imagejpg10_zpsef21d6fb.jpg

Punto (Mk1) My exploit yellow 75 elx

Introduction

Hi.
My name is Simon and I haven't been on here in ages.
I'm a fiat nut who has owned fiats all my life as have my family. I work in a fiat dealership in dundee and have treated myself to a new car, as it's the first time in my life I have been without a fiat.

I bought the following car off ebay for 4 reasons

1. I had one as my first car
2. I just bought a house and have somewhere to keep it
3. My mum had a brand new exploit yellow 55 sx back in '95
4. Have plenty fiat techs to fix it when it breaks

So, I'm in dundee, the car was in Yorkshire, so my dad and I left 5:30am Saturday morning in his 500L to pick it up. I was worried about bringing a near 20 year old fiat 260 mile up the road, but it didn't miss a beat. It drives like a new car.

History- we'll it was sold new to a mrs crappe, at carnell fiat, she had the car garaged from new, done 70,000 miles in it. It had its original dealer plates on it which I changed, as they were tatty. Full years mot with no advisories, and a full service history. She specced it up with a drivers airbag!

The car come with a few parking dings, original scuffed wheel trims, and a couple of light scratches, otherwise it's mint.
Luckily working in a fiat dealer, I can get parts, a workshop with a 40 years served fiat technician, a dent man and body shop.

Took the car into work today to get all the dents removed, was up on the ramps for a health check- solid underneath, just needs new discs and pads and a rocker cover gasket. Underneath is solid, clean and all present and correct. It also needs a new cam belt cover as mine is burst. Then that's it mint.
Turns out the rear tyres are the factory originals, made 3rd week of 1995, so it will be getting a full set of brand new Goodyear duragrips I have in my garage.
Surprisingly every single thing works on the car, even the remote locking and being an elx it has an electric sunroof!!!

It's quite funny because all the fiat techs were all over it today, donating parts. One of them had an exploit yellow touch up pen that's been in his toolbox for 15 years, got handbrake cables and a rocker cover gasket, with more bits offered. They also went on e-sigi and printed out the complete history of my car, showing recalls for brake pipes, airbag ecu etc which is nice to keep.

Work so far done-

New genuine wheel trims
New genuine punto mats
Original fiat tape deck
Genuine fiat lineaccessorie front and rear mudflaps
General tidy up
Clay, wet sand, machine polish bodywork
New numberplates
Dents removed
Brand new badges
Full valet

I love this car, I can't believe how mint it is. Taking bad with no power steering though.
I put it in the showroom and took some piccies.
Anyway the pictures.......

imagejpg1_zpsc924ba6a.jpg

imagejpg2_zps873fb497.jpg

imagejpg3_zps2d221895.jpg

imagejpg4_zps38ab8098.jpg

imagejpg5_zps96eb4620.jpg

imagejpg14_zps41d3d93c.jpg

imagejpg7_zpsbccf4ace.jpg

imagejpg6_zps92be4983.jpg

imagejpg9_zps849942d5.jpg

imagejpg8_zps6e832c96.jpg

imagejpg13_zps5e04db80.jpg

imagejpg10_zpsef21d6fb.jpg

imagejpg11_zpsc7b4da7e.jpg

imagejpg12_zpse1b5bd02.jpg


And my main/ daily car

image_zpsc9fa3907.jpg
So all is quiet on the punto front. Don’t really have anything else to do to it- booked in for a couple of shows and I’m now off on holiday for two weeks so gonna try and use it.

The grey mk2b is gone

The abarth- well I’ve went a bit mad with........
It’s now running approx 205-210 bhp and is mental.
Declared all mods to insurance and it went up by £1.04 over the year haha

It’s now got-

TDI tuning crtd4 tuning box
Ulter exhaust
Bmc filter
Samco hoses
Lowered 35mm
De wipered hatch
Smoked indicators on rear lights
Smoked repeaters
Custom airbox
New headlamp bulbs
K&n blow off valve
Billet abarth fuel and oil caps
Turismo leather parcel shelf
Led number plate lights
 

Attachments

  • B66D33B9-39D8-4011-B61D-FD91B4A84F2B.jpeg
    B66D33B9-39D8-4011-B61D-FD91B4A84F2B.jpeg
    2.8 MB · Views: 149
  • EA6EBA50-06B5-427D-8D88-7AA459A7236B.jpeg
    EA6EBA50-06B5-427D-8D88-7AA459A7236B.jpeg
    4.1 MB · Views: 97
  • 1AD80945-FE5B-4A24-B3AD-EAE0AF509303.jpeg
    1AD80945-FE5B-4A24-B3AD-EAE0AF509303.jpeg
    3.4 MB · Views: 102
  • 8A1659E5-F005-46CE-9938-34BD0DD6F1D4.jpeg
    8A1659E5-F005-46CE-9938-34BD0DD6F1D4.jpeg
    4.6 MB · Views: 124
Bored today so removed the rear lights and cleaned behind them As they haven’t been done since the car come back from the bodyshop.

Car is now sorned.
 

Attachments

  • 28AF3D97-2CB3-45D1-B83E-D70702EFEA01.jpeg
    28AF3D97-2CB3-45D1-B83E-D70702EFEA01.jpeg
    529.1 KB · Views: 97
  • 9259802B-DF7B-4FFB-A538-80D9242161AD.jpeg
    9259802B-DF7B-4FFB-A538-80D9242161AD.jpeg
    513.2 KB · Views: 88
I simply love your car and pix! As a 'lurker' most of the time, just looking at your pictures gives me a lot of pleasure. I hope your personal circumstances have improved, because you don't deserve bad things!
 
Bored today so removed the rear lights and cleaned behind them As they haven’t been done since the car come back from the bodyshop.

Car is now sorned.

Now there's a view that takes me back...my 55s popped bulbs nearly weekly (electrical system was very italian).

Can still remember the process 13 years or so after the last one I did. Get the phillips/flathead screw driver out from the spare wheel (wish I'd taken that when I sold the car such a simple design) and the plastic spanner with the hole in it. Pop the covers off, stick the driver into the provided hole on the plastic spanner and rotate to undo the bolts. Undo the Philip's screws holding the bulbs to the lamp and change the bulb...reverse.
 
Last edited:
I simply love your car and pix! As a 'lurker' most of the time, just looking at your pictures gives me a lot of pleasure. I hope your personal circumstances have improved, because you don't deserve bad things!

I had it out the garage on Sunday while I was washing the abarth. Started no problem, left it running for a while to heat up fully.
I can honestly say this is the most reliable car I have ever had.
It was sitting in the sunshine gleaming, looking like new and even my dad, who has zero interest in it commented saying I’ve done a great job with it to get it to where it is now.
 
Back
Top