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Bravo (Classic) Another HGT ........

Introduction

So after parting ways with my black HGT and tgunking that would be it, no chance of ever owning another, i got a phone call from an old friend with a proposition ....

A 1 owner Boreal Red Italian spec Bravo HGT
130,000 KM
Full service
Never been ragged or messed with
Even came with italian documents
And the original pouch with the red and spare keys ......


Obviously theres a catch ....
It needs a new paint job as its been sitting for a few years only going out to the shops on occasion .....
Pleased to be back in another but this one wont take up daily duties .....more of a restoration and then weekend toy along side my 20vt HGT IMG_20201028_180354_062.jpeg
So ive been finishing the Deadmating on the HGT, added some extra foam sound deadining.....
Also had to replace the heater matrix whilst i was under there......
Interior is all back toghether now awaiting its MOT test ...
Some clean new numberplates
Also had to change the door speakers as the originals were completly toast ....
Couldnt get new OEM one so aftermarket would have to do.....
Did a few bits on the engine aswell to keep it sweet for now and its looking alot tidier than before .....20210809_154959.jpeg20210809_160903.jpeg20210809_170422.jpeg20210809_170431.jpeg20210810_174928.jpeg20210809_172909.jpegIMG_20210804_173047_447.jpeg
 
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I see you made some adapters for the weird door speaker install... a few years ago I found some special aftermarket ones on Ebay (from Pioneer I think) that had the special shaped plastic frames... before that I had cut out the centre of the factory speakers and fitted a hardbiard plate to mount some 4" speakers.

Even the rear speakers need adapters when replacing with aftermarket...
 
So ive been finishing the Deadmating on the HGT, added some extra foam sound deadining.....

Tidy job. Bit of a job but well worth doing to get rid of the factory rubbish. Is it quieter, noisier or the same?

Can you tell the kidz where the damp comes from? My Tipo (same floorpan, insulation materials) has wet underlay just under the pax feet, but not from the front e.g. matrix, evap, drain areas are dry :confused: Osmosis? Cheers J
 
I see you made some adapters for the weird door speaker install... a few years ago I found some special aftermarket ones on Ebay (from Pioneer I think) that had the special shaped plastic frames... before that I had cut out the centre of the factory speakers and fitted a hardbiard plate to mount some 4" speakers.

Even the rear speakers need adapters when replacing with aftermarket...
These were from the Fiat Lineassori catalogue.....
I found them on ebay italy back when i had had my black HGT so i bought 4x pairs [emoji1787]
Theyre origininaly made by Blaupunkt for Fiat and fit really well .....
rears are a straight fit 5inch component but this car is an Italian spec car with a very basic radio so rear speakers dont have pins in the stereo ..... need to find a good H3 original stereo
 
Tidy job. Bit of a job but well worth doing to get rid of the factory rubbish. Is it quieter, noisier or the same?

Can you tell the kidz where the damp comes from? My Tipo (same floorpan, insulation materials) has wet underlay just under the pax feet, but not from the front e.g. matrix, evap, drain areas are dry :confused: Osmosis? Cheers J
Damp come grom all over, even down to leaving the windows slightly open on a rainy day .....
All runs down a/b pilars and collects in joints and eventually seeps into the underlay ......
Mine was like a swimming pool
Also welding the breather holes on tye floor pan helps massively
 
Thats a very clean looking Bravo for its age, I had a green W reg 1.2 80 SX in 2013 when I was 18-19, so car was only 13 years old at the time & the tin worm was setting in all over it, sills were rotten, edges of the front & rear arches were going, the floor wasn't in the best of health & the front & rear lights kept falling out so were held on with duck tape. Being young with hardly any money to sort the car out & getting some funny looks from the old bill, I found some really old thick green fence paint in my grandads shed which was a very close match to the car so the sills & the edges of all 4 arches got a couple of coats of the fence paint treatment. Cost nothing & looked quite good unless you were standing next to it. It never washed off & was still there when the car was scrapped in January 2015.
 
So ive been finishing the Deadmating on the HGT, added some extra foam sound deadining.....
Also had to replace the heater matrix whilst i was under there......
Interior is all back toghether now awaiting its MOT test ...
Some clean new numberplates
Also had to change the door speakers as the originals were completly toast ....
Couldnt get new OEM one so aftermarket would have to do.....
Did a few bits on the engine aswell to keep it sweet for now and its looking alot tidier than before .....View attachment 219521View attachment 219522View attachment 219523View attachment 219524View attachment 219525View attachment 219526View attachment 219527
Those plates are smart Carlos with the writing at the bottom, where did you get them made up?
 
Got them through an Online store .... they are technically show plates but they have a BS number so i use them on the road .... car doesnt see much use now anyway [emoji22]
Should get it out more before winter approaches. I regret driving mine through last winter thats why I've just dropped the rear subframe on my HGT yesterday, so I can repaint it, the trailing arms, roll bar etc. Going to go through the brakes too. No more wet winter roads for the Bravo's.

Your latest HGT looks great, nice work you have done so far :worship:, think I'm going to do the same on mine with the sound deadening..:)
 
Should get it out more before winter approaches. I regret driving mine through last winter thats why I've just dropped the rear subframe on my HGT yesterday, so I can repaint it, the trailing arms, roll bar etc. Going to go through the brakes too. No more wet winter roads for the Bravo's.

Your latest HGT looks great, nice work you have done so far :worship:, think I'm going to do the same on mine with the sound deadening..:)
Health doesnt let me drive manual cars for too long,
Last time it moved was in August [emoji22]
Think that will be my next project ..... the rear needs to be completly stripped down, cleaned and rebuilt ....
Ideally i want some fiat coupe rear trailing arms and antiroll bar as it makes a big difference ...
I have a few bit starting to arrive for the front end aswell... should be interesting this winter [emoji23][emoji23]
 
Health doesnt let me drive manual cars for too long,
Last time it moved was in August [emoji22]
Think that will be my next project ..... the rear needs to be completly stripped down, cleaned and rebuilt ....
Ideally i want some fiat coupe rear trailing arms and antiroll bar as it makes a big difference ...
I have a few bit starting to arrive for the front end aswell... should be interesting this winter [emoji23][emoji23]
Nice (y)

Looking forward to seeing the work you do on the car through the winter..

I understand why the Coupe ARB would be better, because it has a larger diameter, so stiffer and make the back turn more. But how would the Coupe trailing arms be better?
 
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so I haven't updated this thread in quire a while.....
but the HGT still lives .. has been my daily since its younger cousin decided to leave its clutch all over the floor and now wanting a hybrid turbo ..... so the trusty HGT plods on, still waiting for paint as I'm waiting for the painter to have time to do both of my HGTs and my Trofeo at the same time .....

in the mean time
a new clutch has turned up for the HGT has turned up so I will be swapping to a Marea gearbox with longer ratios or maybe even my 6spd Coupe gearbox, yet to decide but at the same time I will he doing a mini refresh of most important thing in the engine bay
timing belt
water pump
engine mounts, stabiliser mount
camshaft seals
rocker cover with new gasket
and a bloody good clean
 

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So alot of work has been done recently to the HGT to bring the mechanical work up to scratch ...
starting with the gearbox......
I decided to fit my Marea Weekend gearbox which has slightly longer 4th and 5th gears,
I had the gearbox refurbished before fitting as it was out of action for around 7years, now shifts smooth and cruises on the motorway slightly better than before .....
whist doing the gearbox .... would be silly not to put a new clutch, flywheel and most importantly a new Rear main seal, false economy not to change a rear main seal at every clutch replacement IMHO......
all the clutch hhydraulics were changed including a new braided line in place of the bodge apparently done by a specialist( I'm not convinced tbf)

next I replaced all the engine mounts apart from the stabiliser bar as I'm waiting for Powerflex to make a custom one for me .... rest were genuine Fiat items that I managed to find.....
I moved onto the timing belt and replaced all the idlers, even a genuine AC tensioner which is like hens teeth ....
the whole cam side of the engine was fully deagreased and cleaned and all nice and shiny 🤣
Also brand new 155 manifold that was heat wrapped to keep bay temps low and until I can find some bramd new genuine 155 heat shields it will have to do! lol .....
whilst the subframe was off it was a perfect time to wire wheel the whole of the underside and the arches, treat the rust and epoxy prime the spots that needed it ..... covered in 4 coats of hammerrite black and then some 3m schultz to top it all off

finally the brakes were tended to with a full set of Mtec discs with some Brembo pads ....
I replaced a few of the steel lines with some copper hoses and all rubber was changed for braided hoses, cleaned the calipers as best as I could and used some proper ceramic brake grease and now stops as it should ....
rear calipers were changed as I had small issues with the bleed nipples.... which now means I have a full set of front and rear calipers which I will be sending off to get fully refurbished and powder coated in Silver at a later date.....

Next for the HGT is suspension......
I have some rear trailing arms that are currently at the powder coaters and will be coming back at some point in a nice coat of black .....
a Full set of TRW shocks are on order with some H&R springs also on the way ...
another pair of front arms and droplinks from TRW will be ordered at some point and steering components will be refreshed also .....
few pics of how it all went

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Top work! Great to see such investment going into a Bravo.

BTW I'm the guy in Tonbridge who used to have HGTs - I recall taking you for a spin in one of them I was selling, and on another occasion buying some trim bits from a mate of yours for my (then) lovely Ischia Blue T-plater. That was sadly sold in 2017 (regrets, I have a few...) though I have a black V-plate Brava Auto these days (a little more sedate) which I rescued from scrapping and which I love. Always a pleasure to see you cars by the A25 when I'm over your way.

Keep up the good work mate.

Nick

(Giulietta QV, Brava 100 Auto, 500 1.4 Sport, Panda 169 Eleganza)
 
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