General Nz 500

[Yellblob]

Hi all,
I have just bought a italian build 1973 500f in a very bright yellow colour. I love the design inside and out. Its in a middling sort of condition - the body is pretty good but the engine is probably fairly worn (730000 miles on clock) and no doubt it needs some attention, but so far no nasty bits of metal found in the engine oil! I plan to take it back to the UK over summer. Its going to be in a 20 ft container with our belongings, In fact I could probably manage to put another one in but finances may not allow this.
I wondered if anyone had shipped an older car from australasia and whether they could provide any tips. I also wondered (and this is a fairly whacky question) if anyone had transported a fiat 500 inside a van ( like a lwb transit)- this would only be for shipping or maybe on a flat deck pick up??. Thanks in advance.

 

[nzbobc]

Congrats! That was a screaming deal: We keep an eye on ones that come up on TradeMe and it looks like a great car! You got a very good deal compared to what a few of the others have sold for recently....

As for your question, I don't know (!) But, one website that has been really helpful for me and you may well find the answer there is Emigrate NZ. Naturally, it's predominately about people heading in this direction but a lot of folks have also headed back to the UK and a quick search on that forum may yield an answer:
http://www.enz.org/forum/forum.php

As for shipping the Fiat in the back of a pickup, that's a good one. That one is going to be up to UK customs probably. I know that shipping a vehicle to NZ, you can include personal belongings and pack it solid with stuff, but they caution against this if the vehicle is out in the open and not in a container. I would think that if you can get it into the container, you'd be good to go. On the back of a pick-up, first check the max. height of the container. I'm thinking that the height of a 500 in a pickup bed might be too high.

Once back in the UK, you could pick up a second there one of two ways. I've seen quite a few for sale that have been restored. These folks have gone down to Italy, picked one up and shipped it back to the UK and then restored it. You could do this, too. Altho, there is a little bit of an issue of a non-Italian resident buying a car, but there's ways around it. But, from appearances, the ones in Italy are in much better shape than the ones here in NZ.

Cheers and congrats...

 

[Yellblob]

Thanks for the helpful comments. Beginner's luck I suspect with this one. Haven't got it running well yet either.
I actually think there is less rust on old cars in NZ compared to the UK. The road salt and damp is a terrible combination for older Italian cars. The floors and sills on my 500 are in much better nick than a comparably aged british car.
By the way do you know if JC Collins the bambina specialist in Auckland is still in business?

 

[Damon500]

Hi and welcome,
You are quite correct that NZ is one of the best places to find a solid RHD Fiat 500- my 1973 500 lived in Christchurch from new until this year and is still totally rust free.
I have shuttled various 500's around the world over the years including taking my '69 to Europe in 2007 as consolidated freight which was relatively inexpensive.
Depending on where you live in NZ container may be your only option as it was for me- I filled a container with 3 500's as it was an expensive exercise that I would not have contemplated had it not been for the sentimental value of owning it for 22 years.
JC is semi-retired from the 500 business I believe- maybe some of the other Kiwis could update on this? Otherwise i'm happy to make some enquiries.
If I can help or assist in any way please feel free to contact me.

 

[ianhunterv8]

There is a guy here in the UK that brings 500s in from around Europe in a Mercedes Sprinter!

He has created a ramp that smoothes over the van's wheelarches, so the 500 is at quite an angle inside. The car is really close to the van sides and would need careful padding to avoid rubbing over bumps, through bends etc.

Carefull measuring is required!

Make sure you have proof of original registration and some kind of receipt to help with customs and registration over here!

Best regards

Ian

 

[the hobbler]

A Fiat 500 will (just) fit into the back of a transit---if you look at the u-tube films showing fiat 500s being restored, it is surprising how many turn up at the restoring workshop in the back of a transit! it is a TIGHT fit, but with appropriate packing, this could be to advantage. hope all goes well

 

[Yellblob]

Thanks all for the comments. Useful to know there is a transit option. I'm still on the lookout for another 500 to ship two in a 20 ft container. Prices semm to be climbing here too though. For the Kiwis in the crowd, I took my car to Tony at Performance Auto in Onehunga, Akl . He reskimmed the carburettor base and set up the valve clearances and timing among other things. Its running much more quietly now with no vibration at idle and it doesnt stall. Compression is a bit of concern at 70 psi but in the meantime I'll try to just enjoy it. Not sure if I'll venture on the motorways yet though ! Cheers.

 

[Damon500]

Good to here that the 500 is running sweetly- often it is a case of ensuring all the little details are correct to extract every one of those 18hp...
You might find (as I did) that 2 500's are slightly too long for a 20ft container end on end as the 20ft is not the internal dimension. You might just squeeze them in if you remove the bumpers but they would have very little clearance.
In my case I got a 40ft which didn't cost much more and put 3 in with ample clearance and no damage.