General 1993 Fiat Uno Turbo i.e., a few doubts

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General 1993 Fiat Uno Turbo i.e., a few doubts

Hi guys:

I still have my basic two questions in my prior post:

1. Should the car have the black (not fully black but actually with white lines forming sort of squares) decal betweeen the two side windows, like mine does, or should it be body color?

2. Bumper red line... in my case it is more like a diluted red or pinkish-orange. IS this correct or should it be bright red same as the Turbo signs on the black side bottom moulding?

Any help?

Thanks,
Victor
 
That's in pretty incredible condition, last time I saw a rust-free Uno on the road in the UK was about 1995 :D

Been so long since I've seen one I'm probably going to be of no use whatsoever, but to me it looks like the stripes on the front / rear bumpers have faded. Not uncommon for that to happen to Fiat / Alfa red paint, I remember seeing a Rosso Alfa 156 which had turned a rather nasty shade of pink in places, and that was with UK levels of sunlight...

As for the other question, maybe post a close up picture so people can see what it is?
 
That's in pretty incredible condition, last time I saw a rust-free Uno on the road in the UK was about 1995 :D
You had about an hour or two when they drove out the showroom before the serious rust set in, you must have just caught one at the perfect time.
 
Haha. The car was purchased in Germany and was there for about 4-5 years. Then, the owner moved to Mexico and brought the car with him. He must have loved it pretty much as he spent a lot of time doing the paperwork and even trial procedures to get the proper permits and have the car "legal" in the country. He sold it after about 20 years of ownership to a guy that had it for a year and then to a late friend of mine who had it for about 8 years.

No idea about weather in Germany and the rust it could cause.... BUT the one thing we have good in Mexico (particularly nowadays with a country that is being almost demolished by terrible politicians) is weather... so yes, NO rust other than a small speckle of about 1 square cm under one of the plastic mouldings.

As for the decal in the door post or between the side windows.... yes, a pic is worth more than a thousand words... so here go a few pics...

Is this material original? I want to know since I am refinishing the car in a couple of weeks, after it comes out of the shop, and need to know if I have to source this particular decal or if the cars were supplied with none and it was a past owner's invention.
 

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As for the red line in the bumpers, I bought a decal kit, but I guess I will be better off repainting it.

I already got the Turbo I.E. emblems for the rear hatch and grill (though a prior post mentioned my car came originally without them, don't know why and would love to know more about it).

On mechanical things, the car is at the shop as I am having timing belt, accesory belt, filters, brake pads, etc. changed for new ones, just in case... and we are going to check on the Turbo as currently the car smokes a very tiny bit but only when hot. My mechanic seems to think it may be the Turbo's lubrication, as he says that if it were the engine rings, they car would be smoking constantly... if valves, only when starting... and he says that the very tiny amount of smoke and at the high temperature it is happening, it HAS to be the Turbo. I hope he is right as it sounds like the easiest repair possible for that smoke.

Any thoughts?

Victor
 
Certainly the pictures I've seen of UK turbos don't have any covering on the door pillars (it is plain paint) and to me that looks like some kind of wrap, but I am sure there are others better qualified than me to pass judgement on that, so definitely don't take my word for it :)

As for the turbo, yes that is a possibility if it's only when warm, especially if it smokes more after the turbo has spooled up. Once again I'm sure there is someone who knows the turbos better than me, but if it has sleeve bearings rather than roller bearings, they are more prone to wear and could cause a little smoke (and when more worn a whine a bit like a tiny jet engine) when they start to leak a little. But also check the PCV system - blocked PCV vents can cause crankcase fumes (or engine oil mist) to appear in all sorts of funny places, so it would be worthwhile getting your mechanic to check that is operating correctly too, especially as a fix is likely to be less expensive than replacing the turbo bearings (or whole turbo).
 
Thank you, MK2K! I will ask my mechanic to check on the PCV system.

About the decal or wrap, I have pics of about 8-9 different cars, only one shows the full paint without wrap.... and I looked for original pictures (on ebay) and found about 11 of them... again, only one has the full paint without wrap.

I guess that makes me feel preety confident that at least most of the cars originally had the wrap between the windows... it is now a matter of finding out if it was plain black or if what I have, sort of textured, is correct. As a friend says, it looks like Carbon fiber.

Victor
 
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Hi victor , not sure if you have looked at this thread on a mk 2 uno rebuild , it’s a few years back on the uno page , (not sure how to put a link to it ), it shows some trim photos with the red insert on the bumpers 👍🏻
 

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Thank you, Steve gt!! I looked for it and browsed it briefly.


Great work!! It will be very useful to check on details, and just as you mentioned, I saw the red stripes and it is clear now that I need to refinish mine!

Unfortunately, the final result is not shown and the last post is from 2018, but I trust the car was finished and is enjoyed!... and it must be one of the best Uno Turbos extant!

Thanks again for pointing it out.
Victor
 
Well... I can start by posting the minor advances:

1. Checked on all lights, and restored them by cleaning, polishing, etc. First pic shows the fog lamp.

2. We repaired one of the side bolsters from the driver seat... yes, the one closer to the door, which tends to be "abused". Luckily, the original cloth is mint, and we only had to redo the inner sponge stucture.

3. New tires in the correct measurements (not easy to source down here), and new center caps for the wheels. Since I don't believe I had the original bolts (black and a bit rusty), and I don't know how the original bolts should be finished, in the meantime I installed some anti-theft bolts, and placed the chrome tool to remove them on the original tool package.
 

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The exhaust system had to be redone on the rear end... it still sports it's original catalytic converter, but we needed to do a new piece of tube (metal was thin and it had a couple of tiny holes), change the rear small silencer for the same reason, small holes, and we fitted the same outlet the car had when I bought it and which unfortunately was installed at some point, needing the rear bumper plastic to be cut so it could fit.... eventually, I would need to source a correct one and find a correct outlet, but that may be my only concession to originality... as sourcing a full bumper from here would be difficult and tremendously expensive.
 

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Just a very brief update: the car has been at the shop for a few weeks. Turbo unit was rebuilt and it was not the cause of the white smoke when hot. They are looking into valves now, only adding a valve guide additive, which I hope works! I am hoping not to have to repair the engine!
 
A brief update:

After a few months at the shop and rebuilding the turbo and looking into lots of things, the cause for the blue smoke the car had only when hot, turned out to be the valve seals, caps (or whatever they are called). We changed them for new ones and now the car works great, with no smoke what so ever!

I installed a period correct Blaupunkt radio (the car was originally delivered to Germany, so it is not completely out of place, as I read this Turbos were generally delivered without radios).

Today, we are removing the black tint or smoke film on side and rear windows, and hopefully later in the week it will go to the shop, to be repainted.

QUESTION:

I think the rear antenna is not factory, therefore I am removing it and I will locate a front roof antenna, as I have seen in many cars... please see first pic below... this is what it has now, that I don't think is correct. Second and third pic looks like a cap on the front area, ahead of the sunroof which would seem to cover for the antenna hole. Last pic is one I found on the net, of the type of antenna I regularly see on UNO's.... is this what I shoudl look for and would it fit in the cap I posted at pics 2 and 3?

Thanks!
Victor
 

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My girlfriend bought a brand new Fiat Uno Turbo when she got her first full time job as a university lecturer in the 90's ... It was a great little car ,fast and great handling ... we loved it ..
 
Yes... I can easily understand that! I love mine too.

The car is already at the paint shop... hope to get it back in about 4 weeks.
 

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By this time, I found out the rear antenna was not correct and I am patching the hole it had and looking for a correct one.

I was also told the black parts between windows are a decal and it should be plain black, no carbon fiber texture.

QUESTION:

I am being told that Mk2 cars did not use the UNO Turbo i.e. emblems, but only plain UNO emblems. Can somebody confirm?

Thanks,
Victor
 
Time for a small update: The car is practically finished! I am posting a few pics.

I did find a correct antenna, new rear emblem (still need to find the UNO emblem), some new rubber parts and many details, including NOS original FIAT keys.

Recently I changed the radiator cap for a "correct" black one and the car started overheating. I swithed back but still overheats, so the heat issue might be a coincidence and I might have a thermostat or some other issue. Other than that, the car behaves great! A bit noisy with the Turbo working, which I am not sure it may be correct or not.... but great little toy! I really love it!

I have seen cars with many detail differences. We discussed the lack of black decal between windows, but I found an original set which a supplier replicated for me, plus I found many original pics that showed it. The same is true for some painted parts, like mirrors, the part that goes between the hood and the windshield or the plastic part over the license plate in the rear hatch. I have seen some cars with them in black but most of them, particularlyTurbo models, with the parts in body color, just as my car had them and I re-did them. Any opinions on that?



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I am about to install a different period correct radio, an Alpine unit, which I am having converted to accept bluetooth.... and with that plus solving my overheating problem, I think I can consider the car done.... for the time being at least.

Victor
 
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