Really helpful I'm keen to do the soundproofing as well. Inspired by your post I'm going to write a bit about what I've done to mine. Although the holiday stuff is always interesting to read. Will definitely be having a go at your route next March.

This is a great thread! I really, really want to take my B on a road-trip like that, but it's still languishing in the barn until I get round to fixing it. I've just spent 2 weeks driving a nasty Nissan hire car around Ontario, and apart from one evening when the heavens opened, I was wishing I was in my B!

Very interesting series of posts, thanks.

Mrs b_u and I had a walking holiday in the Luberon in the spring of last year and another in the Nimes area this spring. Great scenery, food a bit too precious for me (especially compared with the Umbrian cuisine of our second home) but to Mrs b_u's liking. But no wild life - in a total of twelve days walking trough the Provencal countryside we saw and heard a single buzzard and nothing else - the silence is quite spooky. In the woods round our village in Umbria the birds sing from before dawn till after dusk every day and we see wild boar, deer, porcupine, beech martens, etc, dozens of different birds, including woodpeckers and raptors, the occasional snake and any number of lizards. The Pont du Gare is stunning though.

I've always quite liked the Barchetta but how quick is it? And how reliable?

Hi B_U, I agree the area is a great but nothing compared to what Italy has to offer. I've only been to Umbria once but we liked what we saw.

Barchetta reliability - It's a FIAT so will give trouble but nothing too bad if it's been looked after.

Speed - decent but not mind-blowing. I can make my wife scream though . I think the 0-100kph is around 8.5 secs.. so not slow.

Italy is a very special place. I am lucky to have have have skied in the Aosta Valley more than twenty times and we have had numerous summer holidays too. I love Umbria and Tuscany and I am looking forward to Florence in August. I love the wine, the cars, the people and the scenery! S

bumble said:

I love the wine, the cars, the people and the scenery!

Click to expand...

Don't forget the food! And the wine! Oh...

And it's safe to walk the streets at night...

Ah, you're bypassing Piedmont. We've travelled all over and all Italy is great but Piedmont is very special. We have flat plains, vineyard clad hills, the Alps as the backdrop, great weather, the best wines in the world and the food isn't bad either. And most importantly the Barchetta was born here

Aosta is nice...

babbo_umbro said:

I've always quite liked the Barchetta but how quick is it? And how reliable?

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Quicker than your Panda 4x4 (!!), the ride is excellent for a car of this type, and the boot is surprisingly capacious. The seats and driving position are more comfy than a Panda, too

As for reliability, mine was 100% reliable for the first 9+ years I owned it, and has only blotted its copybook recently. So not at all bad for a Fiat. The B that Hammond piloted on that Top Gear special to the Holy Land proved to be indestructible. Mine goes up and down our unmade farm track without a problem (they have surprisingly good ground clearance).

Oh, and they are achingly beautiful in any colour, and guaranteed to put a smile on your face. Just the ticket for your trips to and from Italy in the summer

"Oh, and they are achingly beautiful in any colour, and guaranteed to put a smile on your face. Just the ticket for your trips to and from Italy in the summer " __________________


Apart from red and yellow, blue is good...

Someone asked about soundproofing.

It’s very simple to do and makes a big difference. I know the Barchetta was designed to be noisy and you are meant to feel the car through all the vibrations - or maybe it was just cheap! - but I feel the car is much more fun and feels more solid. All I can hear now is the exhaust and the induction. It sounds great and driving, even for hours, is a pleasure.

You have to strip out the interior - the seats, centre console, seat belts and the rubber matting. I used Silent Coat tiles that I bought from amazon.co.uk then overlaid it with Silent Coat foam. I made sure to cover every part - all the floor, the tunnel and side panels. I did behind the speakers too (made a big difference to the audio - shows FIAT were being really cheap to not put any there..). I also did inside the doors.

Cost
I used 2 boxes of the silver tiles, so 60 tiles. I bought a 3rd box as I was little short in the doors but used just a few tiles. You could be a bit more sparing and use just 60 for sure.
Silent Coat 30 x Tiles (187x265mm) Car Sound Deadening / Proofing Pack: Amazon.co.uk: Car & Motorbike

These were €35 a box.


The foam I bought directly from Silent Coat (the silver panels were cheaper on Amazon..). I bought 3 rolls for £35. They are Silent Coat Isolator 6 Large Sheet.

I also bought a roller from Amazon as you can see in the photo. Application is easy. Make sure the surface is clean. Just be careful of your seat mounting holes - don’t go near them with the tiles. The sticky black backing blocks up the holes and makes it a nightmare to put the seats back in. You can see in my photos that I didn't stay away from them which is how I know it creates a nightmare..

So, total spend was about £200.

It will take you about 4-5 hours. It’s a nice winter job!

I also used a couple of rolls of Anti Squeak self adhesive tape and covered all the edges of plastic trim to stop squeaking. It’s a couple of £s a roll.

Anti Squeak Anti Rattle Self Adhesive Felt Tape 25mm X 3M: Amazon.co.uk: Car & Motorbike

You don't need to take the dashboard out!! I had it out anyway as I was replacing the heater matrix. And it's pretty well insulated under the dash.

This week I finally got around to a proper polishing.

For the first time I used clay. I bought Autoglym clay bar and cleaner. After doing the entire car I then used Swisswax cleaner fluid, then Swisswax Onyx Carnauba wax.

It looks amazing.. well worth doing.

Nice one! Clay bar definitely worth the effort. Don't know about Swisswax, I'm a Meguires user myself. If you run your fingers over it does it feel like stroking water?

Looks great. I'm a bucket of water and chamois bloke!

Coming to Piza tomorrow Rich! Courtesy of Jet2 unfortunately but looking forward to some sunshine and Chianti

Yes, first time I used Swisswax. I bought the cheapest (€35 for a tiny pot but it does go far) and it is like glass. I did one coat of wax then the 2nd coat I left over night.

Oh it's nice and hot here Bumble. Will be even better in Pisa. I used the car for work today and it was really great - a bit too hot.. Excuse to drive a bit faster

Have a great time in Tuscany!

Your B looks fantastic, richit - I could dive into that deep, deep blue!

Thanks Gar074!

It really does look amazing, a perfect Italian sports car in a beautiful Italian setting. Blue is a fantastic colour too, but as you know I can't help but be a bit biased there [emoji1]

I know this isn't a Vespa forum and not even a Piaggio get together but I wanted to show you a new companion for my Barchetta - a true Italian scooter, a Vespa PX150.

Someone said that Vespa are like Italians - noisy and inconsiderate, stylist but unreliable. After 14 years of life in Italy... I think they are, now I need to find out if the Vespa is.

We couldn't resist fitting the white walls and a bit of bling

It will be used for advertising our business so if you get down to International White Truffle Festival in Alba next month you might see us!!
Ciao!!

Nice scoot , great colour in red [emoji106]?, I have been riding Vespa's & lambretta's for nearly 30 years and only had a few issues with reliability over the years , the lambretta I have had for 27 years ran for 20 years before a major engine rebuild .sure you will have hours of pleasure on it especially in the Italian sunshine [emoji41], here's a pic of my 1983 P200E .