500 (Classic) Capital 500N project

Thread starter dtorreal
Start date Jun 29, 2023

Introduction

Hey forum members

I have decided to start a blog about my new little project. 1958 500n that has been in Australia capital it's entire life.
The car was owned by 1 owner and after passing away the car hasn't moved under its own power, living in a garage from the 90s until now.
I have a 500f in great condition but this is my first time tackling a N model so hoping for plenty of advice and help. Would love to hear about peoples opinions on whether to keep the car with it's patina but fix the rust, rebuild the engine or get it going first to analyze it's state and any other suggestions, let's make this an engaging journey.
For the time being here are some photos of the little guy and some of its war wounds.

In case your wondering, the garage in the background is the one the little car has been since the 90s

Reactions: porta, Bleeding Knuckles, smart51 and 1 other person

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Bigvtwin996

Established member

Apr 3, 2024

I would try to keep as much original metal as possible, repairing panels by cutting perices from replacements may seem silly, but the repro stuff rarely fits, is different quality steel and you will have the satisfaction that most of the shell is original..
Original Flat floor replacements were not available for the N for quite some time, so most times they were replaced foot well floors were used...

other than the flat floor two other things to note of importance....
where later cars have a rear seat, note how much taller the platform is... as said earlier, no rear seats just a rubberised mat...
Rear light holes for early lights
hope your rear lights are ok, there are repros but not very good a chrome finish rather than alluminium... same for teh number plate light...
do you have teh metal brake fluid resevoir? if not start saving....