I'm happy to introduce Valentina! Who will soon be joining the family, QV and F355 Spider. She is currently being restored in Italy and I'm hopefull to sign off in Jan of next year. Wanted one for a while and will be the ultimate jump in the car, up to the high st transport. Spent some time researching the various models, history and options. I've gone for the R model as I prefer the classic round speedo look over the square dash found in the L model. I've also opted to fit the 650cc engine from the Fiat 126 and also a synchro gearbox. The R had the 594cc final incarnation but I might as well take advantage of the slightly bigger lump. A lot of the earlier models need double declutching to drive and I felt this would mar the driving experience some what. As I suspect the car will get a lot of use in warmer times. I've opted to swap out the R wheels to those used on the L. I'll be refurbing the R wheels and will keep them, As hard to get a set. I may put them on at some stage, I may not. But at least I'll have the option. Finally a Abrath sports exhaust. Yes, try not to laugh. Not for sound but more to assist performance. As the 650 lump only puts out 22-23 BHP Every little helps! She won't be painted in an original colour. There are a lot of red, white etc and I have enough red cars already. Looking at original colours, nothing really screamed out to me. So I've gone for something else. Paint is due any day and once I've seen the results and more to the point, happy with it, I'll publish pics. So a little bit different to Daisy's 455BHP but I'm sure will be a barrel of laughs to drive. They seem popular wherever you go. Its a design classic and I love the simplicity of the design. The sunroof for example, not as a selling point but to save the use of metal in the roof. Post war years and economic recovery. One final point of interest. She is a real barn find! The holy grail huh ;-) I'll probably move this thread to a more suitable area on this site. But thought I'd break the news first to the Countach faithfull! Rob Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Cool. Maybe rename the thread "Other cars of Lamborghini owners" or ? I guess a decade ago I found a 73 500R in a shed local to me. The car had about 500 real miles. They shipped it over from Rome as a gift for a grand daughter & could not license it, so it just sat. A fun car, crash box and all. Still had the EE plates. I got most of my parts (oddly) from a guy in Germany of all places. Parts were cheap! I managed to squeeze a top speed of about 67 miles per hour, with a little help from a hill.
Given the drivetrain orientation the Fiat is more similar to the Countach than most other cars. My wife has a 1964 500D that I call her ‘LP 500’
You know, I'd never thought of the correlation to the Countach engine / gearbox lay out. Sweet! As Earlycat mentions, loads of spares available for these cars. Example, can get a complete clutch for around £80. Unlike the QV prices And they are very easy to work upon. My problem is. once I've had it for a while, will I be tempted to start the Abrath engine build out on it? But, keeping the appearence non Abrath. Guess I'll have to drive it and see where it takes me. R
If you are going with a 650 then I strongly urge you to get the carburation right. The stock carbs are not jetted for modern fuel and there is a day and night difference to getting your jetting correct. It literally feels like double the power. Secondly buy a 123 ignition for it. Get the unit that replaces the whole distributor for a new unit that still has the cap, rotor, and cables. Modern points are of terrible build quality so the 123 will give you 100% reliability and a stronger spark. With the right jettting and the new ignition a 650 powered 500 is good for about 70 mph and is actually pretty zippy in urban traffic. In North America you get Countach levels of attention but the vibe is different as everyone is your best friend and wants to talk.
Thanks Simon, I'm aware of Middle Barton chaps. Will bear them in mind. Hi Rob C and thanks for the advice. At this stage I just want the car home and for winter to be over so I can get some use out of her. Seen the 123 setup and will deffo consider it. If you have any technical details on rejetting the carb I'd be pleased to hear it. Believe the 650 lump has the 28mm carb. Cheers Rob
Just back from a cheeky trip out to Italy to meet Bambino. As expected project taking longer than expected but welcome to Italy! We are on the home run and not far off. As you will all know, colour is sooo difficult and subjective. And I agnogised over the decision for a long period. In the end, I went non period and took a gamble. seeing the car yesterday the wife and me both love the colour. Its Porsche green, from the GT Rs cars. Code 2D8 for those interested. White interior. Its a summer car. Lets go bright!!! Engine is in but not yet running. Fuel tank, electrics to complete and interior to complete. Hopefully be landing in London in the next 4-5 weeks. Put your sunglasses on ;-) Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Finally! Valentina is on the way to London. Been a long time coming. ❤️ Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Hi Simon and no. Other client who has brought 5. His first 3 are on the transporter with mine. The transportation company will get back to the UK tomorrow evening. I’ve got her booked in for the MOT on Saturday. So i’m hopeful the car will be with me by then. My only concern is the lhd headlights. I’ve got some sticky adapters and post placement, all should be OK. Fingers crossed. Cheers Rob
The eagle has landed. Valentina is now safely tucked up in the garage with Daisy. She passed her UK MOT test although there are a few bits I will get done. Such as fitting front seat belts and sorting the lights out for RHD use. Also, found the clutch very heavy for such a small car. Finding some gears hard to select as well. will get this looked at, hopefully just some adjustments needed. Just waiting on final paperwork to come through so I can get it registered for the road. Roll on summer Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
The clutch is mechanical but should not be overly heavy. As for the gears most 500's have non-synchronized gearboxes meaning you MUST double-clutch to get smooth gear changes. On my 500 a proper double-clutch gives you butter smooth changes and not doing it is either rough or impossible to engage the gears.
Hi fella, mine has a syncro gearbox fitted from a 126. 1st and 3rd gear are fine. I’ll get it looked at, see what they say. Cheers Rob
Cheers Simon. We love her and we've not even used her in anger yet. She will also be our wedding car as Helen and I finally tie the knot in June. GULP ! Although I asked for a 652cc engine, they supplied a 126/a5 lump which is the 595cc version. Ok, I can live with that. I did note that the carb installed is a weber 24, so will look to swap that out for the weber 28 which will increase hp a bit. Like most italian cars, always something to do! I have all the paperwork and will submit docs to DVLA this week to get the car registered for the road. Rob
Thank you! The gear selection problem looks to be some adjustments according to a well versed member from a Fiat forum. Who even offered to send a scr shot of the factory workshop manual on the subject. Love forums and the Internet. Great resource. Valentina is in the garage at the moment, collecting a week on Saturday. Spoke to the shop today. They are very Italian! She is in good hands.
Had a conversation with another specialist today. Started off with upgrading the carb to 28 Weber and electronic ignition. Ended up talking about race crank, high compression pistons, wasted spark, lightened flywheel and a larger carb. Oh dear. However, I really need to spend a few months bedding in and getting used to her idiosyncrasies before I go down the path of no return! Should be collecting her this Saturday post garage time. Weather looks good. Then got my detailer coming round to give her a proper clean and protection. Roll on the weekend!
Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login rob Good news, Valentina now has a UK reg and has been driven a few times. She sure gets a lot of attention. I’ve brought a few bits for her. Car mats, better gear knob etc. I will mention that the engine does seem to run very hot. But doing the research on the forums, this is about par for the course. I’m sure I will be doing some more engine mods in the future, electronic ignition, bigger alloy oil sump and bigger carb. But the big wedding day is this Saturday so this will have to wait until another day. I got my detailing chap to give her some love. She still wearing her original Italian plate at the time. The colour really changes depending upon the amount of sun light. Love love love.
Been a while so time for an update. Valentina and I have been having some serious fun. We've also embarked upon some upgrades to ensure my little baby girl runs great for a long time to come. So, what has been done? Well . . . . . . . . Easier to say what has not been done New coil New silicone leads / plugs New distributor rota / cap Electronic ignition (powerspark) 4 litre Abrath oil sump New larger carb, Weber 28mm, good for approx +0.5BHP Ansa twin pipe sports exhaust. If it's good enough for Ferrari / Lambo, then its almost good enough for Val Braided brake lines RHD headlights fitted. New clutch New engine thermostat Seatbelts fitted New gearb knob (white) USB socket Electronic voltage reg bigger capacity battery. New fuel tank cap. New oil dipstick I've also fitted an electronic dash. Don't worry, it can come out in less than 1 minute to revert to stock. The new dash is great, rev's, battery voltage, oil pressure, oil temp and a clock! About £110 in parts from various places. Reach out to me if you are interested and I'll give you the links. So, whats next? I'm still debating if I should install front disc brakes. Apart from that, nothing else. She's not a race car, so I'm not going down the route to upgrade the power of the engine. I quite like the circa 20bhp. Makes for a more interesting drive! Valentina has also built up a large following on Instagram @valentina_fiat_500 if you are interested ( Shameless plug ) Enough chat, time for some pictures! Even one with her garage sister Daisy (Countach) R Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
