RayMK

Still no joy with my Tipo which FTP'd back in July. It is still at the garage. A new coil had no effect on the lack of sparks and earlier this week a decent, correct 2nd hand ecu was sourced at an Italian cars specialist. We fitted it but symptoms remained unchanged - no sparks. I'll try to get over to the garage with my multimeter next week to carry out pin checks on the ecu connector in accordance with a Digiplex manual that a chap on the Fiat forum forwarded, plus a few basic continuity checks on other leads e.g. the ignition king lead. If these checks don't show anything untoward, I won't have anything else affordable to try to replace. The Fiat's days could be numbered. If it comes to that, I'll see if anyone wants it as a spares car for scrap money and if that fails to attract anyone it will go to a scrappy for £150 (assuming we can tow it there) or whatever the going rate is.

When my son bought his Tipo hatchback in 2020 as a hugely discounted unsold pre-registered 2017 model with delivery miles only, we had seen a few adverts from UK dealers trying to dispose of selling brand new RHD white Tipo saloons which we had not realised were a thing. The previous 'Tipo' saloon was called a Tempra. Clearly, Fiat could not be bothered to have Tempra badges manufactured this time. He part exchanged his Tipo a few months ago after a totally reliable, very economical (diesel), comfortable but somewhat boring 3 years of ownership.

@FakeConcern Most of my earlier Spot-ons (LWB Landrover, Bristol, Fiat Multipla, Jensen and Humber estate... the last three expired years ago) lost their paint in about 5-10 years but the later ones (vintage Bentley and MG sports car) have held on to their paint very well.

I would really enjoy being stuck behind a beautiful old Mercedes like yours.

As far as I can recall, the only sticker on mine occupies the top of the rear hatch window - a dealer's sticker for B S Marson and Sons of Newcastle Under Lyme, Staffordshire. They still exist as a Fiat dealer and were helpful when I was looking for a replacement front brake caliper a couple of years ago. Thanks for the offer though.

Hell, I really like that. I suppose one definite sale was not enough to sway the accountants or party officials.

Further to my posts on 21st August this year, my FTP'd Tipo is still at the garage and won't run (Absent sparks). It turned out that, for whatever reason, my car does not have an ignition module. Pity, because they are available for only £30 or so. I've recently joined the Fiat Forum and had a couple of helpful responses which shed further light on the workings of my Tipo's Digiplex electronic ignition, including detailed pin identities and diagnostic measurement values for all of the ECU pins, ignition circuit diagrams and a description of how it all functions. I will probably have to get the car transported to an Italian car specialist or a long established Fiat dealer once I've phoned around to get confidence that they are capable of taking the job on. I am unable to do anything but very basic short duration maintenance tasks these days. In my younger days I'd have ripped all of the electronic nonsense off the car and fitted a carburettor, a points and condenser distributor with vacuum and mechanical advance and then driven off into the sunset with glorious inefficiency which works and can be fixed.

Most likely an Opel Rekord Olympia van from 1956 or thereabouts. Edit: Just realised you said 'two.' The other colour photo is of a 1950s Hillman Minx estate.

@hairnet Thanks for posting those photos and information cards. Very interesting selection of vehicles and other exhibits.

I had a look at a Polski Fiat 125/FSO at that dealership, vaguely considering part exchanging my rusty but trusty Triumph Herald 1200 estate. It says something for the 125 that after 20 minutes of sitting in one I decided to keep my Herald. I was familiar with the Fiat 125 and Fiat 124 because some of dad's friends while we were based in Germany had bought them. The later Eastern block versions by Polski Fiat/FSO and Lada (124) had very poor build quality by comparison. Wartburg Knights and Skodas may have had even more archaic design and engineering features but were considerably better built. I was never taken by the Polonez. If I had to choose between the Polonez and the 125P, I'd have gone for the latter. However, seeing the occasional survivor makes a refreshing change from bloated modern SUVs.

I lived in Germany from 1966-69 (RAF Bruggen, RAF Wegberg then a private rental nearby whilst I did my A levels - Dad had a few months extension of duty to enable this). I did not buy any diecasts during that period but did buy modelling materials for self build slot cars in a superb toys and models shop in Mönchengladbach and a Wilesco 'Old Smokey' live steam road roller in a similarly excellent shop in Roermond. We returned to the UK three times for a few days during our German stay. Each time, England looked like an absolute tip compared with Germany and the Netherlands. Obviously not much has changed over the years.

@UltraWomble I have not seen a Honda SS125 with that style of exhaust. Perhaps it was an option for the US market. My friend bought a brand new SS125, same colour, in 1970. I bought a CZ175 the following year. A couple of years later we planned to take the bikes on a camping holiday to Scotland. We had enjoyed the previous camping holiday up there with me on my '67 Peugeot BB CT moped and him on his recently acquired SS125. I'm not sure how he managed to stay sane following me at 28mph. His journey started at Fair Oak near Southampton, meeting me at Nocton Hall (Lincs), and we set off on the long haul to near Braemar where we camped wild for a couple of nights. Next stop was a campsite at Inverness for one or two nights, then to a campsite near Portree on the Isle of Skye. With me buying the CZ, we hoped for better journey times with more closely matched machines for the next holiday. However, on my way down to Fair Oak my CZ started to lose power. Investigation by the roadside revealed that the dynamo assembly, which carried the points cam at its outer end, was a bit loose despite the securing bolt being tight. It transpired that the taper on the crank end had fatigued and was 90% cracked where the location peg hole was - which pegged the dynamo/points cam in the correct position. I pushed the CZ a mile or so to a phone box and phoned my friend. He came out on his SS125 and we decided the obvious thing to do was for him to tow me back to his place. This hazardous exploit was successfully completed (15 miles or so) without being stopped by the plod or either of us falling off. Holiday plan B was hatched. Next day, all of the camping gear on my CZ was strapped to the carrier on his SS125 and his stuff was strapped to the SS125's tank. In this heavily loaded state, we compromised and headed to Wales instead of Scotland. The trip there was uneventful but we thought Wales was an anti-climax so, next day we loaded up again and headed for Fort William - Glen Nevis to be exact. We got as far as a campsite near Gretna Green by mid evening. Next day we reached Glen Nevis and camped wild for about 5 nights. One characteristic of the SS125 with me on pillion plus all of the gear was that it could only reach 50-55mph, but my friend found that if he slip streamed an HGV it gave a boost which enabled the Honda to get past and then maintain an indicated 70mph at a constant 10K rpm or thereabouts. It screamed along like a turbine! I have thus experienced at least 1000 miles on the pillion of a Honda SS125. A gallant machine indeed. In due course I fixed my CZ with a new crankshaft and inspected the taper quite frequently. The new crank began to show signs of doing the same thing again many thousands of miles later in 1974. I therefore part exchanged it for a Reliant Regal 3-25 and a new motoring episode started with my new wife. Memories. All triggered by your photo 😀. Apologies if you've seen parts of this story which I've posted before.

Agreed. Shockingly obvious.

How does it steer? How do you prevent it from falling over? Is it French? I can't read the name/brand. Mad!

When I demonstrated my 'new' acquisition to my dad, all was well until I applied youthful heavy braking. The brakes worked so well that one of the rear radius arms tore the outrigger from the main chassis member, thanks again to a previous owner's enlightened approach to repairs. The outrigger was just lightly brazed, not welded into position. One sided rear steer was the result until I had it welded. I did not notice any lack of stiffness in my estate's body/chassis. The doors and bonnet had gaps approaching Renault 4 levels. Compared with more recent cars, yes they were a bit floppy.

Those were very rare even when new. I photographed one at a microcar rally decades ago - same colour. I'll dig it out to see if it's the same one. If not, they must have sold at least two 😀.

A colleague used to unbolt the roof of his Vitesse saloon in the summer months if the weather looked ok for a few weeks. It was great fun and sounded marvellous. I had a Herald estate for a while and enjoyed its Meccano-like construction - separate chassis, mostly bolted body bits and lots of holes until I filled them. It was reliable and drove remarkably well. I remember being confused and frustrated when rebuilding the rear brakes. It transpired that a previous owner had used a different diameter or width drum on one side (can't recall the exact details). Although the drums looked superficially identical, shoes would not fit properly. The reason became obvious after I ran out of curses and measured each side. I went back to the motor factors with the old bits from the troublesome side and he matched them up. Braking was fine afterwards despite the anomaly. I even enjoyed the handling. It was nowhere near as tricky on the limit as the motoring journals of the day tried to make out. A slight change in technique and all was predictable (i.e. don't lift off in a corner!). It was good training for the Skoda Estelle that I owned many years later. @GingerNuttz Nice to see another thorough, high quality restoration on the forum.

Ambassador rear lights are much lower - unless Vulg has owned it at some stage. Or is the rear wing and light on another car, thus causing (my) visual confusion?

Generally, an MG B in full size or miniature does not appeal to me. However, that Dinky is a beauty. Very nicely done and an excellent acquisition. @egg @Datsuncog

I'll have a chat with the garage on Friday to see how they are progressing. It seems the old coil (mounted on the front bulkhead near the headlight) was receiving 12Vdc but it was lacking any electronic triggering pulse despite the crank sensor checking out ok. There is an electronic control module near the headlight which is also part of the digiplex ignition system which may require replacement (or checking if possible). I'm not at all at home with electronic ignition and my experience with any cars which have significant electronics is that they are ultra reliable. However, unlike old-fashioned points and condenser ignition systems which are fine, albeit with regular servicing, the more modern stuff when it fails ends up being a game of replacing components until the magic is restored, requiring not necessarily just one visit to the garage. This applies to main dealers with all the specific diagnostic equipment as well. It's not exactly confidence inspiring. Nissan and BMW dealers have both provided endless entertainment* when trying to exterminate error codes and/or faulty operation of engine and systems. Touching wood, my two experiences with Mitsubishi and more with Hyundai have had no such problems. Anyway, I'm prepared to throw a bit of money at the Tipo because I've grown to like it.

I quite like that shot as well. It wasn't the best quality because I suffer from camera shake which often defeats the image stabilisation electronics. The blue van was a BSA. It's load area brings a new interpretation to 'wheel arch intrusion.' Although it was front engined and front wheel drive, anything weighty added to the load area must have made it a handful and heavy on the laundry bills.

I'm developing withdrawal symptoms because my '94 Tipo has been away since 17th July. On that nice, sunny day I drove it to Fawsley to soak up the warmth in pleasant surroundings. The drive over there was uneventful, typical of the way the car has reliably operated since we bought it just over ten years ago. I parked, ate a packed lunch and read a car magazine. About 2 hours later, I decided to head home. Turned the key and the starter kicked the engine but instead of it immediately firing as it normally does, it just carried on churning. There wasn't the slightest cough during my three or four 5 sec bursts on the starter. Funny, I thought (a Peter Cook and Dudley Moore phrase). I checked under the bonnet for loose connections, broken wires, leaks or anything untoward. Tried starting again. Same. The symptoms were very no sparkish, so I disconnected the king lead at the distributor end and lodged it on the block where I could see and hear a spark if there was one. Nothing. As mentioned, the weather was glorious and the scenery pleasant. I sat in the car and contemplated my predicament for a few minutes. I recalled that my son and I had joint membership of the AA. An attempted phone call to my son to see if our membership was still current revealed that I was in a poor signal area judging by the conversation which went something like 'Hello. Hello. Hello??' when he answered. I managed to squeeze a text message to him through the airwaves, giving my location and asking him to call the AA. A perfectly reasonable hour later a nice AA man arrived, listened to my brief description of symptoms, ran several tests which confirmed power was getting to the coil but no spark coming out. The crank sensor was pulsing and the fuel tank was 3/4 full. After a few more tests which drew blanks, he decided to dolly the Tipo to a garage of my choice. I texted my son and got a ride home in his luxurious BMW. Since then, the Tipo has been given attention at the garage on a 'filling-in job' basis. I've got another car, so there's no urgency and I know the garage chap well. No problems with the wait. So far, a new coil has been tried but that had no effect. A new crank sensor will be tried next before more head scratching occurs. The car has standard electronic ignition with a non-points type distributor and has single point fuel injection - which will be investigated next. I don't think it has a diagnostics port but does of course have an ECU. Fortunately the ECU does not sit in a drainage channel like some cars. I am thus missing the old Italian chariot.

Hmmmm. Some pictures of blue three wheelers to cheer the mood.

I remember reading about the Honda 1300 (car) in the late 60s and being impressed by its technical features. Air cooled (4cyl & single carb) and 98 bhp was the first eye opener, then 7300 rpm, dry sump lubrication and cross-over swing axles at the rear to give a simple independent set-up with none of the tuck-under characteristics of most swing axle designs as the camber changes were minimal. A four carb version was also offered, giving a few more bhp. It was not a commercial success for Honda but impressed motoring journalists of the day. Honda's N360 and N600 mini cars of around the same time were also air-cooled (twin cylinder) and had respectable outputs for their capacity. I've never seen a 1300 in the flesh but the N600 was available in the UK and although never a common sight was always an interesting one. There's also the French Panhards which managed to stoke up to indecent speeds for an air-cooled 850 flat twin, thanks to their slippery shape and 41 or 49bhp in the 17 and 24 respectively.

I refer to my Reliant as 'it,' sometimes with a two letter prefix and other assorted four (+) letter encouragements if it threatens to force me to walk.