Technical Fiat 500 buying advice - twinair

[typecastboy]

You still need a bonnet?

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/143191041089

 

[system11]

Had a quick go with some Novus #2 polish on the car door in 2 patches. This was a really bad idea because it worked REALLY WELL and those two areas now look obvious against the carelessly swirlmarked paint.

I'll have to just do the whole thing this weekend, one panel at a time. I hope I have enough Novus.

Really enjoying driving it, it's the complete opposite of my normal daily car (a huge 550hp XJR) in every possible way.

 

[system11]

You still need a bonnet?

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F143191041089

Hm that's tempting - I'll check mine in the morning as it has a slight dent too. I was kind of planning to repaint it myself in the summer as I've spent a little more than planned overall. Some of it not entirely required, like the colour coded floor mats...

 

[system11]

Drop links done, interestingly the new ones were 2-3mm longer than the old, part number looked correct though. Hasn't solved the klunking and the old ones felt very free but not loose. Actually wondering if it's something like the battery not being tight enough..

Everyone in the family who has seen it so far likes the 500!

 

[system11]

My stop-start has stopped working - it was working for a bit, then went through a phase of stopping then saying stop/start was unavailable, now it doesn't seem to work at all save one instance last week where it was happy again. If I press the stop/start button it says it's disconnected, press again and it says connected. My shift indicators are still working.


Battery? Looking at threads on the forum it seems quite common for this feature to play up. The battery looks original, I did notice that opening the door (thus turning on the interior light) will make the headlamps dim briefly while the engine is off but it's been on several long runs and starts on the button every time.

Also I was thinking of getting some kind of ODB2 reader to see if there's anything I should be aware of (nothing seems wrong aside from the noisy clutch at cold and the suspension klunk I haven't found yet). It's not losing oil or coolant or anything like that.

 

[typecastboy]

My stop-start has stopped working - it was working for a bit, then went through a phase of stopping then saying stop/start was unavailable, now it doesn't seem to work at all save one instance last week where it was happy again. If I press the stop/start button it says it's disconnected, press again and it says connected. My shift indicators are still working.


Battery? Looking at threads on the forum it seems quite common for this feature to play up. The battery looks original, I did notice that opening the door (thus turning on the interior light) will make the headlamps dim briefly while the engine is off but it's been on several long runs and starts on the button every time.

Also I was thinking of getting some kind of ODB2 reader to see if there's anything I should be aware of (nothing seems wrong aside from the noisy clutch at cold and the suspension klunk I haven't found yet). It's not losing oil or coolant or anything like that.

They hardly ever work. But if your lights dimmed when you opened the door I would definitely invest in a new SS battery.

I was just wondering a couple of days ago how you were getting on. Hadn’t heard from you for a while. All done and on the road now then.

 

[system11]

Oh I've been using it as our daily car especially since Jaguar are struggling to balance my xj wheels...

Even took it on a 140 Mile drive on Tuesday just to see what it would be like, it was fine if not as comfortable as I'm used to on a long haul.

Remaining issues still the bonnet paint, being patient as I'm strapped for cash. Shocks still klunking, worse when cold but they're fine for now. Clutch is groaning more at cold in reverse and 1st now, I'm assuming it was already nearing end of life, seems to do it as it heats up quickly on the biting point, reversing up a drive is worst. Not sure I want to tackle that one myself. Fluid levels seem stable, aircon still working, did replace the wheel liner with the broken fitting point at the weekend.

I want to get new tyres all round but again they're legal and'good enough' until I have more money to spare. A big stack of parts I needed for my classic car came up in the states and...

 

[system11]

Looks like I need a new rear crash bar!

Today I reversed into our garage door - not very hard at all, misjudged... The car needs to be right up against it so the other car to still be able to get in/out. The garage door is incredibly flimsy and popped off the runners again rather than the car suffering any damage but while I was checking underneath just in case I noticed the rear crash bar is .. not straight. looks like it was probably reversed into a high curb as the top is more or less straight and the bottom has a big curve inwards.

That's next on the list then - it's giving the rear bumper no support at all right now. Should there be one of the foam bars on top of the metal one like on the front upper, r is it just plain metal? Looks like a dead easy job - time to look for videos.

 

[typecastboy]

Looks like I need a new rear crash bar!

Today I reversed into our garage door - not very hard at all, misjudged... The car needs to be right up against it so the other car to still be able to get in/out. The garage door is incredibly flimsy and popped off the runners again rather than the car suffering any damage but while I was checking underneath just in case I noticed the rear crash bar is .. not straight. looks like it was probably reversed into a high curb as the top is more or less straight and the bottom has a big curve inwards.

That's next on the list then - it's giving the rear bumper no support at all right now. Should there be one of the foam bars on top of the metal one like on the front upper, r is it just plain metal? Looks like a dead easy job - time to look for videos.

Just plain metal, no foam. Back bumper is more of a pain as you have to jack up and remove both rear wheels to get to the liner screws. Loads available on eBay. I wouldn’t worry about getting a red one as you can’t see it.

 

[system11]

Yeah but I'd know it wasn't red

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FIAT-500...-CRASH-REINFORCEMENT-BAR-24H-DEL/254194124265

I assume the Abarth one is the exact same part? Looks it - the other red one has clearly been bashed in the past. Maybe if I'm jacking it all up anyway it would be a good time to replace the rear silencer which looks sure to break at the weld and hit the floor at some point.

Actually another thing I've been noticing is my car looks a little too high at the back or a little too low at the front. I've been comparing with other cars on the road, of course hardly any of them are TwinAir so I don't know if it's model specific or related to my klunking suspension. I was half tempted to put some spring compressors on the rear.

 

[TrevC]

I bought a TA Lounge new in 2011 and kept it for 6 years and 46,000 miles. It groaned in reverse for all that time but the clutch never gave a problem.
The stop/start became more fussy after about 4 years, I guess the battery was starting to age. As it still started the car fine I never bothered replacing it.

 

[system11]

Start/stop started working again yesterday, warmer weather - I'm assuming it's down to battery performance at cold.

 

[system11]

I've been trying to avoid spending money on this car but the tyres finally had to go, one is making a whump noise at 60 and the rears (which don't match each other) sing at 65. Set of Michelin energy saver+ reserved, I wanted to go Continental but they wear quickly from experience.

 

[foambullets]

I recently put on a set of four Bridgestone Turanza T005 on the wife's Twinair. I've only done around 1000 klms on the new tyres and they seem great, good grip and slightly better fuel consumption. The original Bridgestone tyres still had plenty of tread left but were six years old and done 56,000 klms and dry age cracking, so better to be safe then sorry.

 

[system11]

Michelins on, car is absolutely stuck to the road now compared to the ecosis fronts and old crap spares on the back. 30mph round a small roundabout just to see if it could, solid.

 

[system11]

The suspension clunk is definitely 'a thing' now, seems to slowly get worse. Given that I know it isn't the drop links the next obvious culprit would seem to be the top mounts which I see mentioned time and time again on various forum searches. Seems like it would be best if I'm taking that much apart anyway to replace the shocks, dust covers & bump stops at the same time. Will also need a spring compressor.

Wish it would stop raining - been off & on for weeks now.

Has anyone done all of this and has a recommended source for good quality components? I've seen about 10 slightly different versions on ebay with clashing part numbers!

 

[system11]

Remembered that QH stuff was always the 'off the shelf' stuff of choice back in the day. Ordered 2x strut top mounts, 2x front and 2x rear shocks, 2x front bump stops & dust covers, 1x top shock 'cup' thing since one of mine is very rusty. Also a spring compressor from Amazon.


I've never done suspension before, this could be fun or utterly miserable. A video of the rear on Youtube though makes that look incredibly easy - jack it up, take the wheel off and undo 2 bolts. Is it worth doing the front springs too? Rears seem fine but the front has been a little low since I got it.

 

[system11]

Well that's the new shocks assembled. I struggled to get 65nm on the bolt on the strut mount, the hex key started to deform the hole at the top. Not sure what they're thinking of there! Cargo straps are extremely tight (there's zero play in either of them), put on there just to ease the pressure on the mount bolt slightly as I won't get to install these for a few days.

 

[John202020]

Well that's the new shocks assembled. I struggled to get 65nm on the bolt on the strut mount, the hex key started to deform the hole at the top. Not sure what they're thinking of there! Cargo straps are extremely tight (there's zero play in either of them), put on there just to ease the pressure on the mount bolt slightly as I won't get to install these for a few days.

I can't quite see from the picture but make sure the tabs are pointing the right way metal one points out to the side of the car and rubber points backwards.

 

[system11]

Yep they're lined up with the metal tab of the spring cup pointing outwards, and the 'arrow' part of the mount pointing backwards - watched a few videos of these being done before trying to put them together. Mount is easy as it's on a bearing and can be slowly rotated, but the spring cup (and spring) I had to keep decompressing, recompressing, adjusting slightly etc as things would shift as the spring decompressed. Irritating more than difficult, I suspect a second pair of hands or a vice or ANYTHING would have helped, but I had a kitchen floor.