The Fiat Restoration is Complete

Filed under: Articles,Classic News |
3 Finished Fiat RestorationIt’s been two years and eight months since our friends Nick and Bob rescued a banged out old Fiat from the side of the road and gave it a home. Since then they have been working tirelessly, through setbacks, and we now have the finished result. Ta-da. It’s come a long way, even since the day when the world started following their progress on the Cherished Vehicle Insurance blog (okay the world might be a stretch but you know what we mean). There have been some ups and downs and the guys told us that these continued right up until that nervous moment when it when it for its MOT. Did it pass? We’ll let you know shortly. But first of all let’s go through step by step as we discover how they reached this impressive finish. Calling in Family Favours There is nothing handier than having a family member at hand to help you out with something you can’t do when they are the expert. Bob’s sons were instrumental in the finishing touches at the end as they explained: “We had the seats re-trimmed in black with red piping along with the door cards. Bob’s son Lee, gave the car another coat of white paint and his other son, Rob, a carpet fitter, added the carpet.” The windows were also fitted without hassle, which was a huge bonus to the chaps. Bob also rebuilt the heater and found rubbers for the engine bay and boot. With the interior starting to look the part they had to make sure this wasn’t going to be a superficial model. So it was time for lots of little jobs to make sure things work. “New door handles were added and a myriad of little jobs were done. Some went unnoticed but took hours.” “One problem we had concerned the headlights. We could not find replacements the right size with the correct fittings. In the end we took them apart and whizzed them over to a company in Leeds to be re-silvered.” Proper Paint Job It was time for another favour. “We had decided on a chequered roof and wanted it painted rather than a transfer. Lee set to, marking it up with pencil. In all, including measuring up and painting, it took two days. The result was superb. “Then came the nice bit; adding the finishing touches. An Abarth grille was fitted along with period spotlights, various transfers and badges and some bonnet straps.” Time for the MOT With all the finishing touches added and the colour looking completely transformed, it was time for the MOT. They waited nervously for the results. Time ticked by. Then the good news arrived. It had sailed through the MOT. Nick and Bob had done it. Definitely time to crack open those amber nectars in Bob’s man shed!