cinque500
Member
Hi all
Happy Chrimbo and New Year at you all - congrats on a great forum.
My latest Fiat interest is a '75 500R painted in 158 Red. Briefly the spec is 740cc, Panda 30 head gas-flowed by Giorgio at Lumini Engineering & matching carb (Weber 30DGF I think) 5 speed Nanni conversion, front discs, lowered springs, body and interior fully restored already so I can't take any credit!
I bought it off of ebay in Bergamo in Jan/Feb 2016 but it's taken me time to get my act together and join the forum. I'm born and raised in UK but have Italian parents, so I blame my 'domani ... domani' attitude to admin on my DNA - I can't help it
The 'journey' with my car actually started a year earlier when it first appeared on Ebay.it and although I had the winning bid I could not find a way of insuring the car, getting plates etc so I could drive her home. The seller got bored, made his excuses and sold it before I could sort out the admin. Gutted. Anyway, a year later it reappears - happy days, and this time on UK ebay via an intermediary, Leo Gasparini. I flew over for the day, had a drive, totally loved the way it looked and drove. This time I didn't bother looking into driving it back home and got Leo to arrange delivery.
However(!) what I didn't notice was the rubbish plastic air cooling hose fitted was so kinked that it was only about 1/2 inch open, and with the engine producing in theory 50% more heat, the inevitable happened on a blat up the A1(m). A gudgeon pin on one con rod seized in the small end and quickly bore an oval into the pistonwhere it was once round:bang: So I got a new pair pf pistons direct from CPS in Turin who make them for Lavazza as per what was fitted, but it took nearly two months to get them as they don't hold ANY stock. Phenomenal! As around this time we had a family holiday planned in northern Italy, including a stop at the old Fiat factory / Lingotto hotel in Turin, but to avoid complication I left it for CPS to post. Anyway, got them eventually and it all went back together ok, and fitted an original air hose I hasten to add. I've also just taken delivery of a Nanni oil cooler kit for a bit of cooling 'insurance' but haven't fitted it yet. But the car runs great and has amazing torque, which no tiny 740cc car has a right to have!
So that's my story on the car so far. But just to finish, on the summer holiday we were also in Alassio, which by pure coincidence is a few kms from Garlenda and at the tie when the annual international 500 event was being held. What a result! My missus wasn't having it but I genuinely had no idea until we got there. I'll post the pics on a separate thread when I get a chance.
All the best for the new year, looking forward to participating on the forum and events,
Adriano
Happy Chrimbo and New Year at you all - congrats on a great forum.
My latest Fiat interest is a '75 500R painted in 158 Red. Briefly the spec is 740cc, Panda 30 head gas-flowed by Giorgio at Lumini Engineering & matching carb (Weber 30DGF I think) 5 speed Nanni conversion, front discs, lowered springs, body and interior fully restored already so I can't take any credit!
I bought it off of ebay in Bergamo in Jan/Feb 2016 but it's taken me time to get my act together and join the forum. I'm born and raised in UK but have Italian parents, so I blame my 'domani ... domani' attitude to admin on my DNA - I can't help it
The 'journey' with my car actually started a year earlier when it first appeared on Ebay.it and although I had the winning bid I could not find a way of insuring the car, getting plates etc so I could drive her home. The seller got bored, made his excuses and sold it before I could sort out the admin. Gutted. Anyway, a year later it reappears - happy days, and this time on UK ebay via an intermediary, Leo Gasparini. I flew over for the day, had a drive, totally loved the way it looked and drove. This time I didn't bother looking into driving it back home and got Leo to arrange delivery.
However(!) what I didn't notice was the rubbish plastic air cooling hose fitted was so kinked that it was only about 1/2 inch open, and with the engine producing in theory 50% more heat, the inevitable happened on a blat up the A1(m). A gudgeon pin on one con rod seized in the small end and quickly bore an oval into the pistonwhere it was once round:bang: So I got a new pair pf pistons direct from CPS in Turin who make them for Lavazza as per what was fitted, but it took nearly two months to get them as they don't hold ANY stock. Phenomenal! As around this time we had a family holiday planned in northern Italy, including a stop at the old Fiat factory / Lingotto hotel in Turin, but to avoid complication I left it for CPS to post. Anyway, got them eventually and it all went back together ok, and fitted an original air hose I hasten to add. I've also just taken delivery of a Nanni oil cooler kit for a bit of cooling 'insurance' but haven't fitted it yet. But the car runs great and has amazing torque, which no tiny 740cc car has a right to have!
So that's my story on the car so far. But just to finish, on the summer holiday we were also in Alassio, which by pure coincidence is a few kms from Garlenda and at the tie when the annual international 500 event was being held. What a result! My missus wasn't having it but I genuinely had no idea until we got there. I'll post the pics on a separate thread when I get a chance.
All the best for the new year, looking forward to participating on the forum and events,
Adriano
Attachments
Last edited: