damage the car had on several parts ,“ says Davide Lorenzone , conservator / curator at the museum ’ s Restoration Center . “ It was very important for us to find all the original drawings from the Fiat archives , and that alone took us more than eight months before we started doing anything . This helped us to make new drawings used to produce the casting models to build the new parts .”
The work started by disassembling the entire car . The crankcase and the sump were heavily damaged and twisted and the material , aluminium , could no longer be repaired . So the team decided to replace those parts , while keeping the originals carefully stored at the museum . The metal alloy was analysed with an ‘ optical emission spectrometer ’, which revealed a 9 % aluminium-silicon alloy . Then , 3D scans made it possible to digitally reconstruct the elements and compare them to the original technical drawings , and small adjustments could be made so the components could be properly re-created . “ These new parts were then worked all by hand , as it was done when the car was built .”
The cylinder block , meanwhile , was repaired with a cast iron inset . To weld this into place the whole thing had to be heated and then allowed to cool for 24 hours in a container filled with vermiculite , a mineral with excellent insulating properties , which preserved the integrity of the original . The engine spent 40 hours running continuously on the test-bench before it was reunited with the chassis and also the brass radiator with its 8000 small brass tubes , that had been painstakingly reconstructed .
Taking the car apart brought joy as well as headaches . Tiny traces of its original red paint were uncovered and analysed using a spectrophotometer to pinpoint the exact shade . This was then matched perfectly with a modern paint to make the car precisely authentic . It looks and sounds fantastic , and is a magnificent tribute to the talents involved in reviving it .
The beloved Fiat 500 , which was launched in 1957 as the ‘ Nuova 500 ’, and remained on sale for nearly two decades .
The Fiat 124 , produced between 1966-1974 ; the second best-selling single car design ever ’ behind the original Volkswagen Beetle
This is the first time the Fiat 130HP has turned its huge wooden wheels in the UK , here on the 2024 Run . Davide is delighted to be driving the car , with a mechanic “ co-pilot ,” and reflects on what was needed to prepare .
“ It took us some weeks to test the car , check each bolt and nut is correctly closed , and then each part is oiled and greased . We tested it on roads similar to those it will travel on in England to verify its behaviour and be ready for any eventuality .
“ Managing a racing car from the early 20th century means knowing how to listen to the engine – knowing when the car needs to stop to rest or be serviced . It ’ s more complex to drive a car like this on open roads with traffic and people crossing streets than on race tracks or special roads .”
” One of the biggest problems is that we might arrive in Brighton in one hour ! We ’ ll need to manage the car carefully and this means limited speeds and making as many stops as possible to not only check the engine but also allow people to admire it at each pitstop .
“ Managing a racing car from the early 20th century means knowing how to listen to the engine – knowing when the car needs to stop to rest or be serviced . It ’ s more complex to drive a car like this on open roads with traffic and people crossing streets than on race tracks or special roads .”
The 130HP set in motion a genesis for Fiat that always included an ultra-sporting strand . From the 8V of the 1950s to the 124 Spider of the ‘ 60s and the X1 / 9 of the ‘ 70s , sports cars became a part of the model mix . And with input from the Abarth tuning house , they were often race-winners in the 130HP spirit ; latterly Fiat left Formula 1 Grand Prix honours to Ferrari , which it acquired in 1969 .
34 The London to Brighton Veteran Car Run