Fiat 1500 Cabriolet

1966 Fiat 1500 Cabriolet

Delivered in U.S.A. 1965 this beautiful blue Cabriolet.

Our shop prides itself on finding good examples of these cars and working on them to customer’s standards or our own. This car is a very nice driver and can be brought to concourse Very easily.

This particular car took 2 years on and off to get it complete to factory assembly. Most of the car was missing in terms of mechanical, trim, electrical etc when it arrived. We have most of these parts from other cars of the same make and model so fitting all the correct parts and hardware was easier than if we had to find everything. Most hardware is the correct vintage from other cars, nuts bolts washers etc. During assembly many times we found ourselves going backwards trying to get the car operating. Brake pedal assembly was so stiff we had to remove the assembly and take it apart to get it working again. The transmission, the first trans was a total bust in that it was very noisy and would barely shift, come to find out whoever owned it previously drove it dry after all the oil leaked out. Fortunately we had another we knew to be great. So many other instances of the car side stepping or going the wrong direction. But we don’t quit and thus, we have this Beautiful example now for sale. This is only the 2nd Blue of this color cabriolet we have seen in 20 years and the other was in bad shape.

Bought from the previous owner this car was found in the vineyards of Arkansas basically gutted of mechanical, trim and interior. Previous owner thought to make an advertising piece of the car and started sanding the paint off. Fortunately they gave up and sold the car to us. Brought to our shop, Long Island NY, we took all the time and patience to bring this car back from the dead.

Body and Paint; 489 body paint code Peacock Blue (gorgeous color)

The body had no rust other than surface and the metal was straightened back out. Fillers were used only when needed. The floor has a very small hole on the passenger side which was a factory hole to begin with and was closed up with a welded patch. Paint is a single stage enamel.

Interior; the interior of the car was missing completely. I found the correct seats, had them covered in new seat covers correct from Italy. The carpet was custom made of the correct color, German closed random loop using the patterns from another cabriolet. Door panels were custom made in the correct color combo. Rubber floors are brand new. Battery box cover is a very nice original cover. The canvas top, needs to be stretched one more time but it is new and the correct factory beige color.

Electrical; all electrical was gone through. Many correct repairs were made using other spare harnesses from Cabriolet donor cars. Lights were replaced, switches were replaced or repaired, generator was repaired, distributor is from donor car, coil is new, and horns were replaced with horns from donor car and sound great. The steering wheel horn ring was repaired. Wiper assembly transmission was disassembled, greased and put back together and works perfectly.

Wheels and brakes; the wheels are sand blasted and powder coated Black. The tires are brand new and also the correct size 145 R 14 shipped from the UK. The brakes are new, we installed brand new rear wheel cylinders, put good pads in the rear, had the rear drums cut just enough to clean them up. The front brakes have completely rebuilt calipers, good pads and new rubber lines. The rear line is also new. The master cylinder is new. The power booster was rebuilt by White Post restorations and comes with a lifetime guarantee. The pedal box was frozen, I removed it and broke it down as far as I could and worked it to be free from bindings, and it works perfectly. The steel lines were still good and are still part of the factory assembly.

Fuel system; gas tank was literally opened up, scraped out, blasted, cleaned, welded back together, blasted the exterior them treated inside and out with an epoxy coating that will not react to fuels of any sort and comes with a lifetime guarantee from Moyer. The fuel line is still good and remains. The rubber lines are new, new fuel pump correct factory type, new Weber DCH3234 correct carburetor vacuum secondary type. New air filter fitted to a blasted and painted air cleaner.

Transmission; Correct 5 speed from a donor car with new front and rear seals. This transmission is factory correct and unopened. It shifts all 5 gears up and down perfectly and does not leak. New 90 weight oil and new universal joint at the tail shaft.

Rear end; 410 ratio, main seal replaced, bearings seem all to be in great working order.

Clutch; Clutch plate, pressure plate and throw out bearing are all new. Clutch fork is new as well.

Engine, 115 c 005 correct numbers motor from donor car. This motor is a great running motor, no smoke and has lots of power for a 1.5 litre engine. I replaced the front and rear main seals, the timing chain, corrected the valve lash, new valve cover gasket, spark plugs, exhaust and intake gaskets and so much more. The cooling system was broken down, radiator and heater core were boiled out, tested, painted and refitted to the car. The rubber hoses are all new.

Exhaust; the entire exhaust system is brand new and is factory correct right down to the type of hangers supporting the system. The exhaust manifold is near perfect, the front header pipe was a perfect fit, the center muffler section needed to have the main support repositioned for accuracy but fits perfectly now, the rear resonator fits as it should and sounds very nice.

Bright work; much of the bright work came from our inventory. All the correct hardware was used including some very rare and nonexistent clips for the exterior which we cleaned and painted so they would last longer. Bumpers are original 66 bumpers and fit perfectly but could use some polishing or to be re-chromed. Stainless work was polished and assembled to the car using the best from our inventory. The ext. mirror is a re-pop and looks like factory. Wiper arms are correct and wiper blades are new. Head light bezels are factory correct Carello new. Lenses were replaced with the best of our old stock inventory.

Glass; all glass is factory correct and in very nice shape.

Gauges; in this condition gauges for these cars are very hard to find. We had a pair that were very nice and there for placed them into this car and they work perfectly as they should.

Every mechanical and electricalpart on this car works and performs as it should. We are happy and proud to offer this car for sale and will always be here for future maintenance and help in keeping her on the Road.