(*Probably)

I have had this vehicle since around June.

On a Tuesday the phone rang and this was the first time i spoke to Martin,the owner of Fiat coupe LE 140.

He said that he owned a Fiat coupe and was looking to have a checkover and a few mods to achieve around 300 Bhp.

''No problem'' i said,not knowing what was ahead.

So on the Wednesday Martin delivered the coupe to me for a checkover.,
First signs were not good.
Immediately i could see the bodywork had seen better days and that the manifold didnt sound like it was connected to the head at all.
Nevertheless Martin stood at the door whilst i gave the coupe a checkover.

After a 3 page list i showed him the issues on the car.
Usually at this point the customers face drops and i explain the options available to them.
In this case Martin just said,
''i see alot needs doing but can you do it?''
''Yes'',i replied
and then the final question by Martin was that he wanted it to look like my coupe.

I explained that he could buy one with alot less issues that would save him alot of money in the long run but he had owned LE 140 from new and wanted to see it taken back to its former glory.

Martin left the coupe with me and i dropped him off at the train station.
I could only offer a rough quote at this point due to not knowing what lied beneath.
And my god,i was not expecting the horrors that were revealed.

So it came in the workshop,and i removed the wheels,front and rear inner wheel arches,side skirts,bumpers and all the interior.

Unfortunately the oxidation had made a hole the size of a fist behind the NSF wheel arch liner.The water had got in and had ran from the front of the car to the rear corroding everything in its path.

Making a quote was difficult when it would involve 4 companies.
Midlands Car Servicing for the majority of the work,Darkside for the full respray,constella Ltd for help with the welding and Fc performance for the mapping.

Achieving such a flawless final result meant we all needed to be on the same page as there was no room for any errors when it came to the exterior look.

The nice thing about this job is the customer took the advice we gave him and trusted us fully to come up with the showroom finish that packed a punch on the road.

Time wasnt an issue as i promised it back before Christmas which didnt seem to be too much of an issue at the time.


The story is here.




The most rusty coupe in the world....WAS