General Long trips with a 30-year old car

[katsiko]

A concern I would like to know your thoughts on is whether a long trip in a 1995 Cinquecento S 900cc is realistic. I mean a 4-5h journey on a highway, like from Athens to my hometown. The toll-free, old roads alternative is too romantic and not practical, as a 4-hour trip will turn into a 7-hour long one. Also, is it safe nowadays to travel without airbags and ABS? I don't mind driving at 120km/h while other cars pass by at 160, but I am still concerned.

 

[FiatMatt94]

I have a Seicento 899 & do regular long trips up & down the country in it as I live in the north & my dad lives in the south, a few months ago I did the journey there & back 3 times within a fortnight clocking up 1,500 miles & went to Festival Italia in between as well, also driving without airbags & ABS are fine, my car doesn't have ABS & soon the airbag is coming out as I plan to fit an aftermarket steering wheel that's a bit smaller than the standard wheel, it's just like driving an old car like a classic mini etc which I feel is better as it seems to make you more alert due to not having the tech & gadgets today's cars have & also I prefer them as there's nothing to go wrong so it doesn't concern me not having these luxuries . The car will be fine just go through the usual bits you would normally check before a long journey such as checking fluids, make sure there's no leaks from the driveshaft boots, lights working etc & just make sure everything on the car is happy. What I've got into the habit of doing since owning my Seicento is carrying basic spares in the car along with a basic took kit, so in the car I carry

1) spare throttle cable
2) spare clutch cable
3) spare clutch quadrant
4) spare spark plugs, HT leads etc (my old ones as I recently serviced the car)
5) spare crank sensor
6) basic took kit such as sockets, spanners, bit & torq set, pliers etc

A lot of it comes down to maintenance etc & I was always told if you look after your car it'll look after you, apart from one car I've owned that saying has always been true & paid off.

 

[katsiko]

I have a Seicento 899 & do regular long trips up & down the country in it as I live in the north & my dad lives in the south, a few months ago I did the journey there & back 3 times within a fortnight clocking up 1,500 miles & went to Festival Italia in between as well, also driving without airbags & ABS are fine, my car doesn't have ABS & soon the airbag is coming out as I plan to fit an aftermarket steering wheel that's a bit smaller than the standard wheel, it's just like driving an old car like a classic mini etc which I feel is better as it seems to make you more alert due to not having the tech & gadgets today's cars have & also I prefer them as there's nothing to go wrong so it doesn't concern me not having these luxuries . The car will be fine just go through the usual bits you would normally check before a long journey such as checking fluids, make sure there's no leaks from the driveshaft boots, lights working etc & just make sure everything on the car is happy. What I've got into the habit of doing since owning my Seicento is carrying basic spares in the car along with a basic took kit, so in the car I carry

1) spare throttle cable
2) spare clutch cable
3) spare clutch quadrant
4) spare spark plugs, HT leads etc (my old ones as I recently serviced the car)
5) spare crank sensor
6) basic took kit such as sockets, spanners, bit & torq set, pliers etc

A lot of it comes down to maintenance etc & I was always told if you look after your car it'll look after you, apart from one car I've owned that saying has always been true & paid off.

Thank you for the elaborate response, this is my mindset more or less (simplicity vs the digital era)

 

[FiatMatt94]

I've only ever owned one new car, it was a 2018 Fiat Panda which I paid £7,995 & for the first 5 years it was trouble free then I started to have endless trouble with the airbag module which was fiddly to remove as it was under the centre of the dash behind the centre console. In the end the module went on me 3 times & on the 3rd time it took the main body control module with it by which time I was fed up with it & all interest was lost so I decided to get rid of it & cut my losses, so found myself searching for another car & had already decided modern cars were definitely out so I came across my current Seicento sitting in a barn owned by a car collector & she was covered in a thick layer of dust but she only had 22k miles & the body was really solid with no holes or any signs of previous welding which here in the UK is very rare & pretty much unheard of, so I did the deal & have spent the last 6 months fixing her up as although she ran, drove, stopped & had a fresh MOT there were issues but now it seems to be all done apart from a couple of niggly bits so once the British winter is out of the way I'll be making a start on the cosmetics.

 

[rmjbn1]

As long as you are fairly confident the car is in good running order, head gasket OK, not overheating, not losing any fluids, then the car will be perfectly happy sitting at 120kph for 4-5 hours on the motorway.

It will be quite noisy, buffetting from side wind and large vehicles, and you might need to encourage it up long hills.

It depends whether that bothers you. I don't mind it at all but I've known people who have expressed horror at the idea of doing a long journey in one of my old small slow cars.

I think the perception of safety is similar. ABS and airbags I think of as safety nets when all else fails. Driving as if you're relying on them is the dangerous bit.

The Cinquecento without them I think is still a fundamentally safe car; strong and well built, predictable handling, and good road-holding and brakes.

 

[Ivan MadGyver]

A concern I would like to know your thoughts on is whether a long trip in a 1995 Cinquecento S 900cc is realistic. I mean a 4-5h journey on a highway, like from Athens to my hometown. The toll-free, old roads alternative is too romantic and not practical, as a 4-hour trip will turn into a 7-hour long one. Also, is it safe nowadays to travel without airbags and ABS? I don't mind driving at 120km/h while other cars pass by at 160, but I am still concerned.

If it's a very well maintained car (you know it good,feel it) and you have your eyes on every one near you on the highway,you will be alright. I've done 2 time in 2 days the Kavala-Katerini trip using Egnatia,fully loaded on my Cinquecento 0.9.,crousing at 120 with max 160 for takeovers. Did it without brakes only stopping for the toll. Used 1/3 of gas each time.

@rmjbn1 you nailed it almost everywhere.

 

[The Panda Nut]

When I started driving I went bverywhere in a 30 year old car and indeed covered 65000 miles in year 1. I had an old Austin. It was a wreck, but apart from melting a piston by driving it like a teenager, it never let me down a second time. If you check hoses and belts and service your Fiat Im sure you will be fine. Its a good starting point, better than moine was. Keep an eye open for the temperature light and the oil light and take action if needed. Good luck to you.

 

[katsiko]

If it's a very well maintained car (you know it good,feel it) and you have your eyes on every one near you on the highway,you will be alright. I've done 2 time in 2 days the Kavala-Katerini trip using Egnatia,fully loaded on my Cinquecento 0.9.,crousing at 120 with max 160 for takeovers. Did it without brakes only stopping for the toll. Used 1/3 of gas each time.

@rmjbn1 you nailed it almost everywhere.

160?! Takeover?! That sounds promising

 

[JohnTheSmith]

A concern I would like to know your thoughts on is whether a long trip in a 1995 Cinquecento S 900cc is realistic. I mean a 4-5h journey on a highway, like from Athens to my hometown. The toll-free, old roads alternative is too romantic and not practical, as a 4-hour trip will turn into a 7-hour long one. Also, is it safe nowadays to travel without airbags and ABS? I don't mind driving at 120km/h while other cars pass by at 160, but I am still concerned.

That was my a concern of mine when I first got my sei but I've found that highway driving is a lot less stressful for the car, the temps are always better. As for abs, it's just 1 less thing to malfunction and driving these lil tin cans definitely makes you a lot more focused on the road, because there isn't much leeway if something does happen. For my own calmness, I installed a temp gauge because the fiat engineers decided a death light was enough for a dashboard

 

[FiatMatt94]

That was my a concern of mine when I first got my sei but I've found that highway driving is a lot less stressful for the car, the temps are always better. As for abs, it's just 1 less thing to malfunction and driving these lil tin cans definitely makes you a lot more focused on the road, because there isn't much leeway if something does happen. For my own calmness, I installed a temp gauge because the fiat engineers decided a death light was enough for a dashboard

I'm going to install a temp gauge for peace of mind with my Seicento, how did you install your gauge ?, the way I'm thinking is to install a sender of a MK1 Punto as the thread is the exact same thread, diameter, depth etc but it has 2 pins instead of 1 like a standard Seicento one so it'll still have the light for the dash & rig the gauge up to the 2nd pin.

 

[JohnTheSmith]

I'm going to install a temp gauge for peace of mind with my Seicento, how did you install your gauge ?, the way I'm thinking is to install a sender of a MK1 Punto as the thread is the exact same thread, diameter, depth etc but it has 2 pins instead of 1 like a standard Seicento one so it'll still have the light for the dash & rig the gauge up to the 2nd pin.

Ahh well maybe the word install was slightly wrong, I got an obd port so I just hopped on AliExpress and got a lil gauge for like £15.

 

[FiatMatt94]

Ahh well maybe the word install was slightly wrong, I got an obd port so I just hopped on AliExpress and got a lil gauge for like £15.

Yours must be a later MPI car if it has an OBD port, my car is an earlier 899 SPI car which doesn't have an OBD port, I never understood why with the sporting's Fiat thought it was better to install a rev counter rather than a temperature gauge, I know which I'd rather have

 

[JohnTheSmith]

Yours must be a later MPI car if it has an OBD port, my car is an earlier 899 SPI car which doesn't have an OBD port, I never understood why with the sporting's Fiat thought it was better to install a rev counter rather than a temperature gauge, I know which I'd rather have

Don't worry tho, they gave a handy light to tell you when you've got to rebuild your engine after the gasket blows. I remember looking through the forum a few months ago and learning about the earlier ones without an obd but had another like 6/8 pin diag port. What port is it, I wonder what data you could get from it

 

[FiatMatt94]

It has the earlier 3 pin plug directly off the ECU which I purchased the adapter for the multiecuscan on my laptop but I need to set it all up as all the settings are different compared to the modern stuff & I may have to purchase another adapter along with the one I have for the system to work.

 

[the green vanper]

Look at the motorhomes: a lot of them is in their forties And do travel from one part of continent to another.

If the car is taken care of it shouldn't be a problem.

My daily car is a 22 year old smart 450 cabrio. It's even smaller than the Cinquecento Being a daily car we took it with my girfriend last summer to a trip to my parents in Warsaw, central Poland, then south west into the mountains, then to a smart meeting in Chemnitz, Germany and came back home. 2 weeks. 2700 kms. 13 days in extreme heat (30+ degrees Centigrade), but the road trip home was in pouring rain (we were ment to get back to the mountains for another 3 days, but the weather changed and it made no sense; it would add the 300 kms).

Usually going for a week holiday in the mountains only we're also taking bikes with us