PROJECT 'blue nose'

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PROJECT 'blue nose'

pensuke

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Jul 6, 2006
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I bought a Fiat stilo 1.6 Active Sport from salvage, had it delieverd the other day. Its front drivers side damage with a few scrapes/dents along the rear quatre (also drivers side, near fuel re-filler cap). The rest of the car however is fine, starts and 'drives' and i plan to document my progress fixin the car and also interested as to suggestions/solutions from members.

I plan to do it all on a budget of around £700 (please let me know if you think this is not possible) i've had a quote for parts (only) from the Fiat dealership of £660 excluding labour but i'm aware private garages can do this for cheaper with you sourcing the parts your self.

I'm aware of the obvious parts, which are:

R/H Head lamp/light
A/C Radiator
Front bumper
R/H front panel

After i get my uncle (Ford Mechanic) to look it over their will probably be a whole host of other listed parts i will need to get, but those listed are the BIG ones, so any help sourcing these parts for a reasonable price is welcomed!

(btw i know theres something missing in the engine bay (drivers side) i have the bottle that seems to go there, though can't seem to fit it, or locate the tube that connects it?)

[im trying to post pictures though it does'nt seem to be working?!?!?]
 
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Here's the pictures bit blurry as it was with a cell phone!
 

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All airbags except the drivers right hand side are OK (tore the lining in the seat!?) im not sure if its worth replacing though or how much it would cost should i consider replacing it?
 
right now a warning light is the least of my problems (well not at the fore-front), im fearing i might need to take it to a dealership after all. Though im going to wait until the mechanic gives it the once over tomorrow.

How much does Tracking cost on average?
 
question: in the picture i posted (bottom left of the engine bay) what needs to go there? or rather SHOULD be there and what is it connected too?

my 1st guess is water for the radiator?
 
ah ha! i see, i have that stowed away in the boot right now, i have looked at pictures of other stilo engine bays and i can kind of figure out the pipe which is supposed to be attached to it. Yet another part needed, (new pipe to connect to the bottle)

- sighs -
 
jumped the car today, to check the electrics, warning lights every where (which to me is a good thing, shows the electrics do work and is picking up the damage)

checking....

airbag failure
head light failure
(another failure which i can't remember)

i thought it went fairly well considering, all other electrics work fine, only thing is the engine wont turn over. Is this because theirs no radiator? some kind of saftey precaution, my friend indicated it might need a starter motor. Any suggestions on what else it COULD be other than that? Also could the driver side front wing be kocked out and re-sprayed or should i just purchase a new one? would it be better to save it

sorry i know theirs alot of questions just trying to get a general picture, thanks in advance.

(oh and is it a requirment that you need to have ALL airbags working? as my drivers side seat one has gone, though others are intact and working?)
 
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If it were me I wouldn't bother panel beating bolt off panels. Find out the colour code and put out a call on an internet scrappy search for the right colour panels.

The rear wing on the other hand will need the attention of someone who can panel beat. A bodyshop would use a Rothenberger, it's a spotwelder which welds a nail to a blind panel, the pins on the panel are then used to pull out the dent. You can do the same thing with a MIG and a slide hamer, though rather less efficiently!

BTW, I thought this car was supposed to drive, now it doesn't run?

It worries me you need to ask the question, I strongly suggest you get someone who is used to looking at crashed cars to look at it before spending money on it or hanging panels on it. The outer panels are mostly window dressing, you need to be sure the suspension and the structure it hangs off are pointing in the right direction.

Pete
 
Can I ask without sounding rude - why the heck have you bought this car? I hope you got it cheap because 2nd Stilos are cheap to start with.

Your first posts says it starts and drives. Latest posts says it won't turnover. Were you sold it as a drivable car?

I'd get a local crash repair company out to carry out an assessment for cost of repair - even with my limited knowledge of these things I would suggest that £700 is very optimistic.
 
ahhh, well i bought it for 'pocket change' so if the budget fluctuates over a 1.5k for example id still have made a killing.

I'm trying to get somebody over to take a look though nobody seems available for this weekend, so it will probably be next week (Richmond Motorgroup, since their only 3 roads away) and to be honest i can see what your all saying it does seem as though theirs alot more then 1st thought but im still quietly confident hmph.

I've been able to source the immediate parts though;
Bumper/Radiator - £140
H/light - £60
(had a look at a starter motor for £40)

so im happy about that, depending on what the assessment comes out with i think the surplus money would go towards Labour.

note: the budget has been extended to £1,000

(oh and in responce to it not turning over i will admit we only hooked it up to a 'stand alone' battery to check the electrics, it was able to jump/turn over previously after being jumped off a another vechical after given some rev's so....)
 
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alright time for an update,

I've had it assessed, and ive purchased the parts needed, which varied from what i originally thought this includes:

Front 'support' (i've heard it being referred to as a 'front module' or 'Front carrier') this is the main part from which the headlights, retaining bar, front bumper, vin number etc bolt onto. £105 (a little over with all the bolts but nothing significant)

An engine protector (some call it a 'stone guard') guess it was dumbed down for me, that was £23

Radiator and bumper (£100 together) of which the bumper needs spraying 'sassy grey' ive been told, but the cars blue?

the driver side head light ive gotten too, just having problems takin off the back casing to put the xenons in? is there a way to do this that im not seeing?

but yeah, just awaiting the bumper to be sprayed and then the fitting can commence YAYNESS!

....though i will still have a warning light about the airbag, any remedys for the short run for this?
 
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