1960s/70s Fiat 500 - anyone restored/got one?
Discussion
I was in Naples last month and was amazed how many old Fiat 500's are still in daily use, funny to see them stuck in traffic with the newer 500 which looks huge alongside an original model.
Price here have gone crazy not sure why, I had one in 1988 and it was a terrible thing - noisy slow rusty dreadful brakes bouncy suspension, best described as a cute form of motorised torture .
Price here have gone crazy not sure why, I had one in 1988 and it was a terrible thing - noisy slow rusty dreadful brakes bouncy suspension, best described as a cute form of motorised torture .
Yep, we've got a '66 500F in the fleet. We drove it back from Florence last year across the Alps when it was still on 499cc...
Since then we have treated the underside to copious Dinitrol to keep the rust at bay and fitted a later 650cc engine from a 126 bought from Poland via eBay - much more flexible in traffic and plenty enough power away from motorways.
Top down on short journeys it's a lot of fun, and you meet loads of interested people. On a cold wet day on fast roads it is noisy, cramped and not a brilliant place to be. My other half absolutely adores it and I haven't met a girl yet who doesn't think it's the cutest car ever. The brakes are actually pretty good provided they are well serviced.
To answer your question, parts availability is no problem (much like an MG) but I would say restoring a cheap one is probably a false economy. Ours had been restored a few years back in Florence and was (is) in lovely condition. A few weeks in the UK was all it took for surface rust to be all over the underside - hence the Dinitrol!
Since then we have treated the underside to copious Dinitrol to keep the rust at bay and fitted a later 650cc engine from a 126 bought from Poland via eBay - much more flexible in traffic and plenty enough power away from motorways.
Top down on short journeys it's a lot of fun, and you meet loads of interested people. On a cold wet day on fast roads it is noisy, cramped and not a brilliant place to be. My other half absolutely adores it and I haven't met a girl yet who doesn't think it's the cutest car ever. The brakes are actually pretty good provided they are well serviced.
To answer your question, parts availability is no problem (much like an MG) but I would say restoring a cheap one is probably a false economy. Ours had been restored a few years back in Florence and was (is) in lovely condition. A few weeks in the UK was all it took for surface rust to be all over the underside - hence the Dinitrol!
Bought a 1970 Fiat 500L unseen from Florence to restore as winter project (for 2000€).
Mine was surprisingly rust free, having spent it's entire live in Florence. Disassembly took four hours
to get to the bare shell, which is now prepared for paint. Everything is simple and basic,
most interior parts will be replaced by new items/retrimed anyway, which won't cost huge amounts.
Parts are easily available, as are many upgrades from later models (126 synchronised gearbox, stronger engines,
Abarth and Giannini parts, wider steel wheels from the 126p).
There are pattern parts of low quality, don't buy the cheapest offers
Look at ebay.it to get a feel for prices, for example:
Seat covers and door trims around 150 €
Carpet 70€
Door pockets 10€ each
Head and taillights around 100€
Chrome bumpers, depending on quality around 50€ each
Make sure that the speedometer and steering wheel is in good nick, as these parts are getting rare
The Fiat 500d will be way more expensive to buy or restore, as body parts and equipment may be hard to find
Mine was surprisingly rust free, having spent it's entire live in Florence. Disassembly took four hours
to get to the bare shell, which is now prepared for paint. Everything is simple and basic,
most interior parts will be replaced by new items/retrimed anyway, which won't cost huge amounts.
Parts are easily available, as are many upgrades from later models (126 synchronised gearbox, stronger engines,
Abarth and Giannini parts, wider steel wheels from the 126p).
There are pattern parts of low quality, don't buy the cheapest offers
Look at ebay.it to get a feel for prices, for example:
Seat covers and door trims around 150 €
Carpet 70€
Door pockets 10€ each
Head and taillights around 100€
Chrome bumpers, depending on quality around 50€ each
Make sure that the speedometer and steering wheel is in good nick, as these parts are getting rare
The Fiat 500d will be way more expensive to buy or restore, as body parts and equipment may be hard to find
Edited by MagnaJeep on Saturday 12th October 09:34
By coincidence I have just acquired a 1967 500, that came out of a friend's inherited barn in the Dordogne area of France. It's in very clean condition, one owner and has only done 16k kilometres. It needs recommissioning but appears very sound and the engine turns over. It is, of course, LHD.
I'm not really sure what to do with it, other than the recommissioning. I guess it must be saleable here in France or maybe in the UK.
Here it is (the missing trim strip is with it!)...
I'm not really sure what to do with it, other than the recommissioning. I guess it must be saleable here in France or maybe in the UK.
Here it is (the missing trim strip is with it!)...
mikey77 said:
By coincidence I have just acquired a 1967 500, that came out of a friend's inherited barn in the Dordogne area of France. It's in very clean condition, one owner and has only done 16k kilometres. It needs recommissioning but appears very sound and the engine turns over. It is, of course, LHD.
I'm not really sure what to do with it, other than the recommissioning. I guess it must be saleable here in France or maybe in the UK.
Here it is (the missing trim strip is with it!)...
Looks good!I'm not really sure what to do with it, other than the recommissioning. I guess it must be saleable here in France or maybe in the UK.
Here it is (the missing trim strip is with it!)...
is all paper work still there?
(oh dear, i really dont need another car...........
)Yup, including the important 'certificate de cessation' or release for sale form, signed by the owner, now aged 97 and living in the UK.
It was bought from the local Fiat dealer, who is still in business. We also found a 1999 Seicento in there, which the dealer snapped up when he heard about it. He almost bit our hand off for the 500 but we couldn't resist having a crack at seeing it live again.
It was bought from the local Fiat dealer, who is still in business. We also found a 1999 Seicento in there, which the dealer snapped up when he heard about it. He almost bit our hand off for the 500 but we couldn't resist having a crack at seeing it live again.
Just seen one this very morning in Suzuka, Japan.
Also saw one for sale on the island off Venice a couple of weeks ago for 3000 euros. It was on the road, didn't look too bad in terms of rust but living on an island probably was subject to water and salt...
Sounds fun if it only takes four hours to disassemble. Double that in my case, but still acceptable.
Also saw one for sale on the island off Venice a couple of weeks ago for 3000 euros. It was on the road, didn't look too bad in terms of rust but living on an island probably was subject to water and salt...
Sounds fun if it only takes four hours to disassemble. Double that in my case, but still acceptable.
I know New Zealand is a long way but here are some examples for sale right now out of interest.
http://www.trademe.co.nz/browse/categoryattributes...
Various stages of build and RHD, but whether they are still good prices (divide by 2 for rough GBP value) I don't know. Has the $$$ boom for 500's reached NZ as well???
http://www.trademe.co.nz/browse/categoryattributes...
Various stages of build and RHD, but whether they are still good prices (divide by 2 for rough GBP value) I don't know. Has the $$$ boom for 500's reached NZ as well???
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