It is happening... again! The eight and a half is coming back.
For those that know this build this first post will just be a short recap. For those that don't, well..... I built this car while it was my daily driver. It was never off the road for more than a weekend. This meant that I was never really happy with everything that was done. I always wanted to go deeper than I was able to.
I sold my E30 and paid too much for a basketcase Fiat that "just needs a carb rebuild to run and drive"
It turned out to need a lot more than that. After a solid month and a half of 50 hours a week after work and on weekends I got it on the road. Floorboard patches, New brake master, hard and soft lines, wheel cylinders, front disc upgrade, new shocks, rearched front leaf, New head gasket, rings, new carb, fuel lines, twenty years and 12 pounds of fuel turned to roofing tar burned out of the tank then acid etched it popped into life with a splash of tractor paint to keep it from deteriorating any further. At this point it became my every day car. Curb weight was 1275lbs on a freight scale.
It went through a few different motors. The stock 24hp 817cc, a disappointing 36whp built 903cc and culminated in the turbocharged, megasquirted 843cc motor which made 70whp at 7psi and was eventually turned up to 21 pounds of boost and 120whp.
The car also received some adjustable suspension, Suzuki GSXR sport bike brake calipers up front and the 15" panasports from my BMW
You might notice a certain burrito lovin' GRM'er bombing that shot. 
And that is what I drove for years. It was seriously fast, could out-brake pretty much anything it was also out accelerating, handled like you would expect something that weighed that little on 195 tires to. It was an absolute riot. It was also like driving a parade float everywhere I went. Constant horns, cameras, waving and thumbs up every where it went.
Fast forward to the worst three days of my life. I lost my job of 12 years, My wife passed away suddenly and when I got home from the hospital I was greeted by a freak snow storm that caused this
The damage to the car wasn't too terrible, my psyche however wasn't up to anything. I drove the car a few times about 6 months after the incident and diagnosed the random misfire that was getting worse as a burnt intake valve and parked it... for two years.
In the meantime I landed the dream job and honed all the metalworking skills I would need to repair my beloved Fiat on lesser cars like Ferraris and Austin Healeys. My boss kept asking me when I was gonna build the 850 up right, but we keep getting busier and with more and more cars in the shop any room for even my diminutive project is hard to carve out.
And then fate, in the form of the property manager our shop is at stepped in. She had a small storage space directly across from our space available. I leapt at the opportunity.
So here is the 20X30 space less than 20 yards from everything I need
Plans are a whole new motor. Going back to the "big" block which will be bored out to 965cc. H beam rods, and a Garrett GT1446 from a new Abarth
Repair the roof
Repair the floor that split during a particularly spirited drive and then do all the body and paint. Subtle flares on all four corners to fit some 205's all the way around.
The rotisserie is in use right now but as soon as it is free I will have the car stripped and mounted. Updates will be sporadic. This is gonna take some time.
I have really missed this car.
