NO WAY!!!! I used to own this car in 2006!! The moment i saw that maldwyn williams invoice at @9:01 and the last one for nu finish at @9:29 i new it was the same car. I bought this from a guy in rhyl north wales with a snapped cam belt,he didnt realise that its a non interferance engine and i got it for £800,id already had an M reg punto gt so i new them pretty well. Put a belt on it and it fired up,serviced it ,give it a new mot and sold it on. I wont lie to you one of the reasons i moved it on was because it was really dry and crusty underneath. All the best with it.
Man, this brings back memories. Me and my mate drove a Punto GT from Sweden, down through the german Autobahn at high speeds chasing Mercs, two laps round Nurburgring then up over the alps through Davos - Stelvio, down to Lago di Garda in Italy and back home again, all in less than a week. Up in the alps, the engine needed a little help in cooling, but other than that, the car performed without a hiccup! Good times and obviously a good car...
In Italy I had a Gt in the late 90... 180 hp... 1.6 atm turbo... In Italy we still call , all this kind of car : " The coffin whit weels"... " Bare con le ruote"... Cheers
I have one with a lancia delta integrale 2.0 16v turbo engine, Brembos front and back , its midnight blue with black leather seats , I've owned it for for 15 years now , it's a death trap and I absolutely love it
My first Italian car was a Punto - an EL 6-speed (remember them?) I thought it was great fun, and it looked superb inside and out. They’re rare as rocking horse poop now, so this one is definitely worth saving, if only to preserve an example of one of Giugiaro’s best 90s car designs........
Nice project, glad this vid popped up in my suggestions, I've subbed so I can see the full series over the coming months ☺️ After years of hankering after one I bought a red GT2 back in 2002 and although I kept it 4 years it often disappointed me with build quality issues and simply terrible stock suspension on the bumpy roads around where I lived at the time. Even so, I quietly harbour a desire to have another some day and sort it properly (better suspension, proper mapping, double cable gear change/linkage conversion) then sit it along side my minty fresh mk1 Uno Turbo and Coupé 20V Turbo Plus in the garage.
As mentioned before, try to get a donor car, like a low milage punto 55 and make major transplant! Good effort anyway. 👏I have a few gts my self. Will follow! 😃
I love Italian cars and hate when I see them all getting scrapped or rusting away which is causing cars like unos, cinquecentos and 156s to be going nearly extinct so Huge props to you for saving this GT turbo as they're awesome cars. I'd invest in some bravery pills first though 😅
It is worth saving!! Those little cars are indestructible if given minimim maintenance. In my country there are still plenty of mk1s used as daily drivers. But only few gt s of course. I bought an Lancia Y elefantino rosso, as a project car. The car is a sibling to mk1 punto sporting 86. Not a hot hatch but fun and reliable little car. Good luck with your projects Neil.
My son had a Rialto blue Punto as his first car. Took it to Newcastle University. It didn’t get nicked and managed to survive the three years probably in better condition than my Son !
Brave build but well done for taking it on, think it's great that someone will save cars like this too many get scrapped, for example Strada 105tc or 127 Sport, virtually unknown now which is a real shame. Always wanted one of these so I could try to squeeze the engine into my Cinq Sporting!
Had to scrap my mk1 sporting last year due to terminal floor rot. Loved that car. Good luck with the project. If you want an original radio for it. I still have one!
Good on you. Someone has to save these cars. Otherwise in 20 years time people will say 'what happened to old Fiats Alfas etc.' says me an owner of a 1980 Alfasud Sprint!!!
I had a mk1 GT, as well as a sporting too. Great little cars, very different way of getting fun out of a small car, great design. Absolutely a future classic. Not my favorite color the orange, but I have faith in your hands, to make it look and perform as a GT should. Have patience...
The history book may be more revealing than you think. I noticed a couple of bills in there from a company in St. Asaph, so the car probably spent time in Wales, which would somewhat explain the rust situation. There was also what looked like the sticker for a rebuilt turbo in there, so that may well have been done already. I would suggest the puff of blue smoke on start up is probably down to tired valve stem oil seals, the original factory ones weren't very good and with the car clearly having sat for some time it is quite likely they are now quite perished and dry. This was a pretty common issue on FIAT Unos with that basic engine back when I started my career working for a FIAT dealer back in '89 and '90, it wasn't unusual to see them puff a bit of oil smoke on start up from about 3 years old and as little as 30,000 miles. Usually weeping oil seals in the turbo intake side shows themselves up as a more general faint haze of oil smoke all the time the vehicle's running rather than a definite puff of smoke on start up that then goes away, something that was very common on hard driven Uno Turbo i.e.s... It's rough, but it's definitely worth doing as I can't imagine there are more than a handful of those left in the UK, they disappeared at a prodigious rate when they weren't very old...
Definitely worth restoring regardless of its condition. There aren't a lot of these left so keeping this one on the road would be quite nice, and it is a really cool car, been planning to snatch one or an Alfa GTV for a restoration project after I finish my daily car... (my daily is an '02 Laguna though lol)
I have always thought that saving a car that you have always loved is priceless. So, if you want my modest opinion, and seeing the love that you have for the punto, friggin do it!
Wow. Best of luck mate! Glad you're saving it, but rather you than me. And I thought the sills on my 1995 mx5 were bad when I bought it. I always liked the look of these. Frankly the design has aged very well. Tbh as others have said I'd go for a reshell. Just been looking at prices here in France. Plenty on the market locally and reasonably clean 3 door examples are for sale between 400 and 700€
By the look of the receipts in the service history, it has lived not far from me on the north Wales coast, which probably hasn't helped with the rot situation. Shame fiat didnt put more effort into corrosion resistance, as this era for them was quite good mechanically. I've owned a Peugeot 306 dturbo for the past 18 years, that also lived on the north Wales coast. Its 23 years old now, and it has never been welded, despite having now covered 221k. If peugeot can do it, then they could all do it. Back in the late 80s my mum had a 83 fiat panda 45 super. My dad was welding it for mot every year, it was shocking. But a great car in the snow with narrow tyres and front wheel drive and good ground clearence. Good videos, I'm enjoying them, all the best.
There are too many negatives Neil. This thing ideally needs a full new floor to make it last and most importantly, safe. Buy a cheap donor Punto and swap everything over. I’ve seen a few mint sub 20,000 mile examples for sale lately for less than a grand. That’s what I would do. You could build a truly mint example and something that gives you piece of mind. Sure, repairing this Punto is possible, but salvaging what rusty parts you can is just uneconomical in the long term because the rust WILL come back. You will be fighting rust forever and a day. Making a good solid GT with another donor would also make a lot of cracking videos and I’m sure you would find it much more enjoyable to do.
I used to own one of these. I fitted Spax vsx suspension, team dynamics Monza wheels in gunmetal, Yokohama’s, super sprint exhaust and i loved it. Did almost 85,000 miles in it. I only sold it when it got stolen for the third time in a year. My insurance excess payments hit five grand and that was enough. I’ve looked for another several times but they’re all but extinct. SAVE THIS CAR. I would imagine body panels are plentiful but the missing side skirts might be an issue. They regularly cracked every time the car went on a lift. I don’t think there’s ten left running in the UK. The one you’ve got there has been lowered too much in my opinion which won’t have helped the underside. That exhaust is a disgrace. Mine was a twin round centre exit that needed no bumper cut out. I must be honest the engine sounds well rough compared to how mine sounded.
I had one of these and luved it. Great car. A bit soft in the handling but comfy, practical and with styling that looked fresh for years. And what an overtaking machine!! I haven’t seen one for years though..
I've had '99 Mk1 for two years (bought on autumn 2017, lowest spec possible 1.1 55, assembled in Poland at that time, probably last batch which rolled on oct'99), wreck raced it in dec'19 because nobody wanted to pay 1200PLN which I've asked for it (270€ at current exchange rate) :) On track few ppl asked me why I'm about to destroy this still good looking car. I've repaired floorpan a little bit with my friend but it was nowhere as rusty as yours! Having only 81 000KM when I bought it probably helped too ;) It was in decent shape overall at only 103 000km and lots of new parts were wrecked (in just '19 new radiator fan, new exhaust, new tires and many other things had less than 20 000km/2 years).
forgotten what? Really? here in italy if you still have one, good condition not tuned, you're a true petrolhead, and could cost more than 10.000 euro for one
I remember my Lancia it got really rotten over the years but it was a fun car to drive, But i had restored car with worse with massive rust problems I will follow your progress it is fun when someone save a bit odd car. Good luck!
Save it, too many of these ended up smashed, ragged or both. Yes it's rotten but time and patience will bring it back. At least it's complete and inside is saveable. Looking forward to seeing the progress on this project.
Please save it, there are little of these left in the world. Would be amazing to see one if these getting some proper love. I have a Uno Turbo IE Mk2 and found this video by chance, but I am subscribed now. 👍
i loved in the 90s my punto gt, my 1993 in gold metallic with novitec tuning kit and omp group a exsaust system......he is definatly worth saving!......he was the last really turbo powered fun can from fiat beside the coupe 20v turbo......the most cars after this aera were lame ducks.......for example the bravo hgt or the non turbo charged punto 16v engine....i also owned before the punto a tipo sedicivalvole with the original non turbo charged lancia delta engine in there....but the punto was from the fun fact a real milestone and with the original power, tje 1372ccm, 133hp and 200nm his opponents were till 160/180km/h the golf vr6, bmw325/328i, astra gsi 16v etc...and guess what...none of them had ever even a chance......till 160/180 km/h....after that, the engine size was for sure to small.......i bought him as a 2year old car in 1995 and drove hin 8years....with his full galvaniced body i had never any rust problem. so, for me and my merories, he is definatly a keeper :-)
I’ve just come across your channel I had the punto turbo 1996 on a p reg had 16.000 miles 18 months old when I bought it and sold it with 96 thousand 3 years later but had surface rust along windscreen over the years but I loved it 1 of the best cars I’ve had. Can’t wait for more content. Stay safe 🤙🏻
This feels like one of those cars where it's so far gone that you're better off finding a better chassis to swap all the GT stuff into. I'm personally restoring a 1972 Volga 24 and even though it's rusted to bits it's nothing like this punto. And I've had people call me a madman and say that the car is too far gone but i'll fix it. A big long job like this makes you prone to burnout so if you do decide to go through with the repair beware that you might eventually get sick of it.
For years I have had a soft spot for Fiat's Punto and especially the Mark 1. I sincerely hope you will be able to restore it to health and am looking forward to seeing how things progress. Punto Mark 1 is one of Guigiaro's finest works and represents fresh and distinctive Italian design (at an economical price).
nice video...here in bosnia hercegovina each punto has 200.000 miles on klock..MINIMUM...but in uk 100 tousand is too much...my punto has 220.000 miles and still running like dream...greetings to uk...........
Hope it can be saved. My first new car was a Mk 1 Punto TD SX in 1995. Brilliant car. Fun to drive, well made, insane amount of space for a supermini, totally reliable and the styling looks fresh even today. I'd love another one purely for the nostalgia.
Very good to see this, hopefully we could get some updates on how you go with it, right hand drive Gt models are getting rare so going with your heart is definitely the right way to go.. Mine could do with one of them regulator units I`ve had to glue one end too but car runs very nice indeed..
Its easy to say reshell but when was the last time you saw a good solid 3dr 55s or 55sx etc going cheap? People know what a 3dr shell is worth these days so you have to weigh it up....spend big on a reshell then do the swap or sort out what youve got. To most punters it wouldnt be economical to pay for this level of resto but for these guys its going to give them some great content for the channel. Lots of love for the forgotten GT. I would however put rust free wings on it as that rust at the bottom will rise up in time and haunt you after the paint job. Removing the rear screen will be a pig -ive tried it once and it did not want to come out. Plus yours has the rear spoiler in the way of the upper seal. My advice. Find a new rust free tailgate( the later type that didnt have a rubber seal around the screen-easier to mask too) that you can put the spoiler onto. £30 tops. Following......
Wow, that's a task......and a half, but if Pete C can bring back a rot bucket Cortina, haha, be great to see it fully restored and the process involved. Good luck 👍
lovely project , nice to see a GT being saved …..on the Keys its far easier to get blanks from Italy as they are the same as the Bravo Marea and Multipla keys …..just get them cut and you can swap the chip and internals for the remote , main dealers here wanted £320 plus pogramming, I picked up 4 blanks for £40
Forget that valve you glued it's for vapors, there's a valve on the top of the maf, it's pierburg, the hoses from the turbo go there the pierburg is the one that controls the turbo pressure.
Yeah I wasn't looking to closely when I was filming that. Since filming I found out most of the boost pipes where missing or unplugged. Its now boosting fine but its crap at starting from cold and stalls. I'm assuming air flow meter as its not had a filter on it.
Put the original airbox on, those MAFs don't like to run with out the original airbox. The cold star it's probably some sensor, idk the name and cnt explain in this language, but check out the sensors. It's a common problem with them.
New subscriber this is going to be a brilliant project. Neaver had a punto had plenty of uno turbos brilliant fun Cars to drive. shame they are no longer in production 👍👍👍👌👌
I was a happy owner of the first series PuntoGT, but I can assure you that I have never seen a PuntoGT so bad. My interior was made of velvet, while these are of a fabric of the worst economic PuntoSX; The speakers were (factory) 165mm on the doors, while these are 130mm. The steering wheel and the gearshift gaiter were made of leather, while these are (bleah) ... This is also a third series PuntoGT (you can see it from the painted miniskirts and black rims, the first one had silver rims and black miniskirts). They changed the engine, raising the compression ratio, as well as the smaller turbine in this version. Are you sure this is a PuntoGT? The seats must be anatomically and with the logo GT on the headrests, completely different and sporty.The dashboard instrumentation of that series should also be with black writing on a white background, not like this. Check carefully the air flow meter and the engine wiring, which has the habit of "cooking" after a long time and many kilometers. Also check the heating radiator that has the habit of leading water after many kilometers.
@@Xanderoby Look, if there is a person who says bullshit, it is certainly not me. I only asked some questions, to which it would have been enough if you had simply answered, given that I have had as many as 3 Punto GT, and I know how they are made. Instead you got angry, making comparisons that have nothing to do with my questions. Anyway, well, I wish you a good life and a good illusion with your Punto GT.
@@Xanderoby I am not illuded. You maybe. I repeat it to you. I had three GT points and I know them very well. Apart from the fact that the turbine from GT1 to GT2 is different in model and size. The turbo lag has already been reduced starting from the GT2, so much so that from 136 hp it has gone up to 130 hp. In any case, if it is as you say, on the GT3s evidently in Great Britain Fiat has sold some leftover stock, because in Italy, Spain, Germany, Slovenia and France this is not the case (I had friends with whom I exchanged photos and made rallies) . It is the first Punto GT that I see with an SX set-up. The part of the handle is completely straight, while in the GT it rises and has the highest window control panel.. It doesn't even have a driver's airbag, which all Punto GTs have as standard. This should at least get you thinking. I should like to see another Punto GT3 in GB to check if the model is same like the video. I'm just curious.
@@Xanderoby Update. You have right. Also in Italy, the latest Punto GT (GT3) series has been "impoverished" by removing many standard options, including interiors, airbags, dashboard warning lights, and other things.
This is going to be great! Can’t wait to see this progress. Always wanted one of them back in the day but had to make do with Cinquecento and Seicento Sportings 👍🏽👍🏽
@@ItaliaAutos I know someone in Kent that has an hgt just sitting in his workshop been there a few years now. Or I'm sure you can find a sporting shell would be my choice anyway
I wish you luck with all the work to do there. The end result though should be great. I think personally these may be future classics due to rarity as the years go by and most being scrapped.
I would get a donor shell of a lower spec one. Cut large sections out of it and weld i to the gt. Definitely take subframes out and put it on a rotisseri ( horizontal axle ). Would not fancy weldind everything from underneath
Yno I hated mk1 puntos back in the day wasn't about the messed up dash BUT! If I had the choice I would certainly go all in if I had the time and money now strange how this change your perception when they practically become modern classics punto gt is always worth saving with that 1400 turbo screamer
Great project. I used to have a Sporting as well and miss it dearly. The valve you showed at the end of the video appears to be for the fuel vapour recirculation...not boost.
I had a punto gt turbo back in 2000 was a great car, silver phase 1, Bailey dump valve and a magnet exhaust, it sounded amazing...........You sand blast that and you won’t have much left , think I would resell as the later cars were lot cleaner, although. I e go see an Abarfh rear wing on it, I
I have sold many Puntos in my live. One Punto S with over 460.000KM and no one of them has had as many rust as this one. This reminds me on my Fiesta XR2i
NO WAY!!!! I used to own this car in 2006!! The moment i saw that maldwyn williams invoice at @9:01 and the last one for nu finish at @9:29 i new it was the same car. I bought this from a guy in rhyl north wales with a snapped cam belt,he didnt realise that its a non interferance engine and i got it for £800,id already had an M reg punto gt so i new them pretty well. Put a belt on it and it fired up,serviced it ,give it a new mot and sold it on.
I wont lie to you one of the reasons i moved it on was because it was really dry and crusty underneath. All the best with it.
Awesome.
if it's keeping it out of scrapyard heaven then i'm all for saving it .
Man, this brings back memories. Me and my mate drove a Punto GT from Sweden, down through the german Autobahn at high speeds chasing Mercs, two laps round Nurburgring then up over the alps through Davos - Stelvio, down to Lago di Garda in Italy and back home again, all in less than a week. Up in the alps, the engine needed a little help in cooling, but other than that, the car performed without a hiccup! Good times and obviously a good car...
In Italy I had a Gt in the late 90...
180 hp... 1.6 atm turbo...
In Italy we still call , all this kind of car :
" The coffin whit weels"...
" Bare con le ruote"...
Cheers
Hardly forgotten, my first car, 17 years on I still have it :)
I have one with a lancia delta integrale 2.0 16v turbo engine, Brembos front and back , its midnight blue with black leather seats , I've owned it for for 15 years now , it's a death trap and I absolutely love it
As a complete amateur, I'm surprised this can be repaired with that amount of rust.
Subbed to watch the progress. Good luck!
great to see someone putting in so much effort to save one of these cars, always loved them and think they are really under rated.
Thanks for watching.
Hahahaha - I love your passion! This is what everybody is dreaming of but few have the resources
thanks
You're clearly a very brave man with a huge love for the car. I take my hat off to you! Can't wait to see the progress.
I appreciate that!
Very good decision! Everyone who gets to drive a GT is hooked, myself included
My first Italian car was a Punto - an EL 6-speed (remember them?) I thought it was great fun, and it looked superb inside and out. They’re rare as rocking horse poop now, so this one is definitely worth saving, if only to preserve an example of one of Giugiaro’s best 90s car designs........
Fiat Punto Mk1. The gateway drug to Alfa Romeos.
Nice project, glad this vid popped up in my suggestions, I've subbed so I can see the full series over the coming months ☺️ After years of hankering after one I bought a red GT2 back in 2002 and although I kept it 4 years it often disappointed me with build quality issues and simply terrible stock suspension on the bumpy roads around where I lived at the time. Even so, I quietly harbour a desire to have another some day and sort it properly (better suspension, proper mapping, double cable gear change/linkage conversion) then sit it along side my minty fresh mk1 Uno Turbo and Coupé 20V Turbo Plus in the garage.
As mentioned before, try to get a donor car, like a low milage punto 55 and make major transplant!
Good effort anyway. 👏I have a few gts my self.
Will follow! 😃
Oh man these are the last of the 90’s turbo shopping trolleys!!!
I love Italian cars and hate when I see them all getting scrapped or rusting away which is causing cars like unos, cinquecentos and 156s to be going nearly extinct so Huge props to you for saving this GT turbo as they're awesome cars. I'd invest in some bravery pills first though 😅
the punto gt is the very icon of 90 years from Italy,saving absolutely =)
its being saved
You're a brave man.
It is worth saving!! Those little cars are indestructible if given minimim maintenance. In my country there are still plenty of mk1s used as daily drivers. But only few gt s of course. I bought an Lancia Y elefantino rosso, as a project car. The car is a sibling to mk1 punto sporting 86. Not a hot hatch but fun and reliable little car.
Good luck with your projects Neil.
My son had a Rialto blue Punto as his first car. Took it to Newcastle University. It didn’t get nicked and managed to survive the three years probably in better condition than my Son !
My first new car was a mk1 Punto Sporting, so really love these. Really nice classic. Huge amount of work, but great if you can save it.
Brave build but well done for taking it on, think it's great that someone will save cars like this too many get scrapped, for example Strada 105tc or 127 Sport, virtually unknown now which is a real shame. Always wanted one of these so I could try to squeeze the engine into my Cinq Sporting!
Had to scrap my mk1 sporting last year due to terminal floor rot. Loved that car. Good luck with the project. If you want an original radio for it. I still have one!
Good on you. Someone has to save these cars. Otherwise in 20 years time people will say 'what happened to old Fiats Alfas etc.' says me an owner of a 1980 Alfasud Sprint!!!
I had a mk1 GT, as well as a sporting too.
Great little cars, very different way of getting fun out of a small car, great design.
Absolutely a future classic.
Not my favorite color the orange, but I have faith in your hands, to make it look and perform as a GT should.
Have patience...
The history book may be more revealing than you think. I noticed a couple of bills in there from a company in St. Asaph, so the car probably spent time in Wales, which would somewhat explain the rust situation. There was also what looked like the sticker for a rebuilt turbo in there, so that may well have been done already. I would suggest the puff of blue smoke on start up is probably down to tired valve stem oil seals, the original factory ones weren't very good and with the car clearly having sat for some time it is quite likely they are now quite perished and dry. This was a pretty common issue on FIAT Unos with that basic engine back when I started my career working for a FIAT dealer back in '89 and '90, it wasn't unusual to see them puff a bit of oil smoke on start up from about 3 years old and as little as 30,000 miles. Usually weeping oil seals in the turbo intake side shows themselves up as a more general faint haze of oil smoke all the time the vehicle's running rather than a definite puff of smoke on start up that then goes away, something that was very common on hard driven Uno Turbo i.e.s...
It's rough, but it's definitely worth doing as I can't imagine there are more than a handful of those left in the UK, they disappeared at a prodigious rate when they weren't very old...
yep looks like it.
You must salvage it. You must. You have the skills and the will and it is a rare enough car with sentimental value.
im going to try.
Nicely done. I wish I lived somewhere where there are cool older Italian cars. Alas, I’m in California
Signed up to your pateron just because your restoring it, it's a rare car worth saving! 👍
Just seen it. Many thanks. Appreciate it.
Definitely worth restoring regardless of its condition. There aren't a lot of these left so keeping this one on the road would be quite nice, and it is a really cool car, been planning to snatch one or an Alfa GTV for a restoration project after I finish my daily car... (my daily is an '02 Laguna though lol)
I have always thought that saving a car that you have always loved is priceless. So, if you want my modest opinion, and seeing the love that you have for the punto, friggin do it!
Just popped up on my suggested, now subbed, looking forwards to seeing updates👍🏻
You sir are very, very brave to take this on
Wow. Best of luck mate! Glad you're saving it, but rather you than me. And I thought the sills on my 1995 mx5 were bad when I bought it. I always liked the look of these. Frankly the design has aged very well. Tbh as others have said I'd go for a reshell. Just been looking at prices here in France. Plenty on the market locally and reasonably clean 3 door examples are for sale between 400 and 700€
By the look of the receipts in the service history, it has lived not far from me on the north Wales coast, which probably hasn't helped with the rot situation. Shame fiat didnt put more effort into corrosion resistance, as this era for them was quite good mechanically. I've owned a Peugeot 306 dturbo for the past 18 years, that also lived on the north Wales coast. Its 23 years old now, and it has never been welded, despite having now covered 221k. If peugeot can do it, then they could all do it. Back in the late 80s my mum had a 83 fiat panda 45 super. My dad was welding it for mot every year, it was shocking. But a great car in the snow with narrow tyres and front wheel drive and good ground clearence. Good videos, I'm enjoying them, all the best.
Think it was stored under 1ft of sea water.
There are too many negatives Neil. This thing ideally needs a full new floor to make it last and most importantly, safe. Buy a cheap donor Punto and swap everything over. I’ve seen a few mint sub 20,000 mile examples for sale lately for less than a grand. That’s what I would do. You could build a truly mint example and something that gives you piece of mind.
Sure, repairing this Punto is possible, but salvaging what rusty parts you can is just uneconomical in the long term because the rust WILL come back. You will be fighting rust forever and a day.
Making a good solid GT with another donor would also make a lot of cracking videos and I’m sure you would find it much more enjoyable to do.
Agreed, gotta draw the line somewhere when it comes to rust.
I used to own one of these. I fitted Spax vsx suspension, team dynamics Monza wheels in gunmetal, Yokohama’s, super sprint exhaust and i loved it. Did almost 85,000 miles in it. I only sold it when it got stolen for the third time in a year. My insurance excess payments hit five grand and that was enough. I’ve looked for another several times but they’re all but extinct. SAVE THIS CAR.
I would imagine body panels are plentiful but the missing side skirts might be an issue. They regularly cracked every time the car went on a lift. I don’t think there’s ten left running in the UK. The one you’ve got there has been lowered too much in my opinion which won’t have helped the underside. That exhaust is a disgrace. Mine was a twin round centre exit that needed no bumper cut out. I must be honest the engine sounds well rough compared to how mine sounded.
Good Luck with all the rust! Subscribed, I'm up to new videos, this car is a legend for Italian guys!
It’s going to be a fun project to watch, Neil. A labour of love for you. Best of luck with it.
You really need your bumps feeling , The very best of luck.
I still drive this car. I love it. Sporting 1.2 16v :))
I had one of these and luved it. Great car. A bit soft in the handling but comfy, practical and with styling that looked fresh for years. And what an overtaking machine!! I haven’t seen one for years though..
I`d actually never seen one, only Sportings. The only Gt I`ve seen is the one I bought..
I've had '99 Mk1 for two years (bought on autumn 2017, lowest spec possible 1.1 55, assembled in Poland at that time, probably last batch which rolled on oct'99), wreck raced it in dec'19 because nobody wanted to pay 1200PLN which I've asked for it (270€ at current exchange rate) :) On track few ppl asked me why I'm about to destroy this still good looking car. I've repaired floorpan a little bit with my friend but it was nowhere as rusty as yours! Having only 81 000KM when I bought it probably helped too ;) It was in decent shape overall at only 103 000km and lots of new parts were wrecked (in just '19 new radiator fan, new exhaust, new tires and many other things had less than 20 000km/2 years).
I own a 2012 Punto, never owned an older type like this. Still think they are very nice cars to look at, and they're rather good to drive.
wow thats some serious rust there!! That is gonna be a labour of love but looking forward to seeing the updates!
I had a punto cabriolet. Great little car you could drop the roof and fit a fridge on the back seats !
forgotten what? Really? here in italy if you still have one, good condition not tuned, you're a true petrolhead, and could cost more than 10.000 euro for one
I remember my Lancia it got really rotten over the years but it was a fun car to drive, But i had restored car with worse with massive rust problems I will follow your progress it is fun when someone save a bit odd car. Good luck!
Love the punto gt's, had a exploit yellow GT1 and black gt3 with a zender kit
Save it, too many of these ended up smashed, ragged or both. Yes it's rotten but time and patience will bring it back.
At least it's complete and inside is saveable.
Looking forward to seeing the progress on this project.
Ive owned one for 9 years still have it in my garage runs amd drives.
Please save it, there are little of these left in the world. Would be amazing to see one if these getting some proper love. I have a Uno Turbo IE Mk2 and found this video by chance, but I am subscribed now. 👍
i loved in the 90s my punto gt, my 1993 in gold metallic with novitec tuning kit and omp group a exsaust system......he is definatly worth saving!......he was the last really turbo powered fun can from fiat beside the coupe 20v turbo......the most cars after this aera were lame ducks.......for example the bravo hgt or the non turbo charged punto 16v engine....i also owned before the punto a tipo sedicivalvole with the original non turbo charged lancia delta engine in there....but the punto was from the fun fact a real milestone and with the original power, tje 1372ccm, 133hp and 200nm his opponents were till 160/180km/h the golf vr6, bmw325/328i, astra gsi 16v etc...and guess what...none of them had ever even a chance......till 160/180 km/h....after that, the engine size was for sure to small.......i bought him as a 2year old car in 1995 and drove hin 8years....with his full galvaniced body i had never any rust problem. so, for me and my merories, he is definatly a keeper :-)
I’ve just come across your channel I had the punto turbo 1996 on a p reg had 16.000 miles 18 months old when I bought it and sold it with 96 thousand 3 years later but had surface rust along windscreen over the years but I loved it 1 of the best cars I’ve had. Can’t wait for more content. Stay safe 🤙🏻
I would try and get a good shell and start again.. Italy road trip
Has is been sat in the sea for the last 5 years? I know old FIAT’s are bad, but that’s the worst rot I’ve ever seen!
*it
A rare Italian hot hatch!? Always worth saving! :)
This feels like one of those cars where it's so far gone that you're better off finding a better chassis to swap all the GT stuff into.
I'm personally restoring a 1972 Volga 24 and even though it's rusted to bits it's nothing like this punto.
And I've had people call me a madman and say that the car is too far gone but i'll fix it.
A big long job like this makes you prone to burnout so if you do decide to go through with the repair beware that you might eventually get sick of it.
For years I have had a soft spot for Fiat's Punto and especially the Mark 1. I sincerely hope you will be able to restore it to health and am looking forward to seeing how things progress. Punto Mark 1 is one of Guigiaro's finest works and represents fresh and distinctive Italian design (at an economical price).
nice video...here in bosnia hercegovina each punto has 200.000 miles on klock..MINIMUM...but in uk 100 tousand is too much...my punto has 220.000 miles and still running like dream...greetings to uk...........
Nice. Thanks.for watching
A friend had a punto years back and the wind caught the door and buckled it. Quality!
Had an audi did the same thing
Hope it can be saved. My first new car was a Mk 1 Punto TD SX in 1995. Brilliant car. Fun to drive, well made, insane amount of space for a supermini, totally reliable and the styling looks fresh even today. I'd love another one purely for the nostalgia.
Very good to see this, hopefully we could get some updates on how you go with it, right hand drive Gt models are getting rare so going with your heart is definitely the right way to go.. Mine could do with one of them regulator units I`ve had to glue one end too but car runs very nice indeed..
Buy normal punto without rust and swap all parts from GT Version including ofcourse engine
harder than you think as most dont have sunroof and chassis number will be wrong
Its easy to say reshell but when was the last time you saw a good solid 3dr 55s or 55sx etc going cheap? People know what a 3dr shell is worth these days so you have to weigh it up....spend big on a reshell then do the swap or sort out what youve got.
To most punters it wouldnt be economical to pay for this level of resto but for these guys its going to give them some great content for the channel. Lots of love for the forgotten GT.
I would however put rust free wings on it as that rust at the bottom will rise up in time and haunt you after the paint job.
Removing the rear screen will be a pig -ive tried it once and it did not want to come out. Plus yours has the rear spoiler in the way of the upper seal. My advice. Find a new rust free tailgate( the later type that didnt have a rubber seal around the screen-easier to mask too) that you can put the spoiler onto. £30 tops.
Following......
Very cool the last couple of restos have built up to this 👍The design was always ahead of its time, def worth saving,
Wow, that's a task......and a half, but if Pete C can bring back a rot bucket Cortina, haha, be great to see it fully restored and the process involved. Good luck 👍
That 166 on lift looks spice 😏
Really hope to see some 166's in future videos. 😀
I agree
Yep, me too. Criminaly underrated cars...
lovely project , nice to see a GT being saved …..on the Keys its far easier to get blanks from Italy as they are the same as the Bravo Marea and Multipla keys …..just get them cut and you can swap the chip and internals for the remote , main dealers here wanted £320 plus pogramming, I picked up 4 blanks for £40
We had a S reg sporting in burnt orange and was our first new car as well.
lovely.
It looks like it has been sat in a field for a few years! Looks like a difficult repair.
not forgotten at all here in italy
Forget that valve you glued it's for vapors, there's a valve on the top of the maf, it's pierburg, the hoses from the turbo go there the pierburg is the one that controls the turbo pressure.
Yeah I wasn't looking to closely when I was filming that. Since filming I found out most of the boost pipes where missing or unplugged. Its now boosting fine but its crap at starting from cold and stalls. I'm assuming air flow meter as its not had a filter on it.
Put the original airbox on, those MAFs don't like to run with out the original airbox. The cold star it's probably some sensor, idk the name and cnt explain in this language, but check out the sensors. It's a common problem with them.
BTW I own a gt2 from 96 from Portugal 🇵🇹, I'm a punto gt fanatic 😁
Yeah trying to get all original parts for airbox isn't easy in the UK. But I have managed to find a new one.
Looks like a trip down to the titanic when you are underneath.
Good luck should be able to safe it
New subscriber this is going to be a brilliant project. Neaver had a punto had plenty of uno turbos brilliant fun Cars to drive. shame they are no longer in production 👍👍👍👌👌
Thanks for subbing
Volvo 850 Estate was actually the first car with those style tail lamps (launched 1993).
they both launched in 93 dont know what one was designed first though.
Loved your 'Chaved up' comment lol!
Thanks for watching
Being from Cyprus am shocked with the amount of rust on a relatively modern car!!!! What do i think? You are a Very brave man!
Pretty common for a UK car that’s suffered years of road salt
Good luck on this one Neil .
It’s a major rebuild but if anyone can do it it’s yourself.
my first car in portugal punto gt
It's certainly worth saving! Just subbed mate!
awesome
Hi Neil, On Fiat Coupe forum their is Lukasz_B who refurb’s the silver key and fits it with a new key blade
I was a happy owner of the first series PuntoGT, but I can assure you that I have never seen a PuntoGT so bad. My interior was made of velvet, while these are of a fabric of the worst economic PuntoSX; The speakers were (factory) 165mm on the doors, while these are 130mm. The steering wheel and the gearshift gaiter were made of leather, while these are (bleah) ... This is also a third series PuntoGT (you can see it from the painted miniskirts and black rims, the first one had silver rims and black miniskirts). They changed the engine, raising the compression ratio, as well as the smaller turbine in this version. Are you sure this is a PuntoGT? The seats must be anatomically and with the logo GT on the headrests, completely different and sporty.The dashboard instrumentation of that series should also be with black writing on a white background, not like this. Check carefully the air flow meter and the engine wiring, which has the habit of "cooking" after a long time and many kilometers. Also check the heating radiator that has the habit of leading water after many kilometers.
i like a challenge.
Can confirm the heating radiator problem. Is also really bad to replace.
@@Xanderoby Look, if there is a person who says bullshit, it is certainly not me. I only asked some questions, to which it would have been enough if you had simply answered, given that I have had as many as 3 Punto GT, and I know how they are made. Instead you got angry, making comparisons that have nothing to do with my questions. Anyway, well, I wish you a good life and a good illusion with your Punto GT.
@@Xanderoby I am not illuded. You maybe. I repeat it to you. I had three GT points and I know them very well. Apart from the fact that the turbine from GT1 to GT2 is different in model and size. The turbo lag has already been reduced starting from the GT2, so much so that from 136 hp it has gone up to 130 hp. In any case, if it is as you say, on the GT3s evidently in Great Britain Fiat has sold some leftover stock, because in Italy, Spain, Germany, Slovenia and France this is not the case (I had friends with whom I exchanged photos and made rallies) . It is the first Punto GT that I see with an SX set-up. The part of the handle is completely straight, while in the GT it rises and has the highest window control panel.. It doesn't even have a driver's airbag, which all Punto GTs have as standard. This should at least get you thinking. I should like to see another Punto GT3 in GB to check if the model is same like the video. I'm just curious.
@@Xanderoby Update. You have right. Also in Italy, the latest Punto GT (GT3) series has been "impoverished" by removing many standard options, including interiors, airbags, dashboard warning lights, and other things.
Damn...
Nice reccomendation UA-cam
Just yesterday sold my Sporting for 80€ 😅
Bouth it 3months ago for 190 😄
But the rust....uffff....
Mine was not as bad as this but similar...
This is going to be great! Can’t wait to see this progress. Always wanted one of them back in the day but had to make do with Cinquecento and Seicento Sportings 👍🏽👍🏽
Save it. Beautiful car 😍
I'm gonna subscribe just to see it get restored
its hopefully being saved i just need to find some time to finish the other cars first.
Looking at the service history it was serviced around my area of North Wales, I do think I remember this car years ago 👍🏻
I'm all for keeping these cars alive but I think if it was me I'd re-shell this either way good luck
that may be the way i go.
@@ItaliaAutos I know someone in Kent that has an hgt just sitting in his workshop been there a few years now. Or I'm sure you can find a sporting shell would be my choice anyway
Never had a gt but did have a sporting in same colour and loved it
i wouldnt say no to another sporting.
I wish you luck with all the work to do there. The end result though should be great. I think personally these may be future classics due to rarity as the years go by and most being scrapped.
Neil you are a very brave man!
I had a burnt orange Punto sporting with Abarth kit like this bar the GT engine. Excellent car.
Fiats are my fav!
I would get a donor shell of a lower spec one. Cut large sections out of it and weld i to the gt. Definitely take subframes out and put it on a rotisseri ( horizontal axle ). Would not fancy weldind everything from underneath
yeah it would get put on a rotisserie
Looking forward to see this one get done. Inspires me to start on my cars as some of them are as bad as this one.
Yno I hated mk1 puntos back in the day wasn't about the messed up dash BUT! If I had the choice I would certainly go all in if I had the time and money now strange how this change your perception when they practically become modern classics
punto gt is always worth saving with that 1400 turbo screamer
well i dont have the time but im going to try and find it.
Great project. I used to have a Sporting as well and miss it dearly. The valve you showed at the end of the video appears to be for the fuel vapour recirculation...not boost.
Yeah realised I was wrong after. That many hoses on these things.
I had a punto gt turbo back in 2000 was a great car, silver phase 1, Bailey dump valve and a magnet exhaust, it sounded amazing...........You sand blast that and you won’t have much left , think I would resell as the later cars were lot cleaner, although. I e go see an Abarfh rear wing on it, I
Good for you fixing this great hot hatch and if anything it’s safe money 💰
I have sold many Puntos in my live. One Punto S with over 460.000KM and no one of them has had as many rust as this one. This reminds me on my Fiesta XR2i
My hat is off .....well done if your going to save it....great cars 👏😉