General Punto 55 EL 6-speed!! ( new project )

[punto-paul]

Well you know how it goes, you spot something and before you know it you end up buying it!!


Which is how I came by the Punto EL, a customer at work was using it as a runabout and I casually said 'Oh let me know if you want to sell it' knowing how rare they are now so when the tax ran out he phoned and said he wanted rid of it.


Lack of space, too many cars otherwise it'll go to the big dealership in the sky


He offered it at a price that was all to good to refuse, and having some modest savings I can't let a good car get scrapped. It's even Mot'd for another 10 months!! so I agreed.


Although I don't have the space or need for another car, I should be getting it this week. So the race is on to find a place to stash it, then work out what to do with it.


I have been Autotesting with my Uno which has done really well in my local events, but I don't want to keep using it for that so I might turn this into my full time Autotest car instead.


Hopefully some pictures to follow once I've got it!!


But I'd be interested to know if anyone else has one? and is the 6-speed anygood?


Ciao for now!

 

[bluejohn125]

Hi Paul, sounds like a great project, well done finding it....

I remember looking at these around '95 when they came out, they were the "sporty" version at the time. Now extremely rare, so this one's lucky to have sympathetic owners.

As I recall it had rev counter, 6-speed box (obviously...), also rear anti-roll bar and 14" (steel?) wheels with an unusual, small tyre size.

I considered a fairly dirty + dented one at Perrys Ford in Milton Keynes around '97, but bought my M-reg Tipo from them instead (traded a K-reg Panda 1000 CLX..).

Be interesting to see how many original features have survived...

 

[punto-paul]

Thanks!! here's a picture of how the car should look...





It does have some nice features, rev counter, 14" steel rims with special trims, front fogs and radio with steering wheel controls etc..


But no sunroof, central locking, electric windows, or power steering. Which at this age of car is no bad thing, less to go wrong


Well the car had a couple of sympathetic owners and the last one has done his best to ruin it


The paint on the roof has been rattle canned, and the bonnet lacquer has peeled off quite a bit.


There's mould in the nooks and crannies, plus all four wheel original trims are either cracked, scraped and lacking paint.


And the passenger side front wing is dented in near the indicator. And the indicator replaced with a smoked one, randomly!!


The stitching has come away on the lower part of the drivers seat at the front, and the passenger door card has a slight split in it.


But I think it can be repaired, and some lovely person has snapped off the rear wiper arm!! Oh and the aerial is missing, so radio reception at the minute isn't great.


Plus the rear boot lock is loose, and the tailgate release cable has snapped. The bloke clearly had a dog the dog hair and it smells of dog, the interior is like a skip and is going to need a good shampooing and clean before I want to wear my Sunday best.


The oil, on minimum and black is going to need a change right away.


So plenty to do, and a few visits to a breakers yard and someone who can paint!!


Taxed it, and in the cold light of day it's immediately obvious the tyres are in a lethal state. So not sure how valid that MOT was, but I'll be sorting the tyres right away..

 

[bluejohn125]

Hey Paul, great little car, well done...

A few interesting jobs for you to do, but all manageable and rewarding. I'd defo change the gearbox oil as well, and probably brake / clutch fluid and coolant.

Lovely colour (the best?), and the car seems lile a junior version of the 1.6 Sporting that joined the forum a couple of weeks ago!

You can probably revive the original wheeltrims with some TLC and spray paint, or upgrade to some 14" genuine Mk2 Punto trims from Shop4Parts...

I'd be interested to see which tyres you settle on, as I said I think they're an unusual size - should give quite precise handling I reckon.

Cheers

John

 

[punto-paul]

Thanks John!! I'm going to a breakers yard Saturday to get some bits an pieces plus a bonnet and wing in the right colour hopefully.








I'll see what wheel trims I can find, and tyres!! The Punto is wearing 165/65R14's at the minute, I do have three very good 175/65R14's so tempted to buy another and fit those but not sure yet.
I used to have a 1.6 Sporting the very same, really good car but loved gearboxes
Yeah I think a gearbox oil and brake fluid change is on the list, I'll try and do it when I service it.


Cheers.



​

 

[dave]

iirc it was a bit of a gimic and the ratio of the 6th gear was about the same as a standard 5th gear gearbox, but that made people not bother to save them much, probably rare now to find one that still has the original box so will be very collectable.

 

[punto-paul]

iirc it was a bit of a gimic and the ratio of the 6th gear was about the same as a standard 5th gear gearbox, but that made people not bother to save them much, probably rare now to find one that still has the original box so will be very collectable.

I don't know how accurate it is, but according to the website how many is left last year there was only 8 Punto EL 6 speeds left!

 

[dave]

how many of them 8 have had the 6 speed box removed and the 1.1 changed to a 1.2 with out having the v5 changed i wonder

 

[punto-paul]

Well you never know!! I have seen abroad a Punto 75 fitted with the 6 speed

 

[dave]

dont change yours keep it original

 

[bluejohn125]

As regards the tyres, I'm pretty sure they should be 165/60 x 14 to give the same rolling radius as the more standard 155/70 x 13s on the Puntos.

165/65 x 14 is probably a lazy copout by previous owners to save a few quid, they are too tall (really a Tipo size....).

Therefore your idea of 175/65 x 14 is not ideal, you would be well over-geared.

Looking on Mytyres and others, the correct 165/60 x 14 are now quite common for some reason, a reasonable quality budget brand such as Nexen, Avon, Cooper etc at around the £45 mark could be the way to go (nice to do things properly...)

 

[fingers99]

Uniroyal Rain Experts from Camskill @ either 41 or 43 quid, so no point going for a "budget" brand.

 

[punto-paul]

Uniroyal Rain Experts from Camskill @ either 41 or 43 quid, so no point going for a "budget" brand.

Cheers for the tip!! I've got some decent tyres sorted out now. No dodgy Chinese budget tyres on my car, unfortunately I've gained a fuel leak.. oh the joy

 

[punto-paul]

So as things have been a little quiet on the Punto, I thought an update was overdue!!


I managed to pick up a bonnet that actually has paint and lacquer on it, as well as a undented passenger wing all in the right colour


For a bargain £40!! all thanks to my brother's help.


The petrol leak is now fixed, a full service has been done. The next job is some new gearbox oil, then a brake fluid change.


I also bought some 175/65R14 tyres, two new Michelin's from my brother. And two part worn's, so been painting the wheel rims up ready for the tyres.

 

[punto-paul]

Punto 55 EL 6-speed!! ( Auto test project ) So it begins

It's been a while since I've updated the Punto, simply because I haven't had it in all honesty to do anything with it!!


My Aunty desperately needed a car so I offered to lend her the Punto, so me and my brother tidied it up as best we could for now on a modest budget.


Quick Valet and a set of wheel trims we had in the garage, threw in a Sony CD player I got for free
Anyway that was back in September, and I should soon be getting the car back.


Finally I'll be able to go back to my Auto testing plan and fit that wing!! so I need to start getting the parts together to turn it from a shopping car to race car


I'm thinking maybe some racing wheel's & tyres, uprated suspension and other performance related parts would be a good idea!!


And probably remove a few none essential parts, in order to improve the weight.


Has anybody got any suggestion's on what parts from a Punto Sporting or GT, mainly suspension stuff that would fit onto a lesser model?


Engine, Brakes & gearbox will stay as they are, as for what the car will need to do they are perfect for the job.


At the moment how much I modify the car, will depend on what I find to improve the car within my small budget.


Can't wait to get stuck into it and update the progress, eventually if all goes well I'll have a fun toy in which to take on the Legion's of Micra's, 106's, 205's & Nova's etc.. etc.. that I will be competing against.

 

[flisko]

Re: Punto 55 EL 6-speed!! ( Auto test project ) So it begins

what about rust underneath?

 

[punto-paul]

Re: Punto 55 EL 6-speed!! ( Auto test project ) So it begins

what about rust underneath?

What rust? the car is really good underneath for the age and any flaky bits of underseal have been dealt with.


All the car needs is some paint on the roof, fit the wing and fix the cracked bumper and it'll be looking smart again

 

[simon_16vpunto]

If your looking at saving weight, I'll quite happily buy your headlamp protectors off you as I've been looking for a set for ages ?

 

[flisko]

Re: Punto 55 EL 6-speed!! ( Auto test project ) So it begins

What rust? the car is really good underneath for the age and any flaky bits of underseal have been dealt with.


All the car needs is some paint on the roof, fit the wing and fix the cracked bumper and it'll be looking smart again

i was just assuming

 

[blu73]

Re: Punto 55 EL 6-speed!! ( Auto test project ) So it begins

will you ever say anything positive flisko?? always with the negatives, its getting pretty old.