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80's Retro Fiat

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80's Retro Fiat

thepottleflump

thepottleflump

Shut Up, Fool!
Parked in the garage
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Jan 29, 2005
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Well for all you boys and girls who don't venture into the Uno section I thought I'd post this little bit of 1980s Fiat retro chic - a 1989 Fiat Uno Mark 1 45s (999cc and 45bhp of pure unadulterated power).

I purchased this car in April as a bit of a project - yesterday it passed the MOT with flying colours so after being off the road it has returned!

Things I've done -

Serviced with oil & filter, gearbox oil, coolant, air filter, cleaned and check sparks, timing and engine tune. New wiper blades.

Front offside wing replaced off donor car due to it have a bit of a dent. One headlight replaced and front indicators replaced for better ones - plastic crumbling due to age. Front and rear bumpers both replaced with better ones from my donor car (now sadly departed). Sunroof unsealed and fine.

New Sachs shocks up front and rear and lowered 30mm on brand new Jamex springs

Rear arch welded due to corrosion, the rest of the car is sound, amazing for a 17 year old car. All arches waxoyled. A few small areas of surface corrosoion treated and resprayed. Wax sprayed inside panels. Brake parts painted in hammerite - Drums painted black and calipers painted blue.

Car given a good machine polish restoring the majority of its original shine. The alloy wheels were given a serious clean with some heavy duty acidic cleaner to remove heavy deposits of grime. The engine bay was given a serious clean. Interior given a good cleanup and refitted with a tasteful Mambo Mk2 interior - a lovely green and purple but very comfortable. New mats.

Well there we go, I've a few things more to do before I'm entirely happy with it. Enjoy - shellsuit and mullet optional.

unomk1.jpg
 
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got to say mate well done the old gal looks great im still on the look out for a good mk2 uno turbo hard to come by these days but will keep up the hunt - really miss my uno - well done again good to see them still running (y)
 
It's gorgeous mate, your enthusiasm for keeping the car in tip-top nick shows in the reflections. :)

Any more pictures? I'd be interested to know what you used to clean the engine bay, how effective it was, how long it took etc. I would like to clean mine thoroughly but don't want to disrupt anything. :)
 
FuzzyPanda said:
It's gorgeous mate, your enthusiasm for keeping the car in tip-top nick shows in the reflections. :)

Any more pictures? I'd be interested to know what you used to clean the engine bay, how effective it was, how long it took etc. I would like to clean mine thoroughly but don't want to disrupt anything. :)
Click to expand...

Pottleflump, you already know I love your car :yum:

FuzzyPanda, to clean the engine bay you can either buy engine cleaner (Gunk for instance) or just use parafin (cheaper). Seal all electrical components to protect them, then cover all the oily bits with engine cleaner. Work in with a stiff brush, then rinse off with water. Sometimes it needs a few goes to get it really clean, and you can be really thorough by using car shampoo on the surrounding metalwork/ inner wings afterwards.

Once that is done, use car polish on painted metal to make the engine bay gleam :cool:

Here's a pic of my engine bay about a year after cleaning, and also a picture of my 20 year Uno 45S after a wash earlier this year. Oldskool Unos are cool and chic :cool: :cool: :cool:

Washed 1986 Uno:

1986_Uno_Washed_05032006.JPG


Slightly dirty engine bay:

Uno_K_N.JPG
 
Found a better picture of my engine bay after cleaning. Hadn't polished the nearside inner wing though :bang:

FuzzyPanda, depending on how dirty your engine bay is, expect it to take at least an afternoon to a day to get it really clean. Longer for a very dirty engine bay.

1986 Uno 45S engine bay after cleaning:

Engine_bay_compact.JPG


P.S. Pottleflump, mullets and shell suits were on the way out in 1989! '89 was the start of the Acid and Rave generation, plus the beginning of 'Madchester' and the rise of the Stone Roses and Happy Mondays :cool:

1986 however was a crap year for anything other than my Uno! Space Shuttle Challenger blew up, and yes, Mullets and shell suits were all the rage :yuck: Other than that, 1986 didn't have many redeeming features at all, other than perhaps the first 24 hour television programme 'Night Network' being broadcasted (in the small hours of the morning anyway) and hosted by none other than Damon from Brookside. :p

God I feel old...
 
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OMG i'm not used to seeing a engine that small :eek:

Cars looks great though :D
 
That's a nice Uno :) I'm slowly breathing life into my uncle's 1987 Regata 100Sie that's been garaged for 4 years, so this thread seems the place to post photos of it soon!
 
FuzzyPanda said:
It's gorgeous mate, your enthusiasm for keeping the car in tip-top nick shows in the reflections. :)

Any more pictures? I'd be interested to know what you used to clean the engine bay, how effective it was, how long it took etc. I would like to clean mine thoroughly but don't want to disrupt anything. :)
Click to expand...

Cheers bud glad people appreciate the hard work. If you look at this thread https://www.fiatforum.com/uno/58669-progress-my-uno.html you'll see very dirty engine bay to clean engine bay pics. I cleaned with a bit of GUNK and the pressure washer seems to have had no ill effects but it is a basic engine, not sure you'd want to try this technique on a more complex engine with lots of pipework and electronics.

I was recommended on another forum to use AG Engine and Machine cleaner, rinsed off with water from a watering can, followed up by AG Vinyl and Rubber care. I bought some of this to try on the UT but haven't got round to it yet. Can't see this causing any major problems if done carefully.

1986Uno45S said:
P.S. Pottleflump, mullets and shell suits were on the way out in 1989! '89 was the start of the Acid and Rave generation, plus the beginning of 'Madchester' and the rise of the Stone Roses and Happy Mondays :cool:

1986 however was a crap year for anything other than my Uno! Space Shuttle Challenger blew up, and yes, Mullets and shell suits were all the rage :yuck: Other than that, 1986 didn't have many redeeming features at all, other than perhaps the first 24 hour television programme 'Night Network' being broadcasted (in the small hours of the morning anyway) and hosted by none other than Damon from Brookside. :p

God I feel old...
Click to expand...

Superb picture of your engine bay, looks very clean but is it that clean now?

I must say 1986 or 1989 don't stick out in my mind for anything in particular, I do remember the challenger disaster, was watching it on TV when it happened, I seem to recall saying something like "was that meant to happen" to my mum. Whoops.
 
thepottleflump said:
Superb picture of your engine bay, looks very clean but is it that clean now?
Click to expand...

Not far off the 'slightly dirty' engine pic above! No oil leaks, so it just gets a bit dusty after a few 1000 miles. I'm going to give it another clean when I get back home in October (y)

thepottleflump said:
I do remember the challenger disaster, was watching it on TV when it happened, I seem to recall saying something like "was that meant to happen" to my mum. Whoops.
Click to expand...

My sister who was very young at the time said "Ooh! Pretty fireworks!" :eek: :eek:

And Pottleflump, more pics please of your Uno please!
 
1986Uno45S said:
Pottleflump, you already know I love your car :yum:

FuzzyPanda, to clean the engine bay you can either buy engine cleaner (Gunk for instance) or just use parafin (cheaper). Seal all electrical components to protect them, then cover all the oily bits with engine cleaner. Work in with a stiff brush, then rinse off with water. Sometimes it needs a few goes to get it really clean, and you can be really thorough by using car shampoo on the surrounding metalwork/ inner wings afterwards.

Once that is done, use car polish on painted metal to make the engine bay gleam :cool:

Here's a pic of my engine bay about a year after cleaning, and also a picture of my 20 year Uno 45S after a wash earlier this year. Oldskool Unos are cool and chic :cool: :cool: :cool:

Washed 1986 Uno:

1986_Uno_Washed_05032006.JPG


Slightly dirty engine bay:

Uno_K_N.JPG
Click to expand...

what did you do the rocker cover with? :chin: :D
 
Dunc Uno Turbo said:
both unos looking really really tidy! loving the mega clean engine bay hehe

heres mine :D could be cleaner and will be hehe
Click to expand...

Loving that engine bay. If my UT doesn't sell on ebay I'm keeping it and doing a restoration, not as mad as yours just standard with a few subtle mods.

Dunc Uno Turbo said:
more pics of the black uno please :D
Click to expand...

Shortly post some more but don't want to spoil the illusion. LOL
 
looks like a nice clean example. clean enough to make it worth while converting to turbo? shame there's so few of them left. well actually its not a shame coz it makes every one of them special. the mk1 is an old favorite of mine. ah the good old days.
 
Thanks for the replies guys. My 999cc fire lump will be getting scrubbed down tomorrow morning, if it's half as good as those pictured I'd be happy. :) As well as wanting every inch of the Panda gleaming, I also wanna keep an eye out for leaks.

The rocker cover gasket went on it about a year ago and was replaced but the bit of oil that escaped remains!

:)
 
A tip for getting greasy marks off is WD40 or similar. Works a treat. Good on rusty bits too. And Upholstery cleaner is good for rubber pipes and metal work[painted or un- painted].(y)

Andy.
 
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