Doing the bits & bobs on the Abarth has started!
Simple things first; can't stand seeing orange bulbs behind clear lenses so some Osram Diadem bulbs were fitted to replace the standard front indicator bulbs.
Before:
After:
Headlight bulbs upgraded with these fellas:
Old vs. new:
The 3-way connector blocks were super-tight on the backs of the old bulbs so a bit of leverage had to be applied
Onto the wheel bolts...these were looking very grim so were replaced with shiny new 'Bimecc' jobbies, which are allegedly rust-proof (we shall see!)
Before:
Old vs. new:
After:
The locking wheel bolt now sticks out like a sore-thumb so is on the list to replace...
Inside the car, I noticed on the test-drive that one of the dash vents wasn't looking right, with the inner slats all over the place:
A quick dismantle of the centre console revealed the issue:
For once this was a quick and zero-cost repair, I just had to pop the retaining bar back on:
Reassembled:
Sorted!
I decided to fit side decals to the car, partly as a homage to my Uno and partly just because I like 'em, even on modern cars!
As bought:
O/S before:
Marking up - I used 50mm wide masking tape to align the bottom of the stripes equidistant from the plastic side skirt along its length:
Offering up the decals:
First section done:
O/S done:
N/S before & after:
I know that on factory-fitted decals the 'ABARTH' bit is towards the front of each door but in keeping with my Uno, which has the 'Uno turbo i.e.' bit on the rear-quarters I decided to fit them the other way around. They look good against the red background but don't work with the white wheels so I'm going to wait until I've replaced them before making a final decision on whether the decals stay on or not.
Next was a spot of wheel and arch cleaning
A front, before:
After a clean with Megs APC, a rub over with AG ITR and a coat of Colly 476:
The wheels were refurbed just before I bought the car and apparently they didn't take the tyres off to do them nor did they mask up the inner sidewall, hence the overspray
Back on the car:
Front wheel arch before cleaning (rather concerned that the powder-coating had completely flaked off the springs so they're on the list to replace as what's underneath is pretty corroded
):
After a couple of attacks with Megs APC using a variety of brushes, rinsed, dried and coated with Aerospace 303:
Rears cleaned up well with the same process (sorry, forgot the 'before' shots):
That's all for now! :wave:
Abarth badge needs renewing:
Wheels are in great nick with 2 of them being brand new and all 4 recently repainted but the white isn't my cup of tea so I won't be keeping them this way:
Interior is near mint although a couple of bits of trim are loose:
Engine bay very 'honest' but needs a spruce up to get it to my standards:
Coming from a lightly-tweaked Coupé 20V Turbo there's a distinct difference in straight-line speed but I expected that. Otherwise all good so far and I enjoyed using the cruise control on the drive home 
