Found An Old Friend, Back To Ownership!

In 2010 I sold our last Coupe. It was a decision I (and Sarah - who I met through Coupes) regretted but we no longer had space for three cars. Then in 2013 we moved into another house with a larger driveway and I began searching for one of our old Coupes.

I had almost given up when S601 TVU appeared on eBay last Friday. It had no bids and wasn't likely to sell but I still phoned the seller and offered £300 anyway!

She's now sat on our driveway (well the grass!). She's done barely any miles since sale but is sadly now CAT C (insurance company wrote her off after rear window smashed by vandals). There's no service history with the car (but I remember where most was done so will get that put together) and only came with the red key. However, on lowering the sun visor I found the silver key tucked behind it - result!

So here she is before sale in 2010:





And what she looks like now:


I cleaned the interior yesterday and it's back to the condition when she went away. The mold on the steering wheel was a pain to shift but scrubbing with various interior cleaners got the job done. I'm going to replace the centre console entirely as it's broken/sticky.



Some areas have become rusty - this bit under the bonnet. Does anyone have a way of cleaning this up or replacing? What is this section called anyway?



Areas still have sticky tape attached - should come off.



This is on the rear near-side - does anyone know what it is and how I can get it fixed/replaced?



I've ordered the rear exhaust hanger. Fortunately the car still has the stainless steel exhaust system we put on the car, plus our upgraded discs/pads and Toyo tyres.



The oil warning light stays on all the time - even with no key in the ignition. Speaking to Rog at PowerItalia it's apparently a bad earth but I'm not sure where to start looking.



The car has one upgrade I'm unsure of. We had the standard 20v airbox with K&N panel before - now we have a cone - I'm not sure this will stay as it doesn't feel oiled. The car is also running a battery from a Transit van - I think that will be gone pretty quickly - it doesn't hold charge anyway.



The front lights have gone green inside - does anyone know if this can be cleaned?



Oh, and in amongst the untouched broken glass laying behind the rear seats I found the rock used to smash the rear window!

On top of the above I'm searching for a Portofino rear bumper, bonnet and drivers side front wing. I'm then going to treat the car to a service/MOT at PowerItalia before sending her for a well deserved respray.

They say you shouldn't meet your idols but you shouldn't sell them either!

awesome - mostly looks easy fixes to me, slam panel / cosmetics / headlights etc. not sure on the earth but thats what the forum and / or specialists are for! how about knocking up a project thread, a before (sale) - after (purchase) - ongoing (restoration). couold be good read...

Great post

I can help with the oil warning light, with it on, pressure showing with the engine running the wire from the sensor is either broken or disconnected. The important thing is there's pressure showing on the gauge so there's no internal oil pump issue.

Roger will sort this

Corroded rear bumper eiffel towers are being re-manufactured in Europe so I will have those for sale soon.

That corroded part is called the slam-panel, best to buy a powder-coated replacement, or do what I did, purchased a sound one second hand and reconditioned it myself. Then I got Rog to fit it and ditched the rusty original.

Welcome back and have fun

A cracking story

At this stage/age if you're doing a headlight refurb you might be as well off separating the covers from the main unit and repolishing the insides anyway as well as the outers. If you're running it when the days start getting shorter you could do with all the light you can get out of these!

The section under the bonnet is the slam panel and is actually a lot bigger than it seems. If some initial tlc isn't enough then you could try CC's thread in Group Buys about getting a new one if it comes to that.

While you're cleaning out the glass pop off the rear quarter panels to inspect the channels underneath the pininfarina badge pin holes for corrosion, also lift the boot carpet to check the condition of the seams.

Oh no, he's back

Cheers all, car now cleaned but the paintwork is worse than I expected - largely where the tape was applied after the window was smashed.

Following your advice I've put my name down on some group buys - hope to get the front and rear towers plus slam panel sorted next.

Which window was broken? Side or rear?

Hi Neil, rear window - I know this for certain as it looks like I fitted it!

I'm actually wondering what to do with the wires which are loose around it:



I think the trim probably comes off but will try and find a how-to later on.

To take off the upper panel you also have to remove the lower one.....after you've removed the rear bench seat (two hex bolts under lip)

But you'll be doing that anyway to check behind the pinin badges

The aerial booster is up where the wires are hanging out.

You will be losing power with that cone filter arrangement, N/As need the standard intake pipes to work properly.

Agreed. I ran a previous NA with the 20VT airbox without too many problems but really want to return this one to stock - IIRC the standard airbox (and all the gubbins) creates torque?



Thanks for that, I think this is my next job. Was looking at some of the projects and had no idea how bad corrosion can get down there!

Welcome back SA_20v! I was around all those years ago on the old forum when you used to have those amusing arguments with some other guy who's name escapes me.

It's a bit quieter on here now.

Good luck with the car.

Thanks Dan - think it was Jacey Boy...

Tonight I reconnected the rear wiper and hose - tomorrow I investigate the rear boot lock.

Quick fix = WD 40 to allow the spring to return.

Otherwise you might be looking at what often happens to the bonnet release cable = frayed/broken. Not that you've anything else on the list but I'd check the bonnet cable at its loop under the bonnet (rhs) asap as per the howto if you've not done it before.

Ah yes, Mr one word replies. Don't invite him back, please.

Welcome back!!

Jacey_Boy went on to post on Scoobynet I think.

SA, I remember a very nice picture of your Sarah standing in front of a Porto coupe..........

Nice one

I wish I'd had enough room to keep all the cars I've ever owned.

Mostly rubbish..........until I bought my FC20VT......which I do intend to keep and for several years to come

Ha! Yes, not many people forget that one!

Clicking on a link somewhere there's a PH thread dating from ?2007 referring to a large stone object having an argument with your undertray, apparently accompanied by pics, but the pics that actually appear seem to be some of your latest ones at the top of this thread

My fault - I overwrote the pics in the Coupe folder of my hosting with the above!

We punctured the sump in 2007 by running over a ridiculously big rock.

Time for a quick update - I removed the rear seat and inspected the near-side inner wing.



The area is rusty but I'm unsure how badly it requires attention - any opinions? The metal is still solid when hit with a screwdriver but I would like to ensure this area doesn't get any worse.

Donor car should arrive next week so I'll have the dash, bonnet, off-side wheel arch, airbox, lights etc...

Final pic for now, she met her big Italian sister last night.

A good rub down then ample spray of Waxoyl

That Pinin badge has a lot to answer for, why oh why did they simply not stick it on like the rear Fiat badge

Tradition

Ha I was about to say have you any pictures of Sarah in her boots!

Welcome back SA. Makes us other losers fell like there's hope yet

Lol, thanks, I think!

Is big sis a Gallardo or some munterish people mover shot from an odd angle?

Eiffel Towers - Stan told me to bung them in some big bottles of full sugar coke to eat the rust. It kind of worked but new ones are probably the way to go.

Slam panel - did mine with a spot blaster and an angle grinder with wire cup brush. Worth taking the whole thing off. Then lots of sprayed on coats of direct to metal paint like Hammerite Smooth.

Always nice to return to a car you've owned.

Good guess, 08 Superleggera, which I've completely forgotten about since getting the Fiat back! Both great cars and together neither look out of place.

Thanks for the tips - just getting into project mode and will report back once I've ballsed everything up!

Time for an update! The Coupe is currently looking quite sorry for herself. I've removed the bonnet, bumper and slam panel. I've found a near perfect bumper and bonnet but it was attached to a donor car (a 20VT in Portofino Blue) which is also sat on the drive - sadly, too horrendous to ever run again.

I'm about to get a load of stuff (like the battery tray) power coated but both slam panels look beyond repair - the delicate metal on the bottom end feels close to breaking off. I guess I'm going to have to find one?

I'm currently replacing rusty screws on non-stressed components, have bought a new battery, rear window, radiator support and found a proper 20v NA airbox.

I'm also after a new set of (car) horns and water hose set for a 20v NA non-VIS if anyone can point me in the right direction.

All great fun so far, just wish this weather would improve so I could do more.

Great to hear you're going to all this effort to get your old coupe in tiptop condition.

A couple of pictures (not of Sarah) showing your progress would be nice

Cheers, here's a picture of the donor coupe (right) and Sarah's without lights (but with the first replacement bonnet I found). The previous owner added the string to release the bonnet - I'm not keeping that!



The slam panel - top end is probably salvagable, the bottom not so much!

A slam panel on eBay for £60: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fiat-Coupe-Slam-Panel-/281850028887?hash=item419f922357:g:3T8AAOSwhcJWPJNw

I think I've found a solution but thanks anyway Annie.

Right, time I updated this thread!

The car went back on the road earlier this year having had a significant amount of money spent on her at Power Developments - mostly cleaning up the engine bay, fixing leaks (oil and water) and fitting all the new (original airbox, strutbrace)/powder coated things (slam panel) I'd accumulated. It hit the road and felt like new - still looked a complete mess but, as my Mother always tells me, looks aren't important.




A week later the brake servo failed (IIRC), as I was driving, causing some interesting braking and a ruined pair of pants. The car had properly let me down and I punished her by leaving her on the drive for months. Here is a picture of the offending part - the old me would have used it as a sex toy (I still may!).



A month ago I had nothing to do so the car was dragged off to Basildon and the thing above was swapped. The car trudged on for a week and failed again...this time the fuel pump wiring and it was recovered back to Power Developments again (Roger is probably sick of it by now!).



Today she's back on the road and sounding beautiful.




Next is a full respray and alloy refurb!

Nice to see a car getting the love it deserves

It is also important to make sure that Roger does not forget how to work on Coupes

[quote=sa_20v]Right, time I updated this thread!


Here is a picture of the offending part - the old me would have used it as a sex toy (I still may!).



Very Barbarella esque.

Great to see a coop saved though. i recently came back to the fold. by buying a new (to me) one.

Good one

I popped in when this was happening! Liam was upside-down in the footwell battling 'the thing' at the time.

Looked like great fun

Ha, yeah, Roger, Liam and Daryl have been utter stars.