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General Murphio's Meanderings

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General Murphio's Meanderings

fiat500

fiat500

Patinated Peter
Parked in the garage Written a guide
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Mar 7, 2005
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A recent question about how far you can drive a 500 has prompted me to start this thread about my wanderings.
To start it off, here we are leaving Scotland half way to our destination of Preston.
DSC_3400 by peterthompson, on Flickr
This was a return journey which ended up covering 775 miles over four days.
The engine was running for up to four hours, non-stop at a time and we covered upto 150 miles in a stretch. Here we are crossing the Forth Road Bridge.
DSC_3410 by peterthompson, on Flickr
The engine sounds even better and is more responsive now, and it was already very good.
I think it must have been doing quite a bit more than 50mpg, never overheated, and didn't falter for a moment.
DSC_3407 by peterthompson, on Flickr
We have now covered nearly 2500 miles since the MOT last October with many more to come.
DSC_3412 by peterthompson, on Flickr
Get out there with those 500s....everyone loves them:)
 
Good point Steve. I was just reaching for the Haynes to check the intervals although I will probably change the oil more frequently than suggested. The strange thing is that it doesn't drink oil and the oil itself is still fairly translucent and looks more green than black. I am actually a bit scared to tighten the head or adjust the tappets and points because it sounds and responds so well. It is much better than any 500 I had back in the 80s.

I have my NC500 tour at the beginning of May so I will probably do some tweaking just before that.

All that needs fettling at the moment is the new tank strap which needs a bit more packing and tightening; it squeaks as the tank becomes lighter as it empties.
 
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Well that little engine seems to be running sweetly it's testimony to all the hard work over the years since you got it. As you say I wouldn't touch anything on a servicing front if it is running well and the oil sounds like it has a lot of life in it. All I would do is keep your king pins well greased leave the rest alone.

I must admit I don't really like driving on a motorway in the 500 I feel a bit vulnerable with all the big HGV's plus the last time I did it was in the dark and all the car head lights behind me looked like polo mints. Now time to confess did you actually overtake anyone on the motorway?

Also I am trying work out what that is a picture of on the back seat???? It looks like a car???
 
The picture in the back is a photo of multicoloured phone-boxes my mum had bought for me ages ago.

As for motorways; I avoided them where possible. From Preston I used the A6 to Lancaster, by-passed the city by motorway and went back on the A6 from Kendal over Shap and went parallel to the motorway all the way to the A702. Across the hills to Edinburgh where I had to use the motorways for 20 miles. I took the old road to Perth as soon as I could and then the A9 as far as Kingussie. The final and most driveable stretch of the day between Carrbridge and Nairn should be tackled by every 500 driver at some time, because it is a superb rolling landscape with no traffic where you constantly speed up to 60 on the downhills and soar up the other side. Fun!

So I probably did no more than 50 miles on the motorway on the way back, It doesn't scare me but it does my head in trying to be nice to other drivers all the timeand I hate the way the landscpe moves past so (47mph) slowly.:p

By the way, I did overtake one slow lorry on the motorway and two fat tractors and several cyclists on the A roads. :)
By the way, I did overtake
 
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stevehg said:
I've found that closed cell foam works well in these sorts of uses as a packing material.
Click to expand...

I used cork gasket you can buy it for next to nothing and then evo stick it onto the tank it's a nice cheap solution and doesn't look out of place.

b941328e0aef6b0ceced4fc4b3b1665e_zpsqmrozfme.jpg
 
Peter thats a great achievement for little Murphio.
Keep on with your Journeys and photos. So good to see the 500 out and about, wont be long before you adventure abroad. Oh i forgot you already did, ENGLANDhttps://cdn-i.fiatforum.com/images/smilies/woot.gif
 
Good point Sean..he's also been overseas don't forget.:)

I took the tank out and doubled up the padding underneath using the helpful advice about impact adhesive too. I used a fluffy, synthetic, packaging product which is a similar texture to the original coir-type material. I have cork strips under the straps as this is what gets supplied when you order the packing. My car originally had thin rubber strips under there.
 
We did another 130 miles today with a drive all around Loch Ness.
Here we are on the A82 near Drumnadrochit:
DSC_3585 by peterthompson, on Flickr
At the end of he Loch near Dores:
DSC_3527 by peterthompson, on Flickr
Weather was not so great in the afternoon high up above Whitebridge:
DSC_3713 by peterthompson, on Flickr
We had a bit of off-roading as usual on a track up to a cottage:
DSC_3627 by peterthompson, on Flickr
So that makes almost 1000 miles over eight days. We took on some exceptionally steep hills today; quite long climbs and even overtook a car and a lorry.:):)
 
Today we had a 260 mile round trip to a remote place called Drimnin. It's on the Scottish mainland but on one of those sticky-out bits and it faces Tobermory on the island of Mull.
In order to save an extra 30 or so miles, most people use the Corran Ferry near Fort William which takes 5 minutes and costs £8 with no reduction for tiddlers::mad:
DSC_4132 by peterthompson, on Flickr
Note that the Fiat again has the advantage and was allowed to squeeze in rather than wait for the next ferry.(y)
Shortly after reaching a chunk of Scotland called Morvern I encountered this tiny camper-van. It's called a Bedford Bambi and is almost as adorable as a Fiat 500. I flagged the driver down for photo-opportunity. The amazing co-incidence is that this van was on Ebay last weekend and was withdrawn just as I got agreement from SWMBO that I could bid on it. These jammy so and sos (great lads actually) were the buyers. Scotland is a big place and this road is very remote and a long way from Dumfries where the van was bought....what were the odds of me seeing it? Amazing.
DSC_4146 by peterthompson, on Flickr
Over the top to Lochaline and there is still a lot of late snow on the mountains. There are a few challenging climbs for a Fiat 500...several minutes in second gear.
DSC_4559 by peterthompson, on Flickr
Bear in mind, all of this is work and to that end , here is the car parked in front of one of my holiday cottage targets. It's only a very slight optical illusion...that is avery small house and it made Murphio feel big.
DSC_4530 by peterthompson, on Flickr
 
We haven't meandered much today.
It was up on the makeshift ramp made from scaffold boards and blocks to make it easier removing the dynamo.
I am glad I did because I couldn't get a proper turn on the impeller nut and gradually resorted to complete removal of the cowling.
I think that I probably saved a lot of time by doing this because otherwise it could have been one of those jobs that you just keep trying to do the hard way again and again.
 

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If I take the top of the air filter box off and the rubber pipes I can actually get my head and arms in there to get to that nut. But I am quite wee and flexible.:D
 
I always thought you were a flexible sort of chap, Tony. You must be made of elastic.
After a long-winded, methodical re-assembly, the dynamo is back in and I swear that even the heater sounds quieter. I had always imagined the impeller to be much bigger than it is so I wonder now, what the gains are from an aluminium one. After all, the standard one is pretty lightweight.
I was able to do a perfect job on aligning that nylon pip on the dynamo with the hole in the aluminium bracket. I wasn't sure it was perfect previously. So now a slight misalignment of the belt is gone.
First salvages from Mitchio as well, I lost a serrated washer and was missing a cowling nut and bolt so just cannibalised:)
Also, I borrowed his dipstick. Back to that repetetive subject, the pattern one is a really loose fit and keeps getting stuck under the heatshield. The original one is rusty but clunks in just right.
Today I am prepping the car for the North Coast 500. This is an organised publicity Drive, with a capital D, around the top of Scotland over three days.
Wish us luck and expect photos.
 
We have made it the first 110 miles to Wick. We went past the two X19s that accompanied us; both broke down, one retired. Eventually the 2CV and the Citroen Dyane had to overtake us on a long incline but we made it with only minutes' difference on these twisty roads.
We go to John o' Groats and Durness tomorrow, ;so both top corners of the UK.
I have been informed of two other unrestored 500s within the vicinity and will be bound to ask more questions tomorrow.
:)
 
Cool picture. You do realise you need to get one at Lands End now to complete the collection.

How far is John O Groats from Nairn?

How many other cars are there?
 
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