This a workload of my new project, a Cordolo red 595 Turismo with MTA gearbox, Competzione wheels, sunroof, and grey leather interior.

So far all I have is the configurator pic...



Delivery is 'sometime in June' so I thought that during my enforced wait I would prepare a few enhancements to make my new car a little more like it should have been in the first place. Having a car that is basically the same shape means I can make all the parts and measure out cables etc ready to fit in the car on the day I get it >gulp<

Things I don't like about my new car / what I'm doing about it.

I want a bright red car, I don't want a bright red dashboard / Cover the dash panel with grey leather to match the seats and door panels.

The back of the rear seats are painted unlike most hatchbacks so when you fold them down and put something in the boot they get scratched and make a racket / Make up boards with carpet on the back to match the boot carpeting.

Fiat do not offer an integrated navigation option and blue & me has irritating behaviours such as playing radio first before starting to play from USB and the random play not being random! / Remove the standard stereo and replace with a Pioneer SPH-DA120 CarPlay unit and an underseat subwoofer, along with a rear view camera and hard drive storage.

The boot light is partially hidden by the parcel shelf and is tucked way on one side, barely illuminating anything / Organise a power supply to the parcel shelf to power a strip of LEDs to light the boot up properly.

First progress to follow...

I made a start today, so here are a few pics to show how I leathered up my dash

First spray a little glue on the panel...



...and the leather..



After waiting a few minutes, push the panel down hard and then start cutting slits in the leather.





And start folding the tabs in, use higher bond adhesive for the awkward bits.












Remove the clips from the back of the badge







Remove a small amount of plastic from the inside of the switch panel



More glueing..





Start pushing the leather into all those interesting curves..





Start folding over the edges..









..and put it all together...



...not sure whether to use the scorpion?

Here are a few pics to show how I made panels to fit to the back of the rear seats to cover up the cheap looking painted panels...













Half and half, before and after..



...And yes, I know the boot needs vacuuming!

Here is the fascia surround I bought to fit the 2-din radio.... It needs LOADS of work to match the finish of the car despite what the seller says

Oh my, I love the back of the seats - and that dash is mean too!

Making me want to do some interior work on mine now!

A quick test fit...





It definitely looks too shiny to me, and I think I am going to make a motorised cover for the screen.. I just need to wait for the supplier to send me a part that's missing from the back before I start rubbing it down!

Here is a sequence of photos to show how I have fitted some 12v deck lighting under the parcel shelf to give me a decent boot light...























As you can see plenty of light is produced so I should now actually be able to find stuff in the boot! Does anyone know if the boot light is monitored by canbus? If it is I shall just fit a push switch on the back and power from a costant 12v supply, the lights consume less than 500ma.

Seagull said:

Does anyone know if the boot light is monitored by canbus?

Click to expand...

It doesn't throw errors, but it is BCM controlled.

Cheers UFI, I'll use the accessory line.......

Well I had a message from the fascia supplier today to say that they are sending out a new one, hopefully this one will come with all the parts, although it will still have the same rubbish finish. Best I stock up on wet & dry and filler spray....

I'm new to the forum and have just had my Fiat 500. I wish I was half as capable and talented! You've done some amazing work here!!! Your car will look fabulous!

Just a little bit of work on this today to report.... The missing fascia parts finally arrived from the supplier so I could start work on getting it into shape.
There are two issues with the fascia as it is supplied, the poorly moulded plastics and shiny paint are one, the other is that I prefer the idea of a cover over the screen.
I plan to make the screen cover lift up and onto the top of the dash with the aid of a servo operated by an arduinno micro controller, when I started to plan the fitting of the cover, it looked odd with the rounded corners of the fascia so I decided to use some plastic sheet to square off the corners to make for better shut lines.
I just need to wait for the glue to cure, add some filler and then start the long task of rubbing down... Once I have the basic shape of the fascia sorted I can start work on the flap.

I've started the sanding process, once it is finished I will have square edges to allow me to make a movable cover that looks like it is meant to be there

Very impressive work, you are to be congratulated. Bring the end result to one of the FF meets, set up a stand, show your labours, take orders and I think you'd be kept busy for some time to come!!

chas379 said:

Very impressive work, you are to be congratulated. Bring the end result to one of the FF meets, set up a stand, show your labours, take orders and I think you'd be kept busy for some time to come!!

Click to expand...

I'd start taking orders now, but I'm worried enough about having this lot ready by the time the car arrives.... Mind you, I'm sure Fiat will help me out there by providing some delays!

I did a little work on the fascia tonight, I've rubbed the face down to get rid of the low spots in the original moulding and applied some filler to the parts I've added. You can also see the template I made for the flap which is now cutout and is waiting for me to work out the best way of bending it to the required curved shape. The final pic shows the fascia after a quick dusting of primer that I'm using to highlight any areas that still need filling

A bit more rubbing down and smoothing....



And I'm almost ready to make the screen cover, I have had a change of plan and will now make the flap from aluminium as it will hold the rounded shape better.




Apparently the car will arrive in 2-3 weeks, I had better get my finger out!

Man that looks great!

Seagull said:

I made a start today, so here are a few pics to show how I leathered up my dash

Click to expand...

Very nice, i like it.

Finally after loads of rubbing down and shaping and dealing with unwanted paint reactions I have put down a few layers of filler primer, smoothed it again and have started building up the topcoat of my fascia