Picked the old girl up today and apart from the classic Punto clunk from the rear suspension or exhaust, a long brake pedal and grinding pads where she's been stood the car's a real rip snorter.



Sun set behind me driving my mates MkII Sporting towards a rainbow my mate driving the MkI (as he has a trade policy) into the distance because the car is so much quicker than the MkII 16V even with more gears to play with up to the speed limit we were left behind constantly.

I'm looking forward to a more detailed inspection in the morning.

So I'll with the bad.

Broken fog light...



...the classic Punto "clunk"...





...is the drivers side front subframe bush as predicted.

The paint on the roof...





...and bonnet...



...look like photo's from the early Apollo missions.

No need to CSI the interior (for a very welcome change)...









...but the lever to lift the drivers seat...



...suggests a previous owner hardly ever wore his/her seatbelt and the car's been hammered a bit.

CSI the exterior though...













...things I noticed whilst cleaning...



...door ding (well the car is old enough to vote)...



...and someone stuck fablon to the door pillars; badly.

Now the good.

N/A Delta Hf engine!!!! :slayer:



Last time I had one of these engines it had 300bhp and was sat in the back of my X-1/9 rally car but this one can remain standard for now.



A history that not only confirms the 58,000 miles is genuine but is so extensive that Peter Jackson and Martin Scorsese are fighting over the movie rights.





Most important the car's bloody gorgeous. :worship:

I think the leather interior idea can be shelved permanently but the GT brakes in my shed would improve things over the solid front brakes and Cinquecento looking drums on the back. That's a lot of car for the brakes to try and haul up. No ABS so it will be an improvement without being annoying. One thing I do have to do is take the wiper mechanism apart. It sounds like a dog chewing a bone. "Grrrr-rah-rah" and will be funny for the first few seconds.

£236.01 very well spent. :devil:

300 horse power, that can easily smoke a lambo

flisko said:

300 horse power, that can easily smoke a lambo

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Close gears so mid to low elevens if I could keep the front end down. The only car I could compete with was my mates Stratos replica with a 3.0 Alfa 164 V6. I had the tape measure out a few times and the V6 would just about fit. I'd go for a Toyota Camry V6 on an MR2 gearbox if I had an X-1/9, time and money.

Simpler to just bolt an MR2 turbo lump and box in! (I think it weighs a little less than the Camry lump, anyway).

Liquid Knight said:

but this one can remain standard for now.

Click to expand...

famous last words lol

fingers99 said:

Simpler to just bolt an MR2 turbo lump and box in! (I think it weighs a little less than the Camry lump, anyway).

Click to expand...

The V6 makes the same power and roughly twice the torque. I can sell the MR2 engine and buy a complete Camry.

blu73 said:

famous last words lol

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I'm already looking at Hf pistons and an Eaton supecharger so I don't have to fiddle about with the exhaust, oil plumbing and piggy back ecu's.

Liquid Knight said:

The V6 makes the same power and roughly twice the torque. I can sell the MR2 engine and buy a complete Camry.

Click to expand...

In your bottom!

The real figures (depending which V6 Camry you end up with) are:

185 bhp/195lb ft.
190bhp/203lb ft

as against

225 bhp/224 lb ft (rev1 & 2)
and
245 bhp/224 lb ft (rev 3 onwards)

As you'd expect, a 2 litre turbocharged engine produces more bhp and torque than a petty bourgeois 3 litre lump designed for a saloon.

I bought a rev 3 Mr2 turbo for £320 about 6 months ago (the whole car).

Assuming you need the MR2 turbo box (the n/a box won't cope with V6 Camry torque for very long) it makes sense to buy them together.

A T5 lump and box would be nice -- sounds better than a V6, too!

That's funny my mate's MR2...

http://forum.ppcmag.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=11386&sid=621606ad8152f95959dd8d0878c7b1ef

...flew after the conversion.

So back on topic (ish) my Strada Abarth wheels needed 20mm spacers to fit my Panda and my Punto GT wheels need 10mm spacers to fit my Panda so in theory I only need my 10mm spacers for my Strada wheels to fit my Punto.

Any ideas?

They'll look a bit like Rondals on the car.

Liquid Knight said:

That's funny my mate's MR2...

http://forum.ppcmag.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=11386&sid=621606ad8152f95959dd8d0878c7b1ef

...flew after the conversion.

Click to expand...

It'd have flown more with the turbo lump. mid 13s, low 14s are pretty much "usual" 1/4 mile times for MR2 turbos. Nice car, though. I suspect it had the n/a engine..........

Not that the later Camry lump is a bad engine, but it's a very different beast and still pretty expensive.

Rev II and broke into the 12's with the V6.

Liquid Knight said:

Rev II and broke into the 12's with the V6.

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Well, he says:

It's done a 14.0sec 1/4 at Santa Pod on road tyres. Could've gone much quicker on sticky rubber but suffered wheelspin with all the torque.

Click to expand...

12s are certainly possible with tweaking, but, then, there are 9 second cars with the MR2 tub lump and the Poles have T Jet Seis well into the 12s.

I can't see the gearbox lasting -- the n/a boxes are tiny things -- smaller than the Alfa 155 (etc.) boxes (but perhaps made of better quality chocolate).

Back on topic again.

These...





...are the wheels I have in mind.

Expensive habit these cars.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fiat-Punt...arts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item3cbf6052b9

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FIAT-PUNT...arts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item338aab8a4d

at a guess that Sporting in the original post was registered via St Leonards Motors - a Fiat Dealership in Hastings

Liquid Knight said:

Expensive habit these cars.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fiat-Punto-1-6i-8V-90-Sporting-95-97-REAR-Sub-frame-Bush-Side-LH-FSK6545-/260908798649?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item3cbf6052b9

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FIAT-PUNTO-MK-1-O-S-FOG-LIGHT-NEW-/221369829965?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item338aab8a4d

Click to expand...

this one is cheaper blud, or this

flisko said:

this one is cheaper blud, or this

Click to expand...

The first one would be cheaper if it wasn't £3.00 postage the set of four are ideal. Good find that.

i used to have a set of them strada abarth wheels.... they needed mm spacers to go on a cento though so i sold them. But i was right, they did look epic on a seicento as thats what the lad who bought them stuck them on...

They look ace on the panda, probably better than they will on the punto is my opinion.