Both the gearbox and differential are standard (4.3to1 ratio) Fiat with out any modifications. The wheels are 14” from a 131, fronts are standard 5.5” and the rears have been widened to 7” which is the maximum for this class in under 2Lt.  The tyres are a controlled (road radial) Yokohama AO32R’s 60 series, front are 175 x 60 x 14” and rear are 195 x 60 x 14”. This was the setup for the car’s first test.

We entered the car in a super sprint at Oran Park race track in July 2003. This was the first time both car and driver had been on the track and after two runs ( each of four laps) we had to adjust the timing and change the main jets. This increased the power and lowered the times. Unfortunately, after another two runs the engine failed, so we loaded up the car and went back to the workshop where the engine was pulled out and stripped.  We found that we had done a front main bearing in the engine.

   After a rebuild we again entered in another super sprint at Oran Park, armed this time with more jets and air bleeds. This increased both the power and again lowered the lap times but once again after only three runs the engine failed. So it was back to the workshop to pull the engine out, strip and inspect. This time we had done both the front and middle main bearings. After checking what could have caused the failure (oil pressure while running was on 60psi) we then asked other Fiat racers and they said that maybe it’s because we ran standard rods, but we thought why only the front main middle main and not any big ends?

    We rebuilt the engine once again but this time we increased the flow of the oil pump. As it was now at the end 2003 and the race season finished we looked forward to the 2004 State Championship.

The first round was at a WakefieldPark ( about 165Km’s south of the City of Sydney) which we did not enter, the second round was at Eastern Creek Raceway ( about 30Km’s west of Sydney). This time we entered but after only four laps of practice the engine started to misfire and lose power, we checked and found we had blown a head gasket so we loaded up and went  back to the workshop to replace it and then  headed back out to the track the next day for the races. Unfortunately we did not finish the first race as we blew another head gasket.

When we removed the head this time, we checked the block and head for any warping or cracks.  To play it safe we had them tested and they were found to be ok.  The car was ready to go again in time  for the next round at Oran Park (about 50Km’s south west of Sydney) which had entered but once again, after only a few practice laps, another blown head gasket!

We now decided to bring the car to  TONY RIGOLI PERFORMANCE (www.rigoliracing.com.au ) a well known Fiat drag racer ( 330HpFiat 124 CC and 235HP Fiat 131 Super Brava) We brought him all the components and let him work his magic. Tony modified the block’s oil ways and o-ringed both the head and block. He also fitted new studs from a MISTIBUSHI EVO engine. He then got us to rebuild the engine using the same parts that we had run before and not to fit new ones. We also purchased aand installed a  set of PIPER vernier pulleys and a kevlar cam belt. Once the car was running again we brought it back down to Tony Rigoli’s workshop and he ran the car on his Dyno. The first runs showed good horsepower for what had been done to the engine, but after some tuning and the fitment of a set of Tony’s extractors (headers) we again ran the car up but this time it showed about a 35% increase in power. By now, the 2004 race season was over so we would have to wait till the 2005 season which was to start in February. (our race season runs from February to October each Year with six races)  During the off-season, we also fitted a larger front sway bar ( 28mm ) and an adjustable rear panhard rod.

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