John R Smith
Member
Thinking further on the question of the engine bay on the 500 –
I really hate the idea of a dirty engine bay, in fact on all my previous cars I probably spent more time cleaning and polishing the carbs and stuff than I ever did washing the rest of it. So in order to prevent rain and mud getting in under the bonnet I have fitted a strip of foam draught excluder (good thick stuff which I’ve had for years) under the front lip of the bonnet. This just nips up when the lid is shut, but is not so thick as to prevent the latch closing properly.
So that’s one little mod. But in other respects I am a bit downhearted. You see, I am old-fashioned enough to want to see an extravaganza of engineering excellence when I lift the bonnet – polished cam covers receding into the distance, multi-choke carburettor trumpets gleaming in the sun, braided hoses everywhere, a forest of red ignition leads – you get the idea. Now we have to admit that the Fiat 1.4 16v FIRE engine, although an admirable unit in every other respect, disappoints somewhat from an aesthetic point of view. We open the bonnet, and we see – a black plastic box. Not even a very interesting sort of a box, and certainly not something we would want to polish, even if we could.
So I thought along these lines. Perhaps underneath the plastic there actually lurks a more inviting sort of an engine. If I got rid of the airbox and fitted one of Nigel’s induction kits we could actually see the thing and have something to polish. Deed followed thought and soon the socket set was in action, the airbox lying at my feet. But tragically, my hopes were soon dashed. Now I could see that the engine cam cover is made of some sort of alloy which looks like it has been cast from tiny Rice Krispies, not at all an aesthetic delight and certainly not amenable to the Solvol Autosol. Worse still, there are no HT leads. And covering the exhaust manifold and the whole front of the engine is a massive heat shield which, although very efficient I’m sure, does not in any way delight the eye. Oh Fiat, what a lost opportunity! You could have made something of that engine – just a polished cam cover with “FIAT – 100hp” in raised red letters would have looked great.
Sadder but wiser, I replaced the airbox and hid it all from view. Ever suddenly felt your age?
John
I really hate the idea of a dirty engine bay, in fact on all my previous cars I probably spent more time cleaning and polishing the carbs and stuff than I ever did washing the rest of it. So in order to prevent rain and mud getting in under the bonnet I have fitted a strip of foam draught excluder (good thick stuff which I’ve had for years) under the front lip of the bonnet. This just nips up when the lid is shut, but is not so thick as to prevent the latch closing properly.
So that’s one little mod. But in other respects I am a bit downhearted. You see, I am old-fashioned enough to want to see an extravaganza of engineering excellence when I lift the bonnet – polished cam covers receding into the distance, multi-choke carburettor trumpets gleaming in the sun, braided hoses everywhere, a forest of red ignition leads – you get the idea. Now we have to admit that the Fiat 1.4 16v FIRE engine, although an admirable unit in every other respect, disappoints somewhat from an aesthetic point of view. We open the bonnet, and we see – a black plastic box. Not even a very interesting sort of a box, and certainly not something we would want to polish, even if we could.
So I thought along these lines. Perhaps underneath the plastic there actually lurks a more inviting sort of an engine. If I got rid of the airbox and fitted one of Nigel’s induction kits we could actually see the thing and have something to polish. Deed followed thought and soon the socket set was in action, the airbox lying at my feet. But tragically, my hopes were soon dashed. Now I could see that the engine cam cover is made of some sort of alloy which looks like it has been cast from tiny Rice Krispies, not at all an aesthetic delight and certainly not amenable to the Solvol Autosol. Worse still, there are no HT leads. And covering the exhaust manifold and the whole front of the engine is a massive heat shield which, although very efficient I’m sure, does not in any way delight the eye. Oh Fiat, what a lost opportunity! You could have made something of that engine – just a polished cam cover with “FIAT – 100hp” in raised red letters would have looked great.
Sadder but wiser, I replaced the airbox and hid it all from view. Ever suddenly felt your age?
John
. So I dont bother going anymore 
