1979 Fiat 124 Spider
Discussion
This Fulvia has been available for a fair while with a Lancia guru and it’s not red but a loveeeely dark blue. If only there was more room at the inn
https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1224489
https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1224489
TwigtheWonderkid said:
By the way CDG, what did you do with the US style plates that came off the car. If you don't want them anymore, Adrian has said he wouldn't mind them back, to put on the wall of his garage.
Twig - I have them in my garage and am very happy to return them to your pal. If you mail me an address I'll post them back. It now proudly wears its Lux plates, but somewhat illegally as I still have a registration hurdle to cross. I'll update the thread on the saga soon.
After nearly 5 months absence, I collected the car last week. The required work has been done, but I have to visit the Customs and Excise office because BREXIT happened between import and registration, and things got a lot more complicated. The appointment with them is on Friday and I'm hoping to get it all sorted then.
In a well-intentioned but unhelpful act, the garage put the new plates on slightly prematurely, but as long as I can avoid the attention of the rozzers I might get away with it. I'll only drive it to the Customs folks anyway until it's legal and they know the situation with it.
I haven't seen an invoice yet so am not certain what work has been done, but it doesn't appear to leak fluids in my garage any more which is a welcome development.
It has 4 (I needed 5 really so will have to do the spare separately) new tyres. I was asked if I wanted all-seasons which seemed like a good idea and, although I doubt I'll be whizzing through the snow, it will allow me to legally use it in winter if I wish, so I agreed. They fitted Falken Euroseasons which seem to do fine in the comparison tests, and I assume are at the cheaper end of the spectrum. As it's not the last word in dynamic handling anyway, and hardly offers capillary-bursting performance I'm sure they will be spot-on.
Driving it home reminded me why I like it. Great noise, direct feedback and pretty enough to get a few cheery waves; it's a fun little thing and now all I want to do is get it properly legal and then thrash it round the Continent for a bit.
My garagiste has valued the car at about double what I paid for it, so the investment so far seems worthwhile.
In a well-intentioned but unhelpful act, the garage put the new plates on slightly prematurely, but as long as I can avoid the attention of the rozzers I might get away with it. I'll only drive it to the Customs folks anyway until it's legal and they know the situation with it.
I haven't seen an invoice yet so am not certain what work has been done, but it doesn't appear to leak fluids in my garage any more which is a welcome development.
It has 4 (I needed 5 really so will have to do the spare separately) new tyres. I was asked if I wanted all-seasons which seemed like a good idea and, although I doubt I'll be whizzing through the snow, it will allow me to legally use it in winter if I wish, so I agreed. They fitted Falken Euroseasons which seem to do fine in the comparison tests, and I assume are at the cheaper end of the spectrum. As it's not the last word in dynamic handling anyway, and hardly offers capillary-bursting performance I'm sure they will be spot-on.
Driving it home reminded me why I like it. Great noise, direct feedback and pretty enough to get a few cheery waves; it's a fun little thing and now all I want to do is get it properly legal and then thrash it round the Continent for a bit.
My garagiste has valued the car at about double what I paid for it, so the investment so far seems worthwhile.
CharlesdeGaulle said:
TwigtheWonderkid said:
By the way CDG, what did you do with the US style plates that came off the car. If you don't want them anymore, Adrian has said he wouldn't mind them back, to put on the wall of his garage.
Twig - I have them in my garage and am very happy to return them to your pal. If you mail me an address I'll post them back. It now proudly wears its Lux plates, but somewhat illegally as I still have a registration hurdle to cross. I'll update the thread on the saga soon.
TwigtheWonderkid said:
CharlesdeGaulle said:
TwigtheWonderkid said:
By the way CDG, what did you do with the US style plates that came off the car. If you don't want them anymore, Adrian has said he wouldn't mind them back, to put on the wall of his garage.
Twig - I have them in my garage and am very happy to return them to your pal. If you mail me an address I'll post them back. It now proudly wears its Lux plates, but somewhat illegally as I still have a registration hurdle to cross. I'll update the thread on the saga soon.
Out of interest, he's just finished his latest project, a 1971 Honda CL350. He came across it as a complete basket case but decided it was worth saving. If you're interested CDG, it's £6K, including delivery to Luxembourg!!
TwigtheWonderkid said:
Plates arrived today, many thanks, he'll be delighted.
Out of interest, he's just finished his latest project, a 1971 Honda CL350. He came across it as a complete basket case but decided it was worth saving. If you're interested CDG, it's £6K, including delivery to Luxembourg!!
Glad they arrived. Out of interest, he's just finished his latest project, a 1971 Honda CL350. He came across it as a complete basket case but decided it was worth saving. If you're interested CDG, it's £6K, including delivery to Luxembourg!!
The bike definitely isn't for me. I have the licence but lack the cojones and cred to get away with it. I also have delusions of coolness, despite being mercilessly teased by my daughters, but even I have enough self-awareness to recognise that I would look utterly tragic on that.
The appointment with Customs last Friday resulted in the usual outcome of man versus European bureaucracy, i.e. teeth-gnashing frustration.
I now need a different piece of paper to prove that the car was in Lux before end-Dec 2020. Once I have that, I am assured all will be well. We'll see.
The journey there was something of a trial as the temp dial approached the red zone pretty quickly. I'd checked the fan works a few weeks back, but I'm not at all sure it works properly now. Anyway, I dropped the roof and put the heater fan on max and got there and back without an exploding geyser of steam, so that's probably a result.
By the time I got back - irritable and fractious, and having not enjoyed the drive at all - fuel was low. The car isn't technically legal on its current plates so, having been told by Customs to do point-to-point journeys only I elected to fill the car from the jerry can for the lawnmower. I managed that without an exploding geyser of fire but then lacked the petrol to cut the grass. Obviously I blamed European bureaucracy for all this, rather than my own stupidity.
Anyway, next step is to source the paper and nurse the car to and from Customs, and then to get it back to the garage for the Controle Technique and to look at the possible over-heating. Then, and only then, will I clean the thing.
Coincidentally, the insurance bill arrived over the weekend. 326 euros for a max of 7,000 km pa isn't too bad by Lux standards, although it is more than double what I paid in UK for similar cover when I bought it.
I now need a different piece of paper to prove that the car was in Lux before end-Dec 2020. Once I have that, I am assured all will be well. We'll see.
The journey there was something of a trial as the temp dial approached the red zone pretty quickly. I'd checked the fan works a few weeks back, but I'm not at all sure it works properly now. Anyway, I dropped the roof and put the heater fan on max and got there and back without an exploding geyser of steam, so that's probably a result.
By the time I got back - irritable and fractious, and having not enjoyed the drive at all - fuel was low. The car isn't technically legal on its current plates so, having been told by Customs to do point-to-point journeys only I elected to fill the car from the jerry can for the lawnmower. I managed that without an exploding geyser of fire but then lacked the petrol to cut the grass. Obviously I blamed European bureaucracy for all this, rather than my own stupidity.
Anyway, next step is to source the paper and nurse the car to and from Customs, and then to get it back to the garage for the Controle Technique and to look at the possible over-heating. Then, and only then, will I clean the thing.
Coincidentally, the insurance bill arrived over the weekend. 326 euros for a max of 7,000 km pa isn't too bad by Lux standards, although it is more than double what I paid in UK for similar cover when I bought it.
Sounds like a highly irritating process!
As it's an electric fan it would be worth nosing about under the bonnet for an adjustable thermostat for it - resolved a similar issue on a toasty classic as the 'stat adjuster had worked itself loose and cranked up way too high so the fan wouldn't kick in.
As it's an electric fan it would be worth nosing about under the bonnet for an adjustable thermostat for it - resolved a similar issue on a toasty classic as the 'stat adjuster had worked itself loose and cranked up way too high so the fan wouldn't kick in.
CharlesdeGaulle said:
Yes, the red centre caps are still on it. They are probably not technically correct but I like them and don't care!
I said this 6 months ago. I now realise that one has been lost when the car was away, presumably when the tyres were replaced. So, what to do?
What is on it now:
Perhaps more authentic as the car isn't an Abarth:
Or something a bit 'bad boy', and equally wrong.
Any advice, or does anyone know of anything more authentic and suitable?
CharlesdeGaulle said:
The appointment with Customs last Friday resulted in the usual outcome of man versus European bureaucracy, i.e. teeth-gnashing frustration.
I now need a different piece of paper to prove that the car was in Lux before end-Dec 2020. Once I have that, I am assured all will be well. We'll see.
Oh the naive optimism of a few weeks ago; oh the simplicity. Of course all was not well. I now need a different piece of paper to prove that the car was in Lux before end-Dec 2020. Once I have that, I am assured all will be well. We'll see.
I was left waiting for 15 minutes by a dolt of a woman with a serious attitude problem, only for her to come back with a 'computer says no' smirk and direct me to a different office, in a very different part of the city. The supervisor that came with her merely shrugged with barely concealed disdain as I explained yet again that I had provided the paperwork requested by their colleague just a couple of weeks ago. Customer service is sometimes an alien concept here, and I was left in a state of incandescent fury against Brexit and all it stands for, as well as the job-for-life mentality of an unimaginative bureaucrat. So, back to square one, but only once I've calmed down a bit and am no longer considering setting light to the f
king thing. On the positive side, the lady in the petrol station was very complimentary about the car, and I think there was something approaching a cheeky twinkle in her eye as she looked at the screen showing my car. Nice to know I can still charm some women, even if she was in her late 60s. If only the lumpen aparatchik had been similarly wowed.
All in all, a bit of a waste of a day off, although I did get my grass cut; silver linings and all that.
At a pinch, the red Abarth caps are OK. The "new style" Abarth I find horrendous; in my opinion the new squashed typeface doesn't do the scudetto any favours.
Something similar happens with the "old style" but actually new Fiat logo. It is for a contemporary Fiat product and it shows (even i it tries to ape the badges you could see on the old 125s and the like(
I suggest you look for something like these:
https://autoricambifirat.it/shop/index.php?main_pa...
In any case, be careful with the diameters...
Something similar happens with the "old style" but actually new Fiat logo. It is for a contemporary Fiat product and it shows (even i it tries to ape the badges you could see on the old 125s and the like(
I suggest you look for something like these:
https://autoricambifirat.it/shop/index.php?main_pa...
In any case, be careful with the diameters...
CharlesdeGaulle said:
Oh the naive optimism of a few weeks ago; oh the simplicity. Of course all was not well.
I was left waiting for 15 minutes by a dolt of a woman with a serious attitude problem, only for her to come back with a 'computer says no' smirk and direct me to a different office, in a very different part of the city. The supervisor that came with her merely shrugged with barely concealed disdain as I explained yet again that I had provided the paperwork requested by their colleague just a couple of weeks ago. Customer service is sometimes an alien concept here, and I was left in a state of incandescent fury against Brexit and all it stands for, as well as the job-for-life mentality of an unimaginative bureaucrat. So, back to square one, but only once I've calmed down a bit and am no longer considering setting light to the fking thing.
On the positive side, the lady in the petrol station was very complimentary about the car, and I think there was something approaching a cheeky twinkle in her eye as she looked at the screen showing my car. Nice to know I can still charm some women, even if she was in her late 60s. If only the lumpen aparatchik had been similarly wowed.
All in all, a bit of a waste of a day off, although I did get my grass cut; silver linings and all that.
A well modulated and valid rant. I feel at least some of your specific pain. Douze points for using dolt and lumpen, they deserve to be used more and I do try.I was left waiting for 15 minutes by a dolt of a woman with a serious attitude problem, only for her to come back with a 'computer says no' smirk and direct me to a different office, in a very different part of the city. The supervisor that came with her merely shrugged with barely concealed disdain as I explained yet again that I had provided the paperwork requested by their colleague just a couple of weeks ago. Customer service is sometimes an alien concept here, and I was left in a state of incandescent fury against Brexit and all it stands for, as well as the job-for-life mentality of an unimaginative bureaucrat. So, back to square one, but only once I've calmed down a bit and am no longer considering setting light to the f
king thing. On the positive side, the lady in the petrol station was very complimentary about the car, and I think there was something approaching a cheeky twinkle in her eye as she looked at the screen showing my car. Nice to know I can still charm some women, even if she was in her late 60s. If only the lumpen aparatchik had been similarly wowed.
All in all, a bit of a waste of a day off, although I did get my grass cut; silver linings and all that.
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