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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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Before I put it away, I also used some super guard interior protector I acquired from the valet bay at work, so if anything spills on the seats, it should just bead.

Not that I eat/drink in the car.

In other news, I bought a new daily runner today- kuga titanium X sport powershift, same blue as my focus. Canna wait ?
 
Before I put it away, I also used some super guard interior protector I acquired from the valet bay at work, so if anything spills on the seats, it should just bead.

Not that I eat/drink in the car.

In other news, I bought a new daily runner today- kuga titanium X sport powershift, same blue as my focus. Canna wait ?

thats a 30k car, you are swimming in some mad dosh
 
My little punto is poorly :(

Went into the garage this morning, as it was nice and dry, I was going to take it for a run as it's been sitting for a couple of months.
When I put it in the garage, I disconnected the battery, Hoping this would prevent it from going flat.

Connected it up, tried to start it, electrics come on the dash and left it for a couple of minutes, turned the key and it tried to turn over then died with a squeaking noise from the engine. Checked the oil and loads in it.

I then tried to jump it from my dads 500L and same again.

So I've taken the battery out, put it on a trickle charge, and whilst it was out, took the battery tray out and painted it with stonechip.

Fingers crossed in a couple of days when I put the battery back on, it will start..... Or I will cry.


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Batteries don't like cold weather and a bit of frost and snow sure sorts the men from the boys in the battery brigade! Did you put a meter on it first to see what is was reading? Sounds like the battery is on the way out.
 
To be honest, having an AA battery in the car annoys me. I'm gonna order a new genuine fiat one from work. Spoke to one of the fiat techs today who suggested to take the alternator belt off and see if it turns freely.

When I put the meter on it, it was reading just under 13 volts, and when the 500L was connected, 14 volts so in thinking not the battery but will try a charge on it.
Battery tray painted and back in.
 
I think you'll find Fiat don't make batteries, It may well have Magneti Marelli on it but I would go for a well known brand, Not that there is anything wrong with MM stuff! I got a Duracell one for a Ducato recently and it has a good warranty, not much in the price difference either.
 
I think you'll find Fiat don't make batteries, It may well have Magneti Marelli on it but I would go for a well known brand, Not that there is anything wrong with MM stuff! I got a Duracell one for a Ducato recently and it has a good warranty, not much in the price difference either.

Is not a Fiamm battery? I had an old uno a few years ago time warp car (right down to oem fit Michelin mx tyres on the rear) and 25k on the clock. Under the bonnet it had a Fiamm battery.
 
Hmm the Uno had marreli coils and distributor but if it was a replacement battery not sure why you'd fit a Fiamm (a manufacturer based in Italy) not a halfords special on what was a very cheap car.

Was an early 91 car though so they could well have changed suppliers since then.
 
Is not a Fiamm battery? I had an old uno a few years ago time warp car (right down to oem fit Michelin mx tyres on the rear) and 25k on the clock. Under the bonnet it had a Fiamm battery.

To the best of my knowledge FIAMM is not part of FIAT!. Maybe I'm wrong.
 
Dunno TBH Fiamms website does list them as a supplier to Fiat-Chrysler among others. I assumed it was the original battery given the car was so original otherwise but at 9 years it was knocking on a bit.
 
Sitting over winter isn't gonna do batteries any good really... i wouldn't worry about brands at all really. I have had loads of batteries from loads of different brands and I just go by the CCA and AH figures on them, the more amp hours it stores the better and the higher cold cranking amps the faster the engine spins over.

Alternators do sometimes seize without use and can stop a car turning over, would explain the squeak noise too, belt slipping slightly and then the whole engine stopping. Its gonna be that or the battery is dying, neither is a big deal. You may consider a smart charger to leave on over winter, can get them cheap enough these days, just plug it in and leave it indefinitely - got one on my panda and it only cost about £35-40 iirc.

I think you are worrying a tad more than you should - this to me is no reason to expose it to salted roads.. Winter itself is not really that bad but the salt gritted roads is the cause of most rusty cars in the UK - don't do it!! If you are worried then go start it up and let it run upto temp and leave it for a while regularly. If you do that all the engine related rubbers are gonna stay supple and the car isn't gonna go rusty - if you have other daily car why expose the punto the salt, i do the same with my panda - once they gritted the roads the first time it went in the garage and won't come out until they stop gritting.

Pump up tyres so they don't flat spot and then the only thing that can really become an issue is suspension related rubber parts but they are 1. easy to change 2. cheap and 3. gonna last years and years anyway.
 
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The garage is a bit damp also, which probably doesn't help. Turns out fiat do batteries, can get a genuine one from Italy for £70 or a Bosch one for £55. I'm not gonna drive the car unless it's a dry day so say won't be an issue and I always clean it after I use it
 
Hi Simon , like blu says I wouldnt put it back on the road until the salt has gone off the roads , it gets into everything even when the roads are dry the salt dust can corrode things when it gets damp . I garage mine around October back on the road in March and start it up , run it up and down the drive every 2 weeks or so .
 
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