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Punto (Mk1) My exploit yellow 75 elx

Introduction

Hi.
My name is Simon and I haven't been on here in ages.
I'm a fiat nut who has owned fiats all my life as have my family. I work in a fiat dealership in dundee and have treated myself to a new car, as it's the first time in my life I have been without a fiat.

I bought the following car off ebay for 4 reasons

1. I had one as my first car
2. I just bought a house and have somewhere to keep it
3. My mum had a brand new exploit yellow 55 sx back in '95
4. Have plenty fiat techs to fix it when it breaks

So, I'm in dundee, the car was in Yorkshire, so my dad and I left 5:30am Saturday morning in his 500L to pick it up. I was worried about bringing a near 20 year old fiat 260 mile up the road, but it didn't miss a beat. It drives like a new car.

History- we'll it was sold new to a mrs crappe, at carnell fiat, she had the car garaged from new, done 70,000 miles in it. It had its original dealer plates on it which I changed, as they were tatty. Full years mot with no advisories, and a full service history. She specced it up with a drivers airbag!

The car come with a few parking dings, original scuffed wheel trims, and a couple of light scratches, otherwise it's mint.
Luckily working in a fiat dealer, I can get parts, a workshop with a 40 years served fiat technician, a dent man and body shop.

Took the car into work today to get all the dents removed, was up on the ramps for a health check- solid underneath, just needs new discs and pads and a rocker cover gasket. Underneath is solid, clean and all present and correct. It also needs a new cam belt cover as mine is burst. Then that's it mint.
Turns out the rear tyres are the factory originals, made 3rd week of 1995, so it will be getting a full set of brand new Goodyear duragrips I have in my garage.
Surprisingly every single thing works on the car, even the remote locking and being an elx it has an electric sunroof!!!

It's quite funny because all the fiat techs were all over it today, donating parts. One of them had an exploit yellow touch up pen that's been in his toolbox for 15 years, got handbrake cables and a rocker cover gasket, with more bits offered. They also went on e-sigi and printed out the complete history of my car, showing recalls for brake pipes, airbag ecu etc which is nice to keep.

Work so far done-

New genuine wheel trims
New genuine punto mats
Original fiat tape deck
Genuine fiat lineaccessorie front and rear mudflaps
General tidy up
Clay, wet sand, machine polish bodywork
New numberplates
Dents removed
Brand new badges
Full valet

I love this car, I can't believe how mint it is. Taking bad with no power steering though.
I put it in the showroom and took some piccies.
Anyway the pictures.......

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And my main/ daily car

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So in today's news- good news, managed to fit my new battery and the car starts better than it ever has in my ownership



Bad news is that I took it for a wee drive, only about 3 or 4 miles and there is now a small hole in the flexi part of the exhaust which is blowing slightly, so that's another job to do.

Never ending ?
 
So in today's news- good news, managed to fit my new battery and the car starts better than it ever has in my ownership



Bad news is that I took it for a wee drive, only about 3 or 4 miles and there is now a small hole in the flexi part of the exhaust which is blowing slightly, so that's another job to do.

Never ending ?
I don't see a single spec of dust or dirt on this photo,your car looks like it just rolled of the production line .
 
Today I bought an early Christmas for my car.
The solution to my battery going flat with lack of usage.
It's a solar trickle charger from Halfords, only £15, and because the car has a constant live cigarette lighter, I can plug it in there to stop the battery draining ??

Because the car is under the cover, it won't be any use on the dash so I have screwed it to the fence next to the car and run the wires inside.





Although something has happened to my clock, it's lighting up but not showing the time now.
Any ideas?!
 
I have no idea and neither do the guys in work.
It got its new front/ flexi on today. Driving it at lunchtime, something went bang, I thought the exhaust had fallen off, followed by a clicking like something was caught in the wheels/ brakes.

Reversed it back into the bus stop had a look and nothing was hanging off, so got back in, it drove fine. About a mile up the road, same thing.
Managed to nurse it back to work, got my usual fiat master tech to stick it in the air and see if we can find the cause but we couldn't see anything, no snapped springs, brakes all seem fine, engine and gearbox mounts are goods he said it's like looking under a 2/3 year old car as everything is in decent nick.

Took the car out again tonight and all is well again so at, so I'm stumped
 
Fingers crossed you're able to get it sorted soon.

The FIRE engines are brilliant: I loved the 1.2 8v in my old mk2, and I love the 1.4 8v I have in my Grande. :)
 
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