Fiat Coupe 20v
Discussion
Hi all,
First proper post so please be kind
Very short back story:-
2006 bought Yellow 20vt from guy at work, engine was damaged due to being run low on oil previously and needed replacing, got a nearly new engine from Rog at Poweritalia, had a great time with the car, kept it standard but made it reliable as things broke on it and went on a few road trips and at least one meet up at the grasshopper inn with the south east coop community with my dad, I kept the car until 2010 when I had to sell, new baby and job that required a 100 mile round commute with liftshare passengers so the coop had to go. Rog bought it and broke it for parts, a sad day indeed.....
...Fast forward to 4 months ago, I had been always keeping an eye on the diminishing amount of coop's on the road and wondering if my chances of getting back in one was going to happen.
When on Ebay I found and secured a 1998 Unmodified Broom Yellow 20v N/A with Aircon and Leather interior! and the all Important Red Key smile
Owned by a family for 11 years and garaged overnight, Recent Cambelt and Clutch change. I spoke with the owner over the phone and went through a lot of questions which were all answered, Mechanically it sounds good, the problems which were mentioned being: Lacquer starting to peel on the rear bumper, indicator not self cancelling, air con needs a re-gas. MOT history looks good (no mention of corrosion in adversaries)
The Price was £900.
It was 300 mile round trip but hopefully worth it.
I wasn't fussed about getting a turbo as I have already had one and would just like to pootle about with a nice standard car the 20v noise, I can do little jobs on it and I still have Power Italia down the road for the bigger ones! I'm also happy it's yellow as I had yellow previously.
So I got back after 200 mile round trip and am the proud owner of a Yellow 20V! It was a long drive with the M25 being it's usual slow self, finally arrived just outside Cirencester at midday,
the coop was parked up so I had a chance to have a look before I met the owner and went for a test drive.
It drove brilliantly on the 130 miles back through b roads a roads motorway, I loved every minute of it! The engine noise the willingness of the engine to pull smoothly. Obviously not as rapid as the turbo I had before but very linear and lovely sound makes you want to drop a gear to hear the engine howl smile
The good:-
The engine, started on the button was very smooth while I was waiting for it to warm up then once warm pulled well with a lovely 5 cyl sound (god I've missed that sound)
The cambelt and clutch done in the last 3000 miles
Everything works inside, lights, blower, windows, wing mirrors in all directions.
Tyres are good.
Leather seats in good condition with minimal wear on drivers bolster
Good oil pressure
Good temperatures on water and oil
The Bad:-
There is laquer peel on the rear bumper, I can see some rust in the rear arches which will need to be dealt
a small dent in the door some other odd bits of discolouration around the paintwork.
The interior centre console is sticky and looks like it's been rubbed down with something to get the rubber off in places.
All in all I enjoyed driving an N/A much more than I thought I would and it's a good compromise.
I'm 41 but feel like I've jumped back 12 years to when I had my other coop and it's slightly rarer with only 185 left in the uk.
Some mixed pictures below including when I started cleaning up the centre console :-
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First proper post so please be kind
Very short back story:-
2006 bought Yellow 20vt from guy at work, engine was damaged due to being run low on oil previously and needed replacing, got a nearly new engine from Rog at Poweritalia, had a great time with the car, kept it standard but made it reliable as things broke on it and went on a few road trips and at least one meet up at the grasshopper inn with the south east coop community with my dad, I kept the car until 2010 when I had to sell, new baby and job that required a 100 mile round commute with liftshare passengers so the coop had to go. Rog bought it and broke it for parts, a sad day indeed.....
...Fast forward to 4 months ago, I had been always keeping an eye on the diminishing amount of coop's on the road and wondering if my chances of getting back in one was going to happen.
When on Ebay I found and secured a 1998 Unmodified Broom Yellow 20v N/A with Aircon and Leather interior! and the all Important Red Key smile
Owned by a family for 11 years and garaged overnight, Recent Cambelt and Clutch change. I spoke with the owner over the phone and went through a lot of questions which were all answered, Mechanically it sounds good, the problems which were mentioned being: Lacquer starting to peel on the rear bumper, indicator not self cancelling, air con needs a re-gas. MOT history looks good (no mention of corrosion in adversaries)
The Price was £900.
It was 300 mile round trip but hopefully worth it.
I wasn't fussed about getting a turbo as I have already had one and would just like to pootle about with a nice standard car the 20v noise, I can do little jobs on it and I still have Power Italia down the road for the bigger ones! I'm also happy it's yellow as I had yellow previously.
So I got back after 200 mile round trip and am the proud owner of a Yellow 20V! It was a long drive with the M25 being it's usual slow self, finally arrived just outside Cirencester at midday,
the coop was parked up so I had a chance to have a look before I met the owner and went for a test drive.
It drove brilliantly on the 130 miles back through b roads a roads motorway, I loved every minute of it! The engine noise the willingness of the engine to pull smoothly. Obviously not as rapid as the turbo I had before but very linear and lovely sound makes you want to drop a gear to hear the engine howl smile
The good:-
The engine, started on the button was very smooth while I was waiting for it to warm up then once warm pulled well with a lovely 5 cyl sound (god I've missed that sound)
The cambelt and clutch done in the last 3000 miles
Everything works inside, lights, blower, windows, wing mirrors in all directions.
Tyres are good.
Leather seats in good condition with minimal wear on drivers bolster
Good oil pressure
Good temperatures on water and oil
The Bad:-
There is laquer peel on the rear bumper, I can see some rust in the rear arches which will need to be dealt
a small dent in the door some other odd bits of discolouration around the paintwork.
The interior centre console is sticky and looks like it's been rubbed down with something to get the rubber off in places.
All in all I enjoyed driving an N/A much more than I thought I would and it's a good compromise.
I'm 41 but feel like I've jumped back 12 years to when I had my other coop and it's slightly rarer with only 185 left in the uk.
Some mixed pictures below including when I started cleaning up the centre console :-
[url][url]Edited by aust240378 on Thursday 24th October 14:24
aust240378 said:
Very short back story:-
...bought ... 20vt ... Rog at Poweritalia... had a great time with the car, kept it standard but made it reliable as things broke on it ... went on a few road trips ... at least one meet up at the grasshopper inn with the south east coop community
Sounds like my Coupe ownership experience! I had two, one 20v and one 20vt, which was previously Rog's own car. The turbo was obviously quicker, but if I had to have one again, I'd have the 20v. It was my first 'proper' car and not having the turbo somehow really suited the car, made it much simpler to own and maintain plus it sounded a lot better. The fact that it was also the exact same spec as one I sat in (albeit that was a 16v) some 8 or so years earlier in 1995 in Westover Fiat as a 17 year old when they were brand new and was totally blown away helped....bought ... 20vt ... Rog at Poweritalia... had a great time with the car, kept it standard but made it reliable as things broke on it ... went on a few road trips ... at least one meet up at the grasshopper inn with the south east coop community
I hope she does you proud and I look every now and then at used Coupes and apart from generally thinking 'HOW MUCH?!', I am tempted as a third car.
Highway Star said:
Sounds like my Coupe ownership experience! I had two, one 20v and one 20vt, which was previously Rog's own car. The turbo was obviously quicker, but if I had to have one again, I'd have the 20v. It was my first 'proper' car and not having the turbo somehow really suited the car, made it much simpler to own and maintain plus it sounded a lot better. The fact that it was also the exact same spec as one I sat in (albeit that was a 16v) some 8 or so years earlier in 1995 in Westover Fiat as a 17 year old when they were brand new and was totally blown away helped.
I hope she does you proud and I look every now and then at used Coupes and apart from generally thinking 'HOW MUCH?!', I am tempted as a third car.
Was the car you bought from Rog the blue one with Powerfiat down the side? I believe that was fairly rapid by all accounts I hope she does you proud and I look every now and then at used Coupes and apart from generally thinking 'HOW MUCH?!', I am tempted as a third car.
l.It's weird with the 20 valve, without the turbo you can floor it in second gear down a country road, get that great sound which gets better as the revs increase, then you look at the Speedo and your still doing legal speeds but with a grin on your face, if that was the turbo you would be well over the speed limit and quite quickly at the limit's of the standard chassis!
aust240378 said:
Was the car you bought from Rog the blue one with Powerfiat down the side? I believe that was fairly rapid by all accounts l.
It's weird with the 20 valve, without the turbo you can floor it in second gear down a country road, get that great sound which gets better as the revs increase, then you look at the Speedo and your still doing legal speeds but with a grin on your face, if that was the turbo you would be well over the speed limit and quite quickly at the limit's of the standard chassis!
It was the blue one, P207HHF, but it had the stickers removed and *most* of the performance bits removed. However everything had been overhauled and whilst it was high-ish mileage all the main components were new. Still a great car though. l.It's weird with the 20 valve, without the turbo you can floor it in second gear down a country road, get that great sound which gets better as the revs increase, then you look at the Speedo and your still doing legal speeds but with a grin on your face, if that was the turbo you would be well over the speed limit and quite quickly at the limit's of the standard chassis!
Happy new year all!
Little update:-
My Son and I went out exploring WW2 pillboxes on the only good weather day recently and the Fiat got to stretch it's legs a bitdown the country roads
It's booked in for an MOT on the 15th at Poweritalia and airbag light is on due to the previous owner changing the clockspring on the airbag but not having the tool to re-set it, so that will need to be reset on the day of the MOT.
[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/NWTbBiJW[/url][url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/LW03wPQZ[/url]
Regards
Little update:-
My Son and I went out exploring WW2 pillboxes on the only good weather day recently and the Fiat got to stretch it's legs a bitdown the country roads
It's booked in for an MOT on the 15th at Poweritalia and airbag light is on due to the previous owner changing the clockspring on the airbag but not having the tool to re-set it, so that will need to be reset on the day of the MOT.
[url]|https://thumbsnap.com/NWTbBiJW[/url][url]|https://thumbsnap.com/LW03wPQZ[/url]Regards
Nice, my dad has developed an obsession for these. I have a 20vt that he got for me as it was a good deal due to needing a bunch of service work. I have to say I wasn't that keen until I drove it. The sound and the oomph were much better than I was expecting.
Anyhow, my question was what area do you live in? I'm in Essex and I'm currently doing some touch up work on one of his (also broom yellow). So I have paint that seems to be a really good match. If you are willing to do some sanding yourself, then you can bring it to me and I'll blow some paint in for you.
Anyhow, my question was what area do you live in? I'm in Essex and I'm currently doing some touch up work on one of his (also broom yellow). So I have paint that seems to be a really good match. If you are willing to do some sanding yourself, then you can bring it to me and I'll blow some paint in for you.
Lovely, what a distinctive car for £900, one of the few cars I would have in yellow and its nice and original.
A mate of mine had a similar 16 valve one until fairly recently, that was very original. I had a quick go and it brought back memories of the Portofino Blue Turbo I had, which were mainly bad memories as I bought a ropey one in haste.
A mate of mine had a similar 16 valve one until fairly recently, that was very original. I had a quick go and it brought back memories of the Portofino Blue Turbo I had, which were mainly bad memories as I bought a ropey one in haste.
SloppyClock said:
Really interesting seeing the interior, its actually quite similar to the Barchetta - at least in styling.. Makes you wonder what other similarities there are both eletrically and mechanically.
Lovely car!
Other than some switchgear, steering wheel and a couple of other bits, there's not much in the similarity stakes between the Coupe and Barchetta. The Coupe was based on the Tipo whereas the Barchetta was based on the Mk1 Punto so quite different.Lovely car!
OP, I always found the NA 20v to sound better than the turbo. Never been in a NA coupe but my mate had the Bravo HGT which shared the same lump. I had a 20VT in Scots green but living in London I sold it to a mate who now has three of the buggers. Would have another once I move out of London.
cammmy said:
Nice, my dad has developed an obsession for these. I have a 20vt that he got for me as it was a good deal due to needing a bunch of service work. I have to say I wasn't that keen until I drove it. The sound and the oomph were much better than I was expecting.
Anyhow, my question was what area do you live in? I'm in Essex and I'm currently doing some touch up work on one of his (also broom yellow). So I have paint that seems to be a really good match. If you are willing to do some sanding yourself, then you can bring it to me and I'll blow some paint in for you.
Hi Cammmy,Anyhow, my question was what area do you live in? I'm in Essex and I'm currently doing some touch up work on one of his (also broom yellow). So I have paint that seems to be a really good match. If you are willing to do some sanding yourself, then you can bring it to me and I'll blow some paint in for you.
We are in Southend-on-sea, The pictures don't show it that well but the bumper area is a darker yellow than the bonnet (I suspect some dodgy respraying has been done at some point but it's hard to tell apart from a slight bit of overspray I noticed by the drivers door area.
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