General Nice afternoon out now all registered

[ratty99]

Many thanks to everyone who helped me finally get the Barchetta on the road legally on Spanish plates this week, and what a road. A warm afternoon on the west coast road of this magnificent island, mixed with some work, couldn´t be better! BW, don't they drive really well!!!

 

[StevePD]

Yup they drive well and old crusties like me enjoy the modest power. Enjoy

 

[Noideadave]

I drive my “B” nearly every day. Love it.

 

[s130]

Many thanks to everyone who helped me finally get the Barchetta on the road legally on Spanish plates this week, and what a road. A warm afternoon on the west coast road of this magnificent island, mixed with some work, couldn´t be better! BW, don't they drive really well!!!

Yes they drive and hold the road very well and their BHP and Torque is more than adequate for a fun, enjoyable and spirited drive.

Jealous of your location. In the UK wet weather water ingress via the hood seals to bodywork is a major issue for me/us. Great design by Fiat to have the hood fold away out of sight, easy to put up and down, BUT a very poor design on the hood to bodywork. To many ways for the water to get in.

 

[ratty99]

Yeah I can see that the overall setup of the good is really only solid for gentle rain, can't see it fighting off a serious downpour, mine will definitely be in the garage if it looks wet.

Mallorca is stunning for driving, almost every road suits the delivery of the barchetta, constant smooth fast turns, ups downs and arounds everywhere. Each time it get out of it I smile like an idiot.

So far very very happy with the little boat, hope mechanically it settles down and behaves, let's see.

 

[gar074]

Many thanks to everyone who helped me finally get the Barchetta on the road legally on Spanish plates this week, and what a road. A warm afternoon on the west coast road of this magnificent island, mixed with some work, couldn´t be better! BW, don't they drive really well!!!

Brilliant pic! Thanks for sharing!

 

[arnietwo]

Old convertables not ideal in the UK, but like ratty99 im on mainland spain, and its kept in the garage and only out when its nice !! Ie 360 days a year

 

[s130]

only out when its nice !! Ie 360 days a year

Ouch - that hurt

 

[ratty99]

Just to annoy everyone more, here is a pic of the car up the mountains last weekend, lovely weather, lovely views, shall i stop now?

 

[ratty99]

Heres the pic

 

[gar074]

Just to annoy everyone more, here is a pic of the car up the mountains last weekend, lovely weather, lovely views, shall i stop now?

Yes, you're killing me!!

 

[s130]

Getting "B"s UK weather proofed is a real pain.

Ours is out 24 x 7 x 365 with no protection or covers.

I have done some detailed mods to stop water ingress going below and into the the lower rear floor plan area BUT to be honest they are not perfect, should never be required and actually a basic design fault.

I say a design fault but that would be a little unfair. The "B" design, styling, etc is IMHO 100% just about the bees knees of sleek styling etc.

The hood repository with sleek covers/bodywork is top notch.

The water ingress problem is another complicated problem that I have been chasing for many years now.

I can provide more details from an engineering point of view but WE COME BACK TO THE OLD PERPETUAL PROBLEM OF SOFT TOPS.

They never have been, never will be, water sealed environments.

There are many makes of soft tops, folding soft tops / folding rigid tops, sky roofs, and even more traditional sun roofs that just LEAK. If not when purchased the x years down the line when the solution costs more than your vehicle is worth.

This summer, come long dry periods of weather, I will be working on our "B"'s water integrity yet again.

 

[Noideadave]

I fully agree. I think the only reason the floor pan rusts is from water ingress. Seeping under the plastic floor cover. I to will be stripping out the inside again in Spring to check and reseal as I did 2 years ago. If it’s dry then all my efforts have been worth it, fingers crossed.

 

[s130]

On ours the water ingress is always around the B post area. This can be water running across the metalwork to the B post or water off the hood at the B post. Angles are very shallow and wind, inclines etc. just add to the problem.

Mods I have done to mitigate the dry out / mop up are:

1) have removed the lower lining of the hood well and just have a black towel in there. Any water that gets in there is now easily mopped up.

2) have lined the rear bulkhead with plastic a full plastic street that is secured to the top of the bulkhead with waterproof take and runs down the bulkhead and the B post sides. The bottom edge of this sheet overlaps the floor covering top edge. This means that any water getting in runs over and down the plastic sheet and is directed into the rear topside floor mat and not under it. The water then collects in those troughs in the rear floor matting.

3) I made surgical cuts of the rear floor mat that run across the top of the under seat bulkhead. Once the rear centre console is removed and the sill strips then rear matting can be removed to be fully dried out and effect and paint repairs etc.

None of this is perfect and I suspect that come this summer when I revisit the problem then I'm expecting the rear under floor matting to not be 100% dry.