Our Fiat 500 Broke Down Immediately: And In a Big, Expensive, & Confusing Way!
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In this video the inevitable happened: our classic Fiat 500 already broke down...
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#classiccars #broken
We need more of Ted, he is a treasure.
You gotta be cool when your name is Ax.
Nah, fuck ted who wets the bed
I wonder if they have a UA-cam channel?
You must have DEEP pockets and a SHALLOW "brain-pan" to keep "investing" in these PIECES OF S&IT, Ted!
Came here to say the same, I could listen to him go on and on all day.
I'm from Italy, and just wanted to point out a couple things:
1) As Ted was saying, in Italy these are simple cars to work on because we have a lot of spare parts, we just replace them. Also, italian cars are full of "tricks" that make them challenging to fix if you don't know them and really simple if it's the tenth time you are fixing it
2) If is not sold at a high price, an Italian car that comes to America is not in a pristine state. Cars to export at a reasonable price are often ok aesthetically and they run, but a lot of things are worn out and need a fix/replacement
For us, this kind of car is like your average 'poor man choice' truck: they do their work and we fix them as cheap as possible, if they are still running
At last, consider that all the italian cars from the 60s (evan Lancia and Maserati) and FIATs from 70s and early 80s are not built for staying at 80/90 mph for hours like 60s and 70s american cars: try to not stress them during long trips, treat them like nowadays electric cars and you'll be just fine
Love your channel from Italy 🟢⚪🔴
I love that the old Fiats are literal city cars, cars that are just for driving within the city, economically as well.
imagine an electric Fiat
i relate to what you are saying. i have owned three fiat 600s and one fiat 1600 spyder. all were fun and i loved em. i blew the engine in one 600 totally just with casual driving, and the head gasket in one 600 going up a small drive way incline. and the third i never did learn what was wrong with it. the spyder was super cool. however my girlfriend drove it over a curb and whatever hit the bottom of the engine ended up killing it later. they fixed by pulling the pan and then it was good again. so i know what you mean. i always carried a wrench on a chain around my neck just in case. the term fiat, fix it again tony, was well ingrained in me during my fiat ownership over the years. they taught me to learn. i owned the original mini's also during the same period, and they were similar. fix'em fast. i owned one citroen 2cv, and expected the same, but, it refused to break down, as did the vw bug and kubelwagen. go figure. some cars are an experience to be lived and fun if you have patience.
Non so perchè perdono ol tempo con la 500. La 600 fu la migliore auto della Fiat
Everyone knows Italy makes the best sports cars in the world. These jokers in the video ( who surely didn't buy their clothes at Versace!) buy the most economical old FIAT and damn a whole country. It is like buying a bookcase at Walmart and putting down America's furniture. Sad to be so jealous of Italians. But Italy has the BEST food. the BEST art, Opera. Architecture, Cinema, etc. And not to mention the most sexy people. When your girlfriend looks like Angela Merkel, it is understandable to be jealous!
I'll never forget the time 4 of us were 'blasting' down a local freeway here in SoCal in a 2-year-old 1960 Fiat Bianchina (500) and were instantaneously almost thrown through the windshield by 'some' loss of power. A quick check on the side of the road showed that one of the spark plug wires had fallen off. It's amazing what happens when you loose half of your power at once. GOOD TIMES!
Had one as a student car to commute and it was great. I learnt to fix it after a poor repair by a shop.
The head gasket needed repair which they repaired. The exhaust fell off 2 days later and they claimed it was because the car vibrates so much.
Rather than argue I figured how hard can it be?
The rear cover easily lifts off so you don't need to reach over it when servicing....
One trolley jack. Disconnecting stuff and unbolt rear panel below the hatch, then just roll the complete engine transmission out the rear.
Took 1/2 hour and it was my first car repair attempt.
Found shop had stripped the exhaust bolts so removed head for repair.
Also found shop had put head gasket on wrong way.
Fixed anything that needed it and it did great service. It was durable and reliable.
I found also it had later engine big bore fitted (700cc) so had no trouble on the motorway at 65mph.
My current FIAT has several computers and got it cheap due to having 89 error codes up.
I figured voltage issue and sure enough worn battery clamp. $5 later down to 8 error codes.
I noticed previous owner had fitted small cheap battery. Put in correct one and all codes cleared.
Have picked up several cheap FIATs over the years and invariably the faults have been down to poor & incorrect maintenance.
Once fixed properly I have found them reliable cars. I miss my 500...
Having owned a couple of Fiats back in the early 70’s I can verify the moniker of “Fiat, fix it again Tony”. I believe Italians invented the job of riding mechanic.
The tether on the engine cover just turns and comes out, then there’s just one nut holding it on and it slides to left and comes off, takes about 20 seconds makes it a lot easier to work on. I can relate to the frustration of the positive cable being so close to the lever for the solenoid though, burnt a brand new cable in half because it arced right after I installed it lol. On a side note a lot of people move the coils to the drivers side because the heat from the exhaust is known to cook them, I haven’t had any issues but I know a lot of people do it as a preventive measure.
I love mine and use it as a daily driver when it’s not raining or snowing (no wipers), then I daily my crew cab f350 dually. Also just fyi a set of sturdy fourwheeler ramps is enough to load one of these in the back of a long bed pickup, it helps if you can get the truck in a ditch or something though but I have hauled mine all over the USA in my dually.
Came here to say this...the engine lid comes off with just one bolt and tether!
Buy a 126 fiat with a 650 engine and synchro gearbox. Enjoy 65-70 mph on the freeway also do some research before buying any classic.
@@paulbonatti2128 The 126p engine/trans. will also bolt directly into the 500 by changing just the rear motor mount, I believe...126p engines also have electronic ignition as well.
I don’t think it even requires changing the mount. I swapped from a 126 drivetrain back to an original 500 one in my car and everything seemed the same (besides the starter cables due to the 126 being off to the side). The only thing I remember was that axles seemed just a fraction longer on the 126 stuff, they were harder to pull out than the 500 ones were to put in. I even swapped several parts between them due to leaks. I will swap the 126 stuff back in once I rebuild it all.
Fiat cars act as their own kind of "Sorting Hat". When they get the right kind of owner (keeps up on maintenance, doesn't drive them abusively) they really respond to care. When Fiats fall into the wrong hands, the owners quickly become pedestrians again. It is a self-correcting cycle.
Just 1 nut on the rear will remove the engine cover. And no that didn't run perfectly... should do > 100kmh!! I'd say $16k should have done better....
Since it BROKE a push-rod rocker, check if somebody has not SQUASHED the rocker cover... which happens when you severely overtighten the bolts.
You will notice, because then it usually also leaks oil. But at least you found a good mechanic. 🤗
Absolutely they do 100kmh all day long, I was surprised that it only did 52mph, I thought something is definitely wrong.
@@autouniontypeA Mine is a 500R from 1976, when still original 600cc it did 80km/h (50mph) in 3rd gear easily. After the tuneup which I regularly did it would even do 90km/h in 3rd gear. 115kmh top. And that's standard. 😁
My first car was a Fiat 126, that was standard and 9 years old. I did 70mph on that car on the motorway. Ok it was a 650cc car but heavier than the 500. My tuned 595cc will do 80mph but aerodynamics make the front lift and the steering goes very light, so it stops me from finding the true top speed.
@@autouniontypeA I shoved one of those 650 engines in my 500 and then tuned it... added 5th gear... actually it is pretty scary... I think it will do 100mph but I will never ever try it.
@@mariopizzamanmario8563 Brilliant! :)
Back in 76 I went to Germany 🇩🇪 with my sister. My Aunt had one of these. No synchros so double clutch. My Uncle was Italian called it the Mini Maserati. I was always a big guy...so my sister sat in the rear single seat and I was in the front passenger. My Aunt drove. Top speed was about 100 kph
That Fiat 500 is cute as a button. My doctor Dad had a lab worker who had a Fiat 500. She was very short and the Fiat fit her perfectly. I was just a kid so I fit in there too. My sisters and I loved to ride in that Fiat 500.
i love this mechanic Ted he needs a channel of his own
The Fiat 500 and 650 are really good reliable little motors, you just had bad luck with that one.
Definitely agree 👍
The fact that you spent 16 grand on a 500 is amazing
Around 1960 my mum had a brand new Fiat 500 Giardineira. Three weeks old it caught fire taking me and my sister to school.
Two doors of course and us with the engine on fire in the back! Good times.
I had one with engine and trans blown.Found both used and fixed it on the kitchen table,Wife wasn't happy but it ended up hers,so happy ending !
I wonder how hard it would be to retrofit a 2 cylinder Honda lawnmower engine to it. More power and reliability.
Electrification or an engine swap would be kind of tempting as most problems aren't with the rest of the car...of course it's not easy to make adapter plates or whatever else you need to connect things to the drivetrain...
People do attempt such things though as you will find on UA-cam...
It would probably be harder on these rear engine cars though with small engine bays...
My Fiat exposure is one 850, X1/9, 124's
so I can't really say...
I had the "big" cars.
The last two were quite a bit better cars than an 850 even...but the small ones are cute as can be...
An engine swap is intriguing, I wonder if anyone ever did one successfully...
@michaelkulman7095 it might be an ideal project for @robotcantina8957 to try, since they've put a Harbor Freight Predator engine into a rear engine Renault R10
I remember my mom used to have a similar car to this, a fiat 126. It had the same engine but upgraded a bit. I remember when the car didn't wanna start my mom would take a wrench and smack the hell out of the starter, and the car would come back alive! Worked every time.
That guy is hilarious..hope to see him again
"...and then within 20miles of buying it, the engine cuts out. So classic and so iconic to the italian reputation". Whoa, definitely no clichès here... First of all, this not a "brand new car": it's almost 70years old. Its bodywork may be very well polished, but who knows what kind of idiotic mess has been done to its engine when it was rebuilt. Secondly, Italian cars (of the 70's and 80's mostly, not always) have been the butt of the joke for realiability but for rust & electric appliances problems, not for the engines. Those engines, the mighty 479 cm³ air cooled, were so simple, solid, durable and easily fixable that that was the reason why it became "the people's car" here in Italy. In 2005 a "500 R" of 1973 went 10.000 miles from Bari (Italy) to Beijing, and in 2007 it did another 6400 miles aroud the Mediterranian arriving to the Sahara. Back in 1964 a 500D was used to travel around the Antarctica by the Departement of Industrial and Scientific Research of New Zealand. You can do better if you really have to say this kind of bs. Over 4 millions of these care were sold, if they were so unreliable, Fiat (and the whole slice of the Italian lower-middle class) would have gone bankrupt. God I hate this channel.
Ted's awesome and that bill was really fair considering he went into it blind and did a ton of work.
Ted needs his own channel.
I heard FIAT stood for "Fix It Again Tony".
The big small ram taking his grand daddy home.
I was hoping so deeply that he would explain exactly what happened. And he did!!! Also, did the total spent account for all the gasoline used trailering it around?
Of course not. You can never tell the full cost. Or any car guy would never be married
Ted was fantastic, and he needs his own channel
love that car, have you heard of a suparu sherpa ,two cylinder also idid around 200,000 k's in mine ,fine on the flat but when you have a hill thats another story,also known as a m70,can you see if you can find one ?cheers bralen from australia
So how does it drive now? Especially with all the timing corrected.
I was right in my comment of the previous video about this 500. The engine did not sound right at all. It sounded like a bag of nails and a good Fiat 500 engine should sound quite muffled. Besides that, 60 Mph should not be an issue for a Fiat 500.
Its 50yrs old and 500cc .
I have had hundreds of fiats and if you take car of them you can get thousands of Ks trouble free.
PS They are not part of the same coumpany FIAT actually purchased CHRYSLER.
1:32 smell gas ? any sputter any spark , ?
Even up to the present day, (in your best Italian accent) FIAT = Fix It Again Tony.
Italian card are infamous for their electrics. Not so voor the machanics . Thats the Dutch view on them.
A Citroën DS or an Citroën ID behind.
That looks like the engine that's in the back of my i3!
Omg Ted is a great person on this very funny
I've heard the new 500 isn't much better, reliably-wise
On the contrary, it's much better now! However, you do need to pay close attention to regular maintenance. The car doesn't like to be neglected. I'm having fun with my Abarth!
I had a friend once who would unbolt that engine and pull it out by hand to better work on it. Most motorcycle engines are bigger.
16,000‼️‼️‼️wow I paid 2Grand for mine I hope the day I sell it I can make a profit
I knew this was coming. Dumb and Dumber screwed up the Cinquecento!
FIAT - Fix It Again Tony
Cool guy Ted 👍
FIAT= "Fix It Again, Tony"!
Was this before, during or after the "high speed" run (52 mph)?
When did TFL hire Brian Blessed??
You paid 16K for it! That is about 10 times what it is worth in Europe.
16kdollar is steep for a 6 k Euro car
it is a pity you could not find an Italian mechanic: you would have had things made quicker and cheaper.
Did you need the trailer? Surely that car would fit in the bed of the Ram....
LoL you FINALLY broke that shitbox! I'm SO Happy. Now throw away that shitbox.
Fix It Again Tom..,. FIAT
So funny to hear the whinging mechanic… he has no concept of 1960s Italy and how broke the economy was. This timeless classic is an incredible example of simple engineering and a design icon….
Fix it again, Tony!
Run down to Autozone and grab some new parts.
You can't blame a 60 old car, for breaking down.
It's a FIAT, what do you expect? It's quite unusual if they don't broke 😛
Welcome to the real world of smaller classics!! I tried to get an Opel restored on my own and the body was great, it was all quite impressive!! I finished the deal and was driving it home vs trailering. It had been poorly rebuilt and there was gunk still in the water channels and it overheated,,, a lot!! After that episode, it was no longer a numbers matching motor. Seized it right up. Checked all the fluids before driving it. Called the guy to see if I could tow it back to his place and store it until I got my enclosed trailer to pick it up. He would t let me do that!! Leading me to believe he was aware there was a problem. Oh well, buyer beware.
I really like this Fiat Tommy!! Looks like the body work is very well done. I suspect Ted has it pretty well sorted now. I suspect it’s like driving a go cart!! A slow one,,,, but a go cart.
You and Ted are really good together. 😂😂
FIAT - Fix It Again Tony
Love Ted's knowledge and sarcasm. Need to have him on more episodes. Great job.
Nice Ted.....I see you're using fake YT accounts again.... 🤣
I think he was raging and now he's trying not to sound angry
I agree with you. Mr. AX should be a recurring guest.
In heaven: The police are English, the cooks are French, the engineers are German and your girlfriend is Italian.
In hell: The police are German, the cooks are English, the engineers are French and your girlfriend is Italian.
No in hell the police is soviet, the cooks are soviet and the engineers are soviets and the girlfriend is soviet.
My girlfriend is Italian and I approve this message.
Another variation I've heard:
In heaven: The police are English, the cooks are French, your lover is Italian and the Germans run things.
In hell: The police are French, the cooks are English, your lover is German and the Italians run things.
@@michaelmclachlan1650 In hell the police is German. Keep no doubts about that.
Another variation: In heaven the police are English, the cooks French, the Italians the lovers, the Swiss the administrators and the Germans the mechanics. In hell, the English are the cooks, the French the administrators, the Italians the mechanics, the Swiss the lovers and the Germans the police.
Ted’s an ace mechanic and great on camera so we’d all like to see more of him and the Fiat too 👍
Fix IT Again Ted😂😅
You can literally take out the engine of that car with 4 bolts. Try to get off the starting engine from a merceded class A, for example.
On all that, there is this retoric that the "italian" car will break whatever what. Beside the broken rocker, that can be an insufficient oil pressure problem or someone just torqued it at 200, the rest is all wear parts. The distributor? the starting engine? the carburator, those components wear on everycar in existent. The rocker probably broke because the engine wasn't checked before.
The only thing i agree on, is the wire that's connect the starter, beside the fact that can short, if it rust, it can remain inserted, and that's where you can catch fire. Especially if it's an old car, the cable can get stuck.
Fix It Again Tony, (Ted).😁
FIAT = Fix It Again Tomorrow.
In Germany we say Fehler In Allen Teilen, in English it means Faults in all parts 😉
Feeble Italian Automotive Trash
Put a fiat 126 650 cc engine (Polish fiat 126), it's exactly the same model, only more modern. Your 500 is very old and has a very small and fragile engine.
🇮🇹🚗💨💨🇮🇹
Brand new "TO US". This little bugger was old before most of you were a gleam in your daddy's eye. Who knows what abuse it has endured over it's extended lifetime before it was restored with duct tape, Bondo, coat hangers, and a brand new coat of red paint before you got stars in your eyes. Admittedly, they were less than reliable out of the box back in the 60s but, I bought mine for under $100 way back then. I would still have it but for my ex wrapping it around a telephone pole shortly after blowing off a VW. That thing was more fun than anyone should have for $100 and it still ran when I gave it away.
Step 1 while working on 500 or 126 fiats - remove that damn bonnet.That's one nut only and it doesn't require adjusting afterwards. Its also very easy to drop the whole engine and trans. That's a 10 minutes job if bolts aren't rusted
$16,000 for that? Dear God Why?
when you go to get your Fiat, you should bring a truck that is not made by fiat. you dodged (pun intended) a bullet with it not breaking down as well.
You spent HOW MUCH ON THAT PUDDLE JUMPER ???!!! 😯
This is why I avoid any video where you have American driving a Fiat saying stupid jokes that are not even funny.
What? A FIAT broke down? Really?
Fiat: Fix It Again Tony or for the Mexican made ones: Fix It Again Tomas.
or Fix It Again Tomorrow
This is Tony speaking. Cinque Centos in post-war Italy were often driven and maintained by the same person. While the maintenance was probably more than anyone would reasonably do today, I suspect that these were probably way more reliable (when properly maintained) than their rep in this country would suggest. I think that was probably true for all Fiats. It’s kind of like a Jeep today. Lots of people love to hate on Jeeps for being unreliable, but we’ve never had an issue with any of ours.
have owned 4 Five Hundreds and I have broken down with each at least once. It was also once on the starter, several times on the ignition and carburetor, but never really on the inside of the engine. So don't be afraid ;-)
And in Germany we say: FIAT means:
Fehler In Allen Teilen = (Error in all parts)
Für Italiener ausreichende Technik = (For Italians sufficient technology)
But also Fire In All Tins!
Another FIAT........Fix It Again Tony
This person needs to be in every single video forever.
You should get a fiat 126p and drag race them. It’ll take around 60-70 seconds but it’ll be a nail biter
Ted to the rescue again!❤️
During the1960s we'd often go to Italy from Britain. No matter how fast we were belting along we were often passed by these little Fiat 500s or so it seemed.
Should have paid for the optional mechanic.
Why the trailer? It would have fit fine in the truck bed.
But it would have taken a couple of beefy guys to lift it up into there.
I already wanted to write you this comment in the previous video. From the audio there was a rattling noise in the low angle shot of the oil pan while you were pulling those 4 or 5 accelerations. I was somewhat surprised when one of you while walking, claimed that the sound reminded him of a lawn mower. I haven't seen this video yet but from the sound in my opinion that 500 ate the piston rings. Your luck is that such a simple engine can be repaired with little money but I have no idea if you have mechanics with the right expertise in the USA.
Back in my teen years, a fellow student at Grammar School (in England) during my "Prefect" days, BLOCKED my 'FIAT 127 1050CL' IN with his FIAT 500 at the Grammar School parking lot one afternoon ...... and I was in a hurry to collect my dear Dad from work, a good few miles away. With 2 other fellow school-buddies from our year, we just simply ......... LIFTED his '500 and CARRIED it a couple o'feet away, enabling me to make a quick getaway. Meanwhile, he'd been hiding and watching this whole feat. He went totally BALLISTIC and dashed outside, clambered into his '500 (he was real 'PODGY') and chased me the couple o'miles to my Dad's factory, thinking he'd overtake me and prevent me from completing my mission! 😂 , BUT ......... he stood absolutely NO CHANCE! By the time Dad emerged from the works, the villain drove away, with his tail between his legs.
I BELIEVE IT BREAKS! 😡 I don't think you know what you're dealing with. It is a car with a half liter engine. If you keep stressing her like this I don't think it will last much longer. In Italy, 47 years after the last Fiat 500 produced, there are still thousands of 500s circulating IN DAILY USE! The fiat 500 constitutes 1% of the Italian car parc! Not bad for a 1950s car. Nothing to do with your boilers on wheels!
0:31 - Air doesn't heat.... you know that, right?
500 is perhaps the worst car made by Fiat and the cheapest. I begun living happy when I stopped buying Fiat cars. I'm from Italy.
I owned 5 1968 850 SC, 1972 124 SC, 1972 124 Spider, 1974 128 4 door sedan, 1976 128 2 door sedan. None of them stranded me.
What? You paid 16 dollars for this thing? Why would you overpay so much for it?
"It runs but it's a fiat, so I don't know how much longer it'll run..."
In Italy spares were sold in local shops for the 500. If you had to do any work in ghe engine bay you just removed the door.
……..and you expected what?
Replace the engine with a Hyper 7 and a small battery pack.
Well, there you go. Fix It Again Tony.
I fixed my father's 500 giardinetta with the flat engine. We had a grocery shop and that little car has been of great help for the shop for about 25 years. It was always used for deliverys with weights of abt 150/250 kgs. At the end it was really falling apart but the engine was still running very well.
I had the same thing happen too me with a 1972 Ford Pinto
The music on this episode is perfect !! Ted is also a natural on camera. He's better than actual UA-camrs with massive subscriber tallies.
the trailer weighs more than the car
XD
a Fiat that breaks down? Nooooooo really? ;-)
Fiat stands for "Fix It Again, Tony".
Replace the Engine with an Electric!