I look forward to your comments re my restoration.

Cheers

Andrew (Skiday)

Very tidy work Andrew, I particularly like the underside finish and colour, it stands out how good the condition is along with showing off all those nice new/refurbished suspension components and brackets, I look forward to seeing you at the NEC, great job

Thanks my friend. See you at yours first on the Thursday to give you the old bits of course.

Superb work Skiday!
I am sure your car will be worth the NEC ticket price alone.

Sorry - I may have inadvertently posted this in the wrong place, but it would not let me delete it? Apologies.

Superb work Skiday!
I am sure your car will be worth the NEC ticket price alone.

No Mark, you're spot on....it was the project thread itself you "wrongly" posted on, any discussion goes here

Excellent read and what a superb looking coupè you have restored !

I assume you're manning the stand and getting in for free then

Very good!

Great result overall, but I really like the effort you have made underneath as the area is often overlooked even on stunning looking cars.

I know it`s a slightly rude question but can you recall the cost of plating the centre shields? I would like to get mine done.

Cracking job,hope the work you've done especially underneath pays dividends in longevity

I love the idea that today you took it "up the downs"

Looking forward to seeing in in the metal at the Lancaster show!

Thanks for all the compliments.



Here is a pic of one batch which cost me £50 cash.



There's a place near to me who are really friendly, work for cash for the little guy, and just make a number by guestimate. It's all about developing a relationship, being friendly and getting them to like you, that way they won't give you a F*off price.

As for longevity, the two long steel heat shields (not shown in the photo) were zinc coated at the factory. I have blasted them, zinc plated them, then powder coated them, which is what I've done with most parts (not nuts and bolts), so it should last longer then the original. BTW, the stuff in the middle section of the photo is bare steel that was rusty as hell, what you see there is how I have cleaned off the rust and then treated with POR15 metal prep. When the stuff comes back from the blasters it's not perfect so I then make it perfect with rotary wire brushes and my own sand-blaster. The rust on the underside was ground off as much as possible and then rust converter used, then zinc primer, then Gravi-tex stone chip, then two coats of 2k top coat. I also sprayed 'XCP' anti-rust in the chassis rails. So I think I've done all a man can do short of a complete 'dip-n-strip'. It will never see salty roads again and it will live under cover. I think it should last well. I'm not really a mechanic as such, but what I do do, is take rusty stuff off, make it better than new, then put it back together.

Pace & love

Andrew

Looks tip top, good work !

Fantastic read, and great work!

These cars really do get under your skin!

Regards

MM

Nice little shelter you’ve built there Andrew.

Very glad you enjoyed the NEC show, the enthusiasm for the Coupe was amazing!

Andrew, I use to own W133 VOO, I bought the car when it was two years old from Thames Fiat in Slough. I sold it in 2006. So pleased its in good hands as you as the owner. She looks stunning. My brother has a Turbo Plus and my nephew has just bought a Vinci Grey LE. I think I want another one after all these years.

Hi Outtatime 1986. Or should I say; hello Charlie. The owner after you didn't take nearly so much care as you did and he sold it to me knowing the engine was trashed. I still have every receipt you carefully kept and it is appreciated. The history is now three times thicker! I might be tempted to part with it eventually, but I would want more for it now than you paid in 2002 (you really did get a bargain then by the way for a 2 yo car at one third its new price!!).

I had literally only had the car a few weeks when I noticed oil on my garage floor. Thankfully it had a 12 month Fiat warranty so the oil pump was replaced and I had the belts changed at the same time at Thames Fiat. It was an amazing car and it was with me through some hard times in my life. It only let me down once when I down on the south coast and the battery packed up. I always had it serviced at Desira in Bury St Edmunds, and for every thing else it went to Rog at Power Fiat. It was a very reluctant sale but she wasn't getting used enough so I couldn't justify it. I had hoped the Scottish lad I sold to would've cherished it as much as me, clearly this wasn't the case. If you do decide to sell at some point please contact me in the first instance. It would be appreciated kind regards Charlie

I saw the oil leak mentioned in the worksheet and I had the same. The problem being for me, as it was for you, that the oil filter works loose. There is probably a thread for that somewhere. The recommended oil filter is very stubby and hard to reach and therefore tighten. My Fiat counter suggested a Punto filter which is longer (for the benefit other owners reading this, part no. #0071736139) and I also made a custom tightening tool to screw it on good & proper which has worked well.

I would certainly let you know if it ever comes to selling. This forum would be the first point of advertising anyway. I don't have an email for you, perhaps you'd like to share that in a PM? You know what I would like for the history file is a picture of you with the car if you have one...

Regards

Andrew