Vintage Voltage. Quest TV
Discussion
21st Century Man said:
I thought the hole cutting was appalling, but not only that, leaving an exposed metal edge without primer/paint and then just screwing those plastic glands into it. They did the same with the charging point hole on the front, a huge amount of bare exposed metal and they pushed a rubber moulding onto it without any corrosion protection. It all came across as a very amateurish bodge, despite the cutting edge (yeah, that'll be left exposed to rust) engineering narrative. And as for £17k, I just couldn't see it. Poor, very poor.
Looked like a total bodge to me. Even the glands were cheap plastic items - surely they could have used nice brass fittings?Edited by 21st Century Man on Friday 3rd July 11:31
It also looked like the escutcheon they made for the charging port was not only unpainted, but didn't even match the profile of the badge, so it was clearly visible. It did all come across as a bit bodged together mechanically, even if the electrical integration might have been decent.
MG511 said:
CanAm said:
I missed the first minute or so (despite watching on +1!); did the owner say she'd paid £25,000 for it?
It had been laid up because on her first 20 minute drive she "blew up" the engine! It turns out it wasn't "blown up" after all and the converters sold it on for £1200(?)
I'm not convinced about their expertise when the guy referred to the disc brakes and 5-speed box on this early 60s 500D. BTW, still registered as a 499cc petrol engined car, so I hope the lady owner doesn't get hit with congestion charges etc.
One small query; there was no mention of heating or demisting. I assume the original blowers would still be there, if an early Fiat 500 had such luxuries.
She paid £26,000 for it at Historics in May 2018 https://www.historics.co.uk/buying/auctions/2018-0...It had been laid up because on her first 20 minute drive she "blew up" the engine! It turns out it wasn't "blown up" after all and the converters sold it on for £1200(?)
I'm not convinced about their expertise when the guy referred to the disc brakes and 5-speed box on this early 60s 500D. BTW, still registered as a 499cc petrol engined car, so I hope the lady owner doesn't get hit with congestion charges etc.
One small query; there was no mention of heating or demisting. I assume the original blowers would still be there, if an early Fiat 500 had such luxuries.
I wouldn't want to drive LHD in central London and she didn't look to have off street parking or a home charger.
So this lady has paid £26,000 for quite a tasty FIAT 500, and a further £17,000 or so to convert it,(apparently with no charging facilities as MG511has said) if the TV programme is to be believed.
Reading that advert, it all makes little sense. It states that the body had been completely restored and that it also comes with "an early, and highly sought after, 1957 pressed aluminium badge to the front.....This Fiat 500 N comes complete with its ...... original engine and gearbox"
The converters had to deal with rust on one door, and replaced the "highly sought after" badge with a replica (possibly that was needed to use it as a flap over the charging point.
21st Century Man said:
I thought the hole cutting was appalling, but not only that, leaving an exposed metal edge without primer/paint and then just screwing those plastic glands into it. They did the same with the charging point hole on the front, a huge amount of bare exposed metal and they pushed a rubber moulding onto it without any corrosion protection. It all came across as a very amateurish bodge, despite the cutting edge (yeah, that'll be left exposed to rust) engineering narrative. And as for £17k, I just couldn't see it. Poor, very poor.
Just because they didn't show them painting the bare metal doesn't mean they didn'tEdited by 21st Century Man on Friday 3rd July 11:31
21st Century Man said:
Pretty poor editing then, quite remiss of them not to realise it looked poor and to not bother showing it being disassembled once assembled, then painted and rebuilt. If indeed that is the case? all we have to go on is what we saw on broadcast.
They're condensing work carried out over a number of months..... and not all will be filmed.....into less than an hour of tv.There are always continuity errors in these kind of shows.
Also, I know ....from someone who presented a car building show for a number of episodes....the bits they film are often redone properly later
V8covin said:
Just because they didn't show them painting the bare metal doesn't mean they didn't
I was thinking the same, but it's not good to leave that impression. I also didn't like the idea they kept showing those front badges being put back on without getting a bit of compound and removing all the dirt that had built up behind them. And that battery under the back end was a bit poorly thought-out, or at least appeared to be, in that it seemed like it would be a pain in wet weather. I also didn't think sticking a bolt down through the floor was the best solution when riv-nut are a good alternative.Wasn't there a quick glimpse of a heater control, though? But yes, some mention of how that would work would be good. Maybe that will be in a later programme.
I think, given that it had no luggage space to start with, I'd have put the front battery in place of the fuel tank and left the spare wheel in place.
V8covin said:
21st Century Man said:
Pretty poor editing then, quite remiss of them not to realise it looked poor and to not bother showing it being disassembled once assembled, then painted and rebuilt. If indeed that is the case? all we have to go on is what we saw on broadcast.
They're condensing work carried out over a number of months..... and not all will be filmed.....into less than an hour of tv.There are always continuity errors in these kind of shows.
Also, I know ....from someone who presented a car building show for a number of episodes....the bits they film are often redone properly later
eccles said:
It wasn't down to the editing that when they gave her the car back the backing plate for the charging point stuck out like a sore thumb!
Even my wife who has little interest in cars, and tells me she doesn’t watch these motoring shows but is just in the room when they are on, commented “that looks s
t”. skeeterm5 said:
Why do they leave the gearbox in?
Especially in the case of the 500 as it was apparently a very special 5-speed box and the owner still had the original 4-speed.I guess the answer is that it's easier and cheaper than making something bespoke, even though only one speed s really needed.
CanAm said:
skeeterm5 said:
Why do they leave the gearbox in?
Especially in the case of the 500 as it was apparently a very special 5-speed box and the owner still had the original 4-speed.I guess the answer is that it's easier and cheaper than making something bespoke, even though only one speed s really needed.
I must admit I quite like the idea of a classic car converted to an electric car, especially the Karmann Ghia, however the sheer scale of bodgery on this program is shocking on both of the two episodes so far.
The hitting of a metal part to get it over the shaft with a steel hammer just shows a lack of care, the edge of that bush must have mushroomed after all the hits it took trying to get it to fit and the holesaw incident as already mentioned.
Perhaps they should team up with Goblin Works Garage for the full effect.
The hitting of a metal part to get it over the shaft with a steel hammer just shows a lack of care, the edge of that bush must have mushroomed after all the hits it took trying to get it to fit and the holesaw incident as already mentioned.
Perhaps they should team up with Goblin Works Garage for the full effect.
Smollet said:
CanAm said:
skeeterm5 said:
Why do they leave the gearbox in?
Especially in the case of the 500 as it was apparently a very special 5-speed box and the owner still had the original 4-speed.I guess the answer is that it's easier and cheaper than making something bespoke, even though only one speed s really needed.
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