Very nice yellow, I know one or two that would like their A500 in the same colour :thumb:
Get yourself to some North West meets - you'd be more than welcome! :thumb:
Hi I have a pair of these Sparco Abarth seats in my HGT when I got mine they were grubby like yours you can take the covers off no problem I put them in the washing mashine on a cold short wash they are like new now just take out the 4 bolts at the bottom of the seat and lift the tabs holding the cloth the back is easy just pulls off hope this has helped.
Im loving this, get some more pic's up and although in the wrong part of the country, get along to a meet and show it off :thumb:
It took me a day to do one seat hang them on the line don't tumble dry them or they might shrink, they are showroom fresh now they were so dirty that the guy a purchased them from only wanted a ton with my old HGT seats in with the deal as he was selling the car anyway, I also have the Abarth covers for the rear seats too they are like hens teeth to find I purchased 3 new sets of these on the German Ebay £35 each kept one and sold each pair for £90 on UK Ebay they went like hot cakes as you can imagine.
Hi it's a shame you didn't wash them trust me the muck that came out of mine they look new the Abarth badge is a bit faded though,as to the air bag my hgt seats didn't have them they must have been an option extra as I've seen many with or without, you car looks sorted,I've thought about putting Supersprint on mine but have kept it standed with a new exhaust right through I knocked out those bloody Pre-cats as they do sod all as mine is a 2002. I do like to keep things standed spec but I do like your wheels mine are the multispoke Abarth 15 inchers I think they look more better than the claws my car is black and a pain in the rear to keep clean it was an hgt car but I have sourced all the a Abarth kit right down to the pedals and headlight protectors just need side skirts but that will have to wait. As for the engine bay I had the rocker cover and coil cover powder coated red as these tend to turn to dust hand cam belt done, Bosch battery,new coils,thermostat,new discs and pads,wishbones and I lowered it with Omp shocks at the front and Koni at the rear with spax springs I will send some photos when I can sort out how to do it.
Looks like a good day mate! Did the same on my bday at Donny park last yr! Lol
Get yerself over here and try the craners in your totally amazing punto
Barkston Heath Airfield is home to the Royal Air Force Elementary Flying School. It was also once home to a forest of Bloodhound ground to air missiles. Javelin Trackdays has for a few years now used the former missile site compound and sections of the concrete peritrack to host a variety of different events.
Cambelt kit - £75
Waterpump - £37
Aux belt - £18
Anti Freeze - £15
Labour 3.5 hours - £140
Total - £285 + VAT (£342 including)
Sorry for bring this topic back if it was closed. But Jonnio your HGT has been a bit of an inpsiration, have you still got it mate?
So after getting a few quotes for around £250 odd to have the compression, timing and exhaust pressure checked I decided to just refit some standard bits and see what happened before spending money. I pulled the standard backbox out of the roof and quickly realised there was a good length of pipe missing from the centre silencer which must have been cut to fit the Supersprint rear silencer. So that was off the cards.
I then got the standard airbox/induction out, and managed to get it refitted after removing my catch tank.
I wasn't holding my breath but was genuinely surprised at the performance improvement. The dips/flatspots in power have gone and it pulls so much better. I emailed the guy that suggested the car might have faults to report this and he asked for a picture of the GSR. As soon as looked at it he said that it doesn't have a resonator on it like the standard one which can add power at certain points in the rev range.
So I'm happy that the car is running better now but it's just a pain in the arse to realise I've had the solution in storage all along, and have thought for years that it was the ECU not being able to cope with the mods.
HI John
I came across this thread when searching for stuff about HGT's. I do think these Hitachi ECU's are particularly sensitive to changes. They aren't running an airflow meter and changing intake and exhaust will be changing the MAP sensor readings and causing the ECU to add incorrect fuel & spark (the spark is possibly more the issue).
So I do think although a proper manufacturer air intake is arguably better than a bad aftermarket one I'm not sure all of the blame lies with the intake itself. It is clear though that with the variable intake runners that FIAT designed this engine to utilise resonant frequencies to boost torque.
The only sure fire way to get more power would be like you mention an aftermarket ECU (Emeralds start about £700) but then there's all the issues you'll get with check lights. There's a good thread here about a chap who built a 2 litre version - can't link but search "guy croft forum fiat punto hgt build"
I am thinking about dropping in the Alfa 2.0 TSpark but using the FIAT head and going the whole hog with throttle bodies and cams with standalone ECU.
Anyway it's great that you've been using the old girl in anger. These cars got a bad wrap from the press but really what's not to like? A cracking 1.8 Litre engine (better than all it's class rivals at the time) a brilliant 5 speed box with superb ratios. OK the suspension is a bit like riding a pogo stick but at least it focusses the mind !