One of FIAT's finest creations - and you don't know it
Discussion
I recently bought 3 Fiat coupes! Having owned 11 coupes (to date) these were bought for good reasons.
1. I had been without any coupes in my life for 3 years after I sold them all.
2. They all have their own rarity and therefore will hold good future value
3. The prices of decent, well cared for and original examples has been steadily rising
So what did I buy? I bought an X reg 20 valve turbo 'Plus', a W Reg 20 valve turbo 'Plus' and a barn find low mileage 'standard' 20 valve turbo.
I work abroad so work has been carried out over xmas (they were all bought early December) and then they will be stored.
Here's a little info on each.
But before I go on, I will say this. Having owned loads of these models, I know something! I know, that if they are maintained correctly and looked after correctly they will never let you down. I mean never.
They get a bad wrap as many have previously been owned by folk who love the speed (they are very fast, you'll be surprised) but do not maintain them as this can be 'expensive'. And here's the key, skipping on the maintenance on a high performance engine (they can go to 350bhp without any special modifications) is never a good thing. The engines can take abuse for sure, but not if they are not maintained.
There are many high mileage coupes around, buying a car with 140,000 miles should be no problem at all if it's been cared for. There are documented 200,00 mile coupes too. Bet you never thought that. The engines are supremely strong, any car that can go to 300+ bhp without issue should be regarded as a strong one, I think you'll agree! The gearboxes are even stronger.....
Also cambelts "were" expensive to do, so many did not get done, the cars were sold before this was due and it led to many issues with them breaking (it's an interference engine). These days however, the costs are nothing like they used to be for this (budget around 300 or 400) and no, the engines do not need to come out!! Take one of these cars to a general garage and they will be expensive ..... there are many specialists these days and they are good ones at that!
I'll say it again, look after these cars and the car will look after you. I know, I have owned enough!
SO what's special about the coupe? Well, they won hundreds of 'editor' awards in all the magazines back in the day. What more do you need to say? Look on eBay for Fiat Coupe Magazine; you'll see them featured everywhere and always won the honours. It was for good reason. They are a tremendous ride and drive! I think people forget just how many times this car won Coupe of the Year!!
So what did I buy? Here they are...
X reg Fiat Coupe 20VT 'Plus' - one of the last 300 to ever be made, hence the X reg and the Plus gets many little extra's. This one has the rare 'airbag' recaro seats. Very rare! You get red stitching in the seats, steering wheel, gear knob, door inserts and handbrake lever handle. You also get white dials and a silver (alloy) push start button - not bad for a car made in the year 2000.
She has 73,000K and looks superb. So far I have done the following:
Deep clean and Wash
Remove rear light rings
Apply Iron X to remove all contaminates
Clay
Detail brush an Surfex HD in all the nooks and crannies
Rinse and dry
Mop with differing pads (Microfibre pad and green hex) with VSS and Mequiars Glaze (Not the unusual rubbish Meguiars stuff bought from Halfords) wink
Mop under bonnet around front rubbers and top of front bumper
Apply sealant - Carlack 68 - Every painted surface including door and book shuts
Apply Collimate 476 - same as above
Clean all leather twice with Chemical Guys leather cleaner
Clean steering wheel, gear knob, handbrake lever and door leather with the same
Treat all leather with leather balm
Buff and remove balm after 30 minutes soak
Clean carpets and clean mats with a focus on the 20VT inserts - Used Aerospace 303 upholstery cleaner
Blow dry all
Clean under engine bay with degreaser
Blow all water away
Treat engine bay with Rubber and vinyl care
Rub down engine bay with microfibre
Treat all rubber seals - Sonax Gummi Pfleger Rubber Care
Clean dash with IPA
Clean, polish and wax rocker cover
This car will be kept in a heated garage.
Mechanically, recently it had a new clutch and it's third cam belt change. All the oils and filters have been maintained correctly and it has two ring binder files of history. Exact;y what you want to buy!
The second one is a 108,000 mile, W reg 20VT 'Plus' but this one is in need of some car. It had a mature owner for 8 years, but the maintenance dropped a little and the car got a little bashed up. I bought it as it has low owners and I love the ink black colour. This one was shipped direct to FCSS (A Fiat Coupe specialist and restorer) and the pics are from the previous owner. It will get what it needs and have the leather reinstated.....
The next time you see this will be in a few months after work is carried out.
and onto the last one.
A standard 20VT, not a special edition. This one was stood in a workshop for 8 years. Previously it had been written off for paint damage. Back in 2007, in those days, a FIAT would get categorised for a dented bumper!! Anyway, it has a very low mileage of only 54,000K miles. Yep, 54,000 miles! So I had to buy it! How many 54K Fiat Coupes exist today? Not many I bet!
This one was shipped direct to FCSS, and amazingly, it failed it's MOT on two things (cracked tyres and airbag light on). I could not believe it! Amazing! It got a huge overhaul as after standing for so long, it needed it. New tyres, new cam belt, in fact all belts were renewed, new brake lines (just in case), new oil in everything. New filters, plugs, bonnet struts, disks and pads all around, and loads more!! List below.
Here's the exact break down of what was done
- Thermostat & ECU water temp sensor.
- Rocker cover gasket.
- 2x Brembo flex pipes.
- 2x Rear trailing arm link flex pipes.
- Rear calliper flex pipes.
- Centre and rear exhaust rubber mounts.
- Front discs and pads
- Rear discs and pads
- Hand brake cables.
- Full Dayco belt kit including A/C.
- Water pump.
- Cam phase sensor.
- 2x bonnet struts.
- Oil filter.
- Air filter.
- Fuel filter.
- Pollen filter
- New tyres
- New MOT
Then I drove it to my house for more work.
I sanded and mopped the lights (the lacquer goes, put in new HID bulbs all around. Took the seats out and treated them with cleaner and balm, cleaned all the carpets, hoovered everything, gave it a deep clean throughout. I also installed a complete new flocked dash (centre, centre ashtray, and handbrake console) as the old one was scratched and someone had painted the main console silver....badly. It had new badges put on, silver dash rings installed. It had everything the first one above got plus more.
As it was
As it was.....
And work begins
Compression at 160-170 across all 5 cylinders .... excellent
New cam belt
and work begins - new LED side lights (right LED, left standard)
Installed
Chromed indicator bulbs to replace the orange ones and freshen up the front light units - all white when off
Lights out for HID install and mopping/sanding of lacquer to make clear again
New number plates with a special touch
Mirrors off the be sanded and sprayed satin black like original
and done
Same done to the B pillars
Looking better...
Then it was time to clean up everything in the interior and that started with seats out. First the dash was replaced .... new flocked centre dash in here
Flocked handbrake console installed
Leather cleaned and treated and all plastics cleaned and treated..
All back in, just a new stereo to be installed
New crinkle paint on the rocker cover
and lastly, new stereo put in
That's it for now, more to follow as work progresses.....
Thanks for reaching the end!!!
1. I had been without any coupes in my life for 3 years after I sold them all.
2. They all have their own rarity and therefore will hold good future value
3. The prices of decent, well cared for and original examples has been steadily rising
So what did I buy? I bought an X reg 20 valve turbo 'Plus', a W Reg 20 valve turbo 'Plus' and a barn find low mileage 'standard' 20 valve turbo.
I work abroad so work has been carried out over xmas (they were all bought early December) and then they will be stored.
Here's a little info on each.
But before I go on, I will say this. Having owned loads of these models, I know something! I know, that if they are maintained correctly and looked after correctly they will never let you down. I mean never.
They get a bad wrap as many have previously been owned by folk who love the speed (they are very fast, you'll be surprised) but do not maintain them as this can be 'expensive'. And here's the key, skipping on the maintenance on a high performance engine (they can go to 350bhp without any special modifications) is never a good thing. The engines can take abuse for sure, but not if they are not maintained.
There are many high mileage coupes around, buying a car with 140,000 miles should be no problem at all if it's been cared for. There are documented 200,00 mile coupes too. Bet you never thought that. The engines are supremely strong, any car that can go to 300+ bhp without issue should be regarded as a strong one, I think you'll agree! The gearboxes are even stronger.....
Also cambelts "were" expensive to do, so many did not get done, the cars were sold before this was due and it led to many issues with them breaking (it's an interference engine). These days however, the costs are nothing like they used to be for this (budget around 300 or 400) and no, the engines do not need to come out!! Take one of these cars to a general garage and they will be expensive ..... there are many specialists these days and they are good ones at that!
I'll say it again, look after these cars and the car will look after you. I know, I have owned enough!
SO what's special about the coupe? Well, they won hundreds of 'editor' awards in all the magazines back in the day. What more do you need to say? Look on eBay for Fiat Coupe Magazine; you'll see them featured everywhere and always won the honours. It was for good reason. They are a tremendous ride and drive! I think people forget just how many times this car won Coupe of the Year!!
So what did I buy? Here they are...
X reg Fiat Coupe 20VT 'Plus' - one of the last 300 to ever be made, hence the X reg and the Plus gets many little extra's. This one has the rare 'airbag' recaro seats. Very rare! You get red stitching in the seats, steering wheel, gear knob, door inserts and handbrake lever handle. You also get white dials and a silver (alloy) push start button - not bad for a car made in the year 2000.
She has 73,000K and looks superb. So far I have done the following:
Deep clean and Wash
Remove rear light rings
Apply Iron X to remove all contaminates
Clay
Detail brush an Surfex HD in all the nooks and crannies
Rinse and dry
Mop with differing pads (Microfibre pad and green hex) with VSS and Mequiars Glaze (Not the unusual rubbish Meguiars stuff bought from Halfords) wink
Mop under bonnet around front rubbers and top of front bumper
Apply sealant - Carlack 68 - Every painted surface including door and book shuts
Apply Collimate 476 - same as above
Clean all leather twice with Chemical Guys leather cleaner
Clean steering wheel, gear knob, handbrake lever and door leather with the same
Treat all leather with leather balm
Buff and remove balm after 30 minutes soak
Clean carpets and clean mats with a focus on the 20VT inserts - Used Aerospace 303 upholstery cleaner
Blow dry all
Clean under engine bay with degreaser
Blow all water away
Treat engine bay with Rubber and vinyl care
Rub down engine bay with microfibre
Treat all rubber seals - Sonax Gummi Pfleger Rubber Care
Clean dash with IPA
Clean, polish and wax rocker cover
This car will be kept in a heated garage.
Mechanically, recently it had a new clutch and it's third cam belt change. All the oils and filters have been maintained correctly and it has two ring binder files of history. Exact;y what you want to buy!
The second one is a 108,000 mile, W reg 20VT 'Plus' but this one is in need of some car. It had a mature owner for 8 years, but the maintenance dropped a little and the car got a little bashed up. I bought it as it has low owners and I love the ink black colour. This one was shipped direct to FCSS (A Fiat Coupe specialist and restorer) and the pics are from the previous owner. It will get what it needs and have the leather reinstated.....
The next time you see this will be in a few months after work is carried out.
and onto the last one.
A standard 20VT, not a special edition. This one was stood in a workshop for 8 years. Previously it had been written off for paint damage. Back in 2007, in those days, a FIAT would get categorised for a dented bumper!! Anyway, it has a very low mileage of only 54,000K miles. Yep, 54,000 miles! So I had to buy it! How many 54K Fiat Coupes exist today? Not many I bet!
This one was shipped direct to FCSS, and amazingly, it failed it's MOT on two things (cracked tyres and airbag light on). I could not believe it! Amazing! It got a huge overhaul as after standing for so long, it needed it. New tyres, new cam belt, in fact all belts were renewed, new brake lines (just in case), new oil in everything. New filters, plugs, bonnet struts, disks and pads all around, and loads more!! List below.
Here's the exact break down of what was done
- Thermostat & ECU water temp sensor.
- Rocker cover gasket.
- 2x Brembo flex pipes.
- 2x Rear trailing arm link flex pipes.
- Rear calliper flex pipes.
- Centre and rear exhaust rubber mounts.
- Front discs and pads
- Rear discs and pads
- Hand brake cables.
- Full Dayco belt kit including A/C.
- Water pump.
- Cam phase sensor.
- 2x bonnet struts.
- Oil filter.
- Air filter.
- Fuel filter.
- Pollen filter
- New tyres
- New MOT
Then I drove it to my house for more work.
I sanded and mopped the lights (the lacquer goes, put in new HID bulbs all around. Took the seats out and treated them with cleaner and balm, cleaned all the carpets, hoovered everything, gave it a deep clean throughout. I also installed a complete new flocked dash (centre, centre ashtray, and handbrake console) as the old one was scratched and someone had painted the main console silver....badly. It had new badges put on, silver dash rings installed. It had everything the first one above got plus more.
As it was
As it was.....
And work begins
Compression at 160-170 across all 5 cylinders .... excellent
New cam belt
and work begins - new LED side lights (right LED, left standard)
Installed
Chromed indicator bulbs to replace the orange ones and freshen up the front light units - all white when off
Lights out for HID install and mopping/sanding of lacquer to make clear again
New number plates with a special touch
Mirrors off the be sanded and sprayed satin black like original
and done
Same done to the B pillars
Looking better...
Then it was time to clean up everything in the interior and that started with seats out. First the dash was replaced .... new flocked centre dash in here
Flocked handbrake console installed
Leather cleaned and treated and all plastics cleaned and treated..
All back in, just a new stereo to be installed
New crinkle paint on the rocker cover
and lastly, new stereo put in
That's it for now, more to follow as work progresses.....
Thanks for reaching the end!!!
Edited by Patch234 on Monday 4th January 23:21
Edited by Patch234 on Tuesday 5th January 00:16
Hiya Patch 
been ages!
Well, that accounts for 4 of the remaining 90-odd late Pluses! We have 2 x 2000 examples here, both same spec as your first one (which looks amazing, btw!)
Whilst ours aren't for sale, curious to know what a good one and a slightly tired one are fetching these days - if you wouldn't mind telling by PM, your secret will remain safe with me!
been ages!Well, that accounts for 4 of the remaining 90-odd late Pluses! We have 2 x 2000 examples here, both same spec as your first one (which looks amazing, btw!)
Whilst ours aren't for sale, curious to know what a good one and a slightly tired one are fetching these days - if you wouldn't mind telling by PM, your secret will remain safe with me!
CAPP0 said:
Hiya Patch been ages!
Well, that accounts for 4 of the remaining 90-odd late Pluses! We have 2 x 2000 examples here, both same spec as your first one (which looks amazing, btw!)
Whilst ours aren't for sale, curious to know what a good one and a slightly tired one are fetching these days - if you wouldn't mind telling by PM, your secret will remain safe with me!
Hello cappo been ages!Well, that accounts for 4 of the remaining 90-odd late Pluses! We have 2 x 2000 examples here, both same spec as your first one (which looks amazing, btw!)
Whilst ours aren't for sale, curious to know what a good one and a slightly tired one are fetching these days - if you wouldn't mind telling by PM, your secret will remain safe with me!
Long time mate!It's no secret ... There have been a number of £10K coupes sold recently. Average costs are around £3,000 for standards and these are rising too. There are not too many nice examples left and even fewer of the special editions. I think I am one of the few that realise this?!? Time will tell!
A car is worth what someone is willing to pay, so I think get a decent example now and look after it!!
These will become £5k cars in a few years time. Always fancied one in blue or broom yellow. Two great Fiat colours.
A good friend of mine spent 5 years as a mechanic for Fiat and he said they were a pig to change the belts and all the mechanics eventually figured out a way of doing it and the engine staying in the car, but I'm told it was fiddly.
Apparently it was also the mechanics favorite for test drives after repairs had been carried out
A good friend of mine spent 5 years as a mechanic for Fiat and he said they were a pig to change the belts and all the mechanics eventually figured out a way of doing it and the engine staying in the car, but I'm told it was fiddly.
Apparently it was also the mechanics favorite for test drives after repairs had been carried out
A strange comment to make but.... without doubt my favourite dials in any car of ever, don't know why but they just look right along with the painted dash.
I remember going out in a modified one in the early 00's, I was told it had around 250bhp and was completely blown away by how the thing went and sounded.
Well done on buying 3, keep us posted on the black one.
I remember going out in a modified one in the early 00's, I was told it had around 250bhp and was completely blown away by how the thing went and sounded.
Well done on buying 3, keep us posted on the black one.
bakerstreet said:
These will become £5k cars in a few years time. Always fancied one in blue or broom yellow. Two great Fiat colours.
A good friend of mine spent 5 years as a mechanic for Fiat and he said they were a pig to change the belts and all the mechanics eventually figured out a way of doing it and the engine staying in the car, but I'm told it was fiddly.
Apparently it was also the mechanics favorite for test drives after repairs had been carried out
I agree but also think that the LE and plus special editions will command much more. They are really rare, when was the last time you saw a plus or LE on the road? These are rare cars these daysA good friend of mine spent 5 years as a mechanic for Fiat and he said they were a pig to change the belts and all the mechanics eventually figured out a way of doing it and the engine staying in the car, but I'm told it was fiddly.
Apparently it was also the mechanics favorite for test drives after repairs had been carried out
Great thread. Loved mine but I spent a fortune on it, there was always something that needed doing. Perhaps I was unlucky, but as I say I loved it.
Is f
k forum still going? That was a good forum and some good meets were organised.
I also wanted a red LE,but they were crazy money a while back
Anyway here was mine:
Is f
k forum still going? That was a good forum and some good meets were organised.I also wanted a red LE,but they were crazy money a while back
Anyway here was mine:
eric twinge said:
Great thread. Loved mine but I spent a fortune on it, there was always something that needed doing. Perhaps I was unlucky, but as I say I loved it.
Is fk forum still going? That was a good forum and some good meets were organised.
I also wanted a red LE,but they were crazy money a while back
Anyway here was mine:
Thats the colour! Teseo blue? They sold the Punto Sportings in the same colour. Is f
k forum still going? That was a good forum and some good meets were organised.I also wanted a red LE,but they were crazy money a while back
Anyway here was mine:
Fiat really did get the styling on that car near perfect.
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