Fiat Coupé 2.0 16v Plus '95 - the project

Well, here's the topic of my coupe that, after almost five years, remains an ongoing project to me.

I bought it with about 113k on the clock, relatively cheap, knowing (and seeing) that it had various things to repair. Obviously, several other revealed themselves later...

These photos are from when I first went to see it:



A "nice" dent to repair, a handmade air-intake (!!) in the front bumper, some signs of mistreatment... but it got me.
Basically standard, apart from the 15" Rota Wheels.

The first intervention was made by a friend who polished the worn-out headlights: Before and after...


Nice result, but the lights were misaligned and (together with other problems) the car didn't pass on the first official inspection - we called it IPO here

Another problem was the exhaust. A small hole in the manifold produced high CO values, so it was welded...



... but that was least of the problems. The final canister was a complete mess. To solve the problem, nothing like a new final section:



After this, still much more to do, but it passed on the IPO and I gave it a good bath for a first photo shoot. Soon to follow...

Well, then, here are some more photos of a cleaner 16v, taken in a '07 August afternoon...

The repairs were still there to be made, but the weather was so good that it seemed to me a perfect car!

The first real repair was made in the bonnet. It had a visible dent that took a lot of work from a friend of mine (the same from the headlights! ).

The B pillars and the exterior black part of the rearview mirrors were repainted, but I had prefered they had kept them matt... One taillight cup had an "infiltration" (like rust growing underneath the paint), so it was also repainted.

Here are the photos my friend took with his mobile phone:








The final result:



Regards!
CJ

After fixing the bonnet, I had more repairs to do, but I came across a good deal on eBay: a set of 1.8/2.0v NA alloy wheels. I got them from a UK seller in a very good condition.

I have to say that I enjoyed the Rotas (sold to a Fiat Punto). They're open, and let the wheel to "breath". But wanting original material, I took the opportunity. So, it was bye-bye to the Rotas 15"...



... and hello to the Coupe original 15"!

Before... ... and after:

Swap 15" by 15"? Well... yes. I wanted to keep the fuel consumptions and an original, open look. Not the original original, '95 look, but still, Fiat Coupe original.

Not a final bad result on the outside, underlined by the chrome dashboard rings that made a huge, bright difference on the inside. Me like!



Regards!
CJ

"The 16v NA (normally aspirated) is regarded as the rarest of the Fiat Coupe range."
------------ http://www.fiatcoupeclub.org/about_16v.php
Isn't that interesting? This was mine in 2009:



... and in October 2009 I participated in a Coupe gathering in the coastal city of Figueira da Foz . I had the chance to take some days off for a longer weekend with the family in the center of Portugal. This trip provided some interesting impressions of the car in a different scenery.



So, four-up (two adults, two children), trunk loaded with baggage for 3 days and a baby stroller; AC on when needed; 120kph (cruising speed) when possible. Result:
- fuel consumption: 8,5 l
- reserve light on after 650 km; gas tank fueled with 61 l after travelling 720 km.
- I found the car to be more confortable than in daily, city traffic. Not a perfect family car, of course, but it was up to the task.




Regards,
CJ