20VT beyond economic repair - what to do?

I had my MOT failure 20VT recovered to Johnny Bravo Turbo to see if it was viable to put it back on the road.

The sad news is that from what he's telling me, it's beyond economic repair. This puts me in a bit of a pickle as he is extremely short of space so he wants to send the coupe back to me.

It would be a shame to just scrap it, as the engine is good (car has done less than 100k miles) and other mechanicals (gearbox etc) are good. Body panels, doors etc are all fine. It also has a stainless steel Scorpion exhaust in good condition.

So if I was to have it towed all the way back again to Leeds, can someone give me a realistic idea of what I could get for it for spares & repairs? Or can someone remind me of who on the forum buys up coupes for spares/repairs?

Thanks. JBT does need his garage space freeing up asap, as you will understand, so it's a fairly urgent request.

Edit: It also has all three keys, which are now with JBT.

Sorry to hear this, may help if you list the faults as to why its not viable for you to put back on the road?

Surely can't be as bad as all that if the bits you've mentioned are good?

Sad news Mutt, it feels like Deja vu again.

http://www.fiatcoupeclub.org/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1469611&page=1

What's up with it??
Must be pretty serious?

At a guess in one piece 500 quid in bits 1 - 1.5k depending on what's on it colour etc etc. Lot of work in stripping and selling on, not a quick fix either.

Extent of rust worse than previously thought, basically.

The good bits would be good for a car with the opposite problems, i.e. poor mechanicals but solid shell.

Yep, it's the same car. Been sitting on the top of my drive waiting for the time when I could get it sorted. JBT has a very full appointments book, as you probably know, and this was the best window in his diary when it could be brought there and looked at. It has masses of history and is generally tidy, but the rust monster has sunk its teeth into it.

Yep, and I'm not really mechanically minded enough to strip it down anyway.

It would be a shame to just flog it to a scrap dealer, though, I'd rather let it go to a good home.

Real shame, what's rotten on it?

I haven't got the full report back from Johnny yet, but on the phone he was saying that there were areas of the floorpan that were rotten as well as the driver's side inner/outer sill.

Ah, that does sound bad.... Especially the inner sills.

Define "economic repair"

When you see programs such as 'Car SOS' and 'For The Love of Cars' it's just incredible what you can do with a lump of rusty metal and I'm sure your car is much better than some of the stuff they restore.

Get a quote a few quotes to see how much it would cost to get her fixed up.

Spend a couple a grand and you've got a car that'll last you for years to come.

Try not to let her go too easily. They're disappearing from our roads quick enough

Feel free to take it on then, mate.

Remember that this isn't my daily driver, so I have to tax and insure it in addition to my main car. So that adds a tidy sum.

By the way, Big_Muzzie, I meant inner wing, not the sills. It's bad, but not THAT bad.

Five or six grand *might* get you a proper JBT rust repair and respray. For that kind of candy you'll be starting off with something considerably better than would be featured on a TV restoration show.

Indeed. I hate to think how much I've spent getting my 16 back up to scratch (and still the back end to go...)

But nonetheless this is always a decision for the owner, no matter how much other owners feel it should be done. I mean, I hinted loudly that if everyone else chipped in a tenner I could afford a complete strip and dip, but everyone went deaf

Indeed, those car programs do make it look easy at times, "BUT" you need..an ideal working place with preferably a ramp, the tools to do the job properly, time & of course as pointed out money.

Best of luck.A decision not taken easily I'm afraid.

Mutt,
It would be a shame, but it is up to you, Joe and I are restoring our Coupe at the moment.

We're currently at £6800 on parts and Joe's time, mind we have really gone to town, not far from finishing now, just the re-spray to go.

A lot of hard work, but well worth it, under Joe's guidance of course, we've kept pictures and a breakdown of what we've done.

Gina had made it quite clear she didn't want another car, she wanted her Rosa back, by the time we've finished, it will be almost a new car LOL.

John

Having seen the work thats gone in to John's its really been a labour of love - and how it should be done properly.

Are the pictures available anywhere? I'm sure I've heard of a facebook page but can't seem to find it.

Mutt, what will you replace the coupe with?

Hi Phil,

This should take you to Joe's page with the piccies.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.813025738792274.1073741894.319959168098936&type=3

John

"We're currently at £6800 on parts and Joe's time, mind we have really gone to town, not far from finishing now, just the re-spray to go."

That's great but not everyone can make that level of commitment to a car. That's why "economic repair" means different things to different people and complete restoration is another level entirely.

Mutt sorry to hear of your problems. Been there myself. Given JBT's workload, maybe he's not in a position to fit the work in. Don't know if you could get an acceptable repair cost from someone else, but it might be worth a shot?

There's a guy in Kettering called Micks Transport. Not too far from JBT. He's good and rates are reasonable. I've used him and so have a few others on the forum.

If you need to move the car, he'll give you a quote.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

With all this talk about rusty coupe's where are the weak spots on these cars?

I think I'd better grab a can of Waxoyl from Halfords on the weekend!

Any help on where to squirt would be appreciated

Fabulous rebuild - can't wait to see the final product!

Obviously the Coop is an old dog & everyone has their story. Obviously money plays a large part in what way you play out the future of your Coop. I recently did a suspension refresh at a grand. Engine out & various replacements all in at three grand & all things considered wasn't too bad, this being my second big bill of my ownership.

Too easy to express an opinion what you should do or not. The way I've looked at my ownership is the fact, personally I've thought the Coop is still relatively much cheaper to run & maintain than your average sports Coop in the same performance.

, personally I've thought the Coop is still relatively much cheaper to run & maintain than your average sports Coop in the same performance.


......and better looking

The Fiat Coupe provides a lot of 'bang for your bucks', great fun to drive, it's well screwed together being hand-built and a fine looking car at that.

I was driving home from work through town, sat in traffic as usual, when a little lad and his dad walked across the road in front of me looking at the car whilst he was crossing. His asked "What car's that dad?" and his dad said 'It's a Fiat Turbo son'

The lad said 'gor, thats awseome'

Not sure if he would have said the same about a Focus RS!

Agreed, but you know the old saying, a stitch in time saves nine. I could have had it properly sorted out a couple of years ago and she would still be a fine beast now. Unfortunately at the time, I was really really skint, on JSA, and my savings had finally run out.

I then did get a job right at the end of December 2013 and needed a car for it. The coupe was run through an MOT and needed work that I couldn't afford at the time (plus I couldn't really find any garages to work on it due to the Xmas and NYE hols) and I ended up leaving it at the top of my drive (where it was SORN'd) and borrowed money from a friend to buy a cheap diesel runabout (which I still have). It was always my plan to put the coupe back on the road, though.

Unfortunately from what Johnny has told me, and the pictures he's sent me, the rot has gone further than I expected and it would need major restoration. He was talking around £4k to get it properly sorted. At present values for coupes, I just can't justify to myself spending that sort of money on it, especially as a second car.

i've spend more then that on my coupe already, heck just buying it was over 6k €. ofcourse keep in mind that the value of coupe's in europa is slightly higher then in england.
i spend my cash on it cause i know for a fact that i will never sell it. not even when i can't get in it anymore cause i am to old. then ill just put it in my living room to look at.

Aye, as I've read so many times on here I echo that this is the only car I've owned still makes me smile & I still catch myself looking back at my Coop after parking up.

OK, just to update, I've now signed the car over to Johnny Bravo Turbo and he will probably be breaking it for spares to give new life to other Coupés. I'd far rather that this happened than for it to end up as a metal cube. I've seen it for probably the last time tonight, so I've obtained "closure". I don't rule out the possibility of getting another in the future. They are indeed magnificent machines.

A difficult choice perhaps but you've justified your action to yourself as being the best option. It won't be long.....

Hope you get another one soon..........

Best not to leave it too long though. Prices seem to be on the up!