Seicento Sporting!
Discussion
Hi All,
Thought I'd share this as I know a lot of people like a bit of an old ball on here, I have a bit of a history with little Fiats, I somehow walked away from a mk1 Uno Turbo that was flipped at high speed, then years later ran a Panda 100hp from new for 5 years. I've always wanted to try a Cinq or Sei sporting and have nearly bought before but ended up with something else.
Anyway here is my 1999 Seicento Sporting with some Abarth bits - skirts, rear spoiler, wheels, it's done 60k, I bought it as a winter car and i absolutely love it! Loads of character, and genuinely fun to drive even with only 54bhp! 700kg and willing engine means it feels stronger and I can't think of many cars that are as amusing within the legal limits, this feels like its flying along at 60-70!
I have some plans for it, its already had a fairly good polish, engine oil change, gearbox oil change and new tyres, but I need to protect the body so there will be plenty of acf50 going into it, and I'll also uprate the suspension. I would like to do the engine mounts and also improve the brakes as well.
I don't know if there is much love for these out there now but would be great to hear any advice or from anyone else that is running one.
Thought I'd share this as I know a lot of people like a bit of an old ball on here, I have a bit of a history with little Fiats, I somehow walked away from a mk1 Uno Turbo that was flipped at high speed, then years later ran a Panda 100hp from new for 5 years. I've always wanted to try a Cinq or Sei sporting and have nearly bought before but ended up with something else.
Anyway here is my 1999 Seicento Sporting with some Abarth bits - skirts, rear spoiler, wheels, it's done 60k, I bought it as a winter car and i absolutely love it! Loads of character, and genuinely fun to drive even with only 54bhp! 700kg and willing engine means it feels stronger and I can't think of many cars that are as amusing within the legal limits, this feels like its flying along at 60-70!
I have some plans for it, its already had a fairly good polish, engine oil change, gearbox oil change and new tyres, but I need to protect the body so there will be plenty of acf50 going into it, and I'll also uprate the suspension. I would like to do the engine mounts and also improve the brakes as well.
I don't know if there is much love for these out there now but would be great to hear any advice or from anyone else that is running one.
Lovely little thing, especially with some Abarth bits. I had a yellow one a few years ago and it was great fun, until the rocker gasket started weeping oil. I've seen a couple around locally and it's a car coming back onto my radar, so I'd be tempted if I came across an attractively priced one. Had a yellow Lupo SDI after that.
I learned to drive in a 900cc Cinq, and with a bit of nostalgia I bought a very cheap yellow Seicento Sporting around 2005 to teach my now-wife-then-girlfriend to drive. It instantly became my preferred commuting car for a few years. I discovered I didn't care about warming it up, so I could just get in and drive it. I further discovered that no matter how much abuse it got (don't worry, it was not a collectable example) it never complained. It became a game. I never changed the oil. I replaced brake pads once and the cam cover gasket to stop it seeping. Other than that I just thrashed it from cold every day for years. When we replaced the car, I felt so bad about selling it after all that lack of care that I just gave it to a friend for free, who continued the abuse in the spirit of "is it even possible to kill this thing?". It survived another year with him, then he passed it on to another friend. No idea what happened to it after that.
Indestructible fun! We adored it. Basically, if there's oil in it, it'll run forever. Enjoy
Indestructible fun! We adored it. Basically, if there's oil in it, it'll run forever. Enjoy
Good to see some have fond memories of them!
@Stuart aside from not being the safest thing on the road nowadays I think they'd make a great first car, I can't think of many other cars that would demonstrate how fun driving can be but at the same time I'd assume relatively insurable and cheapish to buy. Plus they're very easy to work on, and whilst they do rust they fair much better than many other cars, helped i think by the fact many out there still have reasonable mileages so won't have endured 20+ winters on the road, I've seen a few come up for sale recently that had only done circa 30,000 miles, and still not crazy money.
I love to overspend on cheap cars so rest assured whilst this one is not a collectors example either it's going to be relatively pampered!
@Stuart aside from not being the safest thing on the road nowadays I think they'd make a great first car, I can't think of many other cars that would demonstrate how fun driving can be but at the same time I'd assume relatively insurable and cheapish to buy. Plus they're very easy to work on, and whilst they do rust they fair much better than many other cars, helped i think by the fact many out there still have reasonable mileages so won't have endured 20+ winters on the road, I've seen a few come up for sale recently that had only done circa 30,000 miles, and still not crazy money.
I love to overspend on cheap cars so rest assured whilst this one is not a collectors example either it's going to be relatively pampered!
Cam covers are also about a tenner to fix, so not a problem,
i had a cinq sporting with all the abarth kit, paid 200 quid with the headgasket gone. cost about 80 quid to fix including a skim.
i forgot to add coolant afterwards and drove it for a couple of weeks before it was noted by the new owner. pretty reliable little things but dont crash one!!
i had a cinq sporting with all the abarth kit, paid 200 quid with the headgasket gone. cost about 80 quid to fix including a skim.
i forgot to add coolant afterwards and drove it for a couple of weeks before it was noted by the new owner. pretty reliable little things but dont crash one!!
Phils-Fast said:
pretty reliable little things but dont crash one!!
^ This, they don't fare too well in crashes, but they are cool little cars undoubtedly - wanted one years ago when I was 17, they were only a few years old then, but the safety aspect changed my mind 
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