curious to know which is the case.

Folks, don't forget Minis are far superior cars to Fiat 500s. The 500 was old technology when it was new! The smallest Mini engine produces more than twice the horsepower of the 500 engine, which is what makes a 5th gear feasible.

Cheers,

G

Ps - you're quite right about high revs/motorway driving. Any more than an hour or 100kms at solid high revs in 4th and you should give the engine a 10 minute break.

[spi-ti-tout]

Originally Posted by greg.harvey

- Your speedo is fairly wildly inaccurate.

Gotta love 'em Italian speedos eh?

[Gardin]

I assure you I'm as puzzled as you, but it's a fact. Only thing not standard on my 500 is the ignition system. Suspension is standard, and it becomes quite lively at these speeds;-)
A friend of mine have a 69' 500 that can't do it. Mine have been measured several times to see if the speedo is way off, but it actually did run that fast. I don't know about the internals of my engine, but other than the ignition it all appears standard.

[greg.harvey]

Possibly a modified head then - could be hard to spot if it was done a while ago (so as mucky as the rest of the engine) and you're not sure what you're looking at. Block would be the same but the stroke would be longer and the compression higher. Could have a larger oil sump too to allow for the extra cooling required. You should take another look, compare the cylinder head to the pics in the manual.

[Daz27]

Hey, I had a 500 yrs ago as my first car, it had the suicide doors and the ragtop went all the way back to the engine cover, any clues as to what model it was? Had funky wheel arch flares too.