Not exactly a Fiat

[FiatMorris]

Hello,
This is my first post to the forum. I hope that my situation is not offensive to anyone here and if it is I apologize in advance. I do not own a Fiat but have always appreciated them from afar. I do own a 1955 Morris Minor Traveller which I am in the process of fitting a Fiat driveline into. This has been a popular swap in Europe for many years but I don’t think there are too many here in the US. I purchased the engine (1608), gearbox and rear axle out of a 1972 124 Spider. The owner of the Spider somehow wedged an American V8 into the car which left the original driveline available. At this time the Fiat rear end is installed in the Morris, the engine in sitting on the engine stand awaiting the last few bits to be installed and I am waiting for the trans to come back from the shop. As I stated earlier I hope this is not considered a sacrilege and hopefully some of you here will take pity on me and help with questions that will surely arise.
Thank you,
Steve

[Curly]

Welcome Steve,
That modification you're undertaking was also quite common Down Under, although most people just used the engine and gearbox, then suffered repeated axle breakages until installing a stronger rear end. Datsun (Nissan) engines and transmissions were another popular choice.
Don't forget to post some pictures when you have the pieces in place.

[Tobi]

Fix it again Tommy
I think it's a bigger sacrilege to put a V8 in a Fiat.

[baltobernie]

Wow, when those Marelli volts meet the Lucas fuse block, look out

[courtenay]

What are you going to call the end result? A Fimo, or Moriat??

[FiatMorris]

Thanks for the welcome.

I know what I will call it...Faster!

I decided to go with the Fiat rear-end as it was designed for the engine and trans, plus I got disc braked out of the deal. It wasn’t too hard to fit as the width is about the same. I had to carve off all of the trailing arm mounts and coil spring perches and weld on perches to fit the Morris leaf springs. Although I still have to sort out the brakes.
I will post picks when I figure out how.

Steve

[mdrburchette]

Interesting mods. If you've read many posts on this forum, you'll realize most of us aren't to concerned about originality. Our main goal is to keep our cars alive. Welcome to the forum. I think you'll be pleased with your new 1608 Minor!