Hi guys!

I am about to start refreshing my Fiat 500 L with a few parts that need change. I am pretty much lucky as the car has no rust at all ( or maybe think so ). The car was painted back in the 00's and must have been kept in a garage and used rarely by its previous owner.

I have already made a list with my parts but I need some help from the experienced here. First of all the rubbers around the door window which are frayed but i cannot really identify them in order to buy.

Some help on that would be really appreciated.

I just took delivery of these exact parts from Axel Gerstl - cost pennies - but fun to fit....

On the Axel Gerstl web-site look under (a) Doors and then (b) windows and accessories. All the seals that you need are there. To properly fit the front and top/rear window seal you will need to remove the door card as the seals go all the way down on the guides. I would therefore suggest that you also order 4 new door card retention clips (they go at the front and rear of the card and hold the card onto the door shell--about 1/2 way up at both the front and the rear of the door).

Good luck with it.. ive just bought one. Love these little cars!

Thanks a million guys. I really now enjoy Axel Gerstl's detailed descriptions of each part. It is fully understood.

Just one thing, Could someone send me Haynes repair manual? The links from the sticky seem not to be working..

Are you after any particular part of the manual? I have an original factory (the real thing!) work-shop manual and am quite happy to copy any particular bits out and put them into the post to you.

Thanks Hobbler!

Actually I need the whole guide as I will need to identify a lot of staff. This will take you ages I suppose. If not I would really appreciate it.

Yes, it would be a fairly monumental task! may I suggest the following?---go to 'Wordery--online book-store'---they have a few Haynes Fiat 500 workshop manuals available at a reduced price (£17 28p). Buy one of them, and then if you need anything in particular, I will copy it out of the factory manual for you. Go onto their website, enter 'Haynes workshop manuals in 'search' and you will find what you need (and quite a lot more!).

Makes sense! Thanks Hobbler!

Theodore, I can give you a link to download the manual from my Dropbox if you can PM your email address.

Yesterday I had valve clearances checked but tonight I tried with the engine cold and it was difficult to start. I tried twice without choke. 3rd try with the choke open and still nothing. After half an hour I tried again and it sarted immediately without pressing the accelerating pedal. Any ideas why?

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Also a few from the car. It is not in perfect condition but I will slowly give it a good shape.

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Starting these beasts requires a certain"touch"
Try no choke - accelerator held to the floor whilst cranking the starter

Theo, Andrew is correct to an extent as obviously the car lacks things like electronic ignition and fuel injection. But it should start reliably when properly setup.
You may have set the valves too tight or you might just have been unlucky and slightly flooded the combustion chamber with fuel.
Generally I find my car starts perfectly from stone-cold with choke and no throttle. But if there is a hint that there is some residual warmth; perhaps it was last run a few hours ago, I use full choke and just a slight dip of the pedal. If the engine already is definitely hot or warm, then no choke and I just depress the accelerator pedal about halfway and the car starts immediately.

Thanks guys. Overfeed seems reasonable now. But the old man that sold the car to me advised to press the accelerator pedal to the end when pushing the starter lever. Tomorrow morning I will give it a try again. i have also a second charged battery in the trunk. The battery has to be old and I also suspect that too.



Last thing for tonight.
I have desperately been looking for the weatherstrip that cradles the door glass. I tried Axel Gerstl's super detailed pictures but still nothing. Do you know what this is?

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It comes attached to the alloy surround €15 - a bargain!

Theo, that weatherstrip comes already fitted to the alloy surrounds.

http://webshop.fiat500126.com/katal...um-window-frame-incl-seals-_-set-for-one-door

If you can avoid disturbing the existing ones then I would.
They are well know for being tricky to fit and get right.

Thanks Andrew and Peter!

They are in really bad situation as the metal wire can be shown.

Theo,

from memory, I was so disappointed in the quality of the new trims that I ordered, I stripped off the weatherstrip and put them on my old trims. Lot of mucking around as I believe the weatherstrips are held on to the trim by staples. I distinctly remember having to carefully measure, drill holes and adjust the staple lengths to make to all come together. Was worth it in the end.

Joe R

ok here I am again.

yesterday I removed seats and mats and everything and started cleaning. After removing tons of grease I sprayed with primer and after with it's color.

Now it's clean and nice ready to accept the new mat and materials.

I have a couple of questions though.

1. Old insulation mats are completely destroyed except from the rubber mats which I will keep. I am going to put sound deadening sheets. A local shop suggested 3M 8840 which is similar to the TERODEM SP300. Will that be enough or do I have to put extra insulation like glass fibres?

2. After removing the mat I found 2 big holes under the front seats which were sealed with silicone from the previous owner. At first I was afraid of them being patches but after I realised That they are there for some reason . Has anyone got any idea?

3. I purchased a pair of clamp type mirrors but I can't find the way to install them. Can someone please send me a pic from his?

Thank you!


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Theo, there should be rubber plugs in those holes. I think they are a part of the manufacturing process so that any fluids such as dip primer or degreaser used when making the bodyshell could drain away. Also, if the shells were stored or transported outside, any rain or heavy condensation could get away. I found the same use for them when de-rusting and rinsing out the inside floor.
You can use as much as you like for insulation but I think that any self-adhesive deadening material will be better than that original bitumen.
I don't know about the mirrors.