So recently my little Patrick has undergone a major re-haul.

I was able to get my hands on a HGT for next to nothing! The chassis was like cheese but it's major organs were fully functional. My 1.2 engine had seen better days, so I decided to do a full car swap. The only thing that hasn't been changed is the chassis. Everything else that was 1.2 has gone and been replaced by all things 1.8.

I've seen quite a lot of posts on here of people asking if it can be done or that they wanted to. So I thought I'd post some pictures of the before/during/after of it all in case anyone was interested I'll try my best if anyone has any questions/thinking about undertaking the process and wants some advice.

Foot Note- The styling is to taste, I understand not everyone will like it haha

Stage 1 - 1.2 everything standard (bar the purple wheel trims)

Stage 2 - 1.2 Alloy wheels and lowering kit

Stage 3 - 1.8 Donor Punto after it's been completely stripped

Stage 4 - 1.2 Engine bay before being stripped

Stage 5 - 1.2 Engine Bay after being stripped

Stage 6 - 1.2 Now the 1.8 with genuine Abarth Bumpers (Drove 8 hours to get them ), spoiler and side skirts to be put on yet. Part in the engine bay to spray up (rocker cover etc.) to give the finishing touches.

I Will add more pictures of the development if people want to see more

1.2 body shell is same as 1.8?

whats the insurance like for a modified 1.2 punto....
HELL

ziggy

Ziggy122 said:

whats the insurance like for a modified 1.2 punto....
HELL

ziggy

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ziggy psshh no need to tell insurance about mods

flisko said:

ziggy psshh no need to tell insurance about mods

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Dont be daft.

insurers/boys in blue read forums.

oldhammer said:

Dont be daft.

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sshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

oldhammer said:

Dont be daft.

insurers/boys in blue read forums.

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The majority of the work they do is online now. A quick search and theres a picture of the number plate and your location. At a guess i would say 3 hours till they track you down

oXRUSSXo said:

The majority of the work they do is online now. A quick search and theres a picture of the number plate and your location. At a guess i would say 3 hours till they track you down

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Best to ignore his foolish comment's.

(its not worth the wear on your keyboard)


Besides that. ithink this is an interesting project,

(Be good if admin couid remove any comments of undeclared mods,)

This is an interesting project well completed by the looks of it. The colour coding may not be to everyones tastes but if the owner likes it that is what matters and black/purple is better than some colours I have seen on these pages.

How have you got on with getting the V5 changed to reflect the changes and does it affect the taxation value as I know the HGT tax is a lot higher than the 1.2 8v.

On a serious note though I really would remove your registration from the photos. The coments about insurers searching forums for undeclared mods are true, this used to be part of my job when I worked in motor claims. Social media and forum posts were often the best evidence for proving fraud (I am not suggesting any wrong doing on your part by the way, none of my business what you may or may not have declared).

Knowing how much is different from the HGT to the other models, the machanical aspect of this must be applauded. As daft as it seems, the paperwork may take more time though, I've got similar paperwork to look forward to next year when I register my kit car.

However, please tell me that the HGT donor vehicle is not YG04HHV, that was my car and had a shot engine.

Sorry for not replying i never got notifications saying people had messaged!
flisko yes the 1.2 and 1.8 were both mk2, the 1.2 was a 2001 and 1.8 2000
Ziggy when i had the 1.2 i had alloys, exhaust and lowered suspension on and i was paying £1500 a year
darashen The tax bracket is a large difference! I had to tax the 1.8 to get it home and for 6months it was £165 as apposed to £79 for the 1.2
MikeSalt thankyou i had help from many friends haha! The hardest part about the paperwork i believe is getting a garage to sign a certificate to say its okay! Ive got everything to work so far bar the horn, still working on that! And no it was a V reg so its not your old one

how long did that swap take

I was reading on Autosh*te the easiest way to get the swap done via the DVLA is to first write saying the engine number has changed, then once you get your new V5C, wait a bit then write again saying the capacity has changed. No need for an 'engineer's' report

puntobabe94 said:

Sorry for not replying i never got notifications saying people had messaged!
flisko yes the 1.2 and 1.8 were both mk2, the 1.2 was a 2001 and 1.8 2000
Ziggy when i had the 1.2 i had alloys, exhaust and lowered suspension on and i was paying £1500 a year
darashen The tax bracket is a large difference! I had to tax the 1.8 to get it home and for 6months it was £165 as apposed to £79 for the 1.2
MikeSalt thankyou i had help from many friends haha! The hardest part about the paperwork i believe is getting a garage to sign a certificate to say its okay! Ive got everything to work so far bar the horn, still working on that! And no it was a V reg so its not your old one

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Any info on how you got it done and what parts had to be specially adapted or was it all a straight swap?