My Tipo 2.0 i.e Sedicivalvole

[Simon_punto]

1 hour ago, Marshall2810 said:

If things get too much just shut the garage and walk away for however long it takes. I always end up coming back to mine 

That’s exactly what happened yesterday.

I think my problem is my Punto- I’m used to my older car being mint, and totally sorted out in every way. The Punto took 10 Years to get to that stage and the Tipo is nowhere near it. I’ve just been lucky with that car if I’m honest but the Tipo has brought me down to earth with a bang. I should have realised that having 11 or so owners and being a 32 year old Italian hot hatch it would have seen some action.

I have had a lot of cars over the years, a lot of which have been brand new- the Punto has been the oldest and hand on heart the most reliable and dependable car I have ever had. I just hope the Tipo eventually gets to that stage.

[Matty]

On 15/12/2024 at 16:38, Skizzer said:

Shame it's giving you grief because it's a glorious car.   Lampredi Twin Cam too, mmmm.

I had that engine in a Fiat coupe. Lovely noise.

[Marshall2810]

6 hours ago, Simon_punto said:

That’s exactly what happened yesterday.

I think my problem is my Punto- I’m used to my older car being mint, and totally sorted out in every way. The Punto took 10 Years to get to that stage and the Tipo is nowhere near it. I’ve just been lucky with that car if I’m honest but the Tipo has brought me down to earth with a bang. I should have realised that having 11 or so owners and being a 32 year old Italian hot hatch it would have seen some action.

I have had a lot of cars over the years, a lot of which have been brand new- the Punto has been the oldest and hand on heart the most reliable and dependable car I have ever had. I just hope the Tipo eventually gets to that stage.

It's difficult when you've set (and got used to) certain standards on cars you've had. Certainly a few raised an eyebrow myself included, when you said you were planning to part with the punto. 

As you say lots of owners, lots of repairs and all used and maintained by folk not necessarily as appreciative and particular as you. For some it will have just been "an car", others may have shelled out a load to keep it going. I'm firmly of the opinion if you like it enough and it doesn't financially ruin you then just keep at it. Baby steps, small improvements and you'll get there.

When you've been around cars long enough you get a feel for when it's worth spending a bit on and of course when it's not. 

I'm not a Fiat guy but can appreciate the work that goes in to keeping any old car on the road let alone an obscure Italian hot hatch. Keep up the great work if you can and the updates too

[somewhatfoolish]

On 15/12/2024 at 15:40, Simon_punto said:

the genuine rear mudflaps were a pain to fit and the bumper stripes didn’t bond to the plastic so need to think of another way to attach them.

3M VHB tape is good for that kind of thing, but don't buy it from ebay or amazon as a lot of the stuff on there is counterfeit rubbish which doesn't stick properly. Get it from RS.

[Simon_punto]

6 hours ago, somewhatfoolish said:

3M VHB tape is good for that kind of thing, but don't buy it from ebay or amazon as a lot of the stuff on there is counterfeit rubbish which doesn't stick properly. Get it from RS.

Thanks for the advice. Ordered. Will give me something to do during the Christmas break off work 👍

as well as the 363,925 other jobs 😂

[Simon_punto]

Wee bit of work on the tipo today while I’m meant to be working. The trims that are above the rear side windows have gone all tipo and flaked- most tipo’s seem to do this- even my dads 1989 one when he had it in 1992, so I whipped them off, took them into work and rubbed down and painted them today.

another little job ticked off ✔️

[Simon_punto]

Actually done a decent job for out of a can 😂

solid paint is much more forgiving than metallic

[Mrcento]

Always frustrating finding old bodges, but a little bit of perspective required methinks, if that's the worst you find (and hopefully it is), you've won!, A glued light unit and a blocked off washer pipe isn't like somebody had expanding foamed then riveted a plate of aluminium over a rust hole etc, Parts availability to make it 'right' obviously an issue, but it's small, sortable things, nothing requiring a full strip down and a rebuild.

For comparison, on my Cinq (and this is something to this day, i still haven't bothered fixing), The cigarette lighter/12v socket wasn't working, the wires had been cut to it and bodged onto something else (I think it was to tap a feed to a previous sound system, where a live 12v wire was also cut in the boot and left sparking off the boot floor, but that's another story....), A 12v socket had been cut into the loom under the passenger side. I set about trying to put it back to stock and restoring the original socket, went under the dash and found about 60 different joins covered in what can only be described as hazard tape. No matter, i'd just wire it up as per the factory diagram (minus a bit on the stereo to be a switched live rather than a permanent as it was as new).... yeah, none of the colours matched anything. A previous owner had pretty much cut the entire loom up and butchered in one from another car in the centre of it, so had to pretty much rewire the whole dashboard, found all sorts of horrors, got it to a point where it's 90% right minus the 12v socket, still haven't restored functionality to that, just 15 years and counting 😂

That Tipo though is an absolute honey, looks great and only going to get even better 👏🏻

[Simon_punto]

55 minutes ago, Mrcento said:

That Tipo though is an absolute honey, looks great and only going to get even better 

Thanks. You will hopefully see it bombing around Dundee in the summer 👍

[Simon_punto]

I wasn’t happy with the quick job I done on the front badge as it was just Matt aluminium paint I had, so I ordered a sample of chrome wrap and set about it today.

also fitted my replacement indicator and test polished the grille and a patch on the roof. The paintwork is pretty poor on the car but I’m surprised at how well it’s come up on the bit I’ve tested so that’s a job for the Christmas break.

I’m a lot happier with the chrome front slats now

[Matty]

2 hours ago, Simon_punto said:

I wasn’t happy with the quick job I done on the front badge as it was just Matt aluminium paint I had, so I ordered a sample of chrome wrap and set about it today.

also fitted my replacement indicator and test polished the grille and a patch on the roof. The paintwork is pretty poor on the car but I’m surprised at how well it’s come up on the bit I’ve tested so that’s a job for the Christmas break.

I’m a lot happier with the chrome front slats now

Not hundred percent sure you're committed enough to be custodian of this car 😄

[Simon_punto]

So, just a wee update from the last.

The 3m tape I bought for the bumper stripes didn’t work, it just didn’t want to bond to the textured plastic. I then discovered that the bumper stripes hadn’t shrunk as I originally thought- it was the end pieces that were broken. So I actually didn’t need to remove it and break the fragile 33 year old clips. I popped into Fiat this morning armed with part numbers to find that NLA to order, as I suspected but are available from Italy online, but the postage is eye watering and then I’ll get hit with tax 🙈

also, while I’ve been off, I’ve been polishing a panel at a time. It’s nowhere near perfect, as mentioned before the car has been painted, but it’s about 75% better than what it was. The photos were deceptive- parts of the car were dull and it had been machine polished before and was all marred etc but it has come up surprisingly well. A respray can wait a wee while as it’ll do for now.

I tried to remove the rear spoiler, as some fud has used self tappers to secure it into the window rubber- again NLA so refitted it again properly.

also, Monday if the weather is ok, it’s going to a good friend of mine who owns a Fiat/ Alfa specialist to get it up on the ramps and see what it’s like underneath. I’m nervous about this, but it’s only done approx 40 miles since it’s last MOT in April so who knows that will appear.

have a couple of pics as I moved it over in the garage- the driver side hasn’t been polished yet, passenger side, bonnet, roof boot lid have.

i love the way it sits, not too low- just right

[Matty]

Alloys are class 

[Simon_punto]

41 minutes ago, Matty said:

Alloys are class 

One of my favourite bits.

imagine trying to find a set if it had aftermarket wheels on it 🤦

[andy18s]

This one was for sale 4 years ago when bought the Subaru, so I'm guessing it's deteriorated a bit more since then.

https://mobile.bg/11627730532108074

Nice bit of Lancia action in the background too. 

[Simon_punto]

9 hours ago, andy18s said:

This one was for sale 4 years ago when bought the Subaru, so I'm guessing it's deteriorated a bit more since then.

https://mobile.bg/11627730532108074

Nice bit of Lancia action in the background too. 

That one makes me feel much better about mine 😂

[Simon_punto]

Today, I took the car to the garage, before the tax runs out at the end of the month.

as soon as I started it, things started to come over all Italian, in that, while I had no warning lights on the dash, the car thought it was doing 165mph, as the speedo needle shot right up. Once it cut out (dodgy idle when cold- more on that in a bit) and restarted, the speedo would settle and shoot past 160 again 👍

then it just sort of started working itself.

had it up on the ramps and I’m delighted to say, it’s 100% solid and needs no welding- in fact it’s very clean I’ve been told and has obviously been well looked after in the past. It just needs a couple of small bits-

1. New idle control valve. I suspected this, and took it off and cleaned it. No difference. We found a metal bung shoved in one of the rubber pipes, and now it idles with a bit more revs, but hunts for idle. I’m hoping that when I start it cold tomorrow, it won’t cut out.

2. Needs a new centre to rear section of the exhaust. It’s blowing a wee bit with rust pinholes but isn’t worth welding so will find a replacement 🤞 

3. oil cooler pipes are shot. Luckily this is the cause of the oil leak and not the actual engine

4. drivers side front brake pipe will need done

5. now fixed but one of the leaks was coolant where a jubilee wasn’t attached properly.

the car however on the whole is mint underneath. The guys who looked under it know alfas, Lancia fiats etc and said the subframe has either been replaced at some point of has been treated as it’s one of the cleanest they have seen.

so just a case of piling parts for mot in April. Overall I’m happy and relieved.

 

[Tenmil Socket]

32 minutes ago, Simon_punto said:

Today, I took the car to the garage, before the tax runs out at the end of the month.

as soon as I started it, things started to come over all Italian, in that, while I had no warning lights on the dash, the car thought it was doing 165mph, as the speedo needle shot right up. Once it cut out (dodgy idle when cold- more on that in a bit) and restarted, the speedo would settle and shoot past 160 again 👍

then it just sort of started working itself.

had it up on the ramps and I’m delighted to say, it’s 100% solid and needs no welding- in fact it’s very clean I’ve been told and has obviously been well looked after in the past. It just needs a couple of small bits-

1. New idle control valve. I suspected this, and took it off and cleaned it. No difference. We found a metal bung shoved in one of the rubber pipes, and now it idles with a bit more revs, but hunts for idle. I’m hoping that when I start it cold tomorrow, it won’t cut out.

2. Needs a new centre to rear section of the exhaust. It’s blowing a wee bit with rust pinholes but isn’t worth welding so will find a replacement 🤞 

3. oil cooler pipes are shot. Luckily this is the cause of the oil leak and not the actual engine

4. drivers side front brake pipe will need done

5. now fixed but one of the leaks was coolant where a jubilee wasn’t attached properly.

the car however on the whole is mint underneath. The guys who looked under it know alfas, Lancia fiats etc and said the subframe has either been replaced at some point of has been treated as it’s one of the cleanest they have seen.

so just a case of piling parts for mot in April. Overall I’m happy and relieved.

 

Good news on the underneath! I was going to ask earlier but didn’t want to worry you.

[Simon_punto]

Yeah I was pretty nervous but luckily just minor things

[Tenmil Socket]

@Simon_punto not sure if you're interested in these Fiat papers (the ones on the left) FOC?

*The VW ones also available FOC if anyone's interested.

 

[Simon_punto]

28 minutes ago, Tenmil Socket said:

@Simon_punto not sure if you're interested in these Fiat papers (the ones on the left) FOC?

*The VW ones also available FOC if anyone's interested.

 

Yes please 🙏 

[Tenmil Socket]

8 minutes ago, Simon_punto said:

Yes please 🙏 

No problem, I’ll PM you 👍🏻

[Simon_punto]

Well, after giving Fiat a load of parts numbers, they have come up trumps with  the clips to hold the strip on the bumper. So they’re on order.

everything else is fucked and no longer available so Italian eBay it will have to be.

the joy of postage and import tax 🤦

[Simon_punto]

Parts have started arriving, and have been an absolute pain to get. These pipes should fix the leak from the oil cooler. They are universal ones as Fiat ones are non exist anywhere in the world.

also, the exhaust- what a bastard to source, but I think I have found one for a 16v Tipo. Plenty for a 1.4/1.6 and 1.8 but don’t fit on the 2.0. I Had a look into getting a stainless one made but it was going to be £800 🤦and I’d rather have a standard exhaust on it as I’d like it quiet. For now all I can find is a middle section so the stainless back box will have to stay for now.

also still trying to source an idle control valve that isn’t Chinese- and failing. More to come as and when…..

[DavidB]

It is such a nice looking car!

[Simon_punto]

The most expensive pieces of shitty plastic I’ve ever bought- although I’ll bet not the most expensive pieces of shitty plastic I have yet to buy 

[Simon_punto]

Progress- just need to find end caps for the stripe now

[Simon_punto]

So today has been expensive.

I sold my Doblo van, as I need something more practical for the family and car seats etc. I originally had the idea of buying something that I wouldn’t really care about, could be used for runs to the tip, if it gets bashed I wouldn’t be too precious about, and is cheap to run, insure and tax.

so I bought this- a Kia ceed 1.6crdi 4, and tbh it’s far too nice to be a car I don’t care much about 🤦

it has however got heated leather chairs, heated steering wheel, camera, keyless entry, pretty much everything my xc40 main nice family car has. £35 a year tax and half as much to insure as the Doblo, with around 60-70mpg. That’ll do me nicely.

anyway, with the extra money I got for the van, I ordered a standard exhaust for the Tipo- the stainless back box thing that’s on it is far too loud and I don’t like how it exits the bumper on an angle, so after much searching I managed to find a standard system.

also ordered a new idle control valve and the most expensive pieces of plastic for my bumper stripes. Mot next month then back on the road 👍👍👍

Punto still for sale