Hi All,

Soon looking to join the ranks of Uno Turbo owners, seeing as my insurance company didn't laugh at me when I mentioned it!

Couple of starter questions though, the main one being:

What does blue smoke from the exhaust when the car is idling in traffic mean? How is this problem fixed and what is the potential cost?

Also the Turbo that I am looking at is a fairly low mileage one but has had a lot of bodywork repairs (including a "cav" wax) Should this be a good indication that problem of age/rust was fixed or would this indicate that the car is just a rustbucket?

How rare is a Full Service History on an Uno Turbo?

Are low mileage examples going to start to hold their value/increase in the next few years?

I have read a buying guide on a site - but are there any really major or important things that I should look out for or check when buying an Uno Turbo?

Quick responses would be much apprieciated!
Regards,
Matt - Uno Turbo N00b!

Blue smoke means it's burning oil, which is quite bad. I'd say avoid it entirely, especially as it's a Turbo car where the costs to repair would be much much greater.

If insurance ain't a problem, why not consider other 'fast' type cars? Ok, they maybe not be Fiat, but fun driving is the point right?

welcome! now the bad news...its an old fiat, and despite improvements in fiats abilty to protect the metalwork on the cars, rust can and will hit anywhere, look in here for other threads on turret, front and back, it's quite horrific! same goes for the door, sills, and in the mk2 the rear hatch. then it's internal, whilst i can't speak for the wiring on a mk2, my mk1 will occasionally throw a fit around the rear lamp cluster, which leads to a full strip out and rebuild in a vain attempt to cure it once and for all, other bits of electronics will only do that every now and then. as for the engine, yes it can be driven hard, and pumped up, and pushed quite hard, and there's the rub, a low miler maybe be tempting but smoking at "low mileage"? whats happened in those "low miles", how low mileage? how many owners? etc mines on 117000, about average, and i got a bit of smoke on mine. when i bought her, she came with fiat history till 1997, and a massive stack of bills, invoices, MOT's, etc up to the point i bought her. but since i'm not looking to sell, after throwing god knows how much time and money at it, i'm happy with that, question is would you be? it's not easy owning one, the dreaded MOT being the low point of the year!

back to the good news, there is some, there a strong fiat following as you no doubt can see here, and a dedicated turbo following (msn: turbo collective), my advice, for what it's worth...keep it simple, classic, smooth and well looked after...and on a cool summers morning, about 6am when i drive to work, and the engines gulping loads of cool air in, whirring up strong, the turbo whining in and the exhaust giving it some, there's nothing else i would be driving!

Blue smoke on a Turbo car can mean a few things. If it only smokes at idle, then just as a non-turbo car it could be the valve stem oil seals. A way to check for this is to let it idle for a few minutes, then floor the accelerator. If it blows out blue smoke, then clears up, it is almost certainly valve stem oil seals. Not too difficult to deal with, but more of a pain on the turbo because of all the extra parts fitted for the turbo charger and such.

If it blows out blue smoke constantly (not just at idle), then it could point to piston ring failure. This is more of a pain to deal with as it requires the engine to removed and stripped down.

Another possibility is the headgasket on the way out. Check the oil/ water levels to makes sure they aren't fluctuating, and also that there is no oil in the coolant and vice versa.

Lastly, blue smoke on a turbo car can mean that the turbo bearings/ seals are worn. Only solution is to have the turbo itself rebuilt or replaced.

I'm not an expert on the turbo, so maybe some of the other turbo owners could offer some advice? Frosty? Dunc?

By the way, is the Turbo you are looking at a mk1 or mk2? The mkl's probably all have a bit of rust by now as the newest models are 16 years old. But there are some very clean mk1's out there if you look. Early mk2's (89 - 90) seem to rust worse than the later mk2's, at least from what I've noticed.

Give the car a good going over structurally as Uno's can rust just about anywhere. Important places to check are front and rear suspension turrets, the sills, floors and suspension locating points.

If it has been repaired well and rust proofed then it should be ok. If the body is shot then walk away unless VERY cheap. If it is cheap enough with a dodgy shell, then you could always buy it and look for another standard Uno shell in better condition. The Uno bodies seem to be patchy in consistency, some remain rust free for ever while others rust away like there's no tomorrow.

And I would say a good turbo is worth hanging on to. Prices don't seem to have dropped below GBP 6 - 700 minimum for a legal runner, and a good one will fetch well over GBP 1000. GBP 1500 isn't unknown for a good turbo to change hands at.

I wouldn't say that they will appreciate immensely in price over time, but not many other cars will be as fun to have for the price!

Let the board know what you decide with the car.

Chas

Chas is pretty much on the right lines. I would say if the car smokes as it is warming up first thing in the morning on idle its the valve stem oil seals. If it still smokes even after it has been fully warmed up or in traffic it could be that the Piston rings are knackered. It may also be the turbo, as i think i myself may have this problem at the moment, i've noticed a puff of smoke comes out sometimes especially after the car has been driven hard. But thats just my excuse for getting my engine rebuilt and getting a T3 Turbo conversion,

I got to advise you that running an Uno Turbo is not easy or cheap! You really do need to Love the car to keep it going. You need to service it regularly and change the oil frequently. I have had plenty of trouble with mine but only in my fourth year of owning it, the only problem i ever had with it before was my clutch. Remember it is an old car after all and EVERY car has its problems now and again, but i have kept my uno regardless because once it is up and running it makes me realise just why i love the car so much. Ask any real Uno Turbo owner and they will say the same thing. And one other bonus is that they are rare and not many people own them so you will be unique.

F R O $ T Y

Ok thanks for all the replies guys!

The one I am considering is currently on eBay at the moment - White one, check it out if you like - let me know what you think.

Thanks again,
Matt

ts86 said:

If insurance ain't a problem, why not consider other 'fast' type cars? Ok, they maybe not be Fiat, but fun driving is the point right?

Click to expand...

Haha - Yes insurance is a MONSTER problem!! I'm only 18 and on my Dad's policy however for some very strange reason (and whatever it is it made me very happy) the insurance company WILL insure me on a Uno Turbo and for only £200ish more per year and currently £95 more for the remainder of my policy (over 4 months)
So you can see why I am considering one!
Matt

Yeh i have seen that white mark 1. it looks very nice. Theres a nice black mark 1 for sale also on ebay at the mo which has a hormann kit and Black TSW hockenheims. Looks sweet. i'd buy that if i didnt already have one lol Insurance wise uno turbos are not as high as some other turbo charged cars, i think they are group 11 if i remember correctly. I heard its because anything which has GT in the name is rated higher for some reason but i'm not sure. I myself am paying £1100 fully comp with all my mods declared and that is with H.I.C which i think is reasonable considering my circumstances and the amount of mods i have done to the car. They even said if i wanted to put Nos in the car its fine as long as i tell them about it.
Now when you think about it i was quoted £900 on a 1 litre uno 3rd party fire & theft when i was 18 so £1100 doesnt seem bad at all. Especially since i got quotes from other companies over £2500 for the same amount of mods! And that is with 3 years no claims bonus and i'm 23 now. Insurance companies are weird! lol

F R O $ T Y

Yeah - I have seen them both - But I must admit that I am more of a fan of the MK2's myself - but that black one is growing on me! But the reserve on the white one is 1950 and the black one is 1400
I'm really just after one that has a good, non rusty shell... A good engine is second on the list...
Matt

well, prettt much everything has been said! so i guess all i can say is u can have mine for £5000

how much is this uno goin for that ur looking at?

Dunc