Okay, first of all I wouldnt call this a restoration. All i did was fix or replace little parts that needed fixing/replacing. (plus any car that i was to restore would probably turn out worse than before
)
I bought my car on 1.10.2007. It wasnt in the best of conditions so all the replacable parts had to be replaced.
First of all I gave it a good wash, and used about half a kilo of abrasive polish to fix the paint which was good, but wery sun-burnt.
The interrior was also messy so I took it all out and put the seat covers and the carpets in the washing machine.
The biggest (and only
)case of rust on the car was under the battery, so took it off (the rust not the battery :wink: ) and painted it nicely.
The car had no shelf in the back so I made one, covered it in a nice red leathecloth and put in a couple of speakers (these, together with my sony radio are my pride and joy
)
The headlining was just horrible (torn and dirty, plus I saw a couple of spiders running around in there) so i ripped it out and glued a nice red carpet(simple, cheap, and good looking :wink: ) to the top.
All the exterrior plastic was repainted matt black and the wheel covers white, nice contrast.
Then I noticed the brakes were not working properly, turned up that the front right cylinder was leaking fluid so I replaced them all, and the brake shoes, and skimmed the drums a little. The main cyilinder was also replaced just in case. The brake fluid was bled out completely and replaced.
New tyres were needed so i got myself a pair of michelines for the back (145/70 13) and a pair of Klebers!!? for the front (135/70 13, these were hard to find, as the dimensions are not wery common these days)
I changed the oil but there was a constant leak so had to pour more in every now and then - only solved today:-) THX Pete.
this was pretty much all of the initial repairs needed.
I put in an interrior antena cos i didnt want to drill a hole in the car..
The other things I replaced was: fuel pipes to and from the engine and interrior heating bleed pipe plus nice seat covers.
The most recent fix was the oil leak which had caused problems with the clutch, so I replaced the rear bearing seal which solved the problem.
Right now hes a good runner, hope he stays that way, I named him Guido.
There is more work planned:
-new headlights
-new tail lights
-new rear bumper
-new rear valance
-new rearview mirrors
-custome made seatcovers
-sun roof
My intention is not to tune up my 126 like some have done, but to make it as close as possible to the state it was in when it rolled out of the factory.
I have kept a record of all expenses so here they are (this is ofcourse in Croatia)
Car - 150€
Tyres Michelin Energy - 25€*2
Tyres Kleber - 25€*2
Brake fluid - 5€
Brake shoes - 27€
Brake cylinder - 5€*4
Main brake cylinder - 15€
Battery - 40€
Motor Oil Mobil 5l - 14€!
Fuel pipes - 6€
Fuel filter - 1€
Air filter - 5€
Spark plugs - 5€*2
Rear bearing oil seal - 5€
______________________
Insurance and registration - 350€
Cost of my car to date: 698€
Joy and pride of owning such a car: priceless :wink:
This is the continuing story of Guido the FIAT Which I wrote becouse im Bored and I love my car :wink: :wink: