Hi there, fairly new on here and I just thought I'd create a thread about the Uno Mambo (based on the uno 45 I believe). It is my first car and although it's had a few small problems which caused it to cut out randomly and be difficult to start (problems were cheap + fairly easy to fix once I found out what was causing them!), I love it! It has a rather quirky interior being purple and turquoise striped and 'petrol blue' metallic paint exterior (some argue it's green but the sticker on the inside of the boot lid says petrol blue). It also has 8 spoke O.Z rims on it which I believe are standard and are a nice touch. It has the 999cc FIRE engine in it with the Bosch SPI fuel system and has done jsut under 92000 miles. Seems to have been well looked after by previous owners as I have some MOT certificates and service records for it and the interior is in very good condition for a 20 year old car.

Would like to keep it running and restore it to a near showroom condition when financially possible (it has a hole in the outer panel on the driver's side rear wheel arch and a few rust bubbles here and there) as well as making a few subtle upgrades, including under the hood. I have started on this by adding a cigarette lighter socket to charge my phone and a clock which was taken from a Cinq (perfect fit) as it had neither of these. It did have the blanked out cut outs for them in the ash tray and the dashboard respectively. Tt seems to be the base model apart from the special edition paint/interior/wheels.

After doing a quick search, this seems to be the only thread relating to the Mambo edition (correct me if I'm wrong) but it wouldn't suprise me as there are only around 24 left according to howmanyleft.com

I would like more power from it as it only has 45hp so was thinking about fitting a classic panda 4x4 camshaft as I believe the engine is the same but power output is better due to a different camshaft and this would be an easy upgrade. Perhaps in the future I may push the boat out and fit the 1372cc turbo engine when I can afford the insurance.

Any ideas/suggestions/advice would be much appreciated! Pics to follow

Some pics of the car as promised

Certainly looks to be in good condition. The wheels are not standard. Only the turbo models had alloys. I would be careful if they are not declared on your insurance as a modification as they may try to not pay out in the event of a claim.

There aren't any performance mods you can do that are worth it without incurring high insurance bills. In any case, get insurance quotes for the performance modifications before you do them unless you are rich as it sounds like your are an inexperienced driver.

The camshaft mod you describe will work, but it is a fair bit of effort for 5HP. Probably quicker to fit an 1108cc or 1242cc engine instead, but again I simply wouldn't recommend it given the performance benefit vs the cost for you. Will also ruin the resale value of the car if that matters to you.

Sweet ride! I like those wheels mate.
Sounds like your Uno is same base model we have in SA, the 999 carby Uno Cento. It's also equipped with absolutely nothing.
A 1.2 mpi engine from a palio is also an option for more power. At least 60Bhp. It should fit on your current gearbox.
Waiting for those pics of your progress!

As Lewey says the wheels are not standard - the mambo had steal wheels.

the best way to tell if an uno is worth keeping is to lift the carpet at the edges to see what the inner cills are like rust wise. Also carpet on tear turret to see if the tops are rusted, and also remove the rear quarter cards (where the read door cards would be if you had rear doors) and feel fro crunchy rust - feel downwards and inwards along that section.



The vacuum advance (thing on distributor) looks suspect - remove the air pipe and blow (don't suck) - if it lets air through you found the way to get more poke out the 45hp engine replace it for new if faulty.

Thanks for the positive comments + advice guys The mods I have in mind will be done after I've got at least 1 year no claim bonus as this is my first year of insurance and I am paying through the nose with the car standard! (My dad reckons the wheels are standard, he was a rental manager at a Fiat dealership during the 'Uno era' as this is the Mambo special edition).

Yes I think that as far as the resale value of the car is concerned I will keep all the standard parts (engine, camshaft and whatever else I change) and put them back in before I sell it (If I ever do would love to keep it forever if I can! )

I have seen the car underneath and all looks well, no major signs of rust. There has been some welding done ob the outer skin in the area you highlighted in the pic for the MOT, as well as the front subframe. With these repairs, it passed in December with no advisories

P.S. The vacuum advance unit is dodgy, I have repaired it about 3 times with various bits of rubber + patches but it does work (checked with my timing light) but it still has a small leak Will replace it when I can afford it (I'm poor atm)

Thanks again for the interest!

P.S. I have lifted the carpet in a few places e.g. Boot floor and no rust Will investigate further in a couple of days as I am going away until Sunday

Sounds solid, but the area I hi lighted can't be seen from the outside as it's the inner panel - unless you remove the cill.

Yeah, which is a big suprise as I only paid £245 for it with 3 months MOT + tax repairs for the MOT were £100 so I think I'm quite lucky there. Is it possible to access the highlighted area without removing the cill?

Only to look / feel for rust by removing the rear quarter card. If it needs work it means removing the outer body work.

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I also have a recently acquired Mambo. The same zany interior but mine has white paintwork. Bought it as a spares/repair project with short Mot and in need of a replacement front suspension crossmember. Car appears to go very well so just replaced the crossmember.
Now sorting other points ready for MOT. New to the Uno so found the heads up about corrosion very helpful. Duly stripped out the rear panels and boot carpet. All good apart from the driver's side strut mounting. Major rust here. Have done a fair bit of welding but never repaired a strut housing. I presume that you need to be reasonably accurate with welding in any repair panel otherwise could mess up the rear suspension geometry. Any thoughts?

Hi, I couldn't really say as I have never done any welding at all I had mine welded at a garage for its MOT. I would have thought that unless the part you're welding shifts by a lot, as in several centimeters, it should be fine but don't hold me to that!

Slightly off topic, does anyone know where I can find a sunroof for my car? It has previously been sealed shut but has started leaking this morning!

I'm really liking your Uno Mambo funnily enough I have the same O.z wheel's on my G reg mk1 Uno.

Which as it happens is another limited edition, the 'Breeze'

I bought my alloys, as they were a period Fiat accessory and I think they suit the Uno well!!

Here's a picture of mine, from earlier in the year...



As for your sunroof problem, I'd look up the yellow pages and find a sunroof specialist. As the pop up type sunroof's on Fiat's weren't always standard fit back then, more universal with a Fiat logo on!!!

Failing that, I'd get looking in the breakers yards, you may be lucky and find another Fiat with the same sunroof.

Wouldn't change anything on it, as it looks just right as it is

Thanks yours looks good as well Yeah they do suit it well, just right. Mine's off the road at the moment, front suspension is in desperate need of replacement hopefully will be sorted next weekend

P.s will look into a sunroof specialist, hadn't thought of that There's no Unos at my local breaker's yard but maybe a couple of Cinquecentos perhaps a sunroof from one of those will fit Need to focus on the suspension for now though

Where was that picture taken Punto-Paul?

staffordmike said:

Where was that picture taken Punto-Paul?

Click to expand...

Hi staffordmike it was earlier in the year at a Autotest, at the Curborough Sprint Course.

Check this link for more info... http://www.curborough.co.uk/

aidanhd said:

P.s will look into a sunroof specialist, hadn't thought of that There's no Unos at my local breaker's yard but maybe a couple of Cinquecentos perhaps a sunroof from one of those will fit Need to focus on the suspension for now though

Click to expand...

It could be worth checking those Cinquecento's, as long as the sunroof is the same size it may be all you need fingers crossed

Although thinking about it some Panda's had the same sunroof fitted as an accessory I'm sure, so worth a look out too!!

If I do find one I'll try and bag it for you, as I'm always on the lookout in the breakers yards for Uno bits.

But if you struggle I'd definitely look into a sunroof specialist, or a supplier like ... http://sunroof.webasto.co.uk/ As they maybe able to advise you on a suitable replacement or repairer perhaps?

Cheers those alloys are just right on Uno's as you say, hope you get your suspension sorted. What does it need?

Just replaced some of mine as it happens!! new front and rear shocks. And a new set of springs all round, had a right hassle getting the correct springs as the car wouldn't sit properly

Too high at the front and too low at the back, wasn't happy!!

So in the end I had to buy lowered springs, but has turned out ok even though I wasn't keen to lower it to begin with

Hi Punto Paul, I thought it might be Curborough when I saw the Cannock and District Car Club sign. I've never been there, only driven past on my way to the nearby kart track. I must go sometime.