Hot Rods My Project....1938 Fiat Topolino.....Lil Beast...........

Looking good man. I sold my 23T altered to a friend of mine (making payments) once I have all the money, and the T is gone my 38 will be coming down from the rafters in my shop. I'm going to make it a old school altered (maybe even make it street legal).

 

Love this TOPO!!! Always wanted one myself!!!

 

Thanks for all the good comments....Ken, I'd personally love to see ya do a streetable topo....you'd be blown away by the looks and comments one gets driving a topolino on the street....

Everything is looking so Damn clean and shiny it's making me want to tear into the body n get it straightened out...but i get the
hemi cleaned and painted, I'm putting it all back together...figure i can do some of the other things it needs done while i cruise around over the remainder of this summer..lower bear claw latches for the bottom of the door, ect

 

Mark,
The chassis looks amazing. The Beast sure has come along way. What are you using for a fuel tank? I may have overlooked it. Keep up the great work.

 

It wouldn't be too hard for me to make it street legal here in Texas

I may even put the 671 blower, and intake that I have that fits the 302 Ford I'm going to put into it .

 

Ken, a blown 302...yea don't see many of those, especially with 671's on top...sweet combo for a very sweet hot rod!!!! You put that together and i guarantee I'll make it
by your place on my Lil Beast Does The USA Cruise!!!!

Bob as of this time i still have to either take a crack at welding up a fuel tank or sub it out...its going to go behind the seat ...figure i can get right at 12 gallons back there..from seat back storage compartment to rear tire insert and level with the
tops of the factory wheels wells...it'llbe inside the car, but set up so that the weak side will be the bottom under the tank...it'll be covered on all sides except the bottom by min of 1/8" steel so that impact it will drain out of body..or explosion, most force will go downward ,,,,just not enough room beyond the axel for any decent amount of capacity...besides that is where my tow hitch for the camper is going to be..and probably a small jell type battery...

 

Frame paint...i took this last nite in the garage...carried a part into the sunlight today, looks like a totally different paint....definitely like the sunny version best....

 

looks great. Sure beats all that rust that was on there.

 

Bob from day one i wanted Lil Beast to come across as a. very mechanical/industrial nothing fancy hard core all business hot rod....this paint looks boring, plain Jane matte finish off black without sunlight...and inn same lite sometimes looks like old dull aluminum...outside in the sun, the axel became a black/dark silver/gold,,,,with a killer shine like it was still wet. .if .it's sunny today, I'm going to try and roll the frame outside if i can catch some rays on it...don't know what it'll photograph like, but....

 

More cleaned, painted and back inn the frame....gotta clean up the aluminum peices, tack a few last process of 3/4" square tube inn around tree pedals and then the body can go back inn place

 

Cool progress, looks hot with the fan going. I see four assistants there also. JW

 

JW, the boxer babies are always helping out inn the garage..slab is always cool for them...the smaller yellow blower it's for when they lay down..with it blowing across the floor it helps cool down the garage... this weekend it was 93+ outside.....,garage thermometer never hit 80....

 

Spent the afternoon with ol Bob, of The Wee Tee build getting the body down out of the rafters and mounted on the cleaned and painted frame and hemi.....frame tweaked nicely, car sits nice and level...still have to finish shiming the body on the nut inserts i welded into the frame......also have to relocate the left headlight/shock mount...it was all wrong inn location as the frame was tweaked. (Which i hadn't realised yet...not much room inn my
garage too stand back and check em)...when i made and mounted them ...out became very evident when i was trying to mount the headlights h

 

Back in the cave

 

Damn that looks good. JW

 

AWSOME!!!!!! What a WILD RIDE!!!!

 

Getting closer and closer.

 

Thanks guys!!!i was soooooo tired of looking at flat old black primer and frame rust brown....now i look at the body down on it and wonder when I'll have it nice too...

Was a hard physical week art work, and yesterday wrestling the body out of the rafters to the frame, i woke up beat to day....guess i ain't a youngin no. more...so i came out and cut out the hole for the fuel cap my brother and his best friend bought me art Cobo Autorama
View attachment 2661285 Extreme this past March. ..

 

Ageing is not kind, is the fuel cap off a Jag? JW

 

Guy they got off off said it came from a boat...the way it is vented and the seal/drain inside under the cap, I'd say probably boat...but then i don't know what a jag cap looks like, so oooo...i like it and it has a lock tasty is ready to service/change of need be i don't have th e key

 

Well i got the steering column and shaft back inn,,,permanently...prior to lifting the body it was loosely tacked in...need to adjust the Castet a bit on the right...the new LA distributor came yesterday..still looking over the different options on the intermediate shaft...welded threelast off the trans tunnel...hopefully rolling before the end of the month ...man this summer is flying by

 

Well it's been a month...busy as hell at the tuck stop. .got a new young kids on my shift...good kid but never wrenched before....so i haven't been getting much done...

Got the LA dizzy installed...modifying a couple of sections from an old vega harness for the charging system...mainly the plugs and rubber caps for the alternator.....figured out tonite what modifications need to be done for the left shock/headlight mount...trying to get Lil Beast's lights and charging done this week....

 

Really digging your progress Mark, too cool !! JW

 

Thanks JW...summer is closing out so i think it'll be some plexi glass fixed in place windows for some summer end and fall cruisin...hell it's been down inn the low 50's up here for days art nite time..closer to the 40's.....

 

We are heading into spring in two weeks, nice day today but we have had some cold wet storms. Got the T outside for some tray patch work. You car has been good inspiration Mark. JW

 

Thanks, JW.....got the engine bay wiring harness done and run into the interior ....still have to mount the fuse block and decide on what I'm going to use for switches .

But i have been sneaking in some time on my 1948 CJ2A WILLYS....thinking weekend up north. This fall....do a bit of wheelling on the fire break trails
Today i run new brake lines and new wheel cylinders on the front....

A
bit of luck and i should have
Lil Beast out for a shake down run
by t this weekend

 

Life is good with a Willys (or two) JW

 

Well it's been 6 years to the day that i came home from buying and bringing home Lil Beast's body....never would have thought it would take this long ....and still be working on the fiat...but life has been full of surprises and hurdles to get over....

So today we rolled out of the garage to finally check out the changes to the frame and the


new QA coilovers inn the rear...felt good to have a working rear suspension finally...rolled out to my buddy o Bob's house...perfect autumn day, sunny and cooler...the new LA dizzy has really improved the old dodge hemi's idle and rev also ,...still tons of things to do, but i think the list won't take another 6 years to complete.....although the days anniversary share down cruise was cut short by an oil leak...the dip stick had been brazed right above the block and cracked today...otherwise a nice but to short cruise...as we enter into year 7 of the project...a few pics today's escape com the garage...and one of the
"Proof" we did a rolling hotshot today to celebrate our long enduring attempt to build a proper hotrod. ...

 

About time............just kidding

 

Way, way cool !!! The use of a model A front chassis section and the dropped I beam axle with transverse spring is very unusual on a Topo...... BUT you really made it work and look good as well. Well done. JW