fiat 500 abarth

Fiat 500 In The All Clear

Our Fiat 500 has passed in MOT with flying colours and has now been completed and awaiting collection. We’re delighted to see this little Italian Fiat back on the road.

Fiat 500 Awaits MOT

Our Fiat 500 Abarth has now been finished and is awaiting an MOT. We’ve soldered the wires to the bulbs in the rear lights to resolve the poor condition, repaired the number plate light, choke, fitted a fiddly gear stick head, completed the steering rack conversion, amended the electrics and brake master cylinder reservoir.

Fiat 500’s Steering Correction

We’re on the home straight with the steering correction on our 1969 Fiat 500 Abarth. The new column is now in with new bearings and strengthening plate. We’ve modified the existing shaft to facilitate a new one. We’ve then patched up the holes. The steering has changed from a box to a rack during this conversion.

Fiat 500’s Recent Modifications

We’ve made some more modifications to our 1969 Fiat 500. The demister diverter heater control for the floor and windscreen has been modified and moved to accommodate the new steering rack.

Fiat Abarth Prepped For Surgery

Our 1969 Fiat 500 isn’t doing too well. It came in a few months back for a steering rack replacement to fix a dangerous modification that had caused it to lose steering, however the parts were stuck oversees and it had sat in the workshop awaiting repairs ever since. Now that we have the parts, we can get started on making this little classic safe again.

The aim is to fit a new steering rack and column however it currently hits against the clutch pedal and universal joints, so we need to take apart the brackets that hold in the rack and column, move the bracket over by 10mm or so, and then refit the steering components. A big job of tearing apart the brackets and mounts, rebuilding them and fitting them back in is on the horizon.

The surgery has begun…

Fiat 500 Parts Finally Arrive

We’ve bene waiting on the parts for our 1969 Fiat 500 Abarth for many months as they were stuck abroad due to a shipping error. Now, finally with us, we can get started with replacing and modifying the steering rack.

Fiat 500 Off The Rails

We’ve had a quirky 1969 Fiat 500 Abarth come in recently for some care and attention. One of our technicians soon found a dangerous issue with the steering column that we are now making top priority to correct. It seems there is a Fiat 126 steering rack fitted with fiat 500 elements, meaning the components in the steering rack didn’t match up, making steering and driving unsafe. James has removed the potentially dangerous steering rack conversion from the steering box so that he can re-design and refit the steering to make it safe.

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New In At The Workshop: Fiat 500 Abarth

Our 1969 Fiat 500 with Abarth styling has come in to have its steering column addressed as well as some other small mechanical faults. We look forward to working on this interesting little classic.

Classic Fiat 500’s were built and designed for small Italian roads. Made with practicality and reliability in mind, these tiny classics are a similar size to a modern-day smart car. James may describe it as a “potent symbol of Italian utilitarian chic, the Latin driving temperament and creative solutions to everyday parking problems.”