My old Italian shite

[neil1971]

I guess if this is to be of interest anywhere on the 'net, then it's here!

 

Found these pics of my old Fiat Uno 60S that I owned from about 1992 to 2001 I think, bought from one of the many used car lots in London Road, Westcliff when I changed from a job with a company car (dire Mk2 Fiesta 957cc Pop) to one without and needed transport

 

It had about 70,000 miles on the clock when I got it, only had 4 speeds in its 5 speed box (knew this from the test drive) and made a pretty awful screeching noise when reversing (didn't try reverse on the test) although it never caused a problem or got much worse.

 

Despite being older, I found it streets ahead of the Fiesta, great revvy engine, the handy dash layout with the switches on clusters around the wheel, good ventilation where you could have fresh air on your face and warm on your feet, and pretty good to drive.

 

It had the obligatory rusty door bottoms which were taped over for MoT purposes with the tape lasting years until there wasn't enough metal for it to stick to. Even the electrical stuff worked, not that there was much of it, apart from the clock which only told the correct time twice a day!

 

It did well, but eventually it needed too much doing for the MoT for a car with zero value, and I reluctantly drove it to the scrapyard still running sweetly albeit smoking a little with the mileage approaching 235,000 as you can see in one of the pics, all on the original engine (I guess what would have been the original 5 speed box had been replaced with a 4 speed before I got it). 

 

Like many cars from that time that were once everywhere, especially in and around Southend which had two Fiat dealers at the time, they're now a rare sight. 

 

[oldcars]

You got some miles out of that. RIP D474 PVH

[Sigmund Fraud]

You got some proper Volvo mileage out of that little 1108 engine !

 

Was it replaced with anything shite-worthy ?

[neil1971]

It lasted well, still ran really nicely at the end but needed welding, a steering column bearing and some other bits for the MoT, the welding being the killer really

 

Replacement for my blue Italian shite was logically enough some more blue Italian shite, this Mk1 Punto 55SX N734AHJ, bought in 2001 at 30,000 miles ish, sold in August 2008 with over 150,000 miles on the clock, which is when these pics were taken, so you can see it was in good shape. The Punto felt much more solid than the Uno, didn't rust and the interior looked brand new even after 150k.

 

Sorry ending for this one, it was sold to a work colleague at a mate's rate of £200 for their daughter to learn to drive in, but was hardly used and sat on their drive for two or three years before they called someone to take it away and scrap it. It had lots of life in it when I sold it and was a waste of what was a decent old thing.

 

Irritations with it were changing any of the rear bulbs which involved unbolting the big rear light clusters from inside the car, and the plastic oil filler cap which was a push on thing and had to be levered off rather than a sensible screw top one.

 

Current dull but worthy transport from August 2008 to now can be seen lurking in the background, Mk2 Almera taken from 38k to its current 161k, you'll probably have gathered by now that I like to get my money's worth out of a car!

 

[Sigmund Fraud]

First-gen Puntos are brilliant, it's a real shame that by the time the Grande Punto arrived the Italians had forgotten how to design suspensions.

 

I secretly hope that that dull Almera will be replaced by a £200 blue Stilo in the near future...

[Felly Magic]

That Uno was new up in Calderdale/Kirklees, and well done for getting such high miles for a car that had a bit of a reputation for being not that durable

[neil1971]

First-gen Puntos are brilliant, it's a real shame that by the time the Grande Punto arrived the Italians had forgotten how to design suspensions.

 

I secretly hope that that dull Almera will be replaced by a £200 blue Stilo in the near future...

Haha, you never know, it would fit the pattern nicely, plan is to keep the Almera until it dies, first Jap car I have had after a Fiat 127 UME13S, another Uno C619UPE and a Mk1 Fiesta THM507S (sorry no pics of any of these) 

 

That Uno was new up in Calderdale/Kirklees, and well done for getting such high miles for a car that had a bit of a reputation for being not that durable

Thanks, I have a feeling the number plates had the dealer name of West Yorkshire Motor Group or similar, so that would tie in

 

It was pretty reliable, got through a few starter motors possibly due to the engine being a bit leaky, but they were on the front of the engine and easy to get from breakers and to change even for a mechanical dunce like me, most of the other stuff was just wear and tear that you'd expect over that sort of mileage.

[RoadworkUK]

Nice to see a rev-counter that goes to 12,000 with no red line. Hardcore.

[neil1971]

Once it got to 12,000, it just went round again, was never sure why there were two needles though!

 

 

Nice to see a rev-counter that goes to 12,000 with no red line. Hardcore.

[andrew e]

_HJ Essex plate on the Punto too! Local Southend car, were Belle Vue still main dealers then?

[neil1971]

I can't remember exactly when they stopped, may have been before I got the Punto, it came from one of the small dealers on London Road too, near Chalkwell Park and opposite where the other dealer HW Stone used to be

 

 

_HJ Essex plate on the Punto too! Local Southend car, were Belle Vue still main dealers then?