(G) Mint mark 1 turbo... HELP ME

Hi there

I have not long ago bought a fiat uno turbo an absolute minter. 1 owner from new,69000 miles of pure slow going, full history and every mot since it was new... All for 250 quid hows that...
Only problem is the paintwork is so flat it's pink in places so i was wondering if i shud get it resprayed in the same colour to keep it standard and original or shall i go for a flip flop pain job??
I have a spare engine and around 2000 quid to play around with so what power can i be looking at and how do i get it on my budget.
Heres a pic of my car when i picked it up shes a little different now,
Let me know your thoughts on the modding lads

IM ALSO AFTER A DIGITAL DASH IF ANY BODY HAS ONE

There's to few good ones left so if it has no rust, is original and hasn't been mucked about with I would keep it totally standard.
If your paint isn't to badly scratched try using some G3 Fracela and see if it lifts the paint. It could save you having to spray the car.

That was a bargain find! I'm in a similar position with needing a respray and it'd save a lot of hassle (and cost) keeping it the same colour cause you probably won't have to worry about door shuts and interior. Personal opinion but Uno's look rubbish with flip paint, (in fact all cars do apart from TVRs!) they aren't curvy enough.

modding-wise, if bottom end seems ok, then usual air filter, exhaust, head work and hybrid turbo should be in your price range, but engine management to make the most of it prob won't be. those things should be about 140-150 bhp without stressing things too much??

Yes, just polish it up to start with. You'll be surprised by how well the original paint will polish. But you will need something fairly aggressive (like Farecla G3 as mentioned, or perhaps T-Cut and a lot of elbow grease.)

Looks like the wheels need some TLC as well. Consider having them polished - I find it's hard to get the result yourself (the aluminium becomes streaky), though paint stripper is a good start as it cleans up all the holes back to original metal.

Flip paint...

That was a great buy at that price!

-Alex

Looks a good bargain find. Based on that pic shouldn't be too difficult to restore the paint through polishing and is unlikely to require a respray. Polishing can achieve some great results, yes maybe not perfect but a darn sight cheaper. The tailgate may be a problem especially being fibreglass could be faded right through, other than that I reckon you'd be fine.

I've done more than my fair share of car polishing and would recommend buying a rotary polisher and some foam buffing pads from the likes of screwfix or machinemart. Some paint restorer polish or G3 as recommended by Stuart and Alex will bring most paint back quickly with a rotary and without developing arms like Popeye. Rotary polishers aren't that difficult to use, contary to popular belief, and generally cheap. I paid £20 off ebay just make sure you get variable speed 600-3000rpm type not a monster grinder based single speeder or one that doesn't go below 3000rpm. Use a software foam pad and keep it moving to avoid burning out the paint. Also start with a fairly mild polish and move up in cut if required.

And please please please don't go for flip paint, if it really does need a respray then stick to the original colour or a close variant of it. Flip paint just doesn't work in my eyes.

Any more pics?

...sounds like we're all agreed on the flip paint issue

I've found that the paint on my fibreglass tailgate behaves just like the rest of the car, so I suspect that the left-rear quarter of Rob's mint Mk1 turbo has actually been resprayed (perhaps early in the car's life because of some minor damage).

I'm still confident that tailgate will come up OK, but I have to possibly disagree slightly with thepottleflump? in that for the tailgate especially, I would avoid using a machine to polish - too much risk of burning through the edges in my opinion. I do agree that a machine will be great for the fairly flat panels of the Uno (roof, bonnet, doors, etc.) but the edges and areas with badges, etc. I always do by hand.

Having cut the paint back, it needs to be cossetted with a good-quality polish such as 'AutoGlym Super Resin Polish' to try and keep it from reverting to its oxidised state. It will probably always need a little more maintenance than a new paintjob would, but you have less problems with orange peel, dirt in the paint, flaking paint, overspray, empty wallet...

-Alex

I seen that on ebay with a big hole in the boot,

Yeah thats the one he cut the arch out ready for the panel to be welded in, i have done this now and skimmed it in filler so the arch now looks stock rather than a big hole.
As for the paint, i had a fiesta years ago and i got all the colour back in that just used t cut and then auto glym super resin as you said that out come was great.
Im gonna start doing the polishing this week then ill post some more pic's but i think i might just get the colour back in the car with a bit of elbow grease and sweat..
Ill put sum pic's of the arch on aswell, i got such a deal from the person that owned it, he ended it early on a condition i took all the spares aswell. eg engine, box, pipes, hoses, ecu's, loom's bloody loads of it..
These mark ones are drying up fast so i think i got a good deal, yeah fair play the arch was hanging out but you wont notice this now i have done it..

I thought I recognised that car.

There is a chance of burning paint with a machine, it is always a slight risk. Using a software pad helps avoid this. I tend to mostly stick with a red soft buffing pad rather than the hard cutting pads. I did once burn through the corner of a bonnet with a wool pad which are about as aggresive as they come. So yes be careful with the edges, keep the polisher moving, don't overdo the speed especially at the edges and use a soft pad to start with.

Ill try polish it and put some more pic's up as soon as i have done it

Nice buy! How come everyone else finds these mk1 turbos for so little or even free

Definitely keep it the standard colour in my opinion, and like the others who've already posted, flip paint looks naff on most cars The Uno has clean, simple lines and looks good with a simple paint job. Especially the mk1.

It is your car though, so you are free to do what you want to it. I would add though the UT's are likely to go up in value as they become rarer and more firmly established in classic car territory, and the ones that are going to be worth the most are those that are kept in standard (ish) condition and specification.

Chavved up examples with fancy paintwork will have limited appeal, and when the Chavs get bored and decide another model is 'in' you'll find that very few people will be interested in it. A Uno turbo with stock appearances will almost certainly be very sought after, and as a result will be more valuable.

Stick to the engine and running gear modifications and keep the outside stock in my opinion. That way it's even more fun to blow off the doors of modern cars in a Uno sleeper as the turbo was actually quite restrained in its styling

Yeah ill keep it stock on the out side just make it a clean example. i love her as she is ill just give her a little tlc and build a quick engine from my spare lump i got lying around

Damm there are a few UTs in the west country!

Lack of tractors tho.............

I have never seen a mk1 uno turbo round near me at all, i had one when i was 18 some 6 yrs ago now i thrashed it round till it wen't pop then sold it for spares the shell was rotten big time bit like a flintstones car lol.
Other than that one and the one i own now i have never seen another one since.
Get a few 45s round here but thats it..
Bit about that because id like to see another one just to compare

I own a mint mk1 uno turbo, solid throughout with digital dash too. I've seen a couple of good UT's out and about mk2 but never a mk1,

keep a look out on ebay for the dash they come up often

and rob the red uno turbo your bidding on ebay is already sold, i've bought it