500 (Classic) Newbie wants a Classic

[Sidehill]

Hi folks. I just returned from Italy and fell in love with the 60s through early 70s 500s. I live in a small city in Colorado (GJ) so could justify one as a townie car. I need to find out if there is a mechanic here though.

 

[LiteRye]

If you have a basic understanding of tools and can read a shop manual you can be your own mechanic. These cars are not complicated at all to work on. Even compared to other cars of their same age, they are very simplistic.

 

[the hobbler]

Welcome to the world of the Cinquecento. As Ryan (Litrye) says, they are very simple cars, which any competant mechanic, with a copy of the w/shop manual, a set of metric spanners and a bit of conmmon-sense can work on.
Some words of warning----their performance is slower than the flow of much of today's traffic, and there are some truly AWFUL 'restorations' out there (see the messages on "overpriced restorations"). I would suggest that (a) you try and find somebody in your area who has a 500 and go for a drive in your local "this is where I am going to drive" area and (b) when you go to purchase your 500, you take somebody who you trust, along with you to look over the car with you and, (c) if you have any italian relatives, so much the better---they can help you with parts!

 

[ClassicFiat500]

100% AGREE with The Hobbler, I purchased my 500 a couple of years ago after owning over 8o cars in the last 55 years of driving, my very 1st car was a 500 so I thought I would like to finish up with the same. As the Hobbler says have a look on a long going thread “Overpriced Restorations” you will see I placed a reply after seeing the state of a great looking car in the garage that has put my car in order. The owner of the garage said it looks good but it needs over £20,000 to make it roadworthy & safe! I have just spent £5000 to refurb my car after buying her for £8000, if I were competent enough I could have saved £3500 on labour cost if I did the repairs myself. But just remember if it were an Aston or a Jag etc the restoration cost can add an extra Zero on the bill, so at the end of the day you CAN finish up with a great 500 at not a lot of money where wherever you go it attract so much attention & puts a big smile on your face. Best of luck looking for one & follow The Hobbler good advice.

 

[Bounding Bambino]

I was lucky enough to have a friend's 500 for over a year to enjoy before biting the bullet and getting one myself. I will say, our NA traffic is not very accommodating for a stock 500. I came to the realization that if i was going to own a 500 in my area, more power is a must. The stock hp is borderline dangerous, yes it eventually gets up to speed, and cruses 80km.h just fine, but hills kill any momentum you had, so keep that in mind.

Basically imo, if you tweak these upto to 25-30hp, they are much more livable. the stock 15-18hp doesn't cut it on our streets. Yes its nice for a bit to enjoy its stock uniqueness, but after putting some miles down, i was asking for more. not alot, just enough so that every acceleration or merge wasn't so edge-of-the-seat

There were a few flip flop moments if i really wanted to get a 500 after encountering a few "driving" events, but in the end, the 500's charm prevailed, and i cant wait to get it on the road (currently being restored). The smiles per mile was unlike anything else on the road, from both car and non-car enthusiasts alike. Definitely one of the most unique driving experiences