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Punto (Mk1) My exploit yellow 75 elx

Introduction

Hi.
My name is Simon and I haven't been on here in ages.
I'm a fiat nut who has owned fiats all my life as have my family. I work in a fiat dealership in dundee and have treated myself to a new car, as it's the first time in my life I have been without a fiat.

I bought the following car off ebay for 4 reasons

1. I had one as my first car
2. I just bought a house and have somewhere to keep it
3. My mum had a brand new exploit yellow 55 sx back in '95
4. Have plenty fiat techs to fix it when it breaks

So, I'm in dundee, the car was in Yorkshire, so my dad and I left 5:30am Saturday morning in his 500L to pick it up. I was worried about bringing a near 20 year old fiat 260 mile up the road, but it didn't miss a beat. It drives like a new car.

History- we'll it was sold new to a mrs crappe, at carnell fiat, she had the car garaged from new, done 70,000 miles in it. It had its original dealer plates on it which I changed, as they were tatty. Full years mot with no advisories, and a full service history. She specced it up with a drivers airbag!

The car come with a few parking dings, original scuffed wheel trims, and a couple of light scratches, otherwise it's mint.
Luckily working in a fiat dealer, I can get parts, a workshop with a 40 years served fiat technician, a dent man and body shop.

Took the car into work today to get all the dents removed, was up on the ramps for a health check- solid underneath, just needs new discs and pads and a rocker cover gasket. Underneath is solid, clean and all present and correct. It also needs a new cam belt cover as mine is burst. Then that's it mint.
Turns out the rear tyres are the factory originals, made 3rd week of 1995, so it will be getting a full set of brand new Goodyear duragrips I have in my garage.
Surprisingly every single thing works on the car, even the remote locking and being an elx it has an electric sunroof!!!

It's quite funny because all the fiat techs were all over it today, donating parts. One of them had an exploit yellow touch up pen that's been in his toolbox for 15 years, got handbrake cables and a rocker cover gasket, with more bits offered. They also went on e-sigi and printed out the complete history of my car, showing recalls for brake pipes, airbag ecu etc which is nice to keep.

Work so far done-

New genuine wheel trims
New genuine punto mats
Original fiat tape deck
Genuine fiat lineaccessorie front and rear mudflaps
General tidy up
Clay, wet sand, machine polish bodywork
New numberplates
Dents removed
Brand new badges
Full valet

I love this car, I can't believe how mint it is. Taking bad with no power steering though.
I put it in the showroom and took some piccies.
Anyway the pictures.......

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And my main/ daily car

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Nope, my 85 didn't. According to the 1995 brochure I have, it was an option on all models.

Strange the previous owner specced an airbag but not the optional power steering, wish she did

I only ask because going back to 2007, when I was 17, and looking for my 1st car, I looked at a 1999 (V-reg) 60 SX, and the steering wheel looked like the 1 in yours, but the bloke selling it didn't think it had an airbag.
 
I only ask because going back to 2007, when I was 17, and looking for my 1st car, I looked at a 1999 (V-reg) 60 SX, and the steering wheel looked like the 1 in yours, but the bloke selling it didn't think it had an airbag.

The steering wheel is the same unit, mine had an airbag


Only differences would be the boss is marked with SRS airbag iirc and also there's a sticker in the glovebox telling you the expiration date of the airbag unit and an airbag light in the dash.
Elx has over the sx the following as far as I can remember from my old 85 sx

Electric sunroof
Remote locking
Centre console
6 speaker stereo with fancier door cards (speakers in the doors)
Locking glovebox
Velour seats
Pollen filter
Rear headrests

My 85sx had rear headrests but the 55/75/60 sx's didn't.
Mine also had a manual sunroof, it didn't have an airbag but it had the stereo controls for the steering wheel where as my elx has an airbag and just horn buttons.

As well as all that it had the headlamps and front bumper from a sporting as standard at least the 85 elx did. Also my late model one had both the steering wheel controls and the airbag, and the dealer fit 6 cd changer.
 
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The steering wheel is the same unit, mine had an airbag


Only differences would be the boss is marked with SRS airbag iirc and also there's a sticker in the glovebox telling you the expiration date of the airbag unit and an airbag light in the dash.


As well as all that it had the headlamps and front bumper from a sporting as standard at least the 85 elx did. Also my late model one had both the steering wheel controls and the airbag, and the dealer fit 6 cd changer.

My 85 had the wide mouth bumper but the 75/55/60 shouldn't, unless it was a selecta
 
Snow ????
Car won't be moving again until it clears



On a happier note, I've done 500 miles in the car since I got it, 260 of them picking it up from Yorkshire and it hasn't missed a beat. Still loving it, even more than my focus ?

Of course you love it more than your focus: its a Fiat. Its impossible not to love a Fiat more than any other car, lol! :)
 
So working in a fiat dealer has it's perks.

My car has done 70,000 miles so...

Car is going in Thursday for a proper fiat major service (75k miles/ 5 years) at 20 year old, coolant and brake fluid change, new timing belt and tensioner, all genuine fiat bits- just under £200.

Bargain
 
So working in a fiat dealer has it's perks.

My car has done 70,000 miles so...

Car is going in Thursday for a proper fiat major service (75k miles/ 5 years) at 20 year old, coolant and brake fluid change, new timing belt and tensioner, all genuine fiat bits- just under £200.

Bargain

Still loving the mk1? :)
 
Absolutely adore it. Guy I know offered me £1600 cash for it which is more than double what I paid.
Obviously I said no lol.

Plans over the summer are to tidy up the engine bay and waxoyl the hell out of it, and get it 100% mint, it doesn't need much tbh.

May put it back in the showroom for a while?

It's good to see that a car like that has found a loving owner. :)
 
So. Today seen me do a couple of messy jobs to the punto.
Had it's service and timing belt done on Thursday so mechanically she is 100%

This morning I set about doing a job i had been putting off for ages.
Cleaning inside the arches, waxoyling them and underneath the car, as well as tidying up the engine bay.

Another job I attempted today was the original radio, the display didn't light up so I took it apart to see if I could fix it and broke it.

I'm now after a genuine punto mk1 radio if anyone has on they ain't using- please :)



 
Very nice. Always loved the Mk1 Punto. Had to have an Exploit yellow when they first came out. Also had a Midnight blue and later a red one.
Yeh my mum had a yellow one too back in 95.
But my one had to be either exploit or valley green, but the valley green only come in an s or gt in the uk and they're rare as a gt and the a is a bit too basic
 
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