500 (Abarth) Draigflag's ABARTH 500 (new thread!).

[DraigFlag87]

i gotta agree with rawb, the scenery there is amazing. I wish i lived in wales and got to drive round that everyday. Sorry if its been covered but what camera are you using and have you taken any photography courses or anything because your pictures are stunning!

Thanks buddy. Yea I've got a little Lumix G2, superb camera. Loved by some, hated by others but it's so easy to use and has so many toys. Great for the HD vids i shoot too. Not done any courses as such, but did Photography in College for 2 years so that probably helps. Even as a child i had quite a good eye for composition

 

[DraigFlag87]

Testing

EDIT: Was trying to upload an old photo from the FF gallery so a small thumbnail pops up in the "Members motors" section. Didn't work...

 

[grimwau]

Paul, time to PM bludvl_x19 I think.

 

[grajo]

Testing

EDIT: Was trying to upload an old photo from the FF gallery so a small thumbnail pops up in the "Members motors" section. Didn't work...

Good luck buddy, took me a few attempts and a few PM's with Tony to get it sorted

 

[grimwau]

Testing

EDIT: Was trying to upload an old photo from the FF gallery so a small thumbnail pops up in the "Members motors" section. Didn't work...

Good luck buddy, took me a few attempts and a few PM's with Tony to get it sorted

Graham, you sorted yours out OK because you were happy to start a new thread to use pics from your gallery which is the only way that the pics will show in the header. However, Paul has many hundreds of photos, a lot of which are hosted offsite and I can understand why he is reluctant to start over again.

Paul, I think you should pm the MM mod (bludvl_x19) and ask if there is an easy way to getover this problem.

 

[DraigFlag87]

I'm not too fussed. All the good stuff is inside the thread, one little thumbnail won't make too much difference

 

[grimwau]

Very true, after all you can only see the thumbnails randomly so anyone who wants to see members cars will go into the section. I have to say Paul you have certainly taken some really nice pictures (car and scenery).

 

[DraigFlag87]

Thanks Tony, i really like to show my appreciation for the beautiful scenery, and some beautiful automotive design too! I think the 2 work well together! Getting short of places to shoot now, but I'm always out exploring

 

[grajo]

I have to say Paul you have certainly taken some really nice pictures (car and scenery).

I'll second that

 

[multispoke]

Ok so after having a 4 day weekend (and another fast approaching!) i finally got a bit of time to sort a few bits out on the car. Me and my mate did the front brakes yesterday, easier than i thought but you have to have the right tools. My tool kit consists of a paper clip and a medium sized blob of blue tak.

As you can see (all pics below) the brake pads weren't as bad as i thought, still had a bit of meat on them. They've done a tickle under 30,000 miles. One thing my mate mentioned was that the bolts holding the calipers in place were badly corroded. He's never seen such bad corrosion on caliper bolts before. Took him a good 15 mins to file some new threads in the rust. I wish Fiat would use better quality metal for their bolts, it's the same story with the wheels nuts.

Confirmation that the A500 brakes do have a wear sensor. Plugs in on the N/S (passenger side) brake. Only on one side. Similar story with the discs actually, bit of life left but changed them anyway. Quick spin to the coast to bed them in a bit. Caught a nice sunset!

So what did it cost and how much have i saved?

Total cost approx: £50 (£30 for discs and pads from pre-SS'd owner, and bought my mate a meal for £20 to say thanks)

Abarth quoted price approx: £400

Brillant price on the re-vamp of the brakes. You certainly made it all look easy. Well done.

 

[multispoke]

Quick video i made today, driving like a t*t in the woods, you know the usual stuff. And yes that is a huge drop into a river on the left, i'm not scared

EDIT: Pics too

Updated the Youtube with some comments. You've got the knack of keeping the video camera steady. Great forest. Beautiful scenary. The standard suspension works well on those roads. The engine even sounds good with that new oil change and of course it stops will with the 'new' brakes. Delighted to see you having a bit of fun with the Abarth - that's what it's for.

 

[DraigFlag87]

Updated the Youtube with some comments. You've got the knack of keeping the video camera steady. Great forest. Beautiful scenary. The standard suspension works well on those roads. The engine even sounds good with that new oil change and of course it stops will with the 'new' brakes. Delighted to see you having a bit of fun with the Abarth - that's what it's for.

Absolutely! Oh, it's not had it's service yet though. I know it's well over due but with all the Bank Holidays etc I've just not got round to doing it.

On the contrary, i've just had my best MPG's per tankful (and most miles) since i bought the car. 370 miles total, 36.39 litres to fill (ok could have gone a bit further) and 46.2 MPG over all! Almost cheap to run Great thing is if you drive slowly it's easy to maintain 60 MPH, even on very tight twisty roads due to the handling etc and any speed lost can easily be made back up with a tiny bit of boost!

Been over the EVO triangle all day, took my time for once, think i've been overtaken 100 times today! Was in a lazy Sunday mood...even though it's Saturday. Got a few pics, currently editing

 

[DraigFlag87]

Only took a few pics, hope you like them! RE: The one with the Church by the lake (pic one, can't see it that well) that Church was built in remembrance for the Church that once lay in the Valley, now submerged beneath the lake (man made reservoir) Wonder what they did with the old graves? Apparently, you can see the old Church spire poking through the lake in very dry weather, spooky.

 

[DraigFlag87]

Anybody see the One Show tonight? They had a film on Capel Celyn! What a coincidence, i was there at the weekend (first pic) Turns out they kicked everyone out of the tiny town, told the residents to exhume their dead relatives from the Chapel, then bulldozed the whole place, including a farm with generations of family History, the local School and of course the Chapel! (i must be thinking of another lake where the spire appears in dry seasons, think that's the Elan Valley)

Shocking. The Welsh were outraged, the reservoir was built to supply water to Liverpool. They only apologized in 2005

Little History lesson for anyone interested there, man made Welsh lakes can have hidden secrets.

 

[306maxi]

Anybody see the One Show tonight? They had a film on Capel Celyn! What a coincidence, i was there at the weekend (first pic) Turns out they kicked everyone out of the tiny town, told the residents to exhume their dead relatives from the Chapel, then bulldozed the whole place, including a farm with generations of family History, the local School and of course the Chapel! (i must be thinking of another lake where the spire appears in dry seasons, think that's the Elan Valley)

Not sure, could be the Brenig

 

[DraigFlag87]

My latest video, i called it "exhaust appreciation video" i hope you can see why! One of my best yet i think, used my DSLR

http://youtu.be/rsT_Ax3e8Ho

 

[grajo]

My latest video, i called it "exhaust appreciation video" i hope you can see why! One of my best yet i think, used my DSLR

http://youtu.be/rsT_Ax3e8Ho

Nice one 3 questions, did you bully the camper van out of your way, sure you've got a standard exhaust???? and 3, where's all the other traffic You lucky son of a bitch!!! Think I counted about 5 other moving cars in your vid. Down here thats 5 seconds of driving

 

[DraigFlag87]

Nice one 3 questions, did you bully the camper van out of your way, sure you've got a standard exhaust???? and 3, where's all the other traffic You lucky son of a bitch!!! Think I counted about 5 other moving cars in your vid. Down here thats 5 seconds of driving

1. Yes, they always move over for me

2. I always tell people to run in the stock exhaust before even considering changing, it gets louder the more miles you do and now it sounds like a Monza

3. Other traffic? This was busy to me! Would slash my wrists if i had to live where there is traffic.

 

[grajo]

1. Yes, they always move over for me

2. I always tell people to run in the stock exhaust before even considering changing, it gets louder the more miles you do and now it sounds like a Monza

3. Other traffic? This was busy to me! Would slash my wrists if i had to live where there is traffic.

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[DraigFlag87]

Few recent ones, nothing too exciting, but have to keep the habit up! Gearbox is holding up for now, currently getting 54 MPG whilst i take it easy. Car still due it's service, i'll probably never get it done... Engine runs fine with oil/filter that's done 3 times more miles than it should have done Still got the pulsing noise from the front wheels where i hit the pothole last year but it's not getting worse, and the squealing rear brakes have started to return too. That's my update!