General 500 back in daily use

[MOD500]

I've been using my 500 for odd days and evenings/weekends. I've also got two VW golf's which my wife and I share so the fiat is never needed.

Over the last few years the 500 has become more reliable and one of the golfs developed a few issues:

1. Water ingress
2. Emissions issue

Both issues I hate and every time I went out to try to fix the golf I got angry that I wasn't tinkering with the fiat! So last weekend I sold a golf and updated my classic insurance to cover commuting so I am now using the 500 as a daily driver. The last time I used it as a daily was back in 2010, but that was 20 miles each way heading into west London which I grew tired of quite quickly! But I have a bike and there is a train if something goes wrong, and my current commute is only 9 miles each way.

 

[fiat500]

Great to hear that. I particularly like the fact that you call the Fiat 500, 'reliable". [emoji3]. I identify with that sense of grudging when working on your modern car; I have a timing-belt replacement coming up on a Picasso.[emoji26] It's just a bit more anecdotal evidence that the car improves if you use it and especially if used in normal, daily life. More updates as they happen please!

 

[MOD500]

I don't mind working on modern cars per say, but I can't justify fixing a rain water leak on one when The fiat, with the canvas roof, un-bonded windscreen and drain holes in the floor doesn't seem to take on any water!


Anyway, here's a shameless photo from my office window!

 

[Bigvtwin996]

What is it Arry Ill says.... "FFFFFIIIIGGGGGGGGHHHHHHTTTTT"

Is Mrup going to have a "daily driver" challenger???

There is a guy near me I see during the summer using his 500 as a daily...

I think it must be awesome to be able to drive a 500 every day....

 

[fiat500]

I think it must be awesome to be able to drive a 500 every day....

......what have I been saying all these years? There must be loads of daily drivers in London.

 

[Bigvtwin996]

.................. There must be loads of daily drivers in London.

I think they are called "Black Cabs"

As parking charges would prevent most people.....
What's the score with the Congestion Charge and 500s?
Are classics exempt?

 

[fiat500]

I think they are called "Black Cabs"

As parking charges would prevent most people.....
What's the score with the Congestion Charge and 500s?
Are classics exempt?

Are you saying no-one except black-cab owners drive in London? Or is it that you're saying that daily-driving Fiat 500 owners are consistently poor or thrifty?

Anecdotally I've seen a fair bit to indicate that they are a popular form of transport in London.
A classic Fiat 500 would have to pay the congestion charge but would be exempt from the T- charge which was introduced for highly polluting vehicles.[emoji3]

 

[Bigvtwin996]

Are you saying no-one except black-cab owners drive in London? Or is it that you're saying that daily-driving Fiat 500 owners are consistently poor or thrifty?

Anecdotally I've seen a fair bit to indicate that they are a popular form of transport in London.
A classic Fiat 500 would have to pay the congestion charge but would be exempt from the T- charge which was introduced for highly polluting vehicles.[emoji3]

Well many years ago I used to drive into London and parking cost me £45 a day... that was a long time ago.....
So if charges have remained roughly the same and you add congestion charge... that's about £60 a day, £300 a week ..... £1200 a month...
That is a fair penny to pay.....

many a mickle makes a muckle

 

[fiat500]

I think hairs are being unnecessarily split here and I've not got many to spare.[emoji3] Forget I even suggested that anyone uses a Fiat 500 in London...clearly it's a crazy idea. But cars definitely are used in London; (possibly the reason for introducing congestion charges? ). I believe that London is considerably bigger than the congestion charge zone in any case.
Anyway, good on anyone who's using a Fiat 500 anywhere, at any time and for any purpose.[emoji3]

 

[lazylobster]

I'm a firm believer that using a car, makes them better. So kudos to Mod :slayer:
Also, being a Londoner, I can confirm that there are indeed a lot of cars to be found in London at any given point. I would only ever contemplate driving into or through London at 03:00 or at the weekends. Even then, it can still be hell and you'll journey is slow, taxing and frustrating.



However, as already mentioned, good news that the 500 is exempt from the ultra low emissions taxation. It will be a free trip in the 500 if taken at the weekend.

I can only see this as a good thing and recommend that you all buy as many 500's as you can as they will soon become an even more valuable commodity !

 

[MOD500]

I used to drive into Hammersmith which was outside the LEZ at the time. There was free parking at work otherwise it would have been cheaper to take the train.
One morning I ran out of fuel on the Hammersmith flyover. I tucked the car right up against the barrier in the outside lane and climbed out the roof. Both lanes were free to move so I didn't cause a traffic jam.


A kind taxi driver gave me a lift to a petrol station, by the time I returned the Highways agency had parked behind me and blocked the lane and gave me a lecture on irresponsible driving. The irony!


Anyways. Last day of the first weeks commute and it's been a good 'un! 25mph the whole way. It's still snowing now, but it's not really getting any worse

 

[MOD500]

Last weekend I replaced the handbrake cable, badly. Wrong length Clevis pins and no 2.5mm split pins in the garage so I'll have to replace them at the weekend and re-adjust.


It's a new cable but I'm already part way down the adjuster threads which doesn't seem right to me. Has anyone else found this?


It was a sad day to lose the old handbrake cable. It has been on the car since 1994. In 2006 an MOT failure suggested it was time for the bin, but I 'rejuvenated' it by welding an M8 nut behind the eyelet which bought an additional 12 years, which seems a good deal for 6p the M8 nut would have cost at the time!


I also fitted a grommet where the gear linkage passes through the tunnel bulkhead to the gearbox. There has always been a rattle as this has never been fitted so a nice little noise reduction there!


I also had a look at the hot air flap as it has no tension to hold it in place so sometime it will close but itself. I don't seem to be missing any parts, but maybe I haven't installed it correctly, can anyone shed any light on this?


More recently I've noticed the head gasket has gone since exhaust gas is escaping from the hollow bolt below the exhaust elbow and there is a large amount of oil escaping. Thankfully it is being rejected rather than consumed, but it's not ideal. In a couple of weeks when time allows I'll swap this 600cc back over to the 650cc. Hopefully there's not much wrong with it.

 

[MOD500]

Mid week update.....
Made it to work and back on Monday, but only just. It has now become very sluggish and the compression had dropped off significantly by the time I got home so the plan was to leave the car in the garage and cycle to work for the rest of the week until I could swap the engine over.
1.5 miles on the way to work the bike decided to break down as well!
The rear derailleur hanger snapped which allowed the rear derailleur to come loose and be dragged around the wheel before I came to a halt. After that I decided today was not a good day to go to work!


Tuesday was spent swapping the engine with my good spare which allowed me to drive to work today. The fan is noisier at mid rev's than it was on the other engine so I will need to look into that. I suspect it might be the fan because it spins freely at low revs.

 

[MOD500]

It's been an interesting week with the engine replaced.
Things that have come loose so far have included:

1. Carburettor
2. Condenser
3. Clutch cover plate

Things that have fallen of so far have included:

1. Front lifting hook
2. Associated bolt
3. Sump plug.

List A has caused a rattle, poor running and a few cut outs on the way home from work.


List B has caused a rattle, a need to fit an M8 helicoil, and the contents of my sump spreading themselves along the M4. Luckily I spotted the giant cloud of smoke before the oil pressure warning light came on. I switched the engine off and coasted into a layby.
Towed home, sump plug replaced new oil, all sorted. It's now day 4 since the sump plug disaster and things seem to be normalising!

 

[lazylobster]

Jesus! Quite a week huh. Teeting problems huh

Hopefully all sorted now
R

It's been an interesting week with the engine replaced.
Things that have come loose so far have included:

1. Carburettor
2. Condenser
3. Clutch cover plate

Things that have fallen of so far have included:

1. Front lifting hook
2. Associated bolt
3. Sump plug.

List A has caused a rattle, poor running and a few cut outs on the way home from work.


List B has caused a rattle, a need to fit an M8 helicoil, and the contents of my sump spreading themselves along the M4. Luckily I spotted the giant cloud of smoke before the oil pressure warning light came on. I switched the engine off and coasted into a layby.
Towed home, sump plug replaced new oil, all sorted. It's now day 4 since the sump plug disaster and things seem to be normalising!

 

[Bleeding Knuckles]

It's been an interesting week with the engine replaced.
Things that have come loose so far have included:
Things that have fallen of so far have included:

OH the joys of 500 motoring
I used to dream about doing the walk of shame to collect an item that had fallen off the car and oil TOO
Now that's how to wake up the following traffic - with an instant skid pan
I have learned that with the 500/126 mechanics - If it can come loose IT WILL. if it can fall off IT WILL. So I've resolved to ALWAYS Locktight it, lock wire it, split pin it or otherwise make it impossible to drop off!! You never know when you just might notice something vital is missing
Ian.

 

[MOD500]

[QUOTE......or otherwise make it impossible to drop off!!
[/QUOTE]


I might fit one of these to the sump plug!

 

[MOD500]

Things seem to be back to normal now. I've been driving a bit slower the last few days as Hurricane Gareth keeps trying to blow me off the road!


I need someone to take a photo of me exiting our driveway. We have a shared driveway which opens out to 2 parking spaces at the front of the house. My neighbour kindly parks over to the left and my wife parks our car over to the right which leaves a small gap in between. I can fit through it with the fiat, but there is no room to open a door to get out and take a photo!


I fitted a new clutch cable at the weekend so the clutch now operates half way up the pedal travel rather than on the floor. I chopped about 2" off the threaded end of the clutch cable as It's too long and clashes with the air-ducting.


I fitted a helicoil at the weekend to fix the engine hook bolt and searched for some more loose bolts. Anything loose was removed, cleaned and locktite applied. I'll continue with this every few weeks until I've sorted most of the issues. The rattling has reduced, although there is still some noise from the fan area which I'll have to look into.

 

[MOD500]

Here is a snapshot from the inside of the car as I was reversing out of the drive this morning. It's a bit snug!