Fiat 132 2000 from Lebanon
Posted: April 7th, 2012, 3:35 pm
Hello Gentlemen
I've been on this forum for a while reading all the interesting threads, and making comments on things I have personally experienced.
After many replies about random technical things concerning race car preparation (BMW) which I am into, I think it's by time to present the Fiat I own.
It's an 1980 Fiat 132 2000 (Yes, 4 doors sedan). My father had it since 1994, originally bought from a fellow BMW racer, keeping it in an old warehouse. It was his mother's car, she had it factory new in 1980, so I'm considered to be the second owner. It may seem an ordinary, rather old and dull car, especially here in Lebanon, where everybody is driving 2005+ sports cars (including me), but for nothing in the world, would I sell it or trade it. It has a special meaning to me, it's the first car I drove, and after 32 years (she's older than me), it still is one of the most comfortable rides for long distances, and most sporty and responsive engines on twisty steep uphill roads, that never seem to end here in Lebanon.
It isn't an original-kept one, as it is never intended to be. It's just for the old school looks, fun to drive, reliability, and comfort. So here are the specs:
Exterior:
1- Jaguar S-type "shadow silver" paint job, with some bronze bits added to the paint to give more shine (Done 7 years ago, still in a mint condition).
2- Fiat 124 CC Cromodora 14x5.5 rims, 185/65R14 tyres. Will be sitting on 15x7 and 15x8 BBS in a week or two (205/55 front, 225/50 rear).
Interior:
1- Original seats and upholstery, reconditioned with new blue velours cloth 5 months ago.
2- Original dashboard, with Argenta instruments.
3- Deep dished steering wheel (OMP).
Suspension:
Original suspension on all four sides, no lowering. Just a complete reconditioning 6 months ago with new TRW ball joints and steering ball joints, N.O.S rubber bits all around, and 4 Sachs shock absorbers.
Braking:
1-Original braking setup in front, drilled discs, ATE pads.
2- Fiat 132 GLS 1800 rear brake setup, substituting the 2000 drum brakes with drilled discs and ATE pads too. (Great improvement on stopping power by the way).
Transmission:
1- Fiat 131 Sport (We call it Racing over here) close-ratio gearbox. original ABARTH short gearchange. (Custom center console to fit the gearchange).
2- Fiat 132 1800 differential (4.10:1 Ratio. Original 2000 diff is 3.73:1).
Engine:
1- Originally, an Argenta VX engine (1995cc).
Had a burnt valve last summer, so I decided to overhaul it, and add something more "juicy" that suits my driving and preferences. Going N/A all around. I'm no big fan of forced induction (unless 450+hp is my target).
2- Mondial pistons, 6mm dome (130TC maybe?), STD size 84mm.
3- OE rods.
4- Lightened flywheel (as per Guy's directions on this forum), fully balanced bottom end.
5- Spesso Racing head gasket (1.35mm compressed)
6- Slightly ported and VERY cleanly polished VX head. Already this head is known to have the biggest ports in the Fiat family (36-34mm)
7- New OE Vx valves (43.5mm In, 36.5mm Ex)
8- Stock VX exhaust manifold, cast iron, 4-2, the 2-1 pipes. 50mm ID pipe, with 2 straight-through stainless steel silencers.
9- OE Fiat waffle intake manifold, ported, port-matched, and polished.
10- 2x Weber 40 IDF carburettors, in great condition, fully overhauled. Specs are:
- 35mm venturis.
- 145 mains.
- 180 air correctors.
- F16 emulsion tubes.
- 55 idle jets.
- 40 pump jets.
11- Standard Magnetti Marelli electronic ignition (with GM HEI module), cam driven distributor.
12- Camshafts: Intake 130 TC camshaft (10mm 7/51), timed at 105 FL
Exhaust Argenta 2000i.e camshaft (9.9mm 53/5), timed at 107 FL
13- Local made adjustable cam pulleys, alloy center plate, great pieces of work (My machinist is good, thanks Lord!)
14- Handmade aluminum airbox (by me). All measures are withing permissible clearance specs over the carbs. Remote cold air intake (75mm) with K&N cone filter.
15- Standard mechanical fuel pump.
16- Car is climatizated, and so it will always be. Nothing beats cold air when temperature rises above 40deg C here in summer.
17- Mercedes Benz aluminum core radiator (230E W124), custom fitted with very minor modifications (To the radiator, not the car).
18- OE Fiat electrical fan, plus one pushing outer fan for the AC condenser. Temperature never goes beyond 90C in hot summer uphill rides.
Those are mainly the overall specs. Pictures are to come soon this weekend (3 days off work for now).
More parts are on their way from the US, will cite them in another reply soon.
Problems?
Not on reliability, car is extremely reliable especially on Lebanon's harsh roads, full of bumps. Engine is going well after 12.000Kms of the rebuild. I can't even remember I added coolant since. I change oil and filter every 4000Kms, put Liqui-Moly 20W-50 MOS2. Switching to Valvoline VR1 the next change.
Performance problems?
Yes. This engine seems never wanting to rev high. Pulls like a tractor and spins wheel on 4th, from 2000 to 4800 rpm, then suddenly dies completely. It's a pain to the heart listening to it trying to reach 5500 rpm.
Any suggestions or comments are welcome.
Thank you for your precious time to read my thread, and sorry for talking so long.
Thank you Guy for this awesome forum.
Nabih
I've been on this forum for a while reading all the interesting threads, and making comments on things I have personally experienced.
After many replies about random technical things concerning race car preparation (BMW) which I am into, I think it's by time to present the Fiat I own.
It's an 1980 Fiat 132 2000 (Yes, 4 doors sedan). My father had it since 1994, originally bought from a fellow BMW racer, keeping it in an old warehouse. It was his mother's car, she had it factory new in 1980, so I'm considered to be the second owner. It may seem an ordinary, rather old and dull car, especially here in Lebanon, where everybody is driving 2005+ sports cars (including me), but for nothing in the world, would I sell it or trade it. It has a special meaning to me, it's the first car I drove, and after 32 years (she's older than me), it still is one of the most comfortable rides for long distances, and most sporty and responsive engines on twisty steep uphill roads, that never seem to end here in Lebanon.
It isn't an original-kept one, as it is never intended to be. It's just for the old school looks, fun to drive, reliability, and comfort. So here are the specs:
Exterior:
1- Jaguar S-type "shadow silver" paint job, with some bronze bits added to the paint to give more shine (Done 7 years ago, still in a mint condition).
2- Fiat 124 CC Cromodora 14x5.5 rims, 185/65R14 tyres. Will be sitting on 15x7 and 15x8 BBS in a week or two (205/55 front, 225/50 rear).
Interior:
1- Original seats and upholstery, reconditioned with new blue velours cloth 5 months ago.
2- Original dashboard, with Argenta instruments.
3- Deep dished steering wheel (OMP).
Suspension:
Original suspension on all four sides, no lowering. Just a complete reconditioning 6 months ago with new TRW ball joints and steering ball joints, N.O.S rubber bits all around, and 4 Sachs shock absorbers.
Braking:
1-Original braking setup in front, drilled discs, ATE pads.
2- Fiat 132 GLS 1800 rear brake setup, substituting the 2000 drum brakes with drilled discs and ATE pads too. (Great improvement on stopping power by the way).
Transmission:
1- Fiat 131 Sport (We call it Racing over here) close-ratio gearbox. original ABARTH short gearchange. (Custom center console to fit the gearchange).
2- Fiat 132 1800 differential (4.10:1 Ratio. Original 2000 diff is 3.73:1).
Engine:
1- Originally, an Argenta VX engine (1995cc).
Had a burnt valve last summer, so I decided to overhaul it, and add something more "juicy" that suits my driving and preferences. Going N/A all around. I'm no big fan of forced induction (unless 450+hp is my target).
2- Mondial pistons, 6mm dome (130TC maybe?), STD size 84mm.
3- OE rods.
4- Lightened flywheel (as per Guy's directions on this forum), fully balanced bottom end.
5- Spesso Racing head gasket (1.35mm compressed)
6- Slightly ported and VERY cleanly polished VX head. Already this head is known to have the biggest ports in the Fiat family (36-34mm)
7- New OE Vx valves (43.5mm In, 36.5mm Ex)
8- Stock VX exhaust manifold, cast iron, 4-2, the 2-1 pipes. 50mm ID pipe, with 2 straight-through stainless steel silencers.
9- OE Fiat waffle intake manifold, ported, port-matched, and polished.
10- 2x Weber 40 IDF carburettors, in great condition, fully overhauled. Specs are:
- 35mm venturis.
- 145 mains.
- 180 air correctors.
- F16 emulsion tubes.
- 55 idle jets.
- 40 pump jets.
11- Standard Magnetti Marelli electronic ignition (with GM HEI module), cam driven distributor.
12- Camshafts: Intake 130 TC camshaft (10mm 7/51), timed at 105 FL
Exhaust Argenta 2000i.e camshaft (9.9mm 53/5), timed at 107 FL
13- Local made adjustable cam pulleys, alloy center plate, great pieces of work (My machinist is good, thanks Lord!)
14- Handmade aluminum airbox (by me). All measures are withing permissible clearance specs over the carbs. Remote cold air intake (75mm) with K&N cone filter.
15- Standard mechanical fuel pump.
16- Car is climatizated, and so it will always be. Nothing beats cold air when temperature rises above 40deg C here in summer.
17- Mercedes Benz aluminum core radiator (230E W124), custom fitted with very minor modifications (To the radiator, not the car).
18- OE Fiat electrical fan, plus one pushing outer fan for the AC condenser. Temperature never goes beyond 90C in hot summer uphill rides.
Those are mainly the overall specs. Pictures are to come soon this weekend (3 days off work for now).
More parts are on their way from the US, will cite them in another reply soon.
Problems?
Not on reliability, car is extremely reliable especially on Lebanon's harsh roads, full of bumps. Engine is going well after 12.000Kms of the rebuild. I can't even remember I added coolant since. I change oil and filter every 4000Kms, put Liqui-Moly 20W-50 MOS2. Switching to Valvoline VR1 the next change.
Performance problems?
Yes. This engine seems never wanting to rev high. Pulls like a tractor and spins wheel on 4th, from 2000 to 4800 rpm, then suddenly dies completely. It's a pain to the heart listening to it trying to reach 5500 rpm.
Any suggestions or comments are welcome.
Thank you for your precious time to read my thread, and sorry for talking so long.
Thank you Guy for this awesome forum.
Nabih