Little Blue Fiat, Little Red Fiat

As you may have noticed it's been a quiet couple of months - one or two trips out and a bit more tinkering with the carburettor and injector for my car. With the weather taking a bit of a turn for the worse, it's not likely to get beyond that for now (I am a bit precious about my car - apologies to all who think I should be out at every opportunity!). There may not be much automotive action for me on the cards, but there has been another distraction.

My other half has never been a big fan of "pimped" cars - you know the sort - aftermarket body kits, excessively large wheels and exhausts, neon kits, need I go on?

Well, I think there has been a slight change of heart. About three months ago, as my little car was having the last few bits of work completed, he went up to check on progress and whilst wondering around the yard by the garage, spotted a rather lovely 500 in Red; Racing Red (Rosso Corsa - the unmistakable Ferrari Red) to be precise. On the interior side, the seats were covered in cream vinyl, on the outside there was extra chrome on the windows, over-riders - if it could be chrome, it was.  On his return home, he had various pictures of my car and one picture of this red one, citing the fact that it was "quite nice". A couple of days later after some negotiation, it was announced that we had a second 500 in the household (third if you count my 2008 one).

The car is a 1969 500L, Left hand drive. It spent the past few years travelling along the French Riviera (oh la la!) and the body work is pretty tidy as a result. Originally the bodywork was orange but had been resprayed to its current shade of red by its previous owner. He had a Ferrari and bought the 500 for his wife and had it kitted out to match his car, hence the Rosso Corsa and cream interior.

It has a 650cc engine, but unlike mine has been fitted with a Abarth sump and exhaust. It had a set of Lesmo Campagnola style alloys fitted - nice wheels on the right car and original on some Abarth models, but neither of us were particularly fond of them. Luckily Stef knew someone who was looking for a set, so these have been swapped for a standard set of wheels.

The main change was the dashboard. The L has the rectangular speedometer and moulded plastic dash, which isn't as pretty as the painted dash of the F or R. This bothered my other half and his suggestion was strip back the majority of the plastic, trim it down, build up the metalwork round the speedo. As you can see from the picture, the outcome is actually rather good. In addition to this, the inside now sports cream door liners and sun shades to match the seats and an original steering wheel. Just to keep the amount of chromework up, it also has chrome running plates on this inside step of the doors. 

The car was dropped off on Friday - Stef brought it down and combined it with a quick look at mine (carb/fuel issues - I'll get to that later). Interesting fact of the day - trailers designed for Caterham racing cars are just the right size to fit a Fiat 500. This may not seem much of a fact, but the wheelbase of a 500 is often too narrow for trailers and trucks which have separate ramps for the wheels. I've seen 500s being moved on some massive transporters because they have a solid ramp - the only way they can get the car on the back!

Back to the little red car - it sounds amazing. For all his "bean can for an exhaust" comments about other cars, it has a fantastic sound. Not too loud, but a really nice deep burble. From the back, it looks pretty much like standard and unless anyone is familiar with the usual pinched 500 exhaust, it doesn't look that big. One giveaway to what is lurking under the bonnet is the base of the engine which can be seen - with the magic word ABARTH written on it.

For all the pimping and bling, it's still retained a lot of its original character, and has gained a little more. Yes, there is a bit more chorme and trim, but it's not too over the top. It is pretty nippy and drives really well - maybe a shade faster than mine, but only just. As for mine - it is really still running in, so it's just a case of adjustment, nothing too serious. Stef has taken it back to tinker and fix the one or two things on the snagging list and tighten everything up now it's had time to bed in. It means I'm without my car for the moment, but it should only be for a week or so.

For now, I'll have to seek solace in a Little Red Fiat instead of a Blue one.

A quiet few days (almost...)

It's been a quite couple of weeks - well, relatively quiet.

The other half has been driving the 500 to work once a week to build up some running-in miles. With a lot of the most modern cars, there isn't the usual "don't overdo it for the first so many miles" advice, although to be fair, I've always thought it wasn't a bad principle to live by. Improved manufacturing tolerances, more reliable components (to some extent) and more rigorous QA and pre-delivery checks means that modern cars are expected to be good to go as soon as they leave the showroom.

This isn't the case with older cars and certainly isn't the case with a restored car. Although he has had some running checks as part of the restoration and has been MOT'ed,  there hasn't been any serious long running and he's no longer a standard "off the peg" car - the engine and gearbox isn't the original design or size (and has in fact be slightly modified as well - slightly bored out cylinders, lighter flywheel, plus one or two other bits) and the brakes are now all discs, so there is plenty on the car which isn't standard. This makes for a more interesting and in some respects a more drivable and safer car, but does mean that there is an element of unpredictability to any problems that may flag up.

An early start was made on Thursday to head off to work. I panicked slightly when the other half returned 5 minutes later, only to find that it was because he'd forgotten is work pass - panic over.

Second panic of the day happened at about 4:30pm when the phone rang - the other half was less than a mile from home when everything cut out - engine stopped, electrics all died. There wasn't much I could do apart from worry - not only about the car but also my other half. I knew exactly where he was and it's not the sort of place to be stationary, especially coming up to rush hour. After an hour of worried washing up and kitchen cleaning (anything to take my mind off things), he arrived home, car running, same as normal. It turned out to be a loose connection to the battery - it had worked its way to a point where one bump was enough to bounce if off the terminal - hence the total lack of power.

So, after an initial feeling of panic, then the thought of an evening or weekend spent playing hunt the loose connection, it was an easy fix.

With regards to the snagging list, so far there isn't a huge amount. The main thing at the moment is a slight adjustment to the carburettor just to smooth out the running. The main inlet jet fitted is solenoid controlled (this helps to stop run-on compared with the original fixed pin). It's probably just a quick clean of the main inlet and a tweak or two to the idle adjustment - nothing too drastic at the moment. There's still a few miles to go, but hopefully there won't be anything more dramatic.

First trip out...

Yesterday was Jenson's first proper trip out - off to Cars@Course in Windsor.

This was a bit of a new experience for me as well as my Little Blue Fiat as I've only ever been to look at shows, never to actually show a car off. Anyway, we set off up the A4 and did a fair job of not holding the traffic up too much (apologies to anyone who was in any sort of hurry!), and got to Windsor race course at about 10:30. There was already a bit of a queue on the way in, mainly Porsches (it was a joint show - Porsches, Italian Marques, VW and Japanese performance cars). I joined the show car line (which was a new experience) in amongst a cluster of  911s and Carreras and headed in to the main area.

I was directed into the Italian area and parked up next to a row of Alfa Romeos, Ferraris, Lamborginis and Lancias. Even amongst some of the heavy hitters of the Italian marques, he still attracted quite a bit of attention - he certainly wasn't the biggest, quickest, most expensive or valuable car there, but the cute simple charm always seems to draw people in, even if it is just to look at how small he is or the fact that 500s are such basic simple little cars. 

There weren't many other 500s there (me and one other in fact!), but we still spent a large part of the morning talking to owners and previous owners of them. I'm always amazed how many people say "I had one of those a few years ago",  "We had one of those when I was a child" or "a relative had one of those back in the day". Almost all of the people I meet can recall stories of travels with their 500; everything from camping trips with parents and siblings (5 plus luggage and tent - impressive!) to travelling back through Germany during time in the army. It just goes to show what an impact that little car had when it was first introduced and opened up the world of motoring to a new generation of car owners.

With the main part of the show over, we headed home for the day - driving home in the sun, roof open, window open, gentle puttering of engine in the background. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday morning, and home in time to watch the F1 in Singapore. It was a good result for my little car's namesake (2nd, and not that far from 1st!) - not so good for the red cars with Fiat written on the front...but that would have been too much to ask for...

One week in...

...and I'm still pleased as punch that my little car is back. Nothing amazing to report this week so far - bit of cleaning to get some polish off the cloth roof, half an hour spent tinkering with the seat belts one evening (it's easy to forget how much more fiddling about is involved with a fixed seat belt than an inertia reel one), but nothing ground breaking.

The little car has been taken into work by my other half today for a bit of a run - one of the biggest problems with working from home is that there are fewer opportunities to drive anywhere. I used to be able to guarantee driving at least 8-10,000 miles a year in my old job, but now I'm lucky to do 5,000. Good for fuel savings and keeping the mileage down, but not so good for giving the cars an occasional run.

Hopefully this weekend, there will be other chances to get out for a drive...

Let me introduce you...

This is my Little Blue Fiat.

His name in Jenson (yes, I named him after the racing driver. Probably a little bit sad/nerdy and some people would say I should have gone with an Italian driver or at least a Ferrari driver, but, well, my car - my rules!). He'll be 36 this year - part of the reason for me owning him is we were both "born" in the same year. He was originally a 30th birthday present, but for various reasons it has taken 6 years to get him back on the road and into his current state.

His life started in Sicily, not in Turin as with many 500s. Towards the end of their manufacture, Fiat moved production to their plant in Sicily, which would eventually go on to build the 500's replacement the 126. This was a point when production was being wound down and cars were being built with whatever could be found - this is the only reason for we can find for Jenson's 1960s L style steering wheel rather than the R style one he should really have.

When we bought him, he came with quite a sizeable collection of paperwork from his first Italian registration papers to the most recent service history and MOT, so we could see where he's spent the past 30 years. His first registration had been in Florence on the 20 November 1975. His original registration in Italy was FI 795353 (the original number plate holes were still in the front panel when we first got him; sadly the number plate had been gone long before then). Over the course of the next 22 years, he moved between various owners in and around Florence before finally, in September 1997 he was sold in Italy and shipped to the UK, destined for Oxford. After one or two more changes of ownership and moves between Oxfordshire and Leicestershire in 2002/2003, by 2004, he had moved to Southwest London. This is the point where our story with him begins and when he made is most recent move to Berkshire.

Over the last 2 years, he has been stripped back to a bare shell, the inevitable rust which plagues all old cars (especially Fiats) has been removed and replaced and he's gained a new coat of paint (in his original shade). He now has a new engine and gear box - he was already on his second engine, so there wasn't any point in sentimentality about having it replaced. With the addition of a new gear box, there was also a necessity for new disc brakes all round. Drum brakes aren't good at the best of times and with a bigger bored out 650cc engine and 5 speed box, it was pretty obvious that they weren't going to be up to the job. 

I'll be the first to admit that we've not had much to do with the work being done other than making the choices and decisions on what was required/wanted and paying the bills. We both have somewhat busy work lives which don't leave us much free time and we wanted to get him back on the road. We entrusted Jenson to Proietti's - a little garage tucked away in Islington which specialises in 500s. After a few Saturday morning trips to London to discuss with Stef what was needed and mull over a few options (even down to which badge was going on the front), work began to bring him back to his original condition. After much careful and skilled work, he has been restored and is now ready for a new lease of life. Friday was the day when it was time for him to return to his new home. He's now safely tucked up in the garage and has already been out for a bit of an explore of the neighbourhood, and caught the eye of one or two people (including a passing policeman - hopefully for being eye-catching and not for anything naughty!)

I have the feeling we'll be adding a few more bits of paperwork to his history, hopefully not just for repairs, services and MOTs, but also for some more exciting and adventurous things too...

Finally!

At 3:30 today, my work ground to a halt. I'd heard the gentle purring of a two cylinder engine outside!

My little car is back, running like a dream and looking fantastic. Trying not to look like too much of a big kid I rushed downstairs, out the front door, camera in one hand ready to check over the finished work. The last time I'd seem him he was almost finished apart from one or two bits of tuning and a lack of wing mirrors (which proved to be a challenge - left hand drive makes quite a difference to the alignment!). He was still up on the ramps which was good for a view of the floorpan, wheels and suspension, but definitely wasn't ready for a first drive. 

Now he is finished - a slight adjustment on the gearbox has made all the difference to the feel of the drive and the oil pump problem which had manifested itself rather too severely and led to a new crankshaft has been fixed, so he's now a happy little car and I am a happy 500 owner!

I'm getting used to a garage filled with the wonderful smell of classic car again - oil, warm metal, tyres, slight hint of petrol - it brings back memories of old family cars (1963 mini, 1964 Austin 1100) and my grandad's garage, full of tools, oil cans and bits of engine. If it was a smell they could bottle, it would be up there with newly mown grass and autumn bonfires!

Now the first rush of excitement is over, it's time for a quiet evening ready for a weekend which may involve a small amount of driving...

Today's the day...

Friday is finally here! The other half has headed off into London - work appointment this morning, car collecting this afternoon. Hopefully the traffic won't be too bad through London - the car is in Islington and the most direct route out is straight past St Pancras and Marylebone, past White City and out to the A40, so it should be an interesting drive! I suspect that there may be a detour on the way back to stop off at the office.


I'm stuck at home with work to do - it's going to be a long day...

It's a waiting game...

5 days to go before my little car arrives home - on top of the 6 years its taken to complete the restoration, it doesn't sound very long, but it's going to feel like one of the longest weeks of my life.

This will be the second attempt at bringing him home. The first one was aborted after an oil pump failure caused a fair amount of engine damage. Luckily it happened on the final test drive, so he was in the right place to be fixed (again). We've spent a weekend tidying a space in the garage, the route home has been planned (cross London traffic on a Friday could be interesting!) and there is a possible stop off planned by my other half to show him off at work, time allowing.

I'll be stuck working from home - although that will be a struggle as I'll be listening out for the sound of a two cylinder engine pulling onto the drive...roll on Friday...