"JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t" (jawzx2)
11/06/2016 at 17:05 • Filed to: None
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"JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t" (jawzx2)
11/06/2016 at 17:05 • Filed to: None | 1
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passenger side rockers are pretty crusty/crumbly underneath.
That Fiat 500 is still there... I haven’t called the number yet, but I took a closer look this time. Bottom of the rockers are kinda rotten, but the floor, roof, pillars, frunk, etc all look quite solid. It may have has some replacement panels welded in previously, but I don’t know enough what the welds looked like from the factory to tell if that’s the case... but I took more pictures... I know the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ... given the new images, should I be calling this guy, and/or showing up with a fist full of cash and a trailer?
see below:
still not sure what all the masking tape is about.
tops of the rockers look and feel solid
hinges / pillar look and feel pretty solid.
is that factory quality welding, or replacement panels?
this is all quite clean, except for the mysteriously missing alternator...
no rust back there on the fire wall.
driver’s side rocker is not quite as porous...
bottom of the frunk, below the headlights looks solid still...
everything appears to be there...
note build plate... and possibly leaky fuel tank...
roof replaced?
aftermarket seats, radio box and new carpets.
better shot of the build plate. “Deutsche Fiat Antiegesellschaft Heilborn”?
BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
> JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t
11/06/2016 at 17:26 |
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Deutsche Fiat Actiengesellschaft Heilbron would make it a German built Neckar Fiat if I’m not mistaken. It looks quite solid to be honest.
Berang
> JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t
11/06/2016 at 17:27 |
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Look up parts prices before making your move.
someassemblyrequired
> BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
11/06/2016 at 17:42 |
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Didn’t Fiat import some 500s though? I thought they had their own operation in Hellbronn too and this one has Fiat badging, which the Necker’s wouldn’t. The word in front of Fiat-Turin (Fabrzeugest) translates as factory test from German, maybe if someone can make out the first line of text it would be definitive. Might make sense given the test track at Lingotto.
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BvdV - The Dutch Engineer
> someassemblyrequired
11/06/2016 at 17:54 |
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It could have been a knock-down kit like operation, building/assembling exact Italian designs in Germany.
I think it says ‘Hersteller des Fahrzeuges’, meaning vehicle manufacturer. The German vin plate points at it being built there, since I’m almost sure a Turin built 500 would say something like ‘Construttori del veicolo’.
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JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t
> Berang
11/06/2016 at 18:10 |
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availability seems excellent (in Europe), prices are not quite VW Beetle cheap, but definitely low by vintage car standards... Body panels readily available... alternator is not cheap. ~300 euro. one of the single most expensive parts of the engine. hell, they sell complete replacement engines for ~1000 euro... US dollar is strong right now, $1.11/Euro... not bad.
https://www.fiat500ricambi.com/fiat500/
Jonee
> JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t
11/06/2016 at 20:31 |
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I love it, but I’m getting the feeling it has your name written all over it. If it was in my part of the country, I’d absolutely buy it. So, you should. It looks to be in totally fine shape.
RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
> JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t
11/07/2016 at 00:16 |
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Looks pretty solid to me! These cars rust a lot, so swiss-cheesey rockers aren’t a huge worry. If there was any way to look underneath well before you got it, that would be a plus as you never know if the front frunk, floor, etc is rusting up from below, and just isn’t the whole way through yet. Definitely get that spare out and the battery and look underneath though...there are drain holes down there if memory serves, but if they were plugged and water got down there, things could be rusty. The battery area especially too as the acid from a leaky older battery could kill that metal.
As for the welds...I don’t know enough to tell you if they are factory or not (I’ve only seen 2 500s in person in my life, haha!). From that build plate, it looks to me like it was an Italian-built 500 and imported to Germany. I read “Deutsche Fiat Aktiengesellschaft Heilbronn” rather than the “Deutsche Fiat Antiegesellschaft Heilborn” you thought you saw, and “Deutsche Fiat Aktiengesellschaft Heilbronn” translates to “German Fiat Stock Company Heilbronn” using Google Translate....which, in turn, sounds to me like a holding company that deals with the importing rather than manufacture. I’m with BvdV in thinking the second section of the plate reads “Hersteller des Fahrzeuges” - “Vehicle Manufacturer”, which lists FIAT-Turin, so I’m going with imported Italian.
To be nitpicky - the interior - if it were me, I’d want to return it closer to stock. The seats could stay as they are OK (not huge on the pattern though), but that terrible shift lever boot/geatshift knob / steering wheel / pedals have to go IMHO. :P Nice that it has a stereo and speakers, but if that is the speakers I see on the rear C-pillars...they look a little to ‘tuner-y’ to me to be in a classic FIAT, and that stereo ‘shelf’ looks very tacky.
The generator would be costly yes...probably $350-450 bucks on it’s own new. You might be able to retrofit a cheaper FIAT 126 alternator in there, but those are A/C current not D/C, so that would take some extra work and the mounting points are different. You could also pick up a cheap, used 126 engine (or rebuilt engine), as Jaws said, for a fairly decent price and 24hp from a later 650cc engine rather than this car’s probably 17hp 499cc engine would be a noticeable upgrade in a car this light - plus 126 engines were synchro (except 1st and reverse) gearboxes if you got a replacement 126 engine/gearbox as a unit which would make it a lot easier to drive. 126 engines fit and bolt right in to the 500 aside from changing some of the ancillaries to match (such as the A/C alternator vs. D/C generator on the 126 vs. 500 engine, and their required extra components for voltage regulation, etc).
Definitely a welded-in roof panel I think. A lot of the 500's body panels were stamped in one pressing to save weight/cost, so I’d say that weld in your one pic is definitely post-factory.
All that being said, if this was near me and it was $2800 and in the shape it appears to be in from what you’ve seen, I’d get it in a heartbeat if you had somewhere to store it and work on it! :D It seems a bit rough, sure, and it would need some work, but as long as you look over it carefully before you bought it (especially get it on a hoist or up on jacks for a closer look underneath!) and it checks out, parts are plentiful, fairly easy to get, and the cars are dead simple to work on....it would make for one very fun, very small, smile-inducing little buzzbox...albeit a slow one. The smiles for you and those that see you are what it’s all about though! :D
Here’s a download link to some classic 500 manuals
on my GDrive for you to peruse (500D/500F/500L Service Manual and 500D English/500L Italian User Manuals - sorry, I have no 500F manuals, but the cars are all extremely similar!) if you’d like to read a bit more up on their complexity if buying it and fixing it is a thing you could see yourself doing! :D
Cheers!
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RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
> JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t
11/22/2016 at 06:12 |
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Any further word on this little fella? :)
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JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t
> RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
11/22/2016 at 09:45 |
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A whole bunch of stuff has happened since... most notably the election of Donald Trump and I went into a money-reevaluation panic. The part that really bugs me is that my investments seem to be doing very well with the prospect of 4 years of Trump, so perhaps my panic is somewhat asuaged by the blood money I’m currently earning from the stock market :| I have not been in touch with the buyer, I will be driving past it again this weekend, if it’s still there I need to make some decisions...