Fiat Marea 20v Turbo
Discussion
Hello,
I've been a bit of a lurker of PH for awhile but never really (read ever) posted. I thought i should introduce myself (Ryan), but more importantly my car
I have had a very hard love affair with this car to say the least, first bought at the end of 2006 she started out as a tidy looking standard 20v HLX.
for almost as long as i have been driving i have been jelous of Fiat selling Marea 20v Turbo's in brazil and have had my heart set on building one for myself.
back in febuary 2008 i began by buying myself a Fiat Coupe 20vT
I think this was my worst mistake of the entire project, i spent £600 on the car and £180 to have to transported, it had a blown HG, blown Turbo, knackered brakes, rotten radiator, rotten oil cooler and 144k miles. I wish i could wind back the clock and spend £4,000 on a Coupe to start the conversion with.
after some time i had the car completely stripped and my new engine ready to go into the Marea
once everything was ready i booked myself 2 weeks from work to get the job done, here are a couple of photos from the experience
and a final one to show off the Brembo's
At the end of the 2weeks the car was all bolted together but i still had wiring issues, these ended up taking a further 3 weeks to resolve.
The car has spent an awfull lot of time off the road since the conversion with various issues, and to say the least i have learnt my lesson with buying second hand car parts, another replacement engine & 2 turbos to name but a few!
She now has a Hybrid TB28 turbo with 60mm compressor wheel, cut back blades, staggar oil seals and 360 bearing, the replacement engine was a Fiat refurbished unit which i struck lucky and found on ebay, Brembo sport cross-drilled disc's & Pagid RS29 pads, a Live remap from FC performance which i must say has made the car very lively!
she has not been on a rolling road but i have tested the 0-60 & 1/4mi times with the dynolicious iPhone app which gave 6.26s 0-60mph and 14.92 @ 103MPH, estimated 195WHP.
Not wanting to blab on too much i'll leave you with a couple of exterior photos, all comments welcome Thanks!
I've been a bit of a lurker of PH for awhile but never really (read ever) posted. I thought i should introduce myself (Ryan), but more importantly my car
I have had a very hard love affair with this car to say the least, first bought at the end of 2006 she started out as a tidy looking standard 20v HLX.
for almost as long as i have been driving i have been jelous of Fiat selling Marea 20v Turbo's in brazil and have had my heart set on building one for myself.
back in febuary 2008 i began by buying myself a Fiat Coupe 20vT
I think this was my worst mistake of the entire project, i spent £600 on the car and £180 to have to transported, it had a blown HG, blown Turbo, knackered brakes, rotten radiator, rotten oil cooler and 144k miles. I wish i could wind back the clock and spend £4,000 on a Coupe to start the conversion with.
after some time i had the car completely stripped and my new engine ready to go into the Marea
once everything was ready i booked myself 2 weeks from work to get the job done, here are a couple of photos from the experience
and a final one to show off the Brembo's
At the end of the 2weeks the car was all bolted together but i still had wiring issues, these ended up taking a further 3 weeks to resolve.
The car has spent an awfull lot of time off the road since the conversion with various issues, and to say the least i have learnt my lesson with buying second hand car parts, another replacement engine & 2 turbos to name but a few!
She now has a Hybrid TB28 turbo with 60mm compressor wheel, cut back blades, staggar oil seals and 360 bearing, the replacement engine was a Fiat refurbished unit which i struck lucky and found on ebay, Brembo sport cross-drilled disc's & Pagid RS29 pads, a Live remap from FC performance which i must say has made the car very lively!
she has not been on a rolling road but i have tested the 0-60 & 1/4mi times with the dynolicious iPhone app which gave 6.26s 0-60mph and 14.92 @ 103MPH, estimated 195WHP.
Not wanting to blab on too much i'll leave you with a couple of exterior photos, all comments welcome
Thanks!
Thanks for the comments!
I do love the car but it really test's me sometimes, i seem to keep finding myself saying 'The next time it breaks, its scrap' but can never bring myself to do it, i started saying that almost £2k ago :|
Yes, it is fast, very fast, the only problem is that it is a bit too much of a sleeper, no one pay's any attention to a 10 year old fiat estate.
This saturday she will be putting up her usual performance at Castle Combe showing up some of the 'performance' cars which i just love, i dont think you can beat the feeling of knowing how annoyed caterham or 300zx drivers must be when a they are passed by a Fiat, har har.
Ry
I do love the car but it really test's me sometimes, i seem to keep finding myself saying 'The next time it breaks, its scrap' but can never bring myself to do it, i started saying that almost £2k ago :|
Yes, it is fast, very fast, the only problem is that it is a bit too much of a sleeper, no one pay's any attention to a 10 year old fiat estate.
This saturday she will be putting up her usual performance at Castle Combe showing up some of the 'performance' cars which i just love, i dont think you can beat the feeling of knowing how annoyed caterham or 300zx drivers must be when a they are passed by a Fiat, har har.
Ry
I decided against going to the cheddar meet as after Combe both myself and the car need a break
All went well yesterday, i had 3 good sessions. There was the usual bad driving and odd moments that you get at Action days as you can see from a couple of parts in these videos.
9:30 session (2 parts):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbvaeTc6tSM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7TdkK-sK58
1:15 session (was ment to be the 200+ session but delays earlier in the day ment it was mixed):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_OAKaump04
and my final session at 4:00:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8VTRZayFN4
Cheers,
Ry
All went well yesterday, i had 3 good sessions. There was the usual bad driving and odd moments that you get at Action days as you can see from a couple of parts in these videos.
9:30 session (2 parts):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbvaeTc6tSM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7TdkK-sK58
1:15 session (was ment to be the 200+ session but delays earlier in the day ment it was mixed):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_OAKaump04
and my final session at 4:00:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8VTRZayFN4
Cheers,
Ry
I think I've come across you on the backroads towards the old Severn Bridge - I remember having to work my BMW hard to shake you off - its certainly quick - you're probably right with the estimated BHP - the BMW is running a little more than 193 so in my head that reasons why I had the legs when I went past...
Still, perfect sleeper
Still, perfect sleeper
my memory may be playing tricks on me but i sold Fiats at Ryauto (long gone) in Stourbridge and Oldbury and that car and its reg look very familiar. Anything in the books to put my tortured old brain at ease? Niggling feeling that car was a demo - 20v HLX's were rare beasts new. I had one for a while - sounded great, went well, drank like oliver reed on an all inclusive holiday.
@neil - hehe, i remember that day, your BMW is very rapid, what is the spec?
I wasnt expecting a simple overtake to become so difficult
@uncinquesei - Sounds along the right lines, here is what i have:
Pre delivery service:
Carried out: 19/04/1999
RYAUTO Limited
Cleveland Road
Wolverhampton
WV2 1BG
the metallic black seems to be very rare on these cars, so, was this the one you remember?
I wasnt expecting a simple overtake to become so difficult
@uncinquesei - Sounds along the right lines, here is what i have:
Pre delivery service:
Carried out: 19/04/1999
RYAUTO Limited
Cleveland Road
Wolverhampton
WV2 1BG
the metallic black seems to be very rare on these cars, so, was this the one you remember?
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