The largest Civic Type R club forum

[Omni]

Is this still the same Punto, the one that cost about 15 grand to build?

[mini bilko]

Yeah, same Punto, Omni. Are you surprised that it is still around and not rusted into oblivion?

Like the new 500 abarth!

tell me, why the choice of such an ancient X19 block for the punto though? :scratch: surely Fiat have done better blocks to build on than that since?

Thanks for the comments, to you and the others! The X19 block is a closed deck design, therefore much stronger than other blocks available which can be used. Essentially, the whole engine looks almost identical to the standard 1.4 lump - it's not a conversion or anything, which is another route Mr Bilko could have taken (i.e 2.0ltr or even 1.9ltr). The route he chose is considered the most complex, which is partly why he did it.

[Omni]

Yeah, same Punto, Omni. Are you surprised that it is still around and not rusted into oblivion?

to be honest, i'm more surprised that after having spent £15k+ on it, its not made out of solid Gold.

[aleung2]

Absolutely love the 500 Abarth!! Also, I note that you are from South Manchester.....what car park is that? Don't see many with normal flourescent lighting as they all seem to be orange.

[mini bilko]

Blue flourescent is @ Liverpool 1, Q-Park. Normal (white) flourescent is in the gym car park, Total Fitness in Altrincham. There's loads of white flourescent car parks around Altrincham, infact everywhere, I'm trying to think of one where they are orange. :scratch:

Omni, come on pal, you can buy a watch for £15k which isn't solid gold. Stop being silly. That included buying the car too, which, 8 years ago when it was only 3.5 years old was considerably more than the current "packet of skittles and a diet coke" they are worth now :cooldude:

[Omni]

Actually, just checked back to the good ol days, it was £20k

We did have a giggle back then though, I stumbled across the post where you were having a hissy fit because people were rating it 1/10 on the garage feature :lovl:

[Mark83]

Love the 500! A car i wish i could buy the missus, then drive it all the time but tell people its hers

This

[mini bilko]

Actually, just checked back to the good ol days, it was £20k

We did have a giggle back then though, I stumbled across the post where you were having a hissy fit because people were rating it 1/10 on the garage feature :lovl:

You must have trawled through some posts to find that!! That was more than many moons ago

Yes, I remember the garage feature, and the upset it caused when the Punto was top of the "most modified" section. It got to the point where people were including stickers as modifications, and listing every upgraded valve spring in their head, just to try and close the gap! then voting 1/10. Looking back, now I'm older and wiser, I shouldn't have been upset about it, because I now realise that any publicity is good publicity, and it certainly created a talking point for a while

These days I spend my time making cars look nice rather than go nice.

[OZ 82]

More pics of the punto please :salut:

[mini bilko]

No problem mate...

[OZ 82]

Awesome looking front end love the Abarth centre caps, very cool. I bet its a real beast to drive too, always liked fast fiat motors.

[mini bilko]

Yeah, it's quite a handful to drive. With the power it has, and a 3kg flywheel, its as if it has a close ratio sequential box in it 2nd and 3rd gear just come and go within seconds of each other. Gave it a bit of a thrashing today (if you can call using 1/2 throttle 'thrashing'??), and it is insanely quick for such a small car!

Few more pictures taken today anyway, during a detailing session :cooldude:

in the unit ready to apply some protection..



Once the 2nd layer was buffed off, I topped it with a finishing coat of Zaino Z8 Grand Finale. I saw this ladybug wandering across the roof... thought I'd snap it up and show you the metallic



Final pics





Slightly tweaked one..



Now time to check out the gloss..








Cheers,
Matt.

[OZ 82]

That really does look awesome mate. You got any vids of the beast in action?

[mini bilko]

Sadly not mate. Haven't got round to making any! Recently bought a new HD camera though, for the detailing, so our plan is to make some. We have a suction mount to use inside the car

Moar pics of the Abarth anyway, nevermind that rusty old Punto :bad-words:







And the wheels after some Zaino and Swissvax treatment :cooldude:

[mr bilko!]

I thought I'd sign in and have a mooch around the site once again & came across this cheeky little thread

The 500's build quality is far far better than a Fiat (it is an Abarth after all) and it drives quite solidly whilst returning great mpg figures. It's also bang up to date and as funky as a thousand chickens (showing my age there )

The Punto on the other hand is pure hardcore & is a proper nightmare now the weather's on the change as it doesn't run a thermostat or an ICV so it stalls when cold at every opportunity. Also it tends to want to wheelspin in every gear in the damp - including 5th As for the Abarth centre caps they were bought as square badges on a holiday in Sorrento a few years back & I spent an evening cutting them into round ones.

@Omni, yes it cost a lot of ££'s but that goes along with the territory when trying to do something special that aint a Jap car or Cossie - there simply isn't anything we could buy off the shelf to mod the car so 90% of it is all custom made just for this project. I must admit I did laugh though when we took the car to Warrington go-kart track with a 1 out of 10 scorecard on it back in the day and watching mini b getting all girly

[OZ 82]

I do like the 500 Abarth, think Fiat got it just right with this car. I use Swissvax Mirage wax on my car. Do you rate their products highly?

[mini bilko]

I'm just getting into the Swissvax range tbh with you mate - so my experience with them has been limited. From what I have seen so far though, it is very nice stuff, very desirable, and is certainly a cut above most of the mainstream gear in terms of quality (talking about detailing products in general here, like Dodo Juice etc), but it does come at great expense.

I applied the Autobahn by hand today, when I say hand, I mean with my fingers. Amazing product, smells like refreshers too

Hoping to get trading on here soon, so as soon as I am, I'll do some more detailed writeups of products etc.

[OZ 82]

It is expensive stuff. I started using it after i bought my ctr about 3 and half years ago. I had it detailed in an effort to restore the colour, but as i am sure you know it didnt make a difference having a clearcoat over the paint. But the guy i took it to uses Swiisvax products and kindly sold me some Saphir wax.

In the end i had the car resprayed and have used nothing but Swissvax on it since. The level of protection it offers is great imo and the car looks so good after a few hours in the sun after a coat of it. Only down side is that it costs nearly a hundred pounds a pot, but hey, its cheaper than another respray. Will look forward to your write ups and hopefully buy some gear from you.

Is the autobahn stuff for wheels?

[mini bilko]

It seems to be worth the premium. Might seem surprising for me to say, I was sceptical at first, but after trying one or two bits I soon realised it was definately worth the extra - whether the entire range is worth it I don't know?

Yes, Autobahn is a wheel wax, which contains carnauba and also PTFE (teflon coating). In that last shot of the Abarth wheels they are wearing a coat of Zaino Z2 sealant, and then the Autobahn is layered on top..

[OZ 82]

Oh right, they look really good. I have been using Poorboys wheel sealant on my powdercoated oem wheels for a few months. Seems ok but not as good as i thought it would be. May try some of the autobahn stuff next then if the results are that good. Do you have any tips for getting rid of pitting mate? As i am starting to see signs of it, and with the wheels being black they do show up every little mark.

Cheers

Mark