Hi all,
Just in the process of ordering the panels for my 500.
Motobambino are selling doors at a far better deal than other suppliers. Has anyone ordered doors from them? what is the quality like? are they the same as the other suppliers panels?


I have had terrible experience with cheap panels before and would rather pay a bit more and get decent panels. I have been given some excellent help regards suppliers for best value, so I would appreciate any help with this matter before I get ordering. Cant wait as I can then start rebuilding Franko.


Cheers
Sean

Hi,
If you look at "Axel Gerstl" you will find quite good prices.
The manufacturer are the same on all body panels, and good enough.

Thanks Hansanders,
They are on my list of suppliers. Just waiting to see who will come back with the best price now.


thanks
Sean

Here is his website. Just got a shipment from him yesterday only 2 days after ordering:http://webshop.fiat500126.com/sites/14/preisindexhtm

Evening Sean;
It would seem that there is only 1 company now making panels for the 500---but quality can vary! I have come to the conclusion that the word 'fits' really means--Finally It Touches Somewhere. The alternative is to have a word with Franco Roselli at Ricambio International---when I was there a couple of weeks ago, he had some second-hand doors. they will need some work, but if they are 'factory original' it may be worth the extra work. I have a couple of doors spare, but they need quite a bit of rectification work at their bottoms--the top 2/3rds of the doors are fine, but the previous repairer's work left something to be desired at the bottom of the doors. As far as I can see they are 'factory' so they fitted fine and the work required only came to light whilst preparing for a respray.

Thanks the Hobbler,
The doors I have are original and the bottom 1/3 is rather corroded. As an ex panel beater I am not afraid of repairing something, however I have always preferred to replace a door or door skin if available. My experience of fitting a lower section of a door skin has never been that good as they distort a lot and require a lot of filler work and usually end up cracking or corroding.
I notice there aren't any door skins available - shame.
I was hoping to replace the panels where possible as it can be quicker & you get a better result (that's provided its cost effective or you can afford it)


So, as far as you are aware most of the companies selling 500 parts all get their panels from the same supplier? and therefore should be the same parts?


I guess I will have to bite the bullet soon as my quotes are coming in.


Cheers
Sean

Just thought i would update this post for anyone else who may read it.
I eventually ordered my panels from Motobambino. 29 in total.

Mark @ Motobambino done me a really good deal and assured me the panels are made by Rhibo in Italy, this is the only mass producer of Fiat 500 body panels in Italy now (there where 2 up until 12 months ago when Rhibo bought out Olman).

They turned up in excellent time & were very carefully packaged with no damage.

So far i am quite impressed with the panels. The doors are a very good copy of the original. Only defects were spot welds were a bit messy and the door shell edge which is welded to the skin sticks out a bit far, this causes the door to hit the door shut before it is closed. This can just be ground flush to the door skin edge. Apart from the odd tweak which you have to do with genuine panels even from the likes of BMW & Mercedes, my new door fitted very well. I have been told of the odd hinge being welded up to 20 degrees out of place but not in my case.

The 1/4 panels aren't bad either. Had to dress the contours up where they meet the sill & B post, the door shut needs a little bit of work to make it the same contour as the sill. Only problem i found is that the small piece of roof rail does not line up with the original and i will therefore make my own section.
Oh and you have to fit the door catch plate off the old 1/4.

Sill panels are good, floors seem ok, but don't forget the jacking points, front platforms & seat belt anchor plates as they come seperate!

Bonnet looks good, haven't fitted it yet. Boot/engine lid looks ok but the edges need folding back further for it to sit flush like the old one.

F/Wings, wheel arches & Front panels all look ok. I will update when i have fitted them if there are any issues.

Overall quality is not bad as long as you or your panel beater is happy to play about to make things fit nicely.

Even on the original doors Sean they had a tendency to catch the bottom corner of the door on the door shut, they have a little bit of adjustment on the hinges that you can just about get it right. So you haven't been too hard done by.

My doors with the new door rubbers are going to take a bit of effort to close until the rubbers compress a bit with time.

Tony

Tony,
My rubbers are almost non existent due to the heavy corrosion build up on the old doors. I suppose i should order some new ones to make sure the doors close.
The only good thing about my 500 was that apart from the new wing on the NSF it all appears to be unmolested. Not bad going for 43 years.

Morning Sean;
When it comes to trim, give 'Woolies' a try---they are a company in the Peterborough area, give VERY good service and their prices are very sensible. I am trying trim '266' as a door trim. Another good company is 'Car Builder Solutions'. Both companies will send you their respective catalogue almost by return.
I must comment on your steel work--makes me feel quite inadequate--a superb effort on your behalf, you're practically building a 500, not re-building one!

Cheers Tom,
I have added those sites to my favourites, they look very helpful for those items you cant usually get.
Another good site is Frost.co.uk for all your restoration products & tools you may need for restoration. They have been going for years and have some very good products to help repair classic vehicles.


Thanks for the compliments, I have been out of it for a while so I am just getting back to what I used to know. Really enjoying it at the moment, I love the metal part, not so keen on the painting part anymore as I don't have the equipment to paint it at home or a spray booth.


Regards
Sean