something's afoot.......

[Jai]

the beast is home.....:slayer: we survived our first motorway run, and it was good, rock solid all the way down, pulled nice and easy up to 70, and cruised at 3k rpm, lovely!

and of course now the issues start:

what halfwit designed the fuel filled? recessed deep into teh bodywork, work need long thin ultra strong fingers to undo it, and even then it skins your knuckles...sheesh

the dash! my god did the designer get a shotgun, load it with buttons, dials and switches, and fire it at the dash, hoping something would stick? two locations for the windows switches, two for the foggys, air con, and re-circ under the steering wheel, away from teh heater controls, it goes on!!!

oh..and the washer bottle is cracked, so two litres of cleaning solution all over the road:bang: and the offside foggy only works if you thump it

looks like a long winter of work, and not a little discontent

still, god willing i have my health.......

ps: i love it....big time

 

[Si - Punto]

Sounds like the start of a beautiful relationship Jai

Get some pictures up when you get a chance, would be good to take a proper look

 

[maddogmorg]

about time you got hold of a car with a decent chasis

pics!!

 

[Jai]

def tmrw, was too dark by the time i got home, it does look moody as hell though across the road, under a street light, kind like it's waiting for me......

 

[Emm]

no......

but cat and mouse will feature heavily.........

ooohhhhh didnt expect that sort of yummyness whilst browsing this thread:yum::yum::yum:

 

[Jai]

ooohhhhh didnt expect that sort of yummyness whilst browsing this thread:yum::yum::yum:

as a mum, i would have thought you'd be telling him to put his arse away....or were you referring to the rims?

 

[Emm]

as a mum, i would have thought you'd be telling him to put his arse away....or were you referring to the rims?

arse on rims = :yum:

 

[Gary]

arse on rims = :yum:

Arse on rims ???

 

[Emm]

Arse on rims ???

OMG that made me feel :yuck:!!

 

[jug]

I think it's more fiat than you want to admit

made me laugh

the dash! my god did the designer get a shotgun, load it with buttons, dials and switches, and fire it at the dash, hoping something would stick? two locations for the windows switches, two for the foggys, air con, and re-circ under the steering wheel, away from teh heater controls, it goes on!!!

i love the 155 interior. compare it to an equivalent bmw or audi or merc from that era and it is so much better looking, although you're right the switch gear positioning is typical italian quirky.


end of the day you've got yourself one hell of an engine mated to one hell of a chassis, it will be worth the pain.

machine polish it using red t-cut and prepare to be amazed.
get the correct touch up paint from a dealer. it will be slightly darker than your paint even after you machine t-cut it. use a tear drop of white, mix and then test dry colour for comparison (touch up one chip). repeat until the colour is perfect. then you can do all the chips and scratches. finally get a layer of carnauba wax on it. i love doing this to a car of this age even if it takes 8 hours. its old enough to make one hell of a difference (especially on a red car) yet young enough that you can get it looking almost good as new.

i'm genuinely happy for you.

 

[Jai]

cheers jug god yes i love driving her, although as yet, i'm struggling with a name, she's quite inscrutable.....

as you can see the paint is not all that:

hopefully the photos give you an idea of the range of issues, from a resprayed, orange peely bonnet, to some spectacular fading, to dents and dings galore....

of course, being a tipo variant, have to show you the inordinately huge ass:

the interior was a bit of a dogs dinner:

first order of business, the fuse panel, which is now tucked well out of the way:

next up the horrible hole in the centre dash, need some tunes as i cruise along, the kenwood i was given with her was a total loss, was goingto get another ripspeed, like in the tub and paj, but for some reason popped into maplins, and got:

not very stylish, or top quality, but for £60, i get cd, mps, sd card, and blue tooth!! which with my first call, proved to be very clear, if a little disconcerting...hearing mrs jai all around me!

the dash pod, i really like, although the light for the water temp is dead, so need to figure out how to pull the top off to get to it:

there are a heck of a lot of warning lights on there.....

just like the dreaded check panel:

so far, everything comes on, and goes off like it should...fingers are being glued into the crossed position....

down under the dash is something quite puzzling:

aircon controls....aftermarket looking, i'm sure..but then by the handbrake, are the rear window and fog light controls:

and they are supposed to live there!

next job? getting that driveshaft bracket, and fitting it:bang:

 

[jug]

someone has fitted an aftermarket immob (but WHY?!) and put those switches there. i wonder if the switch movement was to fix a puzzling wiring fault?

another puzzle is the screws holding the check panel in place. they shouldnt be there.

the pics defo suggest that the fading and chips will be easily sorted. it will be very satisfying once its done. in fact if you lived close to me i'd probably be doing it for you right now. if it was my car i'd probably look for a used red bonnet. keep checking ebay for one getting broken, shouldnt cost much. probably best to make a list of all the bits you need and then get them all from the same car to get a good price.

 

[Jai]

i'm planning a breakers run next week:devil: west london stripdown!!

i don't hold out much hope, but you never know what you are going to find out there, a bonnet in red would be a major bonus, the pics don't do the awful finish justice.

cheers for the offer though, who knows, maybe MITcar will be the halfway house? bring the orbital thingy, i'll find an inverter, and you can go nuts on her! a live demo of how it should be done.

i'm thinking, since she has power windows, and roof, whats the point of aircon? with a bit if care, i think the entire system which appears to be lurking under the bonnet can be removed, saving a few kilos. the other job is figuring out the alarm/immobiliser, but that i think will require an expert, last thing i need to do is leave her brain dead due to my cackhandedness.....

 

[Gary]

Jai owns a pink car !!

 

[Jai]

Jai owns a pink car !!

someone's getting their ass handed to them at mallory.......

 

[jug]

with a bit if care, i think the entire system which appears to be lurking under the bonnet can be removed, saving a few kilos. the other job is figuring out the alarm/immobiliser, but that i think will require an expert, last thing i need to do is leave her brain dead due to my cackhandedness.....

i'd be very tempted to get it back to standard. at least get the original switches working and remove the DIY switches.

i wonder if the original immob is still working. does the code light behave as it should?

 

[Jai]

once the little red light under the dash goes out, so does the yellow code key light, and she fies up fine.

it's getting into the car, and getting that fricking red light to go out that the issue, sometimes it's one button on the laserline fob, other times, it's the other button, to unlock the door. but it doesn't always turn the red light off. then if it hasnt, have to sit in the car, wearing like a trooper, pressing buttons on the fob, till it locks and unlocks, finally disarms the red light, and i can start the beast.

sigh........

btw, what you reckon to this:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CAR-POLISHER-...ryZ30923QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

for having a go at the paint?

 

[jug]

btw, what you reckon to this:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CAR-POLISHER-240mm-2-YEARS-GUARANTEE-NOT-RUBBISH_W0QQitemZ370141721813QQihZ024QQcategoryZ30923QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

for having a go at the paint?

i'm not sure if you can fit a foam polishing mop to that type, i think they only allow you to use the bonnets that you pull over the top.

if you want it done properly you need the type with an M14 spindle so you can fit any standard mop. like this http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PRO-TRADE-CAR...yQ5fShopQ5fSuppliesQ5fPaintQQsalenotsupported

 

[maddogmorg]

needs a splitter

 

[Jai]

needs a splitter

enquiries are being made
in the meantime, she has her original face back: