Bike engine build

[8ballautomotive]

About me and my project: So I've been a car guy since i was a teenager i did a bit of racing and rallying in my teens and then went on to work for race car and rally car teams as a car builder/mechanic. I've always had car projects of one kind or another but as is usually the case life gets in the way and they don't get finished. About 3 years ago i moved from the UK to Dubai to work for a university which is great as i have all of the facilities at my disposal and lots of spare time. I've got an old jeep wrangler that i go off road in and i had an old corvette that i used for autocross and trackdays. The corvette just couldn't keep up with the more modern cars and as i can't afford a Porsche gt3 or a BMW M3 like a lot of the guys here in Dubai have I got to thinking about a bike engine car. I've wanted a bike engine project for a while and had a look at some westfields and Z-car minis but I don't really like kit cars and the Z-cars kits were way too expensive, then i stumbled across a fiat 126 on eBay. It seemed to cover all bases, it was small light and had a 600cc honda CBR engine fitted with roll cage etc. I got it for a good price which was important as i knew i would end up spending lots on it to get it to a good standard. I had it shipped to Dubai last March and below is where I am upto with the build. The car was used as a rally car and for sprint racing but the build quality is terrible, there are loose wires everywhere and everything seems to be held on by wood screws. But it has good potential, eventually it will have a bigger engine and be full race car spec.

Whilst waiting for the car to arrive on the boat I built a made to measure trailer for it complete with 126 stencil.

Then the first thing i did when it arrived was strip it down to see what i was working with.

Next up was to get rid of the old seats and fit a proper Kirkey racing seat

[8ballautomotive]

I played around with wheel fitment and then eventually decided to go for some wheel arch/fender extensions so i can fit nice wide wheels on without going over the top with massive arches.

Next up was to replace all the pedals. The accelerator was held down with wood screws and i didn't trust the old master cylinder so ordered a complete pedal box set from compbrake. Fitment is difficult due to the tight space but i have squeezed them in. I may replace the steering rack and column for race items at some stage  which will allow me to move the pedals to a more central location.

Fitting the pedal box is currently where i am upto but i'll try to keep progress updated.

[Club1n]

Can't wait to follow on with the project! Would love to see how the engine setup looks in the back, not had the chance to have a good nosey at one! 

[Flying Carpet]

Love the look of those arches!
..and the pedal box looks the mutt's wotsits too
Great work - looking forward to seeing this come together!

[8ballautomotive]

The last time i posted i was in the process of fitting a pedal box but i couldn't get it in a position that i was happy with due to the steering box location. Then after looking at the old grubby steering box and all of the play in the steering arms i thought f*** it and removed it with the intention of fitting a steering rack. I then cut a hole in the bulkhead which allows me to position the pedals exactly where i wanted.

So with the plan for the pedals sorted i needed to find a steering rack, i saw a few posts where people have used bis racks but the position where the rack enters the car wouldn't work for me. I inquired about some bespoke steering racks made to measure but then i had the idea to use a classic mini steering rack. I got a brand new quick rack (2.2 turns) for around 55gbp compared to 600 to get one made. I almost made the mistake of ordering a LHD rack as my 126 is LHD but then I realized that the mini steers from the back of the wheels and the 126 from the front so if i turned left the car would of turned right which wouldn't of been ideal  . So i ordered a RHD rack and flipped it upside down to use it on my LHD 126. I had to make some brackets to mount the rack and i used some solid aluminium rack mounts for a triumph GT6 to hold the rack to the brackets. I got rid of the ball joints and fitted spherical bearings by welding some threaded tube to the track rods. I bought and made various bits and pieces to get the column positioned. The position of the steering wheel and pedals is now perfect. I'm not 100% sure how the steering will be in terms of geometry, i took some measurements and got things positioned where i think will be ok but i won't really know until i test drive it and i need to get the pedal box finished before i can do that.

I also decided to replace the complete wiring loom so whilst i was waiting for delivery of the steering parts I got on with the new wiring which is now 90% complete.

Sorry for the quality of photo's might be difficult to make out what there showing