General Who said 500's can't do distance !

[lazylobster]

A weekend when I finally got to use Val in anger.


56 Miles (90KM) on the Friday for a spot o lunch. This I class as a short trip

125 Miles (200KM) on Saturday to see my father. And this was 98% at speed of 100kmh and [FONT=&quot]occasionally [/FONT]110kmh for a downhill overtake on the M25 / M2.

The only side effect . . . I could not hear much as it's bloody loud at speed :slayer:


As the great man Enzo said, a car is for driving . .

R

For a bonus point, can someone name the older classic seen in this picture ?

 

[lunchbeers]

It's an Alvis, looks like a Silver Eagle, but has the hare hood mascot

 

[lazylobster]

It's an Alvis, looks like a Silver Eagle, but has the hare hood mascot

That's great thanks. I'm not too informed on the 1900 - 1940 kit. Looked a nice example.

 

[Kosen500]

Nice one!

Underrated as a GT, I think

The wife and I did a 2000 km loop around France last summer over 3 or 4 weeks. Obviously there were some rest days but a typical travel day would be 200 to 250 km on tiny roads. "Rocky" even made it up and over a couple of low mountain passes. Only had one breakdown with a coil that overheated on a long hot run across The Causses in the Massif Central. There were >40°C days that we cut short, not because the car was obviously suffering, more because we were being slowly broiled in that little tin can. Other than that, Rocky had a weird clicking noise on throttle lift-off but only when really pushed hard. We enjoyed the trip so much that my wife suddenly started referring to Rocky as "our car" and no longer "your car" and she's even insisted we try it again this summer; of course I was only too happy to oblige.

Andy.

 

[lazylobster]

Nice one!

Underrated as a GT, I think

The wife and I did a 2000 km loop around France last summer over 3 or 4 weeks. Obviously there were some rest days but a typical travel day would be 200 to 250 km on tiny roads. "Rocky" even made it up and over a couple of low mountain passes. Only had one breakdown with a coil that overheated on a long hot run across The Causses in the Massif Central. There were >40°C days that we cut short, not because the car was obviously suffering, more because we were being slowly broiled in that little tin can. Other than that, Rocky had a weird clicking noise on throttle lift-off but only when really pushed hard. We enjoyed the trip so much that my wife suddenly started referring to Rocky as "our car" and no longer "your car" and she's even insisted we try it again this summer; of course I was only too happy to oblige.

Andy.

View attachment 217201

Rocky, my new hero! :slayer:Sounds a great road trip Andy.


The cars seem capable, but its noise, comfort and high holiday [FONT=&quot]temperatures [/FONT]that limit. My wife loves Valentina. I've not yet her drive Val yet, as I suspect it will become "her car" and not even shared

Rob

 

[Kosen500]

Yep we learned a few things:

1/ Multiply the number of hours you think you'll need by 2
2/ Divide the number of kilometres you think you can cover by 2
3/ Drink plenty of water and have a spare change of clothes ready to go

It was a lot of fun though. Glad to see somebody else using their 500 as a cross country solution :slayer:

 

[JumpJet]

Bravo gents! I really want to undertake some silly cross-country adventure in Martina. The wife has already taken the "go nuts, I'll drive the support vehicle" stance.

Question - Are your seats 'refreshed'? The sag/hunch does a number on my back over time, but I don't know if a refit would remedy that or I go on the hunt for a more modern arrangement.

 

[Kosen500]

Bravo gents! I really want to undertake some silly cross-country adventure in Martina. The wife has already taken the "go nuts, I'll drive the support vehicle" stance.

Question - Are your seats 'refreshed'? The sag/hunch does a number on my back over time, but I don't know if a refit would remedy that or I go on the hunt for a more modern arrangement.

Sounds like a great idea! Pretty sure that my seats are "butt-cheeks on the bitumen" standard so always a bit stiff and sore after a long drive. I found that I was making the problem worse as I was really stressed that something was going to go catastrophically wrong at the beginning of the trip meaning I was really tense and hunched over the wheel. When I learned and accepted that weird smells and noises are part of the fun then I sort of relaxed back into the seat a bit more and this helped a little. Maybe I'll do some yoga before the next trip!

 

[Kosen500]

I think the saggy saddle is actually a "design feature" that allows us 6 ft tall blokes to fit in a 500 in relative "confort"

 

[fiat500]

I hope that this long distance driving becomes an ongoing trend....of course these cars were meant for driving. My personal best in km. (seeing that this has also become a trend and makes it sound more impressive), is 640 in a day, (well actually, a day and part of a night.)

 

[Fayray]

Sounds like a great idea! Pretty sure that my seats are "butt-cheeks on the bitumen" standard so always a bit stiff and sore after a long drive. I found that I was making the problem worse as I was really stressed that something was going to go catastrophically wrong at the beginning of the trip meaning I was really tense and hunched over the wheel. When I learned and accepted that weird smells and noises are part of the fun then I sort of relaxed back into the seat a bit more and this helped a little. Maybe I'll do some yoga before the next trip!

I can relate to this after my adventure in Barry. My driver seat was rebuilt a year ago and I added a sheepskin at the last minute (stolen from the dog's bed) and it was quite comfortable. The discomfort came in the form of stress early on - the constant feeling something could go wrong, and the broken dipstick on day 2 didn't help either. But I gradually relaxed into it and apart from the noise he was quite comfortable to drive.
It was only on the final day, a long one, that the feeling of dread returned as I drove off the ferry before the 340km drive home. I don't know why but I felt like something would go wrong and of course it did, 40kms from home. And, really, if you're going to breakdown, 40kms from home after 3000kms of driving is probably the best scenario.

 

[Fayray]

I hope that this long distance driving becomes an ongoing trend....of course these cars were meant for driving. My personal best in km. (seeing that this has also become a trend and makes it sound more impressive), is 640 in a day, (well actually, a day and part of a night.)

I have to say Peter, much of my confidence in taking on a long trip came from reading your exploits. You and Murph were the inspiration:worship:.

 

[JumpJet]

apart from the noise he was quite comfortable to drive.

When I drove my 500 from Martina Franca, Puglia out to Naples (~350 km / 220 miles) to register her, I wore "foamy" ear plugs; they made a huge difference. I used to do the same back in my motorcycle days - really reduced the wind and motor noise and the fatigue associated with both. I think I'd consider them essential kit for any long trips in the 500.

One of these days, when she gets a body restoration, I'll add a healthy amount of sound deadener and see where that gets me. That was really the last big road trip she's taken.

 

[the hobbler]

I was very lucky in that when I bought my 500, it already had a pair of fairly comfortable bucket seats already fitted. Matt, have you thought of having a chat with a local car upholsterer and seeing if they could pad out the back squab of the seat to give you more support, but at the same time keep the seat looking fairly standard?
As I have mentioned on previous occasions, when Ann and were 'courting' (isn't that a lovely old fashioned term?), initially her parents lived in Middlewich, Cheshire which was a 214 mile (342km) drive from where I lived in south London (she was at a local, to me, teacher's training college). They then moved to Edinburgh which was a 426 mile (681km) drive from my house! As well as running Ann to and from her parents house in Middlewich at the end of term times, we did the London/Edinburgh drive 3-1/2 times---and all in a almost standard 500 which was also my 'daily' (and only) car. Admittedly, we were at that stage still in our mid-20s), but the car was just 'the car'!

 

[the hobbler]

Sorry, forgot to mention---all the runs, even the Edinburgh runs, each to or from run, was done in a day---the Edinburgh run was up the A1 practically all the way. In those days though, the A1 had a fair number of roundabouts which gave the little engine a bit of a breather (it's all dual carriageway now), and north of Newcastle, there was no dual carriageway (trunk road to our overseas members) north of Alnwick---just lovely open roads

 

[lazylobster]

Tom, that is epic usage of a 500. I also yield to the milage that Peter and Murph seem to rack up on an almost constant basis.

You guys are inspiration with a capital “I”

I do have a L seat in my R model, so some comfort added by being able to retract the backrest. I find the fixed fame seat would cripple me if used for a longer period.

I think as you use your 500 more, you get more confident in the reliability. You get used to it's behaviour in terms of little noises, creeks, groans, it's just speaking to you! I do think that when it's hot, late 20's, early 30C then more issues occur as the heat can be rather fierce inside the engine bay. Electronic ignition cooks, coils run really hot. There are some amazing design ideas on the 500 but the cooling air over the dist and towards the coil is not the best one!

R

 

[fiat500]

There are some amazing design ideas on the 500 but the cooling air over the dist and towards the coil is not the best one!

Hi Rob, I've said it before and I doubt that anyone agrees with me this time, but I think the air exits in that way for a purpose. Even though the air has already passed over the engine fins it still has the capacity to cool objects. As an example, I've sometimes been a bit overcooled when driving a motor scooter at 45km/h in T-shirt and shorts in 30C+ temperatures in Greece.

If nothing else, the airstream leaving the cowling helps to deflect the convected heat from the exhaust silencer.

I think that the heat problem with these cars is less related to the original design and more with the changing circumstances they are in.

1. The UK tends to have petrol which is made to a higher level of volatility to that in Europe. With winter fuel still in the tank in summer, this can be an increased cause of problems.
2. Most of us want more power from our cars. Whether this is from modifying the engine, upgrading the engine or even from modifying an upgraded engine, the result is the same....more heat produced.
3. From what I read, electronic components, which are obviously not original specification, are more sensitive to extreme heat. So we have a clear choice, either accept that analogue ignition components need maintenance in order to be reliable, or fit electronic and accept that they are not as reliable as advertised.

I have pushed my car hard with several engine setups and I have had occasional issues relating to high temperatures. But on each occasion I could eventually track this to a change or adjustment I had recently made incorrectly or to an undiagnosed fault or low oil level which I hadn't spotted.

 

[lazylobster]

Hi Rob, I've said it before and I doubt that anyone agrees with me this time, but I think the air exits in that way for a purpose. Even though the air has already passed over the engine fins it still has the capacity to cool objects. As an example, I've sometimes been a bit overcooled when driving a motor scooter at 45km/h in T-shirt and shorts in 30C+ temperatures in Greece.

If nothing else, the airstream leaving the cowling helps to deflect the convected heat from the exhaust silencer.

I think that the heat problem with these cars is less related to the original design and more with the changing circumstances they are in.

1. The UK tends to have petrol which is made to a higher level of volatility to that in Europe. With winter fuel still in the tank in summer, this can be an increased cause of problems.
2. Most of us want more power from our cars. Whether this is from modifying the engine, upgrading the engine or even from modifying an upgraded engine, the result is the same....more heat produced.
3. From what I read, electronic components, which are obviously not original specification, are more sensitive to extreme heat. So we have a clear choice, either accept that analogue ignition components need maintenance in order to be reliable, or fit electronic and accept that they are not as reliable as advertised.

I have pushed my car hard with several engine setups and I have had occasional issues relating to high temperatures. But on each occasion I could eventually track this to a change or adjustment I had recently made incorrectly or to an undiagnosed fault or low oil level which I hadn't spotted.

Hi Peter, I'll not agree / disagree as quite simply I don't have the knowledge

Common sense dictates to me that the setup does not make sense. But I also consider that it gets rather hot in Italy in summer and plenty of these cars were in use. If there was a design flaw and lots of issues seen at Fiat dealers, then in the life of the car, you would have thought Fiat would have introduced a workaround or update?

Some variables would have changed from the 1950's onwards such as quality and refinement of petrol but not much else. I suppose the question is who is running a standard non upgraded 500 and what their reliability is like in hot weather?

R