Introduction
Hi all, My name is Adrian, I'm a mechanical design and factory controls engineer based in the northwest UK and this is my first foray into Italian cars. Up until recently I've been fairly evenly split between the Japanese and the French, with the odd bout of Swedish fever.
Seeing my MX-5 owning friends constantly taunting me with their ability to put the roof down in the 15 days of sunshine we get in the UK gave me a bit of a pre-mid-life-crisis and made me pull the trigger on finally buying a convertible myself.
Always fancied the Barchetta over an MX5 or Z3 or MGF, and well, here I am. In September 2024, in a bout of no self-control I jumped on a plane to the Netherlands and picked up this little number. I had 3 criteria for it that needed to met:
1. Be red. Or yellow. But preferably red because that's the colour of the Otto-mobile scale model I have.
2. Be EU-registered as it's final destination is going to be my holiday home in Romania.
3. Have air conditioning. It does. It doesn't work, but I'll fix that later. Hopefully.
So that is what I got. A red, EU-registered, Aircon-equipped car, first registered on the 28th of April 1995 according to the RDW, so a rather early car, last plated as 25-LZ-VH, currently unregistered.
If any of its previous owners happen to be on here and have any history of the car they could share with me, I'd greatly appreciate it as I've received nothing when buying the car. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Just the keys and registration document.
Immediately after picking up the car, which I knew had some issues, but hey-ho, it's a 30 year old car, it's to be expected, the list of things wrong with it grew as I drove about the Netherlands a bit, going on a little roadtrip from Rotterdam to Maastricht to pick up a hardtop then back up to Rotterdam for the ferry to Hull.
Below is a list of what is broken on it and where I am at with the fixes.
Rust holes in the floor - I knew of these, they were supposed to be welded up by the "specialist garage" I bought the car from as the agreement we reached when I went to view the car about a month before buying it was "fix the rust holes and give it an APK".
They only fixed the outer sill, but left gaping holes on the underside and gave that car what I am convinced is a bent APK. I only saw this when I went to pick up the car, and the money had already exchanged hands as I was in a race against the clock to get the export papers done the same day. At that point however it would have been far more costly for me argue with them to fix it properly, cancel the ferry, rebook flights, time off, etc. to come pick it up another time so in the end I've taken the loss and fix it myself.
I've completely stripped the interior of the rubberised floor mat, and stripped the bitumen sound deadening, still need to take the dashboard out and get the wiring out of the way to prevent welding sparks from destroying anything. The fabrication work from what I can see is fairly straight forward, and should not take too long to do once everything is prepped.
Once welded, the entire interior floor will be stripped to bare metal, I will be drilling a few extra drainage holes, Bilt-Hamber Electrox anti-corrosion primer will be used as a base coat then the entire interior floor will be covered with a rubberised high-impact bedliner, most likely Raptor as that's a common readily available brand here in the UK and my off-roader friends constantly sing it's praises. I might get some aluminium kick-plates made for the floor so I can have a flat surface for my feet. Once everything is painted, bedlined, seam-sealed etc. it will be heavily Lanoguarded in all the cavities and underside as I've been quite happy with the results of that on my WRX.
Odometer was broken - Noticed this while driving to Maastricht, after some advice from Brian Poole of the UK Barchetta club, the little peg was indeed jumped from it's position. I've reseated it now and it should work again, but can't test yet until the car is registered and legal to drive.
Speedometer is broken - Speedometer would go up to 80km/h and just sit there, and also the speed below 80 would not be accurate. Again on Brian's advice, I've found the solder on the back of PCB is cracked. These will be resoldered once I find someone with a steady enough hand to do it.
Thermostat is stuck fully open - Noticed it on the roadtrip back home, brand new thermostat and full silicone coolant hose kit waiting to be installed on the car.
Leaking Heater Core - New heater core acquired and waiting to be installed once the dashboard is out.
Rear wheel bearing needs replacing - Or might be an unbalanced wheel or wobbly tyre. Will be replacing both rear wheel bearings and getting new tyres all-around anyway.
Aircon not working and blower fan only works on speed 3 - Aircon to be leak-checked when I get to it, I've bought a new fan speed relay to replace the existing one, to be done when reassembling the interior.
Rough, uneven idle - Discovered a split in the concertina bit of the intake pipe between the MAF and throttle body, still experimenting with a solution as new part unavailable and don't really want to risk it on a used part as rubber degrades with time as well, not just usage.
Airbag light comes on, sometimes. - Aware this is a common issue, airbag will not be a concern as planning on a Nardi steering wheel so the airbag is getting chucked into the (parts) bin, only to be reinstalled if needed for inspections.
After using the hazzards, the turn signals may freeze and not flash - Apparently this is an issue with the flasher relay sticking from what I've read, will be installing a self-timing relay that works with LED bulbs anyway so this should sort it.
Radio wiring was an absolute mess - Whoever butchered it deserves a medal. I've spent a good amount of time un-butchering it. Decided rather than trying to get a switched live signal from the ignition, to instead just wire in a button to turn the radio on/off. Radio has also been relocated to the glovebox in order to allow me to hide it away and lock it to make it not as tempting for entrepreneurial individuals to help themselves to a five-fingered discount if I leave the top down while parked somewhere. I might re-relocate it to the armrest.
Speakers were absolutely shot - Replaced with Hertz Uno tweeters and mid-woofers mounted on custom 3D-printed adapter rings in the factory positions in the doors and footwell. When rewiring the radio I've also wired in provisions for an extra set of rear speakers in case I manage to get my hands on a factory subwoofer enclosure or end up making my own.
Hardtop Refurb - The hardtop I bough is very much a bit of a project in of itself, and fortunately the price reflected that. It was cheap compared to the ones I see pop up in the UK usually. It will be getting completely stripped down to bare metal and a few minor dents ironed out.
Primered and painted 168A Rosso to match the car on the outside, and probably a satin black on the inside.
Will be adding quite a bit of sound deadening to it, and seeing about tightening the latches on the front to pull tighter as it is a bit loose to the windscreen.
I will try to retrim the headliner but the possibility that I will bin it and just trim the hardtop directly is there.
I will also be experimenting with window seals, to see if I can find a more readily available seal for the rear window and if I can find better sealing alternatives for the side windows (may involve a bit of mould making) as even after adjusting the door windows, I'm not sold on the weatherproofing.
Timing Belt - The odometer stopped counting at 220k kms. Actual mileage is unknown, so timing belt service is a must. Might pull the whole engine and gearbox out to do it at the same time as I do the clutch and gearbox change for the sake of access. Somehow I've managed to gain a bit of expertise in doing this deed after helping Mick Backhouse of the UK Barchetta Club pull the engines out of two parts cars in the past couple of months.
Additionally, because I am basically an overgrown child zero-self control and a credit card, and like to tinker with stuff, some mods will be done for both usability and future-proofing.
Quaife LSD - Does it need it? At 130hp, no. Did I randomly see it while looking for LSDs for my WRX and immediately buy it? Yes.
I've also bought a 2nd gearbox that is much lower mileage than mine to strip, rebuild and put the LSD into.
Lightened Flywheel - Not bought one yet, but a clutch change is imminent when I swap the gearboxes, and I've got a couple in my bookmarks somewhere, so only a matter of time until I order one.
C&B Camshafts - Very much considering the Medium Fast Road camshafts, again very much a -monkey see, monkey want- situation for me. If I'll have to take the valve cover off to lock the cams anyway when doing the timing belt, that's practically all the way there to doing a cam shaft swap while I'm at it in my eyes.
Standalone ECU - By far the best mod I've done to my WRX was getting a standalone ECU installed. No more hunting down out of production sensors, no more wondering why it's not running right, no more being stuck behind factory encrypted headaches (looking at you factory immobilisers). I'll be doing the same for the Barchetta, already in talks with a specialist here in the UK. If they were able to get an LS3 6.2L V8 to work in a 2015 Mazda MX5 on their standalone ECU without using any piggybacks to factory stuff, they'll be able make an old Fiat run as well.
Variator Delete - Given the variator availability situation, I am very seriously considering getting an insert machined to lock the variator into a fixed position and effectively delete the headache. I will gladly accept the 15hp or so penalty. This will only be done once the standalone ECU is installed as to make a delete like this properly work, it has to be done within the ECU as well with a full dyno tune.
Cupholders - I have added cupholders. There is a picture. This is my greatest achievement. My biggest gripe with european cars of the era is the lack of cupholders, so I've modelled up a DIN-sized insert to 3D-print and stick into what was the radio hole, and use Audi A6 cupholders. I have since altered the design to have just a single cupholder and a 52mm gauge hole to mount a CANchecked MFD gauge for use with a standalone ECU to display various engine parameters like AFR, oil pressure, oil temp, water temp. I have yet to print this out.
Red Riviera Interior - I may or may not have secured a full red Riviera interior. Wink Wink. Nudge Nudge.
Stainless Exhaust - Current exhaust is looking a bit crusty and a bit too quiet for me. Will probably fabricate my own stainless exhaust for it at some point, or might try my luck and see if DTR still makes stainless Barchetta exhausts. Not at that point of the project yet, other things to spend the money on first.
Brake upgrades - Braided stainless hoses are a must in my book, if not out of necessity then out of habit, so will be getting a set of HEL hoses when I get to the brakes. Would be nice to find some bigger brakes that are compatible but still fit in the factory 15" alloys. If not, the current calipers will be getting refurbished, powdercoated red, and some good quality discs and pads installed.
Now, as I said in the beginning, the plan for this car is to be sent over to Romania to be my holiday car there, HOWEVER, Romania is planning on introducing some rather painful tax increases for older cars, so there is a growing chance I may look at registering it to the UK instead for now. Would be a bit of a bummer as I'll end up paying customs and VAT twice when I do later send it to Romania, but we'll see what happens. For now, I need to get it fixed and cross that bridge when I get to it.
Seeing my MX-5 owning friends constantly taunting me with their ability to put the roof down in the 15 days of sunshine we get in the UK gave me a bit of a pre-mid-life-crisis and made me pull the trigger on finally buying a convertible myself.
Always fancied the Barchetta over an MX5 or Z3 or MGF, and well, here I am. In September 2024, in a bout of no self-control I jumped on a plane to the Netherlands and picked up this little number. I had 3 criteria for it that needed to met:
1. Be red. Or yellow. But preferably red because that's the colour of the Otto-mobile scale model I have.
2. Be EU-registered as it's final destination is going to be my holiday home in Romania.
3. Have air conditioning. It does. It doesn't work, but I'll fix that later. Hopefully.
So that is what I got. A red, EU-registered, Aircon-equipped car, first registered on the 28th of April 1995 according to the RDW, so a rather early car, last plated as 25-LZ-VH, currently unregistered.
If any of its previous owners happen to be on here and have any history of the car they could share with me, I'd greatly appreciate it as I've received nothing when buying the car. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Just the keys and registration document.
Immediately after picking up the car, which I knew had some issues, but hey-ho, it's a 30 year old car, it's to be expected, the list of things wrong with it grew as I drove about the Netherlands a bit, going on a little roadtrip from Rotterdam to Maastricht to pick up a hardtop then back up to Rotterdam for the ferry to Hull.
Below is a list of what is broken on it and where I am at with the fixes.
Rust holes in the floor - I knew of these, they were supposed to be welded up by the "specialist garage" I bought the car from as the agreement we reached when I went to view the car about a month before buying it was "fix the rust holes and give it an APK".
They only fixed the outer sill, but left gaping holes on the underside and gave that car what I am convinced is a bent APK. I only saw this when I went to pick up the car, and the money had already exchanged hands as I was in a race against the clock to get the export papers done the same day. At that point however it would have been far more costly for me argue with them to fix it properly, cancel the ferry, rebook flights, time off, etc. to come pick it up another time so in the end I've taken the loss and fix it myself.
I've completely stripped the interior of the rubberised floor mat, and stripped the bitumen sound deadening, still need to take the dashboard out and get the wiring out of the way to prevent welding sparks from destroying anything. The fabrication work from what I can see is fairly straight forward, and should not take too long to do once everything is prepped.
Once welded, the entire interior floor will be stripped to bare metal, I will be drilling a few extra drainage holes, Bilt-Hamber Electrox anti-corrosion primer will be used as a base coat then the entire interior floor will be covered with a rubberised high-impact bedliner, most likely Raptor as that's a common readily available brand here in the UK and my off-roader friends constantly sing it's praises. I might get some aluminium kick-plates made for the floor so I can have a flat surface for my feet. Once everything is painted, bedlined, seam-sealed etc. it will be heavily Lanoguarded in all the cavities and underside as I've been quite happy with the results of that on my WRX.
Odometer was broken - Noticed this while driving to Maastricht, after some advice from Brian Poole of the UK Barchetta club, the little peg was indeed jumped from it's position. I've reseated it now and it should work again, but can't test yet until the car is registered and legal to drive.
Speedometer is broken - Speedometer would go up to 80km/h and just sit there, and also the speed below 80 would not be accurate. Again on Brian's advice, I've found the solder on the back of PCB is cracked. These will be resoldered once I find someone with a steady enough hand to do it.
Thermostat is stuck fully open - Noticed it on the roadtrip back home, brand new thermostat and full silicone coolant hose kit waiting to be installed on the car.
Leaking Heater Core - New heater core acquired and waiting to be installed once the dashboard is out.
Rear wheel bearing needs replacing - Or might be an unbalanced wheel or wobbly tyre. Will be replacing both rear wheel bearings and getting new tyres all-around anyway.
Aircon not working and blower fan only works on speed 3 - Aircon to be leak-checked when I get to it, I've bought a new fan speed relay to replace the existing one, to be done when reassembling the interior.
Rough, uneven idle - Discovered a split in the concertina bit of the intake pipe between the MAF and throttle body, still experimenting with a solution as new part unavailable and don't really want to risk it on a used part as rubber degrades with time as well, not just usage.
Airbag light comes on, sometimes. - Aware this is a common issue, airbag will not be a concern as planning on a Nardi steering wheel so the airbag is getting chucked into the (parts) bin, only to be reinstalled if needed for inspections.
After using the hazzards, the turn signals may freeze and not flash - Apparently this is an issue with the flasher relay sticking from what I've read, will be installing a self-timing relay that works with LED bulbs anyway so this should sort it.
Radio wiring was an absolute mess - Whoever butchered it deserves a medal. I've spent a good amount of time un-butchering it. Decided rather than trying to get a switched live signal from the ignition, to instead just wire in a button to turn the radio on/off. Radio has also been relocated to the glovebox in order to allow me to hide it away and lock it to make it not as tempting for entrepreneurial individuals to help themselves to a five-fingered discount if I leave the top down while parked somewhere. I might re-relocate it to the armrest.
Speakers were absolutely shot - Replaced with Hertz Uno tweeters and mid-woofers mounted on custom 3D-printed adapter rings in the factory positions in the doors and footwell. When rewiring the radio I've also wired in provisions for an extra set of rear speakers in case I manage to get my hands on a factory subwoofer enclosure or end up making my own.
Hardtop Refurb - The hardtop I bough is very much a bit of a project in of itself, and fortunately the price reflected that. It was cheap compared to the ones I see pop up in the UK usually. It will be getting completely stripped down to bare metal and a few minor dents ironed out.
Primered and painted 168A Rosso to match the car on the outside, and probably a satin black on the inside.
Will be adding quite a bit of sound deadening to it, and seeing about tightening the latches on the front to pull tighter as it is a bit loose to the windscreen.
I will try to retrim the headliner but the possibility that I will bin it and just trim the hardtop directly is there.
I will also be experimenting with window seals, to see if I can find a more readily available seal for the rear window and if I can find better sealing alternatives for the side windows (may involve a bit of mould making) as even after adjusting the door windows, I'm not sold on the weatherproofing.
Timing Belt - The odometer stopped counting at 220k kms. Actual mileage is unknown, so timing belt service is a must. Might pull the whole engine and gearbox out to do it at the same time as I do the clutch and gearbox change for the sake of access. Somehow I've managed to gain a bit of expertise in doing this deed after helping Mick Backhouse of the UK Barchetta Club pull the engines out of two parts cars in the past couple of months.
Additionally, because I am basically an overgrown child zero-self control and a credit card, and like to tinker with stuff, some mods will be done for both usability and future-proofing.
Quaife LSD - Does it need it? At 130hp, no. Did I randomly see it while looking for LSDs for my WRX and immediately buy it? Yes.
I've also bought a 2nd gearbox that is much lower mileage than mine to strip, rebuild and put the LSD into.
Lightened Flywheel - Not bought one yet, but a clutch change is imminent when I swap the gearboxes, and I've got a couple in my bookmarks somewhere, so only a matter of time until I order one.
C&B Camshafts - Very much considering the Medium Fast Road camshafts, again very much a -monkey see, monkey want- situation for me. If I'll have to take the valve cover off to lock the cams anyway when doing the timing belt, that's practically all the way there to doing a cam shaft swap while I'm at it in my eyes.
Standalone ECU - By far the best mod I've done to my WRX was getting a standalone ECU installed. No more hunting down out of production sensors, no more wondering why it's not running right, no more being stuck behind factory encrypted headaches (looking at you factory immobilisers). I'll be doing the same for the Barchetta, already in talks with a specialist here in the UK. If they were able to get an LS3 6.2L V8 to work in a 2015 Mazda MX5 on their standalone ECU without using any piggybacks to factory stuff, they'll be able make an old Fiat run as well.
Variator Delete - Given the variator availability situation, I am very seriously considering getting an insert machined to lock the variator into a fixed position and effectively delete the headache. I will gladly accept the 15hp or so penalty. This will only be done once the standalone ECU is installed as to make a delete like this properly work, it has to be done within the ECU as well with a full dyno tune.
Cupholders - I have added cupholders. There is a picture. This is my greatest achievement. My biggest gripe with european cars of the era is the lack of cupholders, so I've modelled up a DIN-sized insert to 3D-print and stick into what was the radio hole, and use Audi A6 cupholders. I have since altered the design to have just a single cupholder and a 52mm gauge hole to mount a CANchecked MFD gauge for use with a standalone ECU to display various engine parameters like AFR, oil pressure, oil temp, water temp. I have yet to print this out.
Red Riviera Interior - I may or may not have secured a full red Riviera interior. Wink Wink. Nudge Nudge.
Stainless Exhaust - Current exhaust is looking a bit crusty and a bit too quiet for me. Will probably fabricate my own stainless exhaust for it at some point, or might try my luck and see if DTR still makes stainless Barchetta exhausts. Not at that point of the project yet, other things to spend the money on first.
Brake upgrades - Braided stainless hoses are a must in my book, if not out of necessity then out of habit, so will be getting a set of HEL hoses when I get to the brakes. Would be nice to find some bigger brakes that are compatible but still fit in the factory 15" alloys. If not, the current calipers will be getting refurbished, powdercoated red, and some good quality discs and pads installed.
Now, as I said in the beginning, the plan for this car is to be sent over to Romania to be my holiday car there, HOWEVER, Romania is planning on introducing some rather painful tax increases for older cars, so there is a growing chance I may look at registering it to the UK instead for now. Would be a bit of a bummer as I'll end up paying customs and VAT twice when I do later send it to Romania, but we'll see what happens. For now, I need to get it fixed and cross that bridge when I get to it.
