Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[vitesse]

Me being a plonker, of course it makes sense to measure the inside of the wheel at the centre points and so long as you have nil or 2mm it should be ok.

On the point about the centre points moving under load you are right they will do because the arms holding the king pins will move up and down pushing the wheels out and in.

I will measure mine tomorrow and see what it's like. It feels fine and its on the original 20 year old tyres that appear to have worn evenly, so I won't poke around too much. I did read on the 500club forum about some guy saying how his tyres were so badly worn on one side after 250 miles. So mine must be pretty good, plus it corners like a go kart.

[colwyn500]

Leave it alone Tony. I only did it because obviously, mine got all messed up. Yours sounds spot on...it ain't broke.

[kevin2306]

id leave it alone for the time being too, let everything settle in then re-assess next season..see how the tyres are wearing etc.

Kev

[peter scott]

Roof bars make a reasonable gauge..

http://www.scottpeter.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/new_page_3.htm
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http://www.nostalgiatech.co.uk
1939 SS Jaguar 2 1/2 litre saloon

[norustplease]

Really enjoyed the film.
Something a few more of us might have a bash at? I occasionally have a shufti at You Tube for this sort of thing, its interesting and useful at all sorts of levels, especially if you are trying to work out whether your example is particularly noisy, although some film clips are marred by dodgy musical backgrounds!
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1953 Citroen Traction
1964 Volvo PV544
1957 Austin A55 Mk 1
Boring Tucson SUV

[colwyn500]

[vitesse]

Yeah thanks guys probably a good idea to leave well, as you said Peter if ain't broke.

[Franko500]

I really enjoyed that video Peter, gave a real sense & feel of riding a 500.
Look forward to the next one & see some more of that beautiful Scotland that we nearly lost.

[colwyn500]

Well that's my longest drive so far in the car booked for next Wednesday; 17 miles to Inverness for the MOT.
It's possibly only the car's second test if it was really taken off the road in 73.
I can only have the car fully covered by insurance for this journey and for any othet DVLA related journeys that might arise. This is because technically it is not registered. Once I have the MOT I can apply for a random age related plate and the insurance is then upgraded. After that I can apply to have the original number put back on the car.

[Franko500]

You will have to let me know the procedure for registering the vehicle Peter, as my vehicle is also currently unregistered. I have been told its fairly straight forward, but I haven't looked into it yet.

Good luck with the MOT, try not to get too nervous when they check the front suspension/King pins.

[vitesse]

[D4B]

Yes best wishes for tomorrow Steve

[colwyn500]

Thanks for that guys. Just been out in the garage overtightening the front bearings a little to "assist" with the removal of any play round there...kingpins are my bggest fear of failure since my unusual method of repairing them leaves me with slight doubts.
It looks likely to be a real baptism if the rain we are having continues.
Fingers crossed and you'll read the result here first.

[colwyn500]

It could hardly have been a wetter "baptism" unless I had completely submerged the car, which I nearly did! On the 30 minute journey to Inverness I took a detour as I approached a 6 mile tailback caused by flooding. Then I realised that the single track road I had taken was acting as drainage channel for all the local fields. I was really concerned that I might not actually get anywhere but with a tanker behind me I had to navigate on. There was another major flood which had disabled a couple of modern cars, one of which had sucked water into the turbo..nasty!
I floated along and finally reached the MOT station after one and three quarters of an hour.
BRA_8610 by peterthompson, on Flickr
The MOT guy obviously struggled finding the starter but was doing the FIAT 500 smile as he drove it in.
So yes...IT PASSED but not without advisories; the rear wheel bearings which are the only mechanical item untouched during the restoration and one BRAND NEW headlamp lense which is cracked. It hasn't been dropped and I would know if I had bumped it and so I guess it is a stress fracture caused by a spring clip. I will try to un-bond one of my originals as it is the reflector which usually leads to the need for a new one.
BRA_8621 by peterthompson, on Flickr
So that's the end of an era. There will still be lots to do to gild the lily and as I plan to use the car frequently, there will have to be running repair updates.
Meantime I would like to thank everyone who has shown an interest in this project, in particular, Steve, Tony Sean and Kevin. Knowing people are following progress is a great spur and I believe that this has increased the quality of the finished result, which, as the MOT man said, is like a new car. Incidentally, he couldn't get his head round the fact, as he said, that it had been preserved so well!...He should have seen it at the start! "A privilege to inspect it," he added

[D4B]

Congratulations Peter,

a thoroughly deserved MOT pass cert!!

I am sure I speak for many when I say that following this amazing rebirth of a lovely little Fiat 500 has been very interesting and always informative.

Now you can ENJOY Don't forget to visit us here in the south on your way to Corfu though eh?

Cheers Steve