Seicento 2000 899 Seicento SX

[FiatMatt94]

Went to my first show of the year yesterday at Caffeine & Machine for the Fiat & Abarth meet, 252 mile round trip on just over half a tank of fuel & she didn't miss a beat the old girl got quite a lot of attention, a lot more than I thought she would

There was also a few other interesting Fiat's there as well including a few Centos, Panda 100HP's of which one had 300 bhp, 595 Abarth's & even a Lancia Y10.

 

[Didge3]

& even a Lancia Y10.

You tease us and then didn't snap a picture of it?!

 

[icheatatscrabble]

Last summer I'd got back to my Cinquecento which I had parked in the underground car park of a Waitrose and there was some old boy (easily in his 80's) taking photos of my car. So I started chatting to him, he was loving my car and said that he had a Lancia Y10, had it since it was 6 months old and bought it from the Lancia dealer in Luton or was it Bedford?
He was saying the dealer would send a lot of their trainee techs (who were mostly from Italian families around Bedfordshire over to Italy. He was quite an interesting chap and said the Y10 had never missed a beat, rust free, but it wasn't being driven much as his wife usually drove it and she had virtually stopped driving.
He also said finding parts was a bit of challenge (something all Cinq and probably Sei drivers know about). As I drove off I thought to myself I should have given him my number and said if you ever want to sell the Lancia give me a call....

 

[FiatMatt94]

You tease us and then didn't snap a picture of it?!

It wasn't the nicest Y10 as it had been customised a bit so wasn't my cup of tea someone had painted it purple & then put in matching colour vinyl seat covers, if it was original early car with the alcantara interior etc I would have been all over it as I love a Y10, I nearly bought an early 1985 Y10 blind many years ago from eBay but I think someone jumped in with a bid the last few seconds. My dad told me once he went to look at a Y10 just down the road in the 90's as he really likes them as well, he got there & it was the classic one side was up against a hedge the side on show was immaculate & the side against the hedge was completely eaten alive

 

[FiatMatt94]

Last summer I'd got back to my Cinquecento which I had parked in the underground car park of a Waitrose and there was some old boy (easily in his 80's) taking photos of my car. So I started chatting to him, he was loving my car and said that he had a Lancia Y10, had it since it was 6 months old and bought it from the Lancia dealer in Luton or was it Bedford?
He was saying the dealer would send a lot of their trainee techs (who were mostly from Italian families around Bedfordshire over to Italy. He was quite an interesting chap and said the Y10 had never missed a beat, rust free, but it wasn't being driven much as his wife usually drove it and she had virtually stopped driving.
He also said finding parts was a bit of challenge (something all Cinq and probably Sei drivers know about). As I drove off I thought to myself I should have given him my number and said if you ever want to sell the Lancia give me a call....

That would most probably be the dream Y10 to own as it most likely be completely original

 

[icheatatscrabble]

That would most probably be the dream Y10 to own as it most likely be completely original

Definitely. I was kicking myself that I never asked for his number.

 

[FiatMatt94]

I've noticed recently that the exhaust on the car has had a slight blow for a little while & her 252 mile escapade to Caffeine & Machine on Tuesday made it slightly worse so Wednesday morning I got her up on some ramps & had a good look around the exhaust to see where the blow was coming from. I soon found that it was coming from the rear section on the welds as it had rotted through & has a few small holes as a result, the front section & cat have cleaned up really well with just a scotch brite pad & come up like new, I then found that stock 899 exhausts are not that common nowadays as they once were & are quite expensive, I can remember with my Cinquecento when I was 17 a whole rear section was about £25 from a motor factors the only ones which seem to be obtainable for a 899 are anything between £125 - £200 for a Klarius rear section in which I hate Klarius systems as they never fit, so I started to look around for other options like aftermarket systems but I don't like the 3 - 4 inch systems on offer as 1) they'll look a bit silly especially on a 899 & 2) it'll zap power being that big & the good old 899 doesn't have a lot to begin with I then did some researching on the forum & online, it turns out a stock Sporting SPI cat back system can be fitted to an 899 with an adapter for the slight difference in bore size which is 10mm difference as a 899 is 35mm bore & the Sporting is 45mm bore. I just happened to be on the phone to my dad earlier today & as a mechanic he worked on a lot of Seicento's & Cinquecento's back in the day so I told him how much the 899 rear section was for a crap branded system & he told me that he always used to fit the 1108 rear sections to the 899 as they were always cheaper & the shape & hangers etc were all the same just a very slight difference in bore, so that was a good enough answer for me I know that the hangers on Cinquecento's are slightly different to a Seicento, so I've purchased a Bosal Seicento Sporting SPI cat back system after seeing that all 1108 Seicento SPI rear sections are the same part numbers, all cross reference, interchangable etc along with a 35mm - 45mm adapter to fit to the existing 899 system for the slight bore difference, I've always had good results with Bosal systems which was why I went for one of them & the system with the adapter was £105 as opposed to the price of a Klarius rear section for a 899, it'll also be a nice subtle upgrade too with perhaps a nice little rasp

 

[icheatatscrabble]

I've noticed recently that the exhaust on the car has had a slight blow for a little while & her 252 mile escapade to Caffeine & Machine on Tuesday made it slightly worse so Wednesday morning I got her up on some ramps & had a good look around the exhaust to see where the blow was coming from. I soon found that it was coming from the rear section on the welds as it had rotted through & has a few small holes as a result, the front section & cat have cleaned up really well with just a scotch brite pad & come up like new, I then found that stock 899 exhausts are not that common nowadays as they once were & are quite expensive, I can remember with my Cinquecento when I was 17 a whole rear section was about £25 from a motor factors the only ones which seem to be obtainable for a 899 are anything between £125 - £200 for a Klarius rear section in which I hate Klarius systems as they never fit, so I started to look around for other options like aftermarket systems but I don't like the 3 - 4 inch systems on offer as 1) they'll look a bit silly especially on a 899 & 2) it'll zap power being that big & the good old 899 doesn't have a lot to begin with I then did some researching on the forum & online, it turns out a stock Sporting SPI cat back system can be fitted to an 899 with an adapter for the slight difference in bore size which is 10mm difference as a 899 is 35mm bore & the Sporting is 45mm bore. I just happened to be on the phone to my dad earlier today & as a mechanic he worked on a lot of Seicento's & Cinquecento's back in the day so I told him how much the 899 rear section was for a crap branded system & he told me that he always used to fit the 1108 rear sections to the 899 as they were always cheaper & the shape & hangers etc were all the same just a very slight difference in bore, so that was a good enough answer for me I know that the hangers on Cinquecento's are slightly different to a Seicento, so I've purchased a Bosal Seicento Sporting SPI cat back system after seeing that all 1108 Seicento SPI rear sections are the same part numbers, all cross reference, interchangable etc along with a 35mm - 45mm adapter to fit to the existing 899 system for the slight bore difference, I've always had good results with Bosal systems which was why I went for one of them & the system with the adapter was £105 as opposed to the price of a Klarius rear section for a 899, it'll also be a nice subtle upgrade too with perhaps a nice little rasp

Nice. I had a Powerflow stainless system fitted to my Cinquecento last May. Sounds lovely / good welds - but cost £500. I did email Ragazzon in Italy to see if they still sold a system for the Cinquecento Sporting - email back from them, pretty much said fat chance....

 

[FiatMatt94]

Nice. I had a Powerflow stainless system fitted to my Cinquecento last May. Sounds lovely / good welds - but cost £500. I did email Ragazzon in Italy to see if they still sold a system for the Cinquecento Sporting - email back from them, pretty much said fat chance....

That seems to be the answer from Fiat for most cento enquiries as well I've never had a Raggazon or Powerflow system but have heard them on 100HP's & 595 Abarth's they do sound good, only aftermarket systems I've ever had were either single box or twin box RC40's on Classic Mini's that system coupled with an A Series what a glorious sound.

 

[icheatatscrabble]

That seems to be the answer from Fiat for most cento enquiries as well I've never had a Raggazon or Powerflow system but have heard them on 100HP's & 595 Abarth's they do sound good, only aftermarket systems I've ever had were either single box or twin box RC40's on Classic Mini's that system coupled with an A Series what a glorious sound.

I've got a Ragazzon cat back system on my 595 Comp, to be fair I do like it - but it is quiet compared to the standard Record Monza and quiet as a mouse compared to when I had a carbon tipped Magneti Marelli Bombardone fitted. Now that was loud...

 

[FiatMatt94]

The new exhaust turned up yesterday so got it fitted this morning, it turned out that I didn't need the adapter to fit the stock Sporting system to the 899 as it just slid straight onto it & also the dimensions like length & diameter at the front where it joins the cat are the same as well, it has to be the best mod so far as she doesn't feel restrictive anymore as the new system has a 2nd silencer & also a slightly deeper note with a subtle rasp & the correct sporting rolled tip on the tailpipe.

 

[FiatMatt94]

I've finally purchased some lowering springs for the old girl, it's because the other day I was driving in a shall we say spirited manner down the country roads of Cheshire & I was pushing the old girl quite hard as you do out in the countryside in a fun car & the amount of understeer & body roll it was quite hilarious but I've also noticed that the original springs which I don't think have ever been changed are starting to feel a little sloppy so I decided something's got to be done suspension related & after looking around I've purchased

: A full set of 4 Apex 30mm non Sporting lowering springs, I went for 30mm as I'm only after a subtle drop with a little better handling etc plus I still want it to be drivable as she's my daily driver & also there's lots of speed bumps where I live so don't want it too low & as a sporting is 20mm lower standard I thought 30mm would be just about right, I did try to see if anyone did non sporting springs in 20mm but 30mm was the smallest I could find for a non sporting model so 30mm it shall be should still be good though as I measured from the centre of the wheel to the top of the arch & deducted 30mm off that measurement to see roughly where it would sit, well that's the theory anyway
: MK3 Ford Focus rear anti roll bar to use on the Seicento which I purchased of eBay from a breakers for £45 delivered in supposedly grade A condition from a low mileage car , I'll be using Audi A6 drop links as the link from the anti roll bar to bottom damper bolt instead of rose joints like some people use as I prefer something in a fixed position over adjustable. All fixings & longer damper bolts etc for this mod will be purchased from my local bolt supplier as they are very reasonably priced & very good. I think that'll be £127 well spent, the lowering springs were only £82 which I thought was really good value, I've heard that lowering springs work better with gas struts, not sure how true that is but the car already has gas struts as I put them in a few months ago so we'll soon find out, it'll all be done in a couple of weeks when I come back from my dad's.

 

[FiatMatt94]

Got home yesterday after spending 2 weeks with my dad so today fitted my lowering springs along with new bump stops.

So I went for Apex 30mm springs non sporting spec & I'm glad I didn't go lower as the speed bumps in my road are quite high & it caught the stud on the exhaust clamp as the stud on the clamp is quite long so I'm going to fit one of those 1 stud style clamps so it can be tucked up out of the way, this was the only hiccup, the rest of the car has totally transformed as I went for a drive through the country roads & the handling is loads better, also the steering & the ride is a bit better, body roll has virtually gone, me & my cousin both agreed it feels similar to an old Mini , also the stance is looking good.

Also I received the MK3 Focus rear anti roll bar so set about painting it, it was quite clean to be fair but I thought it could do with some paint, I had silver laying around so that's what it got

It's not perfect but it's good enough, I already got the longer bolts for the bottom shock absorber bolt so that it's long enough for the A6 aluminium drop links, just need to get the clamps & bushes now & then it can go on, I've also decided that a rear wiper delete is on the cards too as to be quite frank it's pants

 

[icheatatscrabble]

Looking good..

 

[FiatMatt94]

I got a couple of things done to the old girl recently, I changed the gear lever support as it was cracking in 4 places along with new bushes etc

I know the nuts & bolts are the wrong way round but I couldn't get my chubby fingers in there to put the nuts back in as I couldn't be asked to drop the exhaust & take it all out from underneath so that's how it's been & it all works ok so that's good enough for me & then today I got the rear anti roll bar fitted & what a transformation it's like a go kart

It's needs just a little touching up with some silver paint as I caught it but it's all in & bolted up, the handling is definitely like an old mini now & all for less than £100, from a classic mini owner that's money well spent now just to polish her up as she's going back to Caffeine & Machine at the weekend for All Italia.

 

[icheatatscrabble]

You couldn't list the parts and where you got them from, for me please? Really starting to think I should do this my Cinquecento, after a year or so of thinking about doing it.

 

[FiatMatt94]

You couldn't list the parts and where you got them from, for me please? Really starting to think I should do this my Cinquecento, after a year or so of thinking about doing it.

So the rear anti roll bar is from a MK3 Ford Focus C346 which ran from I think 2012 - 2019 which can be found at a breakers, mine came from a breakers on eBay, the Ford part number for the anti roll bar is 1683278. You can buy them new but second hand they are about a third of the price. On the anti roll bar there are 2 round bits one on either end which will need to be cut off, it's pretty easy as they are not that well attached.

The drop links are from an Audi A6 C7, these can be had in either plastic or aluminium, I opted for the aluminium ones. Some come with the nuts & bolts where as others don't so try to get drop links that come with them as you'll need the nuts & bolts & it works out cheaper. If you do have to but separate bolts here the link

Pardon our interruption...

Then where the top of the drop links bolts through the anti roll bar you'll need an adapter/reducer as the drop links & bolt are M10 & the hole in the anti roll bar is M12, you'll need 1 each side, here's the link to the ones I purchased

Pardon our interruption...

Then you'll need 67mm exhaust U bolt clamps for the anti roll bar to attach it to the subframe, if you try to attach the bracket for the clamp as well there will hardly be any thread for the nut so I left the bracket off as the brackets for the bushes were good enough with a washer & thinner than the exhaust clamp bracket.

Then you'll need anti roll bar bushes, this was the trickiest part for me as there are so many suggestions but after watching an episode of Worn Out Racing on YouTube I found what I needed, the bush kit is Febi Bilstein with part number 106260 which is for a VW caddy.

Also you'll need longer bottom damper bolts as the bottom of the drop links will be next to the damper making the original one not long enough so you'll need M10 x 100mm part threaded high tensile bolts, I've noticed some people put new nuts on the end but I used the standard nuts that are on the arm, one did come off as they are only tacked in 3 places but I managed to reuse it, here's the link for the bolts

Pardon our interruption...

So to sum up what you need

: Focus MK3 C346 Anti Roll Bar 1683278
: Audi A6 C7 front drop links with nuts/bolts
: M10 x 100mm part threaded bolts HT
: M12 - M10 reducer collars/washers
: 67mm exhaust clamps
: VW Caddy anti roll bar bushes with brackets. Febi 106260
: & if your doing it on the ground on axle stands time, patience & a swear jar as it's really fiddly to do on the floor.

I think that's everything covered, all the parts I needed came from eBay.

 

[icheatatscrabble]

So the rear anti roll bar is from a MK3 Ford Focus C346 which ran from I think 2012 - 2019 which can be found at a breakers, mine came from a breakers on eBay, the Ford part number for the anti roll bar is 1683278. You can buy them new but second hand they are about a third of the price. On the anti roll bar there are 2 round bits one on either end which will need to be cut off, it's pretty easy as they are not that well attached.

The drop links are from an Audi A6 C7, these can be had in either plastic or aluminium, I opted for the aluminium ones. Some come with the nuts & bolts where as others don't so try to get drop links that come with them as you'll need the nuts & bolts & it works out cheaper. If you do have to but separate bolts here the link

Pardon our interruption...

Then where the top of the drop links bolts through the anti roll bar you'll need an adapter/reducer as the drop links & bolt are M10 & the hole in the anti roll bar is M12, you'll need 1 each side, here's the link to the ones I purchased

Pardon our interruption...

Then you'll need 67mm exhaust U bolt clamps for the anti roll bar to attach it to the subframe, if you try to attach the bracket for the clamp as well there will hardly be any thread for the nut so I left the bracket off as the brackets for the bushes were good enough with a washer & thinner than the exhaust clamp bracket.

Then you'll need anti roll bar bushes, this was the trickiest part for me as there are so many suggestions but after watching an episode of Worn Out Racing on YouTube I found what I needed, the bush kit is Febi Bilstein with part number 106260 which is for a VW caddy.

Also you'll need longer bottom damper bolts as the bottom of the drop links will be next to the damper making the original one not long enough so you'll need M10 x 100mm part threaded high tensile bolts, I've noticed some people put new nuts on the end but I used the standard nuts that are on the arm, one did come off as they are only tacked in 3 places but I managed to reuse it, here's the link for the bolts

Pardon our interruption...

So to sum up what you need

: Focus MK3 C346 Anti Roll Bar 1683278
: Audi A6 C7 front drop links with nuts/bolts
: M10 x 100mm part threaded bolts HT
: M12 - M10 reducer collars/washers
: 67mm exhaust clamps
: VW Caddy anti roll bar bushes with brackets. Febi 106260
: & if your doing it on the ground on axle stands time, patience & a swear jar as it's really fiddly to do on the floor.

I think that's everything covered, all the parts I needed came from eBay.

Thank you so much!! I’ll be doing it on the ground, with the car on axle stands..
Really appreciate the time you put in for the reply.

 

[FiatMatt94]

Went down to Caffeine & Machine again today for the All Italia event, although there didn't seem to be as many cars as the Fiat Vs Abarth event (which I'll be revisiting on 1st July) it was still a good turnout. There was a beautiful Lancia Fulvia which was probably my favourite of the day apart from mine I was quite surprised how much attention my old Seicento was getting though as I had people coming up to me asking about it especially as I was parked near a Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder & mine seemed to get more looks

& Then a rare Ferrari SF90 Speciale, this particular car is a factory special order build with 1,108 bhp under your right foot that'd be very tempting

& Who doesn't like a proper Busso V6 with those inlets this one was a Alfa 147 GTA, one of the best looking hot hatches of the 00's in my opinion

& Then some various Alfa's including a Brera which is becoming a rare sight now

Also last week I came across something on eBay & there was a 15% discount code so I thought why not, it's a Chip Power Tuning Box specifically for an 899 Seicento made in Poland which I think is meant to be the equivalent of a stage 1 as I have the exhaust, air filter etc so I thought I'd try it & see if it works or not for just over £70 as the 899 is very similar to a Classic Mini in terms of performance/bhp where it's not got a lot to begin with so anything you do to it even if it's something small is an improvement, so I've run around with it for a couple of days & then driven it to Caffeine & Machine today, you notice a slight improvement with bottom end torque but mid range is where it's really improved as there's definitely a little more torque so lower & mid range is improved & slightly better throttle response, also on the motorway before it would run out of puff at around 65 - 70 mph but now she's sitting happy & comfortably at 80 - 85 mph without struggling & still doing between 45 - 50 mpg so for now I'm calling it a success although I'm still not 100% convinced as I've never used one because I'm old school but so far it seems to be working well & is more drivable on motorways. So next is just a oil & filter change along with a fuel filter change as I've got nothing to say when it was last changed & it doesn't look as if it's ever been done so I'll treat her before she goes to Auto Italia at Raby Castle next month

 

[icheatatscrabble]

Some nice cars in your photos and yours is looking very tidy. I bought a "performance" eprom from some chap in Portugal. Put swapped it over with the standard eprom from a spare ECU box I had. Installed it, but my car wouldn't start, even though the performance chip bypassed the imobiliser.
Took it back out and went back to the original ECU. Only to be told by a friend you have to keep on trying and trying with the start up and eventually it'll kick in. Maybe i will try it again someday?

You thought about trying to find an Abarth body kit for your Seicento?