Hmmm... Fiat 500 Abarth...

Anyone know where to find some actual information about the car? Is it a performance upgrade from the standard Fiat 500, or is it just some cosmetic pretty?

http://www.fiatusa.com/abarth/

This might blow some sand, er, I mean wind up your skirt, Sam.

Posted by MrMusik Hmmm... Fiat 500 Abarth... Anyone know where to find some actual information about the car? Is it a performance upgrade from the standard Fiat 500, or is it just some cosmetic pretty? http://www.fiatusa.com/abarth/ This might blow some sand, er, I mean wind up your skirt, Sam.

Clarkson tested it on Top Gear last year... he thoroughly enjoyed it but stated that it wasn't a true Abarth because it wasn't weird enough.


http://www.topgear...videos/take-abarth

It has stuff done to it, it's a 1.4 Turbo with 174 horsepower, different suspension, etc. It's fully reworked. And I want one!

I'm seeing a TON of them out here, about 5 Fiats for every Chevy Cruze, which means they're selling.

What I find rather weird is that Fiat decided to offer performance parts for the 500 under the Mopar Performance division for the 500...I was thinking they would create some special italian named division for Fiat's performance products. But it shows how far Chrysler is being used.

Posted by Agent Skelly What I find rather weird is that Fiat decided to offer performance parts for the 500 under the Mopar Performance division for the 500...I was thinking they would create some special italian named division for Fiat's performance products. But it shows how far Chrysler is being used.

brand recognition. Last time Fiat was in North America, it was not a great experience. Mopar has more cache to it, more history. Americans are dumb and want to think that Chrysler is calling the shots on Fiat, not vice versa.

Posted by Samurai brand recognition. Last time Fiat was in North America, it was not a great experience. Mopar has more cache to it, more history. Americans are dumb and want to think that Chrysler is calling the shots on Fiat, not vice versa.

They pretty much are...Serigo over at Fiat flat out said that they are going to use Auburn Hills to add new vehicles to other Fiat brands.

For example...the Chrysler 300 here is sold as the Lancia Flavia in Europe.

YES YOU HEARD ME.

Posted by Agent Skelly They pretty much are...Serigo over at Fiat flat out said that they are going to use Auburn Hills to add new vehicles to other Fiat brands. For example...the Chrysler 300 here is sold as the Lancia Flavia in Europe. YES YOU HEARD ME.

whatever name you hang on it, the car will probably suck ballbag.

Posted by Samurai whatever name you hang on it, the car will probably suck ballbag.

And you will end up buying one

Posted by Agent Skelly And you will end up buying one

when hockey is played in hell, seabiscuit

Fiat has built some HORRIBLE shit. And I really like most of it. My ex-X1/9 used to not have reverse gear intermittently, it had a manual rad fan switch, nothing electrical worked except for the fuel injection, and every wire in the harness was white.

My '65 1500 Cabriolet has aluminum rear brake drums. The inside of the drum grows a nice metallic fluff after the car sits for more than a week, and your back brakes are seized. The way the steering linkage works is a widowmaker for sure, and it has the most complex distributor I've ever seen in a car.

But it's one of the prettiest cars to wear a Pininfarina badge that didn't have a prancing horse badge.


Sexy dashboard. Very sexy dashboard.



Most non-autmotive people would believe this is the Ferrari from Ferris Bueller.



Maserati designed engine (I love the 1500 script), and the super sketchy steering linkage.

These pics are not of my Fiat, but one the same year/same colour. Mine's wrapped up in my parents' barn while I collect parts for it. There are less than 100 of them known to exist (and apparently like 10 in North America), so parts availability is BAD.

Found a pic of my personal Italian mistress.

Is it positive ground? I have dealt with this in the past. I wanted to become a automotive engineer Dexter.

Nope, negative ground. I think pos ground is mostly a british thing.

Posted by bandi http://i104.photob...shots/fe44a27c.jpg Found a pic of my personal Italian mistress.

What in the hell is coming out of the back of that Beetle?

Posted by bandi Fiat has built some HORRIBLE shit. And I really like most of it. My ex-X1/9 used to not have reverse gear intermittently, it had a manual rad fan switch, nothing electrical worked except for the fuel injection, and every wire in the harness was white.

Funny you should mention that, as I converted a few 124 Spider to RHD and by the time FIAT got to making them, they had sourced a number of different colored wires. Unfortunately, they were all solid, none had traces, and they changed color over their length from left-to-right, or front-to-rear... Specttacolore!

Gatto.

Oh god, Fiat was a disaster in the US prior to 1983.

The "let's do things different" mentality that Fiat was doing in the 1970s and early 80s was somewhat common with European makers at the time but that kind of engineering just doesn't jive well here with Buyers. Same problem with the Brits too.

With your X1-9, the reason why the FI worked was a Bosch D-Jetronic fuel injection system, which is pretty much bulletproof.

As for Fiat wiring, I've looked at a Fiat 124 and it seems to me that the issue is just poor quality wiring along with bad connectors. This 124 had rusted to crap fuse holders.

Now for ground, Fiat used to have like 20 different grounds points which didn't help.

Posted by PorkChopExpress What in the hell is coming out of the back of that Beetle?

You're just seeing the rear apron, but with no rear fenders to make it flow with the body lines.

Posted by Kuroneko Funny you should mention that, as I converted a few 124 Spider to RHD and by the time FIAT got to making them, they had sourced a number of different colored wires. Unfortunately, they were all solid, none had traces, and they changed color over their length from left-to-right, or front-to-rear... Specttacolore! Gatto.

Hahaha yeah, I ran into the same issue on a 124 Spider.

Actually, on a Porsche 914 all the fuel injection wires are white.

Posted by bandi You're just seeing the rear apron, but with no rear fenders to make it flow with the body lines.

Thank you. I see that now that you pointed it out. At first glance I had no idea!

Posted by bandi Hahaha yeah, I ran into the same issue on a 124 Spider. Actually, on a Porsche 914 all the fuel injection wires are white.

An aggressive cam, some head porting and a pair of carbs solves that issue =P