Punto (Mk1) Hello from Canterbury

[silverainbow]

A big hello from me, My names Tristan I've recently bought myself a little L plate Mk1 Punto S 55 3 Door with just 36,312 on the clock, I've never had a small car with a really tiny engine before but I'm actually really pleased with it!.
I have already replaced the cam box gasket & spark plugs, next on the list engine oil & filter change and cam belt + tensioner.
Now this is the thing, despite it being quite nippy I'm used to cars with a little more go, while I don't want to make in to a 0-60 in 6 seconds rocket it might be nice if it accelerated with a tad more enthusiasm, having read through the various topics on extracting more power the general consensus seems that the best thing to do is to fit the slightly larger 1.2 engine?, I'd prefer to stick with what I have and just try & pep it up a bit, I've noted that fitting the 40mm throttle body / injection unit seems to be a step forward, can anyone clarify exactly what model/variant this is from for me and also any other sensible suggestions to helping me with my cause.
I've been in the motor trade all my life so have no issues with nuts n bolts etc, not shy of pulling things apart and making modifications

Many Thanks

Tristan

 

[Noxide]

Lose some weight from the car maybe? Not sure how though!
At lower speeds in smaller cars I always feel that less weight is the clincher!

To be honest with little cars, I find the most fun is once you get up to speed and not sure about Canterbury, but I'm very rural, so there's nothing quite like driving (spiritedly) down a little B road in a nice handling little car!

Glad you're enjoying though - and hopefully someone with some actual knowledge can help you!

 

[varesecrazy]

Hi Tristan, and welcome,

TBH it's a relatively HEAVY small car with an @55 bhp 1100 cc engine,
of @ 1992 design,

the best none-too complicated work may well be getting some of the "goodies" from the Cinquecento Sporting.. it's basically the same 1100cc "FIRE" engine,
but with a LOT more driveability..,

Charlie

 

[silverainbow]

I'd really like to start off by fitting the 40mm throttle body but don't know which vehicle its fitted to, I have seen one on E-Bay that's off a 1.2 Punto but don't know if that's any bigger than the one on my 1100?

 

[simon_16vpunto]

That's stunning. Keep it stock, early mk1's are becoming rare now.

I love the s trim, think it looks great with the black bumpers.
Love my mk1, although wish it had power steering.

 

[varesecrazy]

the Cinq is the same engine.. BUT MPI , against your SPI,


we had a Punto 55, a Panda 1100 and Cinq sporting concurrently,
the Cinq was like a Ferrari compared to the others..,

Charlie

 

[Steve gt]

Hi Tristan , the punto looks in mint condition for the year , I would leave it stock too , this one needs to be looked after ,cant be many left like it ??

 

[blu73]

welcome aboard...

40mm TB is not a off the shelf item from a particular car, they are sleeved and machined stock TB. Speak to sparky5, he will sort you out with one.

There is simply loads you could do to pep it up.
-Decent exhaust manifold like a supersprint 4-2-1 and decent exhaust to go with it with a high flow cat will make it rev alot free'er.
-866 camshaft from a Punto75 (hard to find but there is a few in classifieds atm, but i suspect you will have to be quick) - there is aftermarket options here but they are pretty expensive
-a decent induction kit, and by that i mean a proper one and not some cheap universal pod filter, that would prob just lose some power. Perhaps a BMC CDA
-lightened flywheel, won't really make it that much faster but it will rev up and down so much quicker that it feels miles better.
-head skim to raise compression a bit

I could go on, depends how far you want to go and how much you are prepared to spend.

But i have to say i agree with Steve's sentiment, looks so clean and original - would almost be a shame to start modifying it

 

[flisko]

welcome aboard...

40mm TB is not a off the shelf item from a particular car, they are sleeved and machined stock TB. Speak to @sparky5, he will sort you out with one.

There is simply loads you could do to pep it up.
-Decent exhaust manifold like a supersprint 4-2-1 and decent exhaust to go with it with a high flow cat will make it rev alot free'er.
-866 camshaft from a Punto75 (hard to find but there is a few in classifieds atm, but i suspect you will have to be quick) - there is aftermarket options here but they are pretty expensive
-a decent induction kit, and by that i mean a proper one and not some cheap universal pod filter, that would prob just lose some power. Perhaps a BMC CDA
-lightened flywheel, won't really make it that much faster but it will rev up and down so much quicker that it feels miles better.
-head skim to raise compression a bit

I could go on, depends how far you want to go and how much you are prepared to spend.

But i have to say i agree with Steve's sentiment, looks so clean and original - would almost be a shame to start modifying it

please continue

 

[blu73]

lol, well anything you like really. In no particular order you could....

-aftermarket ecu so you can have proper mapping done
-ITB conversion
-Turbo conversion (this of course opens loads more options, like boost controllers and water/meth injection etc)
-Change head to P75 or seicento mpi/mk2 mpi punto style

Like i say, anything you like really... But there comes a point when it makes far more sense to drop a different engine in. Heck a 1.4 16v mk1 punto would be cool, or a tjet one, neither are common conversion but would make a nice car. I not actually seen a tjet mk1 yet but someone must have done it. Shouldn't be long before you can get a tjet for cheap, price of complete road legal tjet engined fiats is coming down pretty quickly now