Seicento Newbie

[SeicentoRob]

Hi

Just joined because I have just bought a Secento Sporting Abarth. This was bought as part a lockdown challenge to find an interesting car over 15 years old, less than 15000 miles and less that 15 hundred quid. So I've ended up with a '98 car with 7000 miles but a little over 1500 quid - well we cant win them all!. Needs a bit of work (d'ont all old Fiats?) but I can't wait for next summer to take it out to some get-togethers. Wife used to have a Cinq but Cinq Sportings cost too much and couldn't find a half decent one. I'll be back onto the forum with some questions once I've started to figure out the work required. Any members of the forum local to East Lancashire? All the best. Rob

 

[varesecrazy]

Hi both and welcome

 

[MaxHeadroom]

Welcome aboard Rob - yes getting to some meetings would be nice - I've missed all manner of car events this past year

 

[Alpine26]

Welcome

If you can travel over to West or North Yorkshire then there is a group of 4 of us (2 x Cinq and 2 x Seicento) that meet up now and again.

 

[SeicentoRob]

Hi Thanks for the replies and invite to North/West Yorkshire. Yep, I live only a few miles from Skipton/Keighley, so getting to West/North Yorkshire should be no problem next year when all this Covid stuff dies down.
I the meantime, I know some folk probably think they are a bit 80's, but I do like the red seatbelts from a Cinq Sporting. If I were to get a set, can I swop them with the boring black ones in my Seicento? All the best. Rob

 

[Alpine26]

Hi Rob, that would be good. The other guy with the Cinq lives in Leyburn, so not that far from you. Drop me a line early next year, when this lockdown lifts we will be doing a meet up. We had to cancel one that was planned for this month.

 

[Funky Spike]

Hi<br />
<br />
Just joined because I have just bought a Secento Sporting Abarth<img src="images/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" alt="" title="" smilieid="1" class="inlineimg" />. This was bought as part a lockdown challenge to find an interesting car over 15 years old, less than 15000 miles and less that 15 hundred quid. So I've ended up with a '98 car with 7000 miles but a little over 1500 quid - well we cant win them all!. Needs a bit of work (d'ont all old Fiats?) but I can't wait for next summer to take it out to some get-togethers. Wife used to have a Cinq but Cinq Sportings cost too much and couldn't find a half decent one. I'll be back onto the forum with some questions once I've started to figure out the work required. Any members of the forum local to East Lancashire? All the best. Rob

<br />
<br />
Is it a black one? I think I saw it when it was up for sale. Enjoy.
I sold my 2002 Seicento Abarth last month !and regretted it immediately. Now looking for another but very hard to find one let alone a good one.

Spike

 

[SeicentoRob]

Hi Spike - yes it was the black one. Although the paintwork wasn't brill, I liked the fact that it was totally original and without the usual speaker holes and dinged alloys etc. I intend to keep it for a long time. BTW, a red Cinq Sporting with 17k has just appeared on Car and Classic for £4850!!! - it was sold on Ebay in late September for £2250.

 

[MaxHeadroom]

I liked the fact that it was totally original and without the usual speaker holes and dinged alloys etc. I intend to keep it for a long time

There is a lot to be said for keeping classic cars in their original form; even changing the colour of a classic car generally takes a swipe at its value. I have a 1930s MG that I'm restoring - it's green and not a particularly nice green, but I found traces of its original factory paint and met the car's first ever owner, so that's the green that it was and is how it will remain.
Any 'unseen' modifications that aid reliability and/or safety that can be reversed if a 'purist' wanted to, are ok in my books

 

[SeicentoRob]

Agree totally - I am fortunate that the Sei has all the "modern" stuff you need in a car so only maintenance required. For your MG, I guess you could be looking at improving ignition, brakes and a few other mechanicals that will make it more reliable and safer to take out on the road and enjoy without detracting from the pleasure of owning an original classic.

 

[MaxHeadroom]

For your MG, I guess you could be looking at improving ignition, brakes and a few other mechanicals that will make it more reliable and safer to take out on the road and enjoy without detracting from the pleasure of owning an original classic.

You're absolutely right Rob. Yes to ignition and suchlike, but the brakes were originally cable operated so they're staying on even though stopping is pretty alarming .

Some people convert them to hydraulic, but if the cable brakes are carefully set up and maintained I'm told they are acceptable.
LED lighting is another improvment, but not if it's really bright white - it would simply look wrong - so that needs to be carefully installed with warm-white LEDs.

Initially the car would have only had a tiny single rear light (known as a "fag-end", as that's about the amount of light it must have given out!) mounted low down on the r/h side of the number plate - this is illegal now and the car will have two fag-end lights with bright red LEDs mounted either side of the number plate, but for safety I will fit two very discreet lights higher up that will include brake-light and indicators.

Indicators weren't originally fitted but I've managed to hide some in the bullet-shaped sidelights on top of the front wings, but disguising things on the rear to keep it looking original is a little more tricky.

The attached photo shows how small the single rear light actually was. This car has two fitted which is what Im doing on mine with additional ones mounted higher up - probably on the mudguard bracket or hidden in the spokes of the spare wheel

 

[ben]

Welcome