1958 Fiat 500 Nuova America

[metalshapes]

jamesd1972 , a banjo would have worked.

But this one was one of those jobs where 1 problem led to the next, and then the next after that.
So I was kinda scrambling to look for ways out with things I had laying around.

It went wrong when I screwed up by trying to braze it ( I should have done the repair with epoxy)
After that , it was just damage control...

georgeb , yeah, I have pics of me with a jerry can under my arm walking to the next gas station.

Thanks guys..

[metalshapes]

I've run into kind of a roadblock.

I ordered several parts for this car from Europe, and one of the packages has been lost.

DHL Tracking shows its last location ( on Dec 30) at their facility , less than 400Km from the seller.

This package has the backing plates for the brakes and the swivel bolts for the roof, so I'm stuck on the suspension and the roof.

I placed another order for a wiring loom, and some other parts.

But I'm about out of things I can do with the parts I have.


So that's it for now.

I've decided to do some other stuff that could no longer be put off, a house remodel.
Which makes my wife happy.

If and when parts arrive, and if I can steal a couple of hours, I'll do a little bit to it.
And I'll let you know when I do...

[grizz]

That sucks, a lot.

Hope you get something figured out.

[metalshapes]

Thanks grizz .

Yeah, it sucks.

Its not my first bad experience in with DHL.

A couple of years ago a shipment that had to go from Germany to me ended up in Australia. ( at least, that's what the vendor told me. Not the same vendor as this one BTW, but both in Germany )

When it was finally tracked down, they sent back to Germany, and then sent to me which took forever...

The cardboard box looked like it had taken a couple of laps around the world when finally I got it.



Where people work mistakes are made, that is a given.

The way I see it, what separates a good company from a lesser one is how the problems are solved.
Which is where this shipper scores low, in my experience.

I'm also a little disappointed with the lady who works for the vendor who gave me some nonsense story about shipments getting held up at customs.
Instead of looking at the tracking info and realising it was nowhere near customs yet.

But that may just be a case of CYA...

[metalshapes]

Time for a little update.

Still working on the house remodel, but we are taking a little break from it.

The lady that works at the vendor came through for me in a big way.

She had DHL find out what happened to the shipment, and after taking their sweet time doing that they had to admit they had no idea where it was.

So at that point The same shipment was sent off to me again, at no charge to me.

It arrived here without complications, about the time I expected it to.

And again a couple of days later.

Wait.. What??

So the first one was the lost mystery package ( which was deleted from their tracking info, when they said it was lost ), and the 2nd one the replacement.

I'll send the 2nd one back as soon as they figure out who will pay for the shipping.


After that, I've ordered more parts from the same vendor, with no trouble at all.
( even when things got difficult with the Corona situation, I'm really happy with them )



So I've got a pretty good pile of parts for this car now, and hopefully in the next couple of weeks some time to put them on...

[glenanderson]

This Corona thing is bringing the worst out in some people/companies, but it’s also highlighting some that really are doing their best. Hopefully when all this is over people will remember the good ones and let the bad ones fall on their swords.

[metalshapes]

I was able to sneak in a couple of hours in the garage, here and there.

So I did do a couple of things.


A 500 Nuova has many slight differences to the later 500's.

So a lot of the 500F & R parts need a little work to fit.

I got a set of later model rear suspension arms, because they use bigger stubaxles and bearings, and they fit the bigger driveshafts of the later gearboxes ( which I need because I'll use a 650cc engine out of a late 126, with some mild performance mods )

The rear spring pockets are completely different, and they take a different length spring ( but the shock length is compatible ).
So I needed a spacer to get the right rideheight with the lowered springs I got.

I thought it would be nice to have those adjustable, so I got a set of adjustable platforms the Oval Track guys use on their Chevy Camaro's.







They were only about $30 a piece...

I cut the tophat part off.







And made an aluminum platform to fit the spring pocket.

[metalshapes]

This is what the early Nuova rear spring pocket looks like.





And here it is with my adjustable spacer.





For the front I got it really low, and then top get it to the rideheight I want with the springrate I want I made some adjustable platforms that slide onto the shocks.









So now I have some adjustability on all 4 corners, I can set the corner weights ( not really needed for a street car, but its hard to unlearn what you are used to doing... ), and I can change the front spring rate by swapping out the front helper springs.

[metalshapes]

The rear suspension is back together.

With new swing arms, ( the elusive ) new backing plates, shoes, cylinders, drums, brake hoses, lines and E brake cable, and all the miscellaneous springs/ clips, etc...

And the new lowering springs & shorter shocks ( meant for Abarth 695SS racers ), I posted about earlier.

[metalshapes]

The original Nuova front spindles were in really nice shape, but since they are Nuova, they are different from the later F L and R types.

Main difference is that they take a different kind of tie rod end, which is still available, but at several times the price the later ones go for.

But I wanted to Heim Joints as rod ends ( AKA Rose joints, in the UK ), which means drilling out the steering arms.

Being as rare as they are, that would be the wrong thing to do to the original Nuova spindles.

So they go into the box of original Nuova parts which came off this car, incase it will ever fall into the wrong hands in the future ( I.E. a restorer... )


So I got a new/ rebuilt set for a later type 500, and drilled those out.

Also with new backing plates, drums, shoes, cylinders, hoses & lines, Bearings, etc.

[metalshapes]

The new lowered front leaf spring & the coilover helper springs, and short stiff racing shocks ( to match the rears ).

I went through my stash of Fiat parts and found a nice steeringbox, with no wear or play.

So I cleaned that and put it on, a new bushing casting with new bushings for the pass side pitman arm, new tie rods and Heim Joint rod ends.





At full droop, the front suspension is now lower than the ride height was when I got the car...

[metalshapes]

This is the steeringwheel I want to use.

Its a really nice old accessory piece, with an extra horn ring and marble effect plasic trim .

Very nice period piece.



I spent some time getting the horn button to work, it looked like it never had, parts were just bolted together.

But there was enough meat in the aluminum castings to machine it for the guts out of a stock Fiat 600 horn button, so now it works.




Trouble is, its meant for a 600, not a 500, so its slightly bigger dia., and doesnt have the dish a 500 steering wheel would have.



So I had to figure out how to get the wheel down a bit, and closer to the driver.

So while I was measuring and figuring out how to do this I noticed the upper edge of the windshield was really low.
Like in your line of vision low...

Later 500's had a windshield that was a bit taller, which solves the problem, even if you are 6'2".

But fortunately I'm using seats out of a early to mid '70s 500, and the seatbacks are adjustable.

So with the seat in the rear most position, and the back rest 1 slot down from stock, I have plenty of room.

[metalshapes]

I lengthened the column ( actually I started with a 600 column, which is a little longer already ), and put a u-joint at the bottom.



And I made a new column drop.





I used the turn signal switch stalk from a 600 too, because its a couple of inches taller than a 500 one.

I happened to have one from the right period ( late '50s, early 60's ), so that matches the car.

And in black, so that matches the steeringwheel.

The stock column drop attaches to it.

And it has to stay, because even if its no longer supporting the column, it still keeps the stalk from turning.


2 strips of 1 X 1/8" aluminum connect the two.

[metalshapes]

At some point the front decklid flew open.

Probably not with a very high speed, but enough to really buckle and tweak the lid, and the hinge reenforcements were completely ripped out.

I carefully worked on the big dent, and fixed it with a minimum of welding & grinding that would be visible on the outside.
Because I don't want to mess the uniform layer of surface rust up.

So within those restraints, I got it as good as I could.

And I put on a new set of stainless trim pieces ( 1 on each door, 1 on each 1/4 panel, 1 on the front decklid )



It needs a little more adjusting at the hinge, and I cant close it yet because I'll have to replace the release cable first.

[stealthstylz]

This is a properly cool and we'll thought out build. Awesome.

[glenanderson]

It looks great sat like that. Very purposeful. 👍😃

[metalshapes]

Thanks guys.

[glenanderson]

You’re more than welcome. I’m really enjoying watching this unfold. It’s going to be great fun once it’s done.

I’d still have to paint it though. 🤣😉

[metalshapes]

If I lived anywhere but bone dry Southern Arizona, I'd paint it too.

If I would have painted it, it would have been very dark blue.

But a color like that is vulnerable here , because of the heat and the sun ( a nice new shiny black paintjob baked off my wife's Falcon in less than a year).

And I like the low maintenance part of it too ( no polishing... )

[fr€$h&m1nt¥]

I’d missed this thread up to now but have just gone through it.

Impressive work so far and I love how it sits. Even the headlights have grown on me as I’ve seen it’s progression.