Hi from Sydney Australia

[Riot650]

Hey peeps,

Recently picked up a FSM Niki rolling shell. Have always loved these cars since my dad had one when I was a kid.

A lot of work ahead of me to get this girl up and going as well as looking good, but I'm looking forward to the challenge!

1 question - My car has NO interior - no seats or nothing. Have been looking online with no luck to try and source some front AND back seats with no luck. Can anyone recommend somewhere?

Thanks guys [emoji4]

[Rusty's Uncle]

Hello mate , that is a solid looking body shell there so good luck with the project. What about the engine? If you search the forum there are a few Niki owners in Sydney. They are much rarer in your near NZ but there are quite a few 500s there and the front seats are interchangeable. Rear seats are different but if you can find the seat frames than all of the covers etc are available in Europe 

[Riot650]

Thanks Rusty [emoji4]

Yes I'm following Fat650's build on Facebook who is also in Sydney.

The body has a couple of rust spots but nothing that can't be fixed I hope!

My friend has actually found two Niki's abandoned in a field for some time so I'm hoping we can grab them and maybe salvage some parts, maybe the seat frames.

I haven't decided what to do engine wise yet, as I'm thinking for me that's quite a while off. Maybe just the standard engine as a base and upgraded parts/bigger bore etc?

One thing I have heard is the standard gearbox is pretty weak - is there anything you can do to strengthen/upgrade these?

Thanks again [emoji1360]


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[Rusty's Uncle]

I think those two Nikis have been mentioned here before so good luck with that. The weakest link when it comes to gearboxes is the driver when they can not cope with no syncro on 1st. Smallcox is putting 100hp+ with a turbocharged engine through a standard box with a 5th gear conversion. Good to hear that you are sticking with original engine and whilst there are many mods you can do your big challenge is to get the whole motor together 

[Pete126]

  to the club Riot650

[Riot650]

I think those two Nikis have been mentioned here before so good luck with that. The weakest link when it comes to gearboxes is the driver when they can not cope with no syncro on 1st. Smallcox is putting 100hp+ with a turbocharged engine through a standard box with a 5th gear conversion. Good to hear that you are sticking with original engine and whilst there are many mods you can do your big challenge is to get the whole motor together 

All I've been doing all day at work the past couple of weeks is looking up parts online! It honestly scares me how many parts there are - clips for this, screws for that - this is my first restoration so it's a little overwhelming sometimes. I think to myself, "what if I miss this bit of that bit?". I have a workshop manual that I am reading in my spare time though. A good friend of mine has a lot of experience with building motors, mostly rotaries at the end of the day I guess an engine is an engine. Just have to sit down and work out exactly what I need. BUT, engine and gearbox are a little while off yet! Good to hear about the gearbox, I had seen some things on other forums saying that the box can barely handle the power of the standard engine. I was looking at doing the 5 speed conversion as well if funds permit. Really appreciate all the advice Rusty [emoji4]

to the club Riot650

Thanks Pete! [emoji1360]



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[drcdb15]

I had seen some things on other forums saying that the box can barely handle the power of the standard engine.

The baby Fiats are known for many things but gearbox failure isn't one of them! In my own (limited) experience the one *seriously* worthwhile mod to the transmission is to get rid of the splined link at the wheels end of the driveshafts and replace them with the roller ball links offered by Piotross. You can find full details, photos and lots of user experience on here.

... no, I haven't got a link for you... you've got to do *some* work yourself!! 

Oh, and  to the Forum.

[Riot650]

The baby Fiats are known for many things but gearbox failure isn't one of them! In my own (limited) experience the one *seriously* worthwhile mod to the transmission is to get rid of the splined link at the wheels end of the driveshafts and replace them with the roller ball links offered by Piotross. You can find full details, photos and lots of user experience on here.

... no, I haven't got a link for you... you've got to do *some* work yourself!! 

Oh, and  to the Forum.

Haha thanks drcdb15, I'm glad to hear that isn't the case!

I will start looking that up once I get to work in the morning [emoji6]


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