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General Mk1 Punto as project car

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General Mk1 Punto as project car

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Darren199

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First post...here goes...

I currently have a MG ZR, and bought a Haynes Manual thinking I could do all of the operations listed in it to my car. But I'm worries I'd mess the car up (It's bad enough as it is without me tinkering around under the bonnet) So I've decided to get myself an old car as a sort of project car. I'll use it to develop my knowledge of car mechanics, and to get a bit of experience and know-how into doing things to/on a car.

One car on my shortlist is a Mk1 Punto. I don't know why, it was the first car that came to my head. Since then, a lot of people have said to get a ford or a vauxhall as there's more upgradeable parts for them and they're easier to locate etc, but I was hoping you guys could help me.

I just want to know what sort of upgrades/part changes I could do to a punto Mk1. I'm not going to ever drive the car, insure it, tax it etc.

I'm not going to slap a big ol' body kit on it and go and give the local chavs a run for their money. I just want to do the sort of things in the Haynes Manual for it. Maybe change the brake discs, attempt a rear drum-brake conversion. Install central remote locking etc. Learn how to take body panels off etc.

So if you guys could help me with other upgrades/mods I could do to gain my knowledge, that would be much appreciated, thanks.

P.s. sorry for babbling on...
 
let me be the first to say hi and welcome to the forum


i'm a mechanic at a fiat dealership and let me tell you the mk1 punto is the easiest car in the world to work on especially the 1.1 1.2 8v models they really are so easy and an excellent car to hone your skills on

the 8v engines are safe so you can change cam belts water pumps on them in your drive way without having to worry about damaging the engine in any way

just to give you an example of why you shouldn't folow your friends advice and buy a vauxhall

i have recently changed a head gasket on a friends vauxhall corsa b 1.4 16v it took in total 12 hours to remove and replace

an equivalent fiat 1.4 16v engine for example in the mk2 puntos takes 1 or 2 hours

a clutch on the same car can be done in an hour

ps i just call them rover 25's i dont like to give mg a bad name lol and yea i know what you mean about problems with them things there awful cars really
 
Last edited:
They're not too bad! They're as good as any other if maintained properly! I think I just got a not-so-good example! My ZR is my first car, so I couldn't afford a top end one (FSH, not too many owners etc) because I knew i'd get raped with the insurance!

Still though, great little car, and I wouldn't swap it for the world!

But that's the reason I want another car as a project car, I couldn't bear to ruin my ZR!!! (thanks for the tips aswell!)
 
Mine's a 105. Not a + though. Wish I had gone for the plus, the one I got didn't have the skirts and it doesn't look anywhere near as good!
 
Having a car for practice is a good idea. its something I would like to do, buy one simlar to mine or the same (mines a MK1 55S).

My reason for not doing it is space, I live at home with my parents, and the car would need to be off the road. And other than the drive there is no where to store it.

My knowledge is coming on well from reading the forum, and doing what needs to be done. But i don't think anything would be as good as real hands on experience, plus the bonus if you break it its not a huge problem.
 
Darren199 said:
First post...here goes...

I currently have a MG ZR, and bought a Haynes Manual thinking I could do all of the operations listed in it to my car. But I'm worries I'd mess the car up (It's bad enough as it is without me tinkering around under the bonnet) So I've decided to get myself an old car as a sort of project car. I'll use it to develop my knowledge of car mechanics, and to get a bit of experience and know-how into doing things to/on a car.

One car on my shortlist is a Mk1 Punto. I don't know why, it was the first car that came to my head. Since then, a lot of people have said to get a ford or a vauxhall as there's more upgradeable parts for them and they're easier to locate etc, but I was hoping you guys could help me.

I just want to know what sort of upgrades/part changes I could do to a punto Mk1. I'm not going to ever drive the car, insure it, tax it etc.

I'm not going to slap a big ol' body kit on it and go and give the local chavs a run for their money. I just want to do the sort of things in the Haynes Manual for it. Maybe change the brake discs, attempt a rear drum-brake conversion. Install central remote locking etc. Learn how to take body panels off etc.

So if you guys could help me with other upgrades/mods I could do to gain my knowledge, that would be much appreciated, thanks.

P.s. sorry for babbling on...
Click to expand...

hey welcome to Fiat forum mate

Listen if u can choose any car in the world to work on and u want it to be nice and simple pick the peugeot 206.

i av been modifing quite a few cars inculding:

fiat mk1
fiat mk2
Pegeuot 206
Nissan Micra
Fiat Cinq
Mini

and the easiest is the peugeot 206

They av the most parts on sale everywhere if u look on modified shops and the whole car is put together which just nuts and bolts and all different pieces whereas all the other cars are glued as well and come off with a lot of hard work..

i completely took the whole car apart inside and out of the 206 and it was so easy

hope that helps

however the fiats are really good cars and the 206 av gearbox and central locking problems so its up to u but ur not going to be driving it anyway

Remus(y)
 
Cheers for the info, guys.

Remus, a few people have recommended a 206, And said exactly what you did! However, I think they might be a bit too expensive just as a project car.

I will look into it though, cheers!
 
your welcome..

im sure u can get one for cheap tho... just get the older version as they are easier than the new ones .. around 2000 !

go on to autotrader

Remus (y)
 
I'm a student, so £2k is a bit much for me! I'm hoping to splash about £500 on the car at the most, like I said, it's only to hone my skills on, so I don't really wanna spend £2,000 on a car that i'm just going to take to bits!

The less I spend on the car, the more I can on messing around with it! :D
 
mark 1 Puntos are a really good little project car, my first car was a 1.2 75bhp sx, if you look on ebay, etc etc you could probs get a m-n reg one for around 300-400 maybe less if you get one that needs work, i.e a blown head gasket, etc etc which as littlepip explained its sooo easy to change, along with the cam belt, known as a 'safe engine', the fire engines are soooo easy to work on, get looking, a 55s maybe your best bet though if ya wanna learn fit remote c/l etc etc..
 
if your not going to drive it or insure/ tax or anything... why not buy an insurance write off?

would be dirt cheap and you could just practice on it... quite a few mk1 puntos go on ebay that are driveable... but arent economical to repair- which wouldnt be a problem for you.
 
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