hi folks. i'm new to the restoration game and i'm trying to formulate a plan of action in my mind.

i'd like to get a view of whether owners of classic 500's have kept their car pure or chose to upgraded engines, changed the colour or re-upholstered in fine leather.

mine is the more recent 1972 L version with the standard doors and padded dash.

do any of you regret going with the choices you made?

what would you do things differently or in a different order?

obviously this is opinion and there are no right or wrong answers, i just want to get a feel for how the community views these things so please be as candid as you like.

thanks for your time and thoughts.

viago said:

hi folks. i'm new to the restoration game and i'm trying to formulate a plan of action in my mind.

i'd like to get a view of whether owners of classic 500's have kept their car pure or chose to upgraded engines............................
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what would you do things differently or in a different order?

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Well..... lots of comments on similar subjects in other threads....
For me.. I like the original look, and if there are changes/modifications that make the car more usable in modern traffic then that's fine by me....

Would I do things differently.. well I would have hoarded early Fiats when they were being scrapped many years ago... Brought an Original Abath and 500 Sport and a few more rare 500 derivatives.... before the prices became beyond the reach of mere mortals..

I wish I had more time to sort the issues with my semi roadworthy N.. it was fun it drive, not 100% original but slowly getting it back there.... it didn't matter that is wasn't 100% original, it made me smile, coaxing it to 30mph without snapping the 15mm drive shafts, I would see people smiling and pointing when at traffic lights or junctions...
So I don't think it really does matter what you do... it is the pleasure it gives to the driver and spectators...
I miss driving my car....

When I was a young mechanic working for Radbourne Racing (among other jobs) I ran a slightly warmed up 500, and had a great deal of fun with it. My girlfriend's parents originally lived in Middlewich (Cheshire), but then moved to Edinburgh. We thought nothing of driving up the length of the A1 from South London to Edinburgh, BUT the A1 at that time had a lot of roundabouts which gave the engine time to cool down a bit (it had a 3-1/2 litre ally sump on it, for just that purpose) and the average speed of the traffic in those days, even on dual-carriageways, was only about 55/60mph. Today the average speed on dual-carriageways/motor-ways is about 65/70, with hardly any 'cooling down' roundabouts. In-town traffic is also a lot faster than was in the late 60s/early 70s. For this reason I think that an enhancement of the performance of a 500 is wise. You don't have to make them look 'enhanced'---look at Peter's 500 with the 650 engine fitted. The instrumentation is perfectly adequate and properly maintained, the brakes won't give you any worries---just give yourself a bit more space between yourself and the guy in front of you. If you DO want to upgrade the brakes, the fitment of all 4 corners off a Mk2 Fiat 126 will give you slightly bigger brakes and a more modern (standard modern Fiat) wheel bolt pattern. As somebody has wisely pointed out---your car, your choice.Whatever you do (or don't), use the car and enjoy it.

Hi and welcome aboard.

I had my 500 restored in Italy. Bright green Porsche paint with white interior. Sync box and few other bits which most do to make the car more reliable. Electronic ignition. Mine is a late R model. 1975, so has a good 594cc lump in. Does well performance wise.

I’ve had the car built to my needs. Its a car that I love and love to drive. Its up to you as to what you feel you would like to do with yours. To me, this is not a rare classic and valuable car. e.g. Its not an old Ferrari and therefore, originality to me is not important. I’ve kept the looks original bar paint and interior colours. Most upgrades done that add a benefit imho. Digital dash for example, I love it. but it can come out in one minute.

So, plenty of options. Get along to some meetings, talk to other owners. see what they’ve done. Compile a shopping list.

Good luck! What ever you choose, you’ll love it! :slayer:

viago said:

i'd like to get a view of whether owners of classic 500's have kept their car pure or chose to upgraded engines, changed the colour or re-upholstered in fine leather.

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In order to answer those questions it's best to ask yourself what it is that you like about the Fiat 500.

I can't believe that some people obviously don't like the steering-wheel, the speedo, the gear-knob, the road-wheels and the front and rear badges as applicable to their version of the 500. I question the sanity of anyone who changes anything about the interior uphostery, whatever the version their car was born with.

Mechanically, I love the original, putt-putt exhaust system and the sound it makes and I would never change from the precision and simplicity of the steering mechanism or the braking-system. The analogue windscreen washer system is essential. Any modification to the bodywork changes the adorable appearance of the car in a way that I dislike. Lowered suspension doesn't do anything for me; I could go on....

So you might think I'm one of that immovable band who stubbornly insist that a car must remain original. But I'm running a 652 engine and matching gearbox, wearing an oddball sunroof, I have googly-eyed spot-lights on the front, halogen headlamps and I've fitted hazard lights. In total I have added things but I haven't taken anything away. That's not because I have followed any sort of dogma about originality but it's because I love the car so much as it is.

Obviously, I respect the fact that some people like to change things for "better" and I still love to see images of their cars and hear what they have done to them. But I get the impression that despite the fact that it is often said that modifications are made to make the car safer and more driveable on modern roads, the more that you invest in the various types of "jewellery" which are available for this car, in general, the less likely you are to get any real use out of them.

From a slightly different angle if anyone is lucky enough to buy a car that has not been messed about in any way and if it survived in a reasonable and driveable condition for so long then it would be a travesty to start modifying it. Some people enjoy driving the cars exactly as they were.

My 500F was in relatively poor shape when I bought it and I've modernised the engine and brakes to make it more usable around the hills of my home town. It is great fun and I've no regrets.

If I ever sell it, I've kept all of the original parts in case the new owner wants to restore it back to factory standard.

Chris

We went original, right down to the paint number and vinyl , tool kit and rubber mats. A bit noisy but fun to drive.View attachment 202049

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Sorry about the duplication, cannot stop it for some reason

Chrismunn said:

We went original, right down to the paint number and vinyl , tool kit and rubber mats. A bit noisy but fun to drive.View attachment 202049View attachment 202050

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Beautiful! What part of NZ are you in?

Wellington

Chrismunn said:

Sorry about the duplication, cannot stop it for some reasonView attachment 202054

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please dont apologise. it's really lovely to see what you have achieved if somewhat daunting.

this response from everyone has been fantastic and given me food for thought.

i think i have gained a lot from the variety of responses here.

my car originally belonged to my grandfather. it passed to my father when he died in 93 and sat in the garage ever since.
on my father's passing the car has passed to me and i'm a classic car man and have been since i started driving in my dad's old dyane 4.
i've previously opted for sports cars, mostly triumphs but a also had a series iv alpine.
i've never restored one though, just got them through the mot's, one way or another.
this is very frightening as i'm a natural "that'll do" gaffer tape man.

it is a very faded orange which is a mile awat from the interior paint.

my original idea was to paint it old english white or baby blue but on reading here i think it needs to stay orange. however, a much better orange than the original.

i'm not keen on the dash of the 70's l and much prefer the painted dash of earlier models with the round speedo. the jury is still out on that.

i think i'm going to stick with the original engine and non syncro box, god help me, and perhaps some upgrades such as carb and alternator. i think i'll stick with points, bastards that they are i know them well.

interior, ?bar the dash, will stay as it is, all parts are in good nick.

i'll try to start a thread following my progress but it will be slow and, no doubt most of you will be pulling your hair out but please shout at me when you see an idiot move, there will be many. and please dont let me backslide into gaffer tape mode.

any further thoughts i'd be very glad to hear them. i'm always open to changing my plans.

thanks again to everyone.

Sorry to hear about you Dad and it's great you're keeping his 500, especially as it has such a long family association.
Is the current paint original? If it is and there's not too much rust I would personally keep it. There aren't many left with original paint. Also, there's nothing wrong with the "patina" look (see my beast). Paint and trim showing its age works for me. Of course if it's in a bad way then best to fix it.

Good luck and enjoy the journey. Just don't let it stall, grind to a halt and end up in the back of the garage covered in boxes

viago said:

........
this response from everyone has been fantastic and given me food for thought.
.....................
my original idea was to paint it old english white or baby blue but on reading here i think it needs to stay orange. however, a much better orange than the original.
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Paint and interior trim are all a matter of taste.... but the early Classic colours are something that lots of people think "ahhh yes granddad had one of those", look at the old Fords Anglias VWs etc as well as Fiats, those pale greens yellows and blues... After all why did Fiat introduce a range that had similar colours!!
there are many changes you can make to make the car "more user friendly" that are not irreversible...

Ours is a 1965 series 1 F and is a real mish-mash of parts that have been changed over the years. At some point he changed from white to red (including the wiring loom!). We got him that way and will keep him like that as it’s part of his character! it would drive me nuts trying to reinstate ‘original’ parts on Luigi, I do appreciate the amount of work that some people go through to keep it

I have just registered our one, it is finally ready for use after a 5 year restoration, don’t worry about the timeframe to tackle it. I went for considerable periods of time doing nothing while /I figured out how to do things (Like setting up the rear bearings, fitting the coil springs without the spring compressor, spreading the front leaf spring to fit, and sorting out the electronic ignition and setting up the wheel alignment with 2 bits of string.

Chrismunn said:

I have just registered our one, it is finally ready for use after a 5 year restoration, don’t worry about the timeframe to tackle it. I went for considerable periods of time doing nothing while /I figured out how to do things (Like setting up the rear bearings, fitting the coil springs without the spring compressor, spreading the front leaf spring to fit, and sorting out the electronic ignition and setting up the wheel alignment with 2 bits of string. View attachment 202405

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stunningly beautiful. i love the suicide doors and white steering wheel.

rhd too, a very rare beast.