Hi folks, new around here - a friend and I are doing the Mongol Rally this year. For those of you who don't know, this is basically driving a cheap and inappropriate car 10000 miles from the UK to Ulan-Ude, close to the Russia-Mongolia border.
Our route will take us over several thousand miles of rough roads, farm tracks and places with no roads whatsoever -hard going on any car, let alone an inappropriate city car! We're also expecting to find some pretty harsh heat and dust.
Our weapon of choice is a 1999 Fiat Seicento 0.9, bought for a whopping £300 a few months back and unceremoniously dumped on an unsuspecting grandparents drive and ignored. It's done about 50k according to the odo but we have zero service history. We've managed a grand total of 60 miles in it and decided it is the perfect tool for the job, but needs a few tweaks here and there beforehand.
So, to those of you better versed in the charms of all things Fiat, what preparation would you do to bolster your chances of making the finish line?
Our current plans go as far as...
- Thorough service (Oil, filters, coolant flush, plugs, brakes, clutch cable replaced etc. etc.)
- Sump and undertray protection in the form of a 3mm plate bolted to anything substantial
- Mesh guard over the radiator as it seems to sit very low
- Slightly higher profile van tyres (As they are 8 ply vs the 3 or 4 ply of standard road tyres)
- Remove the rear seats (the boot is tiny, we have a lot of crap, makes sense!)
- Drive it! It will be pushed into service as a daily driver for 2 months prior to the event to try and iron out any niggles.
Our route will take us over several thousand miles of rough roads, farm tracks and places with no roads whatsoever -hard going on any car, let alone an inappropriate city car! We're also expecting to find some pretty harsh heat and dust.
Our weapon of choice is a 1999 Fiat Seicento 0.9, bought for a whopping £300 a few months back and unceremoniously dumped on an unsuspecting grandparents drive and ignored. It's done about 50k according to the odo but we have zero service history. We've managed a grand total of 60 miles in it and decided it is the perfect tool for the job, but needs a few tweaks here and there beforehand.
So, to those of you better versed in the charms of all things Fiat, what preparation would you do to bolster your chances of making the finish line?
Our current plans go as far as...
- Thorough service (Oil, filters, coolant flush, plugs, brakes, clutch cable replaced etc. etc.)
- Sump and undertray protection in the form of a 3mm plate bolted to anything substantial
- Mesh guard over the radiator as it seems to sit very low
- Slightly higher profile van tyres (As they are 8 ply vs the 3 or 4 ply of standard road tyres)
- Remove the rear seats (the boot is tiny, we have a lot of crap, makes sense!)
- Drive it! It will be pushed into service as a daily driver for 2 months prior to the event to try and iron out any niggles.