Classic Fiat 500 upgrade part 1. Engine gets removed but what horrors are hiding inside?
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- čas přidán 14. 05. 2024
- The classic Fiat 500 is down at R Proietti Ltd for an engine upgrade but are there any horrors inside the engine that need dealing with first?
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When Harry does a resto and raises the profile of traditional old school garages like this it really does restore your faith a little. Actual people who actually know what they’re talking about, like hens teeth no surprise there’s a waiting list. My mum had three new 126’s when I was a kid, love the 500, but wish these shared a little of the same love. Harry’s garage at its enthusiastic best, bravo!
these guys aren't getting replaced either, it's luck if their kids fancy taking it up, or they get enough money through for apprenticeships, I just hope there is enough interest and industry to keep these specialists going. My father was one of them. Gems.
@@TheXJRMAN can only agree, the next few years are going to be really interesting, ICE being replaced with BEV. People are resisting already what happens when ICE becomes the minority in the secondhand market, prices rise and demand for specialists who can maintain them increases as a result. I for one will miss petrol and all that goes with it.
In 1969 I was an apprentice working on the Fiat 500 s ...honestly they were never too much trouble ....not like the Simca s we had to work on !
@@TheXJRMAN it's hard to get into, there's plenty of people who want to but it's incredibly difficult to get into this kind of work
Exactly. I repair accordions for a living and know other instrument repair people. Same deal. Gratifying work but also very tedious. Feels so good when we're appeeciated.
If I remember correctly from Harry’s last year end summary, these videos about mechanical rebuilds, maintenance, and restorations were not very popular. Thanks Harry for not giving up on us who enjoy them very much.
It possible a double edge sword if Harry wasn't showing the work done on his collection when he did an update and said the engine had been rebuilt ect people would be complaining that he hadn't shown it.
Also it's Harry's Garage surely the whole channel is about his collection what work he does what they need and how much they are to run
Anyone else here prefer this subject to the hypercars etc?
I could spend all day in that garage, picking bits up, looking at them, chatting about them. And I don’t even have a 500!
Great video, more like this please. Can’t wait for the next update 👍
Agreed.
Yes 100% agree
💯 absolutely
God, yes. I'd have the little Fiat over an M3 CS or DB12 :D
@@klocknerdeutz I don’t mean owning the cars themselves, just watching videos. This one is interesting in many ways, but I think some presenters are struggling to make modern supercars etc worth watching on CZcams. They’re all fast, and they mostly sound flat and boring now. So although they may well set your hair on fire, when it comes to keeping an audience interested, well perhaps it’s a difficult thing to do.
I watch all sorts of weird stuff that is filmed in messy garages. Try Penguin Motors: brilliantly cheap presentation, carburettors all over the place, engine dyno runs, simple facts. Addictive!
Stef is so gentle in the way he handles the parts and the vehicles. What a great mechanic.
"You break it, you bought it..." 😁
he was good.
And he's got proper mechanics hands, bet he doesn't faff about with gloves...
He caressed The parts like they were spaghetti
I bloody love places like this. Full of sheer knowledge and organised chaos. Brilliant!
These are the garages that are irreplaceable in their knowledge and craft. Glad to see this little gem get a good going over and made proper for more enjoyment in the years to come. Look at all those great cars in and around that shop!
Sundays are made so much better….with a Harry’s Garage…..👍👌🇮🇲
And today a Harry's Farm too!! Perfect!
A proper old time classic car garage. Brilliant
GREAT VIDEO! I used to take my bug to a shop just like this. I remember the crowded workbenches, cars everywhere - AND the kind, super knowledgeable mechanic from Argentina. Thanks for posting - this video brought back a lot of good memories.....
Infamously, James Blades of the Rover group was employed as Director for FIAT Auto UK in the mid 1990's. One of the first things he did was give all of the FIAT & Alfa dealerships within the M25 a years notice to quit! At that point we lost all of the independently owned FIAT dealers who had given years of service to the brand. These were replaced by the Pendragon group which was an absolute disaster and failed just after a few short years. This is why there is now a lack of dealers in London.
Plus the fact that Fiat sell about 4 cars a year so hardly enough to share around lots of dealers
@@sarahlivingstone8367 That is partly the reason, as in the last 30 years they have gone from 3.5% UK market share to 1%. But 30 years ago London accounted for nearly 50% of the total UK sales, so losing its London dealers in the way it did has definitely made an impact today. I worked for Fiat Auto UK back then and what Jim Blades did to the company was nothing short of suicide!
@@sarahlivingstone8367 That may well be the case today, but back in the 90's Fiat had around 3.5% market share, today it has around 1%. But when they had 3.5% nearly 50% of their sales come from the London dealers!
I worked for Fiat Auto back then and what Jim Blades did was indiscriminate and even got debated in Parliament due to its immorality! Fiat customers liked the personal touch that they got from these family owned dealerships and not the corporate BS they got instead, from Pendragon PLC.
The poor market share today may well be because they rely purely on the 500, but I believe that todays share is down to Blades direction more than the product.
Im sure Proietti knew many of these dealers and preferred it back then. Also to support all of these London Dealers Fiat Auto had its own dealership in Alperton, Wembley. which held a lot new & used vehicles & parts for the region. This was also taken over by Pendragon in 1995 and closed for good in the later 1990's.
@@robertmakovinamiocic4014 I made no mention whatsoever of the 1990's - please re-read
Thanks Harry, I've owned a 1971 Fiat 500L for over 30yrs years now and today I suddenly have a much better understanding of its engine. Can't wait to see the follow up video 👍
I love shops like this - so much character!
The pasta moment deserved a longer part.
I guess they didn't want to make a meal out of it
This is why I like all Harry's video, he talks with knowledge and enthusiasm about all the his cars with equal measure, be it Fiat 500 or the Jag V12.
I love it when you promote these great businesses. When I found my dream Alfasud 1.5 Ti, the first thing I did was fit 150% brighter bulbs. Proof of miracles. 5 years after buying it, I found it did have one owner for 32 years in the Kalahari Desert. And it’s got a much earlier gearbox which makes it rapid. Can’t wait for the next video 💚🤍❤
Jeepers, my spud 1.5 rusted in two at 6 years old, back in 1986, you are doing well!
@@garypoulton7311 it wasn’t a Sprint was it? I bet you remember it well despite the r word. But there are quite a number of good South African Suds here, but I have heard the Sprints rusted there as well. I am only aware of one here in the UK. And..they were more likely to be saved, as they were more desirable. So that supports the theory they rusted more. Obviously you’re in the UK….
Thanks guys. No one in the US would dream of stopping work to eat a common meal. That was heartwarming.
None?
You guys need to step up your priorities 😊
@@kasperkjrsgaard1447need truly to inspire with a little more Italy 🇮🇹
What a wonderful place to work. The pasta looked fantastic, fresh herbs and all. Lucky guys Charlie and Harry.
Tradition.
What’s a common meal?
I love little treasure troves of old school businesses like this. An invaluable service and fountain of knowledge, but hardly anyone knows they exist outside of the industry niche.
Fantastic. Can't wait for the 1000mile road trip in the Fiat 500.
I highly recommend Jean Reno in a 2019 movie called ‘4L’. They’re driving a Renault- a very good film.
maybe a 500 mile trip
With the wife and boy although i sense another child abuse claim from Charlie lol
Harry's expression when he was shown those shiney 699 cc cylinders and pistons (I think 699) was priceless.
Harry's farm ánd garage. Thank you Harry and team.
love walking past this place whenever I'm working round the corner at my friends. Often stick the phone through the railings to take a picture of all the treats lined up
Nostalgic moments, it reminds me of those garages under the railway arches all over London.😊😊
Stef looked after my integrale when I lived nearby. Great mechanic and a lovely family. Hi Steff and Bruno and momma P.. if you're reading !
Something satisfying about an old family, business that has changed little over decades and is slightly on the 'grubby' end tucked away in a modern world city. Amazing !!
Can’t beat these artisan engineering pioneers, better than a spotty youth with his lap top!
Exactly , totally agree 👍 ( I recall , many many moons ago , visiting an " old school " mechanic . He could diagnose a car by listening to the engine / placing his hand on the rocker cover while you revved the engine , would take a look at the exhaust fumes for colour / smell for richness of mixture etc etc . An art form which seems to have died !! ☹ ) . Guys ( mechanics ) nowadays , their priority is finding the diagnostic port so they can " plug-in " !!
@@bloke755 To be fair engines that long ago were very simple and easy to work on, this Fiat 500 being a case in point. Todays engines with all their electronics are more complicated and more efficient, electronic diagnostics are essential. Compare a Toyota GR Corolla 3 cylinder 1600cc producing 300hp to a Jaguar E Type 12 cylinder 5.3 litre producing 272hp
Pasta time in the workshop! 👍
Brilliant, brilliant ,brilliant video! What a lovely, proper workshop, and the Aladdin's cave back room of new parts was a dream. You were really in your element there Harry - and don't worry, mum's the word, Mrs M will never get to know from us about the mods done (16:45)😉
What a great old-school workshop! The only things missing are a few Bad Obsession-style kettles, mugs, teabags and choccy Hobnobs. Maybe the guys prefer a cappuccino machine and amaretti biscuits.🇮🇹👀
This is exactly the right place to take your 500! Old school with a depth of knowledge and experience unparalleled.
One of the best videos I've seen on CZcams in quite sometime, definitely a very knowledgeable chap to know if you've got a Fiat.
Watched while preparing a chilli con carne for the family evening meal, and accompanied by nice red. MY happy place…
Harry... Like a kid in a sweet shop😀
Finally, a proper car
Stef and his team looked after a number of my cars when I was in the UK, including an Integrale. There is nothing this guy can't fix or improve, he's simply a genius.
What a great video!😀 I love a bit of engine forensics, I've done it myself on cars and bikes. Full strip down, examine then decide what "special" bits you want to fit.👍 I love how the garage owner knew almost immediately what the non standard bits were and what they came off, that's the expertise you want and don't mind paying for. Big dealers with fancy showrooms make make the big £££ but small specialist businesses like this are absolute gems in the motoring world.😀👍👍
Men in sheds really do keep this world rolling. Lovely stuff!
THE place to get your Lancia Integrale serviced was at Barry Waterhouse Engineering (BWE) in Elephant & Castle. Barry was as characterful as the cars. Splendid man, sadly missed by the integrale community.
Living across the pond (Miami) we never see these gorgeous vintage Euros (there might be a few running around someone). I am a Frenchman that has been in the US for 30+ years so I do miss them deeply. This video is such a treat. Amazing how excited I was watching an engine breakdown of a 19 hp ride. Was an absolute delight, as well, to see a shop with so much tradition. Would love to, one day, hear how this gentlemen's father ended up opening a shop focused on The Cinquecento. Thank you, as always, Harry for sharing these journeys. Can't wait to follow this one and to see the final result.
Last year I was watching a car auction online in the US, in Kansas I think . One of the really interesting cars that was sold was a Fiat Abarth !!! It went for less than $2000 and because of the locale ,no one had any idea if what it was 😮
While I wish I had the space and the time to embark on a journey like that, you bring up a very interesting point that there are, no doubt, rides like the Abarth nesting in areas where the average buyer might not be familiar which could present excellent buy opportunities for we, the obsessed. We wouldn't be here, watching Harry, if we weren't =). I might actually find space for an old Abarth. @@Mercmad
Harry's Garage. Make me cry. A real workshop with a genuine environment from the 60s. And not least knowledge that modern workshops do not have. Today you connect a computer to the ODB connector. and the computer shows what's wrong. And the mechanic changes the spare part. Mechanic = "spare parts changer today". I worked 50 years ago a few years as a car mechanic "so I know what I'm talking about" Today hobby mechanic.
I have to say these classic cars, places and people when compared to modern cars are just so much more interesting.
Lovely shop, thanks for sharing.
That last comment "do anything for a free lunch"... Fantastic video again, thank you for sharing!
Proper old school workshop like a museum but with actual people with real skills fixing iconic cars fantastic.
I've heard of Proietti- sort of folklore. Excited to see their work.
That Giardiniera. Fond memories. My father drove one from the Netherlands to Austria in 1963. 3 kids in the back and a lot of luggage on top. Quite an adventure. The car was a total loss on the engine after just 30.000 km. Peter
Love this video. Love these kind of real garages. Also the pasta is a real gem of a tradition. I lived in Italy for 5 years and this is so Italian 😂😂😂😂. I have a 695 tributo Ferrari version... Goes like stink. It's the wife's Christmas pressie about 6 years ago. My bruv in law has an orange original 500 and it's so so cool. I also remember being in Naples Italy and the bishop of our local church used to be driven around in an old 500 with his mitre sticking out of the sun roof .... Lol.😊😊😊😊😊
This is a fine look at a loving upgrade to a family favorite, a regular fella's car.
My favourite type of HG video! A restoration video! Love it!
Love the variety on Harry’s channel, brilliant 👍
These updates on the little Fiat and other inexpensive cars are some of my favorites.
I just LOVE that work shop. It’s so true and genuine british.
Looking forward to next episode.
Second part!! Great Sunday treat!
Wow Harry, you might make 30bhp if you are lucky 😉. Love the quaint old school garage set up. Its such an antidote to modern high tech app based operating theatre modern dealerships. There was a similar setup in Warrington that used to specialise in the original minis, servicing and tuning them, called Howley Racing.
Just love the 'Giardy' my first car in 1974 ,loads of dodgy repairs to get it on the road but absolutely adorable 😁
Ive noticed that place for years i often wondered because i love the 500s and because i was an aprentice at fiat in my teens !
Oh Harry huge fan of the channel at home in the late 60's had numerous cars, Astons, Jensens, Bentleys and Mercedes and Citroens but also and Fiats including a 500. So pleased that you are giving this one the Harry treatment and that Mrs M loves the car and will be used! As usual you found the top experts to sort it and look forward to the progess and eventual road test?
Back in the late 70's and through the mid 80's I worked at Sports Tune, a Jag, Triumph, MG, Mini, Saab dealership, selling cars and high performance accessories. We also had a partner Fiat/Lancia/Peugeot dealership. As the English cars I sold were so poorly built, I owned a series of Fiats - a 128 2 door sedan, followed by an X/19, then a 124 Spider... I loved my Fiats, then I started racing a Mini Cooper, in which I was often beaten by Fiat Abarths...(and Renault 5 Gordinis). After getting to race a Fiat Abarth one time I was totally into the 500 platform. To me it seemed a better race car. I have never driven one on the street however. Yours looks like it could be an excellent fun car for your narrow winding roads. Have fun with it... I know I would have a blast driving it!
Thankyou ! I was aghast at the unnecessary slander of the Fiat that was launched by another commenter here. I would've easily bought one in the 90s
@@sianwarwick633I owned a number of them in the eighties, mainly because you could get a lot of car for very little money. There was a reason for that though, they really didn't like salty roads and the electrics were dire. A lot of fun though, I probably miss my 500L the most.
I hear the music of Piero Piccioni and feel an old pair of a certain marque of Italian mocassins being retrieved from some ageing case.
A joy to be with you on this journey and thank you.
Wow... i feel like Harry's spotlight has finally shone down and illuminated all that I hold dear, automotively. Italian nippy cars, built like trippy lawnmowers with four wheels and a shell. Thoughtful notes, as ever, to the issues of other restorers, and the desired rebuild. Could car life be any sweeter ? Yeah it could - part 2.
If you're already having it all torn apart I think you'd be silly not to go for the 695 kit!
Remember on the Jag when you realised you could've had the Lister setup for not much more? In much the same way, i feel you'd regret not going for the better option when you had the chance
Twenty two minutes of sheer enjoyment. Finished off with a nice bowl of pasta! Stef... so careful with the handling of engine components, I would trust him instantly with any mechanical task. Lovely vid. Thank you Metcalf & Son
It's Sunday, 5pm - Harry's garage is on... 😀👍
What a fantastic workshop…!
Part of the beauty of life is history and culture. This little car embodies this. It's an icon. Thanks.
What an epic garage. I could wander round there for days
I find it interesting how these rebuilds often start with a bit of an archeological dig into discovering the previously unknown past of the vehicle getting worked on. In this case, to learn that the upgrade you were hoping to do had already been done, just not completely well, is a pretty interesting thing to discover. I hope the work progresses without too many surprises. Thanks for sharing the adventure.
This brought back memories! We bought a sabbia (sand beige) ’66 500 in Florence and drove it back to the UK, including a great trip over the Alps and along the Route Napoleon. We kept the crash gearbox and dropped a 650 Fiat 126 engine in it and it went surprisingly well. Your man is right to say don’t trust blanking off of the carb return 😳. Couple of things to think about are upgrading the clutch (the 500 one is marginal with more power) and fitting stronger valve springs. The extra power can get you into valve bounce territory in top gear even at light throttle openings. That is a lovely clean example you’ve got there 😊.
A good reminder of why buying Italian cars was so different, back in the day, it was an experience.
When I bought an Alfa Romeo GTV6 from a dealer in Ladbroke Grove, now long gone, in the mid-1980s, I also attended many Alfa events there, it was like being part of the family.
Perfect fade-out! I genuinely Lol'd.
Your mechanic knows these engines like the back of his hand. Cheers to this garage!
Brilliant. What a wonderful garage, I hope it goes on for another 60 years in exactly the same way.
Why do we love the little car builds?
Four up my brother with friends used to drive to the beach in Norfolk with the sun roof open.
Broke its dynamo bracket on a long journey and the fan started hitting the casing but we carried on.
Teaches you to double de clutch ( B reg no synchro).
Also teaches one to drive conserving momentum by anticipation at roundabouts etc.
Very moving, Harry and Stef! Tradition still going strong, which is really nice to hear and see.
Great film! As ever! But, surely, you have to upgrade to the larger Aluminium cylinders now you have seen them... otherwise you will always just wonder what it would have been like!
These little businesses are amazing …. Can’t wait to see the result
Now that’s a garage/workshop I would be interested in, it doesn’t look like an operating theatre, just somewhere that produces uprated vehicles from years of knowledge and great parts 🏴👍🏻
Fiat 500 was my first car and it’s almost the same story for many Italians of my generation! I purchased the car on 1976 that was already 12 years old. I drove it from Milan to Reggio Calabria, above 1250 Km go and return and it was running without any problems! Nice memory of this magnificent and fantastic great/small car!
This was wonderful, such a need for places like this! Back in 1966 I got a ride in a Fiat 500 Abarth from Radbourne Engineering, a good memory. After 60-70 cars over the years I've now got a 2019 Abarth 595, lots of fun.
Harry's on one too many coffees this morning. Old cars; they have incredible histories that are so often 'neglected' by the people who sell them.
I did all my basic learning of how to drive in a Fiat 500L on an old airstrip.
No synchro and mastering balancing the throttle & clutch like that really helped later on.
Marvellous little beastie, and I was most upset to get home from school one day to find my mum had sold it . . .
As for size, we regularly headed off in it for days out. Mum at 5'10", dad and myself 5'11", and my sister at 6'1". . . . It must have seemed like a clown show as we all unfolded ourselves to exit.
😂
Great video. I love an old traditional workshop, wonderful to see a family business that's been in the same premises nearly 60 years. Look forward to see the Fiat at the end of its stay there.🇮🇹
FWIW I have a 123 distributor in my 500. It's an early version and has made the old boy very dependable, starts well even when he hasn't been used in a while. Also very reliable on long drives. I never worry that he won't get me home (of course he'll breakdown on the next drive now I've said that).
Shoutout to the backstreet experts. For 25 years I had 3 Volvo estate cars and my ex main dealer mechanic was a wizard and a lifesaver to keep my old cars on the road at a reasonable price. 👍
A Car of the People.. Piccola ma fantastica macchina Harry!!
Harry I’d love to see you take a long trip in this lovely Fiat to the absolutely beautiful Wadi Rum. The contrast of the very small but capable and the millions of years old geological features would make for unbelievable cinematography and photos 😊!!!!
I'm loving the kitchen side as much as the workshop side of things ! 😊
I'm sorely tempted to get my own 1965 Fiat 500 fettled like that. It already has had the 650 engine swap, but this was very common in the 80s in Sicily - it's rumoured a lot of parts went out the back door from the Palermo factory!
Of course, we've enjoyed this video 😁 please please please keep the f500 updates coming on a regular basis!!! 👍👍👍
such a lovely car! All the ones around here are rotten and expensive, but yours seems really clean. Nice one!
Cars and food. Could almost smell them both. Now I know why there's a screen door at the workshop. Certainly to keep both inside, especailly the food. It looked lovely. Well done, Harry for bringing this to everyone who watched your videos. Thanks also to all at R Proietti Ltd!!
Can’t wait to see this when it’s sorted, very exciting
I love the Fiat 850 Coupe .I served my Apprenticeship on them .There used to be a famouse drag racing 850 Coupe with a VW motor
My girlfriend had one and it broke down in the middle of nowhere in the Australian bush so we slept in it (not very well, I might add). Finally discovered that someone had swapped the pilot jet with the main jet. Went a lot better after that.....
You had me when there was a Giardiniera right inside the door! My grandfather had one, and we, me, my brother, my mother and my grandparents went for trips in it. Seems impossible when you see one now. It is tiny!
Better than a Citroen Ami though, any day of the week!
This reminds me so much of my bike racing days in the 90s, discussing what's available as mods and what end result we may expect. I love it!!
One of my fav Harry’s videos. I had 2 identical fiat 500´s. Same colour, condition, everything. One aged 18, the other one 20 years later when i married my wife. Always got far more sympathy than Porsche, Astons and fancy cars. Am off to look at the ads again. Harry… you causing me trouble again!
I love this so much, takes me back to my Dad’s 500 we had in the 70s. The engine build is going to be great.
I love everything about this video, Harry! You´ve made a whole new format of classico videos. O think lots of us love you promoting and visiting the classic experts. Look at their mgic. And a place with their own pasta...?
Harry your enthusiasm is infectious
My favourite car of all time, owned one about 25 years ago and still miss it.....Appreciate watching yours getting sorted Harry. Saludos desde España mi amigo.
I have always taken my cars to specialist garages. I just love the knowledge and passion. I'd like to see more garages focus on being specialists for specific vehicles, rather than being general 'garages'. It works better for everyone... The customer knows the garage has a genuine interest and knowledge for their specific car, and the garage can charge more for their work with a much larger, often national, customer radius.
Thanks for sharing these projects as always, Harry... Great to see!
As a teenager in Munich, one of my first cars was a 500 with suicide doors around 1967. The steering was stiff due to a bad kingpin. Another kingpin assembly was "procured" by stripping one from an abandoned cars. Screaming top speed of around 60mph! Huge fun to drive.