Swap For Sale/Swappage: Project Martorell (Seat 133)

[purplebargeken]

Sam G kindly dropped off this little Seat/Fiat 133 today, It is one of those weird cars that reminds you of something but you can't quite place what it is. In this case it is pretty straightforward.

 

This is what Honest John has to say(at):

 

The SEAT 133 was possibly one of the most pointless cars sold by Fiat dealers in the UK during the 1970s. It was a confusing product, too, because it was a strange mixture of old and new - the floorpan, engine and gearbox were taken from the SEAT 850, but the body styling was all-new, and looked like a cross between the Fiat 126 and 127. But compared with the cream of the '70s supermini crop, the rear-engined 133 didn't stand a chance – and it flopped outside of its home market. In Spain, where tough import barriers had been erected and money was tight,  its excellent fuel consumption and trusted mechanicals were positive selling points. But in the UK, where buyers could actually buy the vastly superior 127 from the same dealerships the Spanish import had no real selling points. Rare back then - non-existent in the UK now.

 

Not THAT non-existent eh!

 

Ok, first impressions! Bloody hell, it is small. Sam could likely have fitted it into the back of his Sprinter van, never mind using a trailer.

 

It is the very first car that is in the garage that enables me to walk all around it whilst it is parked fully inside. Luxury!

 

The interior is austere. I thought that Daf's were fairly austere but this takes it to a whole new level. There are rubber mats. No headlining. Vinyl seats look quite cool but there is some damage to the cover on the drivers side. 3 switches cover the fan, headlights and heated rear screen!

 

The steering column cowling needs refitting and the fuse box needs securing. There are bits of straw in the car to prove its barn find credentials

 

The teeny tyres are holding air. The wheels are lacking the chrome wheel trims. The wing mounted indicators are missing but there is evidence of a set of 'go faster' stripes on the sides of the doors.

 

I am presuming the battery is inside the boot at the front of the car? The cable release isn't currently so that will be investigated. No keys are present, so a lock set will needed obtaining and I can't see any kind of ignition barrel on the steering column. 

 

The engine bay is clean and pretty tidy. The engine itself will need a bloody good service. There are a few loose wires in there that I can't immediately see where they go to.

 

The petrol cap is lockable but again, no key.

 

The bumpers are good under the muck. All the glass is fine. Lights are all intact.

 

Bodywork. There are a lot of surface rust blebs covering most of the surface of the car. The worst bits of the bodywork are the N/S front wing and the N/S edge of the bonnet. The 'boot lid' is MIA. There are no rust holes, the underside of the car looks solid as a solid thing. The steering wheel is badged Fiat, there is one Seat badge on one of the wings. Seems like the Seat badging was removed and Fiat badging fitted prior to sale. This is what Sam told me so who am I to doubt.

 

First things first. Cleaning will take place.

 

The worst bits of bodywork will be attended to.

 

I will try and get some kind of manual if possible (hahahaha).

 

Service items will be made a list of.

 

Bonnet will be opened.

 

Engine bits will be lubricated, diesel lobbed down the bore holes and I will see if she will turn.

 

I have no idea if this will be a keeper but I already have one person interested if I move her on.

 

My female friend has named her Fugly the Fiat.

 

The car will get a bloody good clean. 

 

Some piccies to follow.

 

Wish me a whole shed full of luck.

[purplebargeken]

 

 

 

 

 

Interior:

 

 

 

Outside:

 

 

 

Condition of the bodywork is oddly good. There are a couple of little dings here and there but nothing major. It is just the surface rust that shows. 

 

I cleaned up some of the paint and it still had a lustre.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Looks extraordinarily sound. This is a great car, I hope you can get somewhere with it PBK!!!!

[r.welfare]

Yes good luck Ken, and great to see some pictures straight away! I'm sure I read a MOTOR road test of this model, they weren't that in complimentary as it was a fair bit cheaper than the 127 as I recall and I suppose there was still similar rear engined stuff at the price like the Imp (just), Skoda 110 and Simca 1000.

[purplebargeken]

I hope so too but at the very least I will stop its deterioration.

 

In reality it may be a tad 'small' for me but I am sure a new custodian could be found at some point with minimal hassle

[purplebargeken]

It really is very, very solid.

[purplebargeken]

I think someone has put a Simca engine in one of these but it isn't a road going car.

[Vin]

I can confirm that the battery in a Fiat 850 is in the front, so guess it will be in this case.

 

Here is a page from the Fiat 850 Haynes manual, showing layout...

 

 

 

[purplebargeken]

Fab. Thank you

[dollywobbler]

Brilliant! Good luck with it. I might have been interested in this if I didn't live in a part of the world entirely at odds with Fiats, Italian or Spanish.

[michael1703]

Waxoyl and shutz are scared of wales too

[pompei]

Fantastic little car. 

[Ghosty]

happy tinkering!

[purplebargeken]

Alternating between 'Wow' and teh 'Fear'.

[adw1977]

Excellent, I do like a really obscure (in the UK) model.  Good luck with getting it back on the road!

 

Here's the relevant page from a 1975 UK market brochure:

 

If my Motorist's Guide (December 1976 edition) is to be believed, this model was only sold in the UK for a year or so:

 

The first column is the price when new, so £1289 in October 1975.

An equivalent two door 127 was £1487 according to the guide.

[mk2_craig]

Sounds like you'd have had to be a filling short of a sandwich to buy one of these back in 75 so that's an amazing survivor, good to see. I bet there's a good number of these "gently resting" in dusty corners of Spain, is there much missing other than the hubcaps and lid?

[purplebargeken]

or to buy one in 2017.

 

Hmm, missing. Ignition switch and keys generally lol. Not entirely sure if it was meant to have a headlining or not.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

take the ignition switch off and take it to a good locksmith, he'll be able to rustle you up a new key

[Mr_Bo11ox]

doh! Just read that properly, scratch that idea, sorry

[purplebargeken]

Yeah, actually having one would be a huge bonus lol.

[Vin]

Any use???

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CLASSIC-FIAT-124-FIAT-850-ORIGINAL-IGNITION-SWITCH-WITH-FIAT-KEYS-BRAND-NEW-/322061757153

[purplebargeken]

Ah, great! Thanks. I need to have a proper look at what is still in place wire wise.

[purplebargeken]

More fettling indicated today. I will have a look at opening the bonnet/boot.

 

Annoyingly the denty bits at the back end are double skinned. Might need to have a think about that.

 

Camera will be utilised lots. Might also have a proper look at the interior and wiring things. Eeeeek.

[Dick Cheeseburger]

Ah, so you bought this - good man! Stranglely alluring little thing, and ridiculously clean at a glance, considering it's a seventies seatfiat. Watching with interest.

[Station]

If you ever come to selling at some point, I wouldn't mind a go once I've sold a few cars this year.

[junkyarddog]

  On 18/03/2017 at 10:06, purplebargeken said:

 

 

Annoyingly the denty bits at the back end are double skinned. Might need to have a think about that.

 

 

If you have access,stuff an old inner tube into the void,then inflate.

Used this trick in the past to pop out shallow dents.

[purplebargeken]

Today saw me start on the interior. This is a really, really mucky place to be currently. There is a need for much scrubbing of vinyl and rubber. The drivers side door card is bollocksed and will need replacing. Luckily the card is very, very basic and is a straightforward fit to the door.  The drivers seat has damage to the right upright. Luckily this is limited to one section and I should be able to get it sorted via a proper trimmer if so inclined. The seats are just filthy.

 

The passenger sun visor is missing. The rubber matting looks mostly intact but as mentioned will need much scrubbing. 

 

The bodywork on the car doesn't bother me in the slightest but what does concern me is the utter lack of keys. There is a door lock on eBay that I might look at. There is simply nothing there re: ignition switch. No stray wiring to speak of and it is bloody puzzling. Any ideas?

 

The engine and engine bay received some attention and looks a lot better. I can actually see bits on the engine now!

 

The steering wheel is badged Fiat, the O/S door badge is Seat. The badge at the rear is missing and probably said 'Morris' or something. Who knows.

 

Piccies in a minute.

[Station]

Ignition switch is basic on most (older) cars - one terminal on the switch goes to the small terminal on the starter motor solenoid, and the other to an earth.

[purplebargeken]

 

 

 

 

 

Worst bit of bodywork in all honesty.

 

 

The engine bay (before)

 

 

 

After

 

 

 

 

Now the puzzler!

 

 

 

External

 

 

[Junkman]

These are oddly popular in Scandinavian "Folkrace".

 

 

 

 

There seems to be a shitload or two of them up there, so that's where I would hunt for spares.