1971 Fiat 500 Classic, rebuilt to Abarth 695 specification

For sale is my 1970 Fiat 500. rebuilt in the summer of 2015 with a new engine; new gearbox; new suspension & bushes throughout; new brakes and lines; re-sealed steering box; new steering joints; new wheels and new tyres. The inspiration for the rebuild came from the Cassetta di Trasformazione kits supplied by Abarth in the 60's and 70's to transform a regular Fiat 500 into an Abarth 595 or 695.  

The kits were shipped worldwide in wooden crates directly from the Abarth in Italy. and came with everything you needed. along with instructions. to upgrade your factory 500 into the same specification as the factory built 595's and 695's. Of course. 45 years later. the kits are no longer available. but with some careful research. it's possible to source equivalent parts to upgrade a regular 500 into a specification very close to the original 595's and 695's. So this was the goal of the rebuild. take that same ethos to assemble a kit and transform my 1970 500L.
Engine and exhaustI sourced a completely new engine built by ricambifiat. com. with the only refurbished item being the alternator. as these are no longer available new. The engine has been upgraded with larger valves; nitrided and hardened crankshaft; hardened bearings; special pistons. cylinders and rods; upgraded camshaft; 3. 5l Abarth spec ally oil pan; Abarth spec ally rocker cover; high performance oil pump; and Fiat factory (magneti marelli) electronic ignition. It produces ~32HP. same as the original Abarth 695. but with none of the maintenance fun of coil. distributor points. rotors etc. The engine has been run in using Castrol Edge 10w60 oil. and I'll complete a fresh oil change before its handed over. I'll also supply what's left. and a spare 1l can for top-ups. A twin pipe 'Monza' type exhaust. standard on the 695's was also fitted. A cable operated starter motor was sourced to maintain the use of the starter handle.  
GearboxNew synchromesh gearbox and clutch. again supplied by RicambiFiat. com. I specified it with the 9/39 final drive. which was an Abarth option. recommended for road going 595's and 695's. So. it now cruises nicely at 60mph at ~3000 rpm. A new gearbox linkage was fitted too.
BrakesAlthough the 500 was in use in Italy. and had the equivalent of an MOT. the brakes were just ok. and had a few minor leaks. So for the UK MOT. I replaced the master cylinder. both rear cylinders. new rear drums & pads (Metelli OEM quality) and new brake lines on all four corners. I also took this opportunity to upgrade the front brakes from drums to discs. again an option from Abarth for the 695's.  
SuspensionFor the suspension. I fitted the 595 & 695 specification front and rear springs from Abarth specialist Middle Barton; along with sport shocks; new rubber isolators all round; new front wishbones; new bushes; refurbished kingpins; new metal mounts; new bump stops; and a new upgraded engine mount spring. This lowers the height from standard; reduces roll. pitch and dive; and yet it still soaks up bumps well for a classic 500. Front and rear wheel bearings were also replaced with new. along with new rubber drive shaft isolators on the rear.
Wheels and TyresPersonally I liked the look of the Abarth optional racing wheels for the 695. made by Campagnolo. Unfortunately. as they were made of magnesium. it's no longer possible to source originals. but the good news is there are modern alloy equivalents available. and they have the benefit of using modern tubeless tyres. For tyres. I wanted a premium brand. not easy on 12" tyres. but fortunately Yokohama supply their A539 tyre in the 165/60 R12 71H size.  
InteriorCompared to the mechanicals. upgrades to the interior were fairly light. The 500L dash was changed out for a pod that matches the original Abarth pod option. designed for the raised 500L dash enclosure. The dash now has speedo. rev counter. oil pressure and fuel guages. I also went for the Abarth option of the Nardi wooden steering wheel. and fortunately you can still source original Nardi classic steering wheels. (I'll supply the Nardi certificate of authenticity with the docs). I also sourced an original autovox piper AM radio from Italy. as I found this a much more attractive addition to the dash. compared to the standard ashtray lid.
Gear knob. interior door handles and sill protectors were changed from plastic to metal for purely cosmetic reasons. Lastly carpet mats and rear sound deadening were replaced for new. and retractable front seatbelts were fitted for the MOT.
ExteriorThe headlights were changed for new RHD versions. along with new front indicator lenses. and rear light cluster lenses. By 1970. Abarth used vinyl transfers for the 595's and 695's. I preferred badges. so I managed to source an original Italian magazine article in 1964 on the recently released Abarth 695 essesse. Fortunately the article had pictures of all sides and interior of the 695. so I could replicate the badges exactly.  
BodyworkAs far as I can tell. the 500 is fairly rare. in that it still has all of it's original panels and is very sound. The front inner wings show signs of a couple of rust repairs. and although they are fairly crude. they are out of sight. and personally I'd rather keep the originals than replace with new pattern parts. The bodywork. just needed some stone chip touch ups. With putting so many new parts on the 500. it was tempting to have a complete respray too. but personally I wanted it to look like a classic car from the 70's and not like it had just left the factory. so I'd describe the bodywork and paintwork as good. but not perfect. The front inner section was treated with dinitrol wax to keep the rust at bay in this vulnerable spot where the spare wheel sits. and the engine and gearbox were covered with dinitrol corroheat wax to keep them clean and protected too. Glass and rubbers were left untouched and just cleaned. along with having the paintwork polished and coated in gtechniq c2.
V5. Road Tax. & MOTI personally imported the 500 directly from Italy in April 2015. It was previously owned by a garage owner in his personal collection. and he was selling as he'd just upgraded to an original Giannini 500. I went through the correct import process with the HMRC Nova registration. and all of this paperwork. along with the Italian PRA export and vehicle ID documentation will be supplied with the car. The 500 was UK MOT'd and registered in June and July 2015 respectively. and will be supplied with an MOT running until June 2017. As a classic car more than 40 years old. it has no road tax to be paid on annual renewal. The V5 has the upgraded engine number. and I also have a certificate from Fiat. confirming that the 500 was manufactured in Turin in December 1970. The 500 comes with spare wheel & tyre. and the factory jack.  
Since the rebuild. the 500 has only covered a few hundred miles. so should provide many years of trouble free fun. I'm only selling to make some space and help fund a new restoration project that's already sitting on the driveway. Feel free to ask any questions. requests for pictures or to come and view/drive it in Cambridge. Thanks Steve
More pictures can be viewed in the Fiat 500 album here.  https://goo. gl/photos/Au298pMcJgw4finw6

Also published at eBay.co.uk

Want to buy this car?