500 (Classic) Noah's "Ark"ive

[Noah500]

Also, after refitting the thermostat housing (see above) I managed to mess up refitting the distributor so it would start until i took it off again and moved it round a few splines. It seems to be OK for now but I will want to get the timing properly set up once I have my Powerspark installed. In the mean time I made up a timing plate/tool as described in this thread. Mine has a few differences down to me not having a welder and needing to make do with what I could find but follows the overall design:

• 2mm ali plate cut to shape and with mounting holes and degree markings per the design. I put the number and lines on (badly...) with punches from a set that I originally bought to put the chassis number on a kit car I built. Punched numbers, etc. dabbed with matching body colour paint from a touch up pot then rubbed down and polished a bit.
• Mounts made from M10 bolts into 10mm ID short tubes, going into 12mm ID ali tubes (30mm long per design), all fixed together with quick epoxy resin and nipped together with mole grips for hopefully a bit more of a tight fit. I'm not too worried that the tubes are not welded/bolted on since this tool is not supposed to be permanently mounted,.
• Plastic inserts pushed/epoxied into the end of the ali tubes - not sure what these were originally from but I found them in a box of bits that I had saved 'in case I need them' and they are a nice tight fit on the nuts them sit on

 

[fiat500]

Also, after refitting the thermostat housing (see above) I managed to mess up refitting the distributor so it would start until i took it off again and moved it round a few splines. It seems to be OK for now but I will want to get the timing properly set up once I have my Powerspark installed. In the mean time I made up a timing plate/tool as described in this thread. Mine has a few differences down to me not having a welder and needing to make do with what I could find but follows the overall design:

• 2mm ali plate cut to shape and with mounting holes and degree markings per the design. I put the number and lines on (badly...) with punches from a set that I originally bought to put the chassis number on a kit car I built. Punched numbers, etc. dabbed with matching body colour paint from a touch up pot then rubbed down and polished a bit.
• Mounts made from M10 bolts into 10mm ID short tubes, going into 12mm ID ali tubes (30mm long per design), all fixed together with quick epoxy resin and nipped together with mole grips for hopefully a bit more of a tight fit. I'm not too worried that the tubes are not welded/bolted on since this tool is not supposed to be permanently mounted,.
• Plastic inserts pushed/epoxied into the end of the ali tubes - not sure what these were originally from but I found them in a box of bits that I had saved 'in case I need them' and they are a nice tight fit on the nuts them sit on

Brilliant!

 

[Noah500]

so it would start until i took it off again

Obviously I meant "... so it wouldn't start until i took it off again ..."

 

[Noah500]

Noah's got a Mini-Me! I nabbed an ebay bargain in this Bburago 1/16 scale 1968 500L Mille Miglia edition in a bit of a grubby state. I dismantled it, cleaned it and changed the colour scheme (floor, seats, sun visors, sunroof) and number plates to +/- match the real thing. The blue is a little bit lighter than Blu Scuro, but pretty close. The level of detail in this model is quite something.

 

[Noah500]

Wired my coil the correct way round in preparation for fitting the Powerspark ignition/points replacement unit.

The blue power supply wire was connected to the coil's negative terminal, and the black wire from the distributor was on the positive terminal

I've also now installed the Powerspark, with a bit of trepidation since I was nervous of mucking something up. However, it was fairly straightforward to follow the instructions and, after a worrying moment when it wouldn't start (because I hadn't reconnected the HT lead to the coil... ) it started and ran. Idle seems a bit lumpy so the timing probably needs adjusting but I went for a short drive (5 miles) and it was OK enough. I;ll see about getting the timing checked/adjusted during the week.

New video by Simon McCarthy

photos.app.goo.gl

 

[Noah500]

I forgot to say that I had a wheel weekend:

• Rubbed down and resprayed the steering wheel spokes. Not perfect but a lot better than it was
• Repainted the standard steel wheels in Rust-Oleum Combicolor direct to metal gloss white (RAL 9010). I had managed to severely scratch the paint on one with the centre metal spine of a wheel brush, and one of the others had a bit of rust coming through. After rubbing down and washing the wheels I used the brush-on pot rather than a spray. 2 coats and they look nice and fresh again.

 

[Ant Knox]

Noah500, where did you get those switchgear labels? They look brill.

 

[Noah500]

Noah500, where did you get those switchgear labels? They look brill.

Go to https://embertonimperial.com/ and search for 'Durite toggle switch'
The tags are divided up into 5 alphabetic groups. They fitted the standard toggle switches on my 500L dash just fine. I did very slightly bend the tabs to sit more flush as the dash is not completely flat

 

[Ant Knox]

Go to https://embertonimperial.com/ and search for 'Durite toggle switch'
The tags are divided up into 5 alphabetic groups. They fitted the standard toggle switches on my 500L dash just fine. I did very slightly bend the tabs to sit more flush as the dash is not completely flat

Thank you very much!

 

[Noah500]

I got another Bburago mdel Fiat 500, this time a 1:43 scale, for £1 + P&P from ebay. It would have been a crime not to

Having created a Mini-Me, I've now also got a Micro-Me! This time the colour is this correct Blu Scuro (456) but the finish is a bit iffy because it was doen with a touch-up pot. Seats and roof done with the same homemade 'Bordeaux' as before. The wheels are a bit disappointing but they came with the moulded spokes so I've just painted the centres white (same pot of Rust-Oleum as the real car's wheels!)

 

[Noah500]

A brief update today:

1. I fitted a leather steering wheel cover (from Mr Steering on eBay) as the standard wheel is a bit thin and also quite shiny/slippery (especially when the weather is warmer). Fitting was OK though a bit of a fiddle, even after watching the video - difficult to get it tight round the wheel. After fitting it, I sprayed it with some water and use a wallpaper join roller to roll the little puckers that form on the inside of the rim. When it dries out fully it should lie fairly flat

2. Also, I had been having trouble with one of the wipers not clearing the screen properly. After trying slightly flexing the arm and the blade itself with no luck, I decided to replace the blade, so I took the opportunity to replace both black blades with new stainless items (from h.bowers on eBay).

 

[Noah500]

Per this thread I've been having some fun and games after installing the PowerSpark. My long-term mechanic got it going again but with odd-sounding timing and advance showing way over 28°. I subsequently got a timing light for myself, also from PowerSpark, and today I finally got round to adjusting the timing on the slot on the distributor. I've now got it to show 28° using my Fiat copy timing plate (as above). It also sounds smoother (as much as a 2 cylinder can ever be smooth) so fingers crossed!

 

[Noah500]

I thought I would try a bit of superfluous 500 bling: I saw the rack for sale on eBay at a bargain price, then added a secondhand hamper and brand new leather straps. The end of a pot of exterior varnish went on the hamper to offer a bit of protection in case I actually go out when it's raining, and some shoe leather protection spray on the straps.

Now I've got a great way of heating up the sandwiches on the way to a picnic spot

 

[Noah500]

A minor but slightly bugging job finished. The cork gaskets on the petrol tank straps were compressed/split/perished so I replaced them with some nice new ones from fiat500sparts on eBay. The new ones are nice and bouncy and longer than the originals so cover more of the strap. The only thing was that they had no adhesive on them so I used some thin double side tape to stick the gaskets onto the straps. Now all nice and comfy with no chafing! Old, new and fitted pics:

 

[ben]

This is a fantastic thread! I've gone ahead and converted it to a garage item for you. It still works the same way, but can now be found easier

 

[Noah500]

This is a fantastic thread! I've gone ahead and converted it to a garage item for you. It still works the same way, but can now be found easier

OK, thanks

 

[Goldnrust]

It’s worth doing all those minor but bugging jobs isn’t it! It’s something I didn’t used to understand, I’d just want to fix the big picture stuff, but it’s those details that help make the car actually feel finished and nice to get in and drive.

 

[Noah500]

A bit of fun with perspective in this afternoon's sunshine: Noah + Bburago 1:16 scale model, but they look about the same size from a certain angle

 

[Noah500]

I went out for a short drive this afternoon (10-15km). I thought I heard a rattling sound at one point so when I got back I opened the engine lid to find that the oil cap (the new one that I got after the original was lost en route last month) had popped off completely and was, luckily, lying on the top of the rocker cover, saved only from falling off by the HT leads. I've now drilled the cap (outside the rubber seal!) for a large R-clip and retaining wire. Hopefully that will keep it all in place...

 

[Noah500]

Well, so much for my car being one owner in Rome from new before being bought by the importer in Italy...

Having done a bit of research I paid €25 to the Automobile Club d'Italia for an Estratto Cronologico (- Chronological Extract i.e. history of changes in ownership, etc.). I had previously emailed ACI pointing out the anomaly between the date of first registration (1971) and the issue of the Rome registration (1975) and they were able to tell me that th3 car had been re-registered because it had previously had a Viterbo registration (Viterbo is a town about 80km North-ish of Rome).

The Estratto Cronologico revealed that my car actually had 6 owners in Italy!

1971 the original owner, who paid 635,000 Lire (which = £460 at the oldest exchange rate I could find, for 1975)
1974 the second owner, who had it for about 6 months
1975 a dental supplies company (??!!) based in Rome. At this time the new Rome registration number was issued
1981 a lady with the same address as the dental supplies company - maybe it was a company car that she then bought?
2021 a new owner in Rome
In 2022 there was a note that a Fiat 500 restoration company no longer had the car (due to export?), so I'm not sure if the 2021 owner was actually an employee.

In addition to the Estratto Cronologico itself, they included scans of paper copies of the records from Viterbo and Rome, which was interesting too.