Fiat Coupe VT6
Discussion
Hi all,
I'm back again and though I haven't actually left this time, I purchased a low price 20 valve non Turbo a year and a half a go, it was really a taster to see I still liked them after having 3 E46 BMWs in a row. My son and I have been using it at weekends to go on our adventures exploring old abandoned WW2 stuff. However it was in a fairly bad way bodywork and paint wise and would need to be lovingly restored, so after he and I decided we both loved coops again, the NA has gone off to a new home it was time for an upgrade back into the turbo fold:-
Modifications were not on my planned purchase and having only owned standard coops I'm a bit in uncharted territory, but after seeing the car on my daily exercise was only 1 mile up the road and looked good on the advert I thought we could meet in the car park of a local park for a chat and a careful test drive with Masks at the ready and windows open.
After an hour and a half of a chat the deal was done, here's the details from the advert:-
"Fiat Coupe VT6 in Ink Black – 5 Cylinder, 20 valve turbo, 6 speed.
First registered in February 2000 on a V-plate
Current mileage 118,500 (increasing on dry days)
MOT expires 21/12/2021
Includes Chrome Key, Red Key, Valet Key & 2 x Alarm Fobs
The VT6 model was one of the last variants produced and comes as standard with a 6 speed manual gearbox, push button start, 180mph dials, ‘Plus’ edition wheels, Plus front grill, LE headlights, colour coded bumpers and skirts, Sparco strut brace, Brembo 4 pot front callipers and a full leather interior in Tan.
Car has been serviced at regular intervals since new with multiple cambelt and tensioner replacements (last one @ 114,000 miles)
The standard spec more or less stops here as the car has undergone the following upgrades since rolling over 100,000 miles.
Engine - Garrett GT28rs ball bearing turbo, Pro alloy FMIC, Blueflame turbo back stainless exhaust system and manifold, alloy straight inlet pipe (SIP) and cone filter, Bosch 440cc fuel injectors, Forge dump valve, Silicone induction and coolant pipes, Helix organic clutch (not paddle), Stage 3 re-map with Gizmo electronic boost controller, Vibra Technics engine mounts. Result of these upgrades is a smooth and very useable 331bhp with 295lbft of torque.
Handling - BC racing coilovers and top mounts lowered to a useable height, hunter 4 wheel alignment set for fast road, Toyo proxy R888r tyres (less than 1500 miles driven), Whiteline front and rear anti roll bars, 16mm hub spacers, Weight saving - Battery relocated in boot, headunit and speakers removed (looms remain), rear wiper removed, MTec drilled and grooved discs.
Cosmetic – Full exterior respray in original colour Ink Black 820, HID headlights, centre console spray in body colour, wheels refurbished in chrome powder coat, rear badges removed, front badge monochromed, boost gauge in clock position, rocker cover refinished in black and silver.
ICE – The 5 Cylinder exhaust note is all you need, sounds best with windows down a few inches! There is a tray where the headunit used to be which is quite useful for keeping your phone. Aftermarket Cobra alarm system fitted.
Along with all the upgrades has been normal maintenance like the cambelt mentioned, many oil changes and numerous other parts and sensors replaced as you would expect on a 20 year old vehicle with most of the receipts in the log book. It has been looked after by Rog at Power Developments (was Power Italia) since 2010 and those guys have really made owning this car a real pleasure.
Any other known issues? Yes but fortunately they are trivial and if bothered can be cheaply rectified.
Indicators sometimes self-cancel, Wipers stop where they happen to be when you turn them off, Wheels rub arch liners on full lock, Lumpy at idle due to the SIP, 1 small carpark ding on passenger door (paint not damaged).
The car has never been raced or driven on a track and has rarely been used in wet weather since 2012."
Plans are to get a full service done with PowerItalia and wait for the weather to improve
I'm back again and though I haven't actually left this time, I purchased a low price 20 valve non Turbo a year and a half a go, it was really a taster to see I still liked them after having 3 E46 BMWs in a row. My son and I have been using it at weekends to go on our adventures exploring old abandoned WW2 stuff. However it was in a fairly bad way bodywork and paint wise and would need to be lovingly restored, so after he and I decided we both loved coops again, the NA has gone off to a new home it was time for an upgrade back into the turbo fold:-
Modifications were not on my planned purchase and having only owned standard coops I'm a bit in uncharted territory, but after seeing the car on my daily exercise was only 1 mile up the road and looked good on the advert I thought we could meet in the car park of a local park for a chat and a careful test drive with Masks at the ready and windows open.
After an hour and a half of a chat the deal was done, here's the details from the advert:-
"Fiat Coupe VT6 in Ink Black – 5 Cylinder, 20 valve turbo, 6 speed.
First registered in February 2000 on a V-plate
Current mileage 118,500 (increasing on dry days)
MOT expires 21/12/2021
Includes Chrome Key, Red Key, Valet Key & 2 x Alarm Fobs
The VT6 model was one of the last variants produced and comes as standard with a 6 speed manual gearbox, push button start, 180mph dials, ‘Plus’ edition wheels, Plus front grill, LE headlights, colour coded bumpers and skirts, Sparco strut brace, Brembo 4 pot front callipers and a full leather interior in Tan.
Car has been serviced at regular intervals since new with multiple cambelt and tensioner replacements (last one @ 114,000 miles)
The standard spec more or less stops here as the car has undergone the following upgrades since rolling over 100,000 miles.
Engine - Garrett GT28rs ball bearing turbo, Pro alloy FMIC, Blueflame turbo back stainless exhaust system and manifold, alloy straight inlet pipe (SIP) and cone filter, Bosch 440cc fuel injectors, Forge dump valve, Silicone induction and coolant pipes, Helix organic clutch (not paddle), Stage 3 re-map with Gizmo electronic boost controller, Vibra Technics engine mounts. Result of these upgrades is a smooth and very useable 331bhp with 295lbft of torque.
Handling - BC racing coilovers and top mounts lowered to a useable height, hunter 4 wheel alignment set for fast road, Toyo proxy R888r tyres (less than 1500 miles driven), Whiteline front and rear anti roll bars, 16mm hub spacers, Weight saving - Battery relocated in boot, headunit and speakers removed (looms remain), rear wiper removed, MTec drilled and grooved discs.
Cosmetic – Full exterior respray in original colour Ink Black 820, HID headlights, centre console spray in body colour, wheels refurbished in chrome powder coat, rear badges removed, front badge monochromed, boost gauge in clock position, rocker cover refinished in black and silver.
ICE – The 5 Cylinder exhaust note is all you need, sounds best with windows down a few inches! There is a tray where the headunit used to be which is quite useful for keeping your phone. Aftermarket Cobra alarm system fitted.
Along with all the upgrades has been normal maintenance like the cambelt mentioned, many oil changes and numerous other parts and sensors replaced as you would expect on a 20 year old vehicle with most of the receipts in the log book. It has been looked after by Rog at Power Developments (was Power Italia) since 2010 and those guys have really made owning this car a real pleasure.
Any other known issues? Yes but fortunately they are trivial and if bothered can be cheaply rectified.
Indicators sometimes self-cancel, Wipers stop where they happen to be when you turn them off, Wheels rub arch liners on full lock, Lumpy at idle due to the SIP, 1 small carpark ding on passenger door (paint not damaged).
The car has never been raced or driven on a track and has rarely been used in wet weather since 2012."
Plans are to get a full service done with PowerItalia and wait for the weather to improve
Nice. I had a new 20vt back in 1998, loved it and of course modified it. Managed to get 280hp out of it but with much trial and error (and expense) as nobody knew how to tune them back then. Mine was portofino with the questionable zender body kit. Looked amazing back then though and turned heads wherever it went. Great cars.
wormus said:
Nice. I had a new 20vt back in 1998, loved it and of course modified it. Managed to get 280hp out of it but with much trial and error (and expense) as nobody knew how to tune them back then. Mine was portofino with the questionable zender body kit. Looked amazing back then though and turned heads wherever it went. Great cars.
I had a Portofino Blue 20 VT as well, best colour.So good looking, would have another.
Thanks all it's a credit to the previous owners.
Just booked into PowerItalia for a Full Service next week and check over, interestingly the history shows that although only 3000 miles have passed since the last service and Belt changes, it's been 5 years and for those who know these cars it's the Auxiliary belt which is the week point whereby it breaks and goes into the Cambelt.
The Aux belt can be changed at the garage for about £60 and it's good preventative maintenance.
Just booked into PowerItalia for a Full Service next week and check over, interestingly the history shows that although only 3000 miles have passed since the last service and Belt changes, it's been 5 years and for those who know these cars it's the Auxiliary belt which is the week point whereby it breaks and goes into the Cambelt.
The Aux belt can be changed at the garage for about £60 and it's good preventative maintenance.
Hi All,
It went to Poweritalia last week for a Full Service and to diagnose the idling issue mentioned in the advert (it will cut out when stationary without a bit of accelerator) it turns our there are some plenum rubber hoses that have split/perished that need replacing plus a Brake pipe corroded and leaking fluid, so I'm back there next week
It went to Poweritalia last week for a Full Service and to diagnose the idling issue mentioned in the advert (it will cut out when stationary without a bit of accelerator) it turns our there are some plenum rubber hoses that have split/perished that need replacing plus a Brake pipe corroded and leaking fluid, so I'm back there next week
aust240378 said:
Hi All,
It went to Poweritalia last week for a Full Service and to diagnose the idling issue mentioned in the advert (it will cut out when stationary without a bit of accelerator) it turns our there are some plenum rubber hoses that have split/perished that need replacing plus a Brake pipe corroded and leaking fluid, so I'm back there next week
Yes the plenum short hoses go brittle and split,there are silicone replacements on the market from Flexeo. A French outfit. You may also find some for sale on FCCUK.It went to Poweritalia last week for a Full Service and to diagnose the idling issue mentioned in the advert (it will cut out when stationary without a bit of accelerator) it turns our there are some plenum rubber hoses that have split/perished that need replacing plus a Brake pipe corroded and leaking fluid, so I'm back there next week
Nice looking coupe you have there with decent power. Similar set up to mine,although I'm running a FC performance hybrid turbo with about the same output as yours.
Good luck with it. Your in good hands with Roger.
aust240378 said:
Hi All,
It went to Poweritalia last week for a Full Service and to diagnose the idling issue mentioned in the advert (it will cut out when stationary without a bit of accelerator) it turns our there are some plenum rubber hoses that have split/perished that need replacing plus a Brake pipe corroded and leaking fluid, so I'm back there next week
Good to hear that Rog is still doing Coupes and hasn’t gone full Bavarian!It went to Poweritalia last week for a Full Service and to diagnose the idling issue mentioned in the advert (it will cut out when stationary without a bit of accelerator) it turns our there are some plenum rubber hoses that have split/perished that need replacing plus a Brake pipe corroded and leaking fluid, so I'm back there next week
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