(G) Bargain found....but in need of TLC!!

Hi all,

I bought a Seicento Sporting a few months ago for my girlfriend. It needed a bit of work doing as it had been in an accident. We had all the work done and it will be going through it's MOT in the next couple of weeks.

Meanwhile while my girlfriend was picking up her motorbike tonight she saw a Seicento Abarth on a '98 plate. It belongs to one of the mechanics there and his wife had killed it.

The bodywork is immaculate and it has all the little Abarth extras (including the alloys that my girlfriend really wants!). The problem with it is that it sounds like a diesel!!

Aparently the head gasket was going and his wife decided to carry on driving like a madman! Anyway black smoke poured out. The guy then replaced the head gasket and skimmed the head. He started it for 10 mins and it sounded like a diesel so he turned it off.

We've bought it for £200.......

Just wondering do you guys have any idea what that problem could be as I'm thinking of stripping the bits off that my girlfriend wants for hers and then doing it up and either driving it or selling it.

Also is this a bargain or am I just fixed on Fiats?!

cooked engine im afraid.drop a 1242 in would be a nise easy upgrade

How easy is easy?!

Even if the car ends up in the scrapyard £200 can't be bad for alloys, spoiler and sideskirts (in the right colour too!!) and anything else that I can strip off it!

Anychance a valve has gone thru a piston maybe?

check the faq's in my sig.
even an 1108cc is an easy drop in.
the cinq/sei's are easy to change engines on

How easy? It's almost, but not quite, a bolt for bolt replacement, there are various techniques for doing the conversion but a mechanically biased intuition and respectable problem solving skills go a long way with this conversion.

Oh yeah check the timing is properly sorted, the plugs & HT leads are good.

What about the ECU could this cause issues?

nope as its staying with the car its coded to

So if i got a Seicento engine I could just swap one for the other?

And if i got a Punto 1242 engine I'd have a bit more work to do?

And no reprogramming?

its all in the faq's
no programming.
one exhaust spacer and a bit of trimming and your done.
check insurance mind to see if 1108 makes more sense

doesnt even need to be a seicento engine, a cinquecento sporting, Seicento 1.1 or Punto 55 engine will do, as theyre all the same

Ok sounds as it may be within my capabilities then...I was a bit concerned that I would have to redo the engine management system.

This particular model is an Abarth....I've heard that this means it has been tuned. Is this right?

I now need to find a Cinquecento, Seicento or a Punto with a decent engine then!!!!

theres one for sale in the gallery

and no, the abarth is looks only

Isn't the Cento 1108cc head different to the punto 1108cc?

I can get a Seicento engine for £125 from a local scrappy with 45000 on it. Is this a good price/ worthwhile?