Fiat Punto GT the forgotten 90's hot hatch. Is it worth saving? PART 1

[@BlandNutz]

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.

[@ItaliaAutos]

Awesome.

[@dominiccook12]

if it's keeping it out of scrapyard heaven then i'm all for saving it .

[@RickyReject]

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...

[@habitandoproperty2166]

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

[@123astraplanes]

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

[@DIYPanda1]

As a complete amateur, I'm surprised this can be repaired with that amount of rust. Subbed to watch the progress. Good luck!

[@spavatch]

Hardly forgotten, my first car, 17 years on I still have it :)

[@DannyColdhill]

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! 😃

[@KernowGarage]

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.

[@ItaliaAutos]

Thanks for watching.

[@jackdr1759]

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 😅

[@pereldh5741]

Very good decision! Everyone who gets to drive a GT is hooked, myself included

[@simonhodgetts6530]

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........

[@marktoby8113]

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.

[@ItaliaAutos]

I appreciate that!

[@davespooney8472]

Oh man these are the last of the 90’s turbo shopping trolleys!!!

[@The_Dee_Jay]

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.

[@doktormutter5970]

Hahahaha - I love your passion! This is what everybody is dreaming of but few have the resources

[@ItaliaAutos]

thanks

[@nigelh4617]

Fiat Punto Mk1. The gateway drug to Alfa Romeos.

[@michaelartic5322]

the punto gt is the very icon of 90 years from Italy,saving absolutely =)

[@ItaliaAutos]

its being saved

[@robtt997]

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 !

[@alancampbell1008]

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!

[@sinisalucic1996]

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.

[@urielp911]

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.

[@bunter6]

Signed up to your pateron just because your restoring it, it's a rare car worth saving! 👍

[@ItaliaAutos]

Just seen it. Many thanks. Appreciate it.

[@matthewfrankcook]

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!!!

[@through_changes]

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...

[@seanoriley8784]

You're a brave man.

[@adf83]

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!

[@neilhampson2843]

You really need your bumps feeling , The very best of luck.

[@DanielBird1997]

Just popped up on my suggested, now subbed, looking forwards to seeing updates👍🏻

[@garethjones8047]

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.

[@ItaliaAutos]

Think it was stored under 1ft of sea water.

[@KaptainKhaos1]

You must salvage it. You must. You have the skills and the will and it is a rare enough car with sentimental value.

[@ItaliaAutos]

im going to try.

[@KaptainKhaos1]

Nicely done. I wish I lived somewhere where there are cool older Italian cars. Alas, I’m in California

[@silvermane9370]

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.

[@boskocrnobrnja6659]

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)

[@Valerijus16]

Damn... Nice reccomendation KZbin Just yesterday sold my Sporting for 80€ 😅 Bouth it 3months ago for 190 😄

[@Valerijus16]

But the rust....uffff.... Mine was not as bad as this but similar...

[@gosportjamie]

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...

[@ItaliaAutos]

yep looks like it.

[@lucaesteban]

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!

[@geoffholling4773]

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 👍

[@robinforrest7680]

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€

[@jasonhimpson2334]

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.

[@_RicksGarage]

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.

[@Vinnievidivici]

Agreed, gotta draw the line somewhere when it comes to rust.

[@nikoladumitraskovic]

I still drive this car. I love it. Sporting 1.2 16v :))

[@C64Lover]

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).

[@markelliott1624]

Looks like a trip down to the titanic when you are underneath. Good luck should be able to safe it

[@nevillepretorius8948]

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. 👍

[@doveronefoxtrot4417]

I had a punto cabriolet. Great little car you could drop the roof and fit a fridge on the back seats !

[@nelizmastr]

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.

[@darrenwilson8042]

You sir are very, very brave to take this on

[@sm70911]

Very cool the last couple of restos have built up to this 👍The design was always ahead of its time, def worth saving,

[@Iwillfindonesoon]

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..

[@paulbennett4871]

I`d actually never seen one, only Sportings. The only Gt I`ve seen is the one I bought..

[@poptartmcjelly7054]

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.

[@howiegreen1646]

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 👍👍👍👌👌

[@ItaliaAutos]

Thanks for subbing

[@anthonybestra5745]

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 :-)

[@timothyclapham936]

wow thats some serious rust there!! That is gonna be a labour of love but looking forward to seeing the updates!

[@fatwalletboy2]

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......

[@PugBoiGti]

Love the punto gt's, had a exploit yellow GT1 and black gt3 with a zender kit

[@raggedrascal5463]

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.

[@therussianbucket]

Good Luck with all the rust! Subscribed, I'm up to new videos, this car is a legend for Italian guys!

[@Cloverleaf7642]

It’s going to be a fun project to watch, Neil. A labour of love for you. Best of luck with it.

[@KK-mb9fl]

That 166 on lift looks spice 😏 Really hope to see some 166's in future videos. 😀

[@MechaNick_]

I agree

[@alf155v6]

Yep, me too. Criminaly underrated cars...

[@alexmcwhirter6611]

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).

[@Shand1982]

A rare Italian hot hatch!? Always worth saving! :)

[@TheMidnightmanic]

Ive owned one for 9 years still have it in my garage runs amd drives.

[@sammytheseal2307]

Save it 😀 I haven't seen a MK1 punto for years, let alone a GT. Jeez, where's it been kept, a swamp? 😂

[@DANO2015]

Looking at the service history it was serviced around my area of North Wales, I do think I remember this car years ago 👍🏻

[@ghostdog4330]

A friend had a punto years back and the wind caught the door and buckled it. Quality!

[@charlesbeecham6964]

Had an audi did the same thing

[@anderssoderlind90]

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!

[@leechristopher5403]

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 🤙🏻

[@sibbolo9204]

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

[@fojnica2226]

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...........

[@ItaliaAutos]

Nice. Thanks.for watching

[@Stathis10]

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!

[@155andRising]

Pretty common for a UK car that’s suffered years of road salt

[@chrisrichmond403]

Good luck on this one Neil . It’s a major rebuild but if anyone can do it it’s yourself.

[@lukecowell7516]

I'm all for keeping these cars alive but I think if it was me I'd re-shell this either way good luck

[@ItaliaAutos]

that may be the way i go.

[@lukecowell7516]

@@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

[@miguelfreitas1991]

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

[@ctsgarage5304]

Hi Neil, On Fiat Coupe forum their is Lukasz_B who refurb’s the silver key and fits it with a new key blade

[@thefreedomguyuk]

First thought : Considering your car ownership history, you didn't have a choice. There was no other option than buying that car ! You did what you had to do ! Good luck! -Looking forward to the rest of the video now. And the conclusion : Don't worry, your heart will repair that slight oxidation of the floor😉😍

[@ItaliaAutos]

slight lol

[@TheAlfaNut]

I can tell you want to do it Neil - I have the same feelings about my early cars - its a heart decision, definitely not a head one! Do it 😉

[@ItaliaAutos]

Yeah fully a project of the heart. One I’m really looking forward to starting.

[@leenewman6570]

I would try and get a good shell and start again.. Italy road trip

[@jami7772]

I had a burnt orange Punto sporting with Abarth kit like this bar the GT engine. Excellent car.

[@khew1]

Save it. Beautiful car 😍 I'm gonna subscribe just to see it get restored

[@ItaliaAutos]

its hopefully being saved i just need to find some time to finish the other cars first.

[@FullBoostJ4]

Having watched the rest, I feel better about my rusty Marea! But those puntos are getting rare so it really does need saving. Good luck Neil I'm sure you'll get it sorted. 👍

[@ItaliaAutos]

Fingers crossed!

[@Jeffrey_M]

Volvo 850 Estate was actually the first car with those style tail lamps (launched 1993).

[@ItaliaAutos]

they both launched in 93 dont know what one was designed first though.

[@fhwolthuis]

I don't understand how people manage to mistreat a nice car like this so much... Should be forbidden by law 😥🤔

[@CaptainFisch]

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

[@letsflyaway1]

Nice. This should be interesting! Plenty of gas in the mig I hope. I had a 90elx years ago was a 1.6 non turbo. It rained one night an evaporated 🤣. Best of luck 👍

[@rogerdickinson6944]

It looks like it has been sat in a field for a few years! Looks like a difficult repair.

[@Col205]

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 👍🏽👍🏽

[@f1lmm]

Good for you fixing this great hot hatch and if anything it’s safe money 💰

[@jjonkie]

So sad to see, i had one in 2004, imported from germany with a worn clutch.. It was faded red but with polish it looked mint agian. I had so much fun with it. As a daily i drove a Bravo GT JTD... It was Fiat all over in our family... Those were the days.... Really hope you will rescue this one because there is not much left of Fiat.

[@MechaNick_]

The motivation for me to repair a car like that is the engine. I'd buy a Punto in better condition and swap engine and parts.

[@ВиталийЕршов-я8й]

this rust doing a challenge to your skill!!! I hope you win.

[@Retrofordguy]

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

[@ItaliaAutos]

well i dont have the time but im going to try and find it.

[@antj29]

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

[@paulbennett4871]

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..

[@stevenscott7572]

Surely that car has been stood in water or a field for years. Those sills are the worst I can ever recall seeing! Good on you for saving it

[@ItaliaAutos]

Its been in something

[@stvpls]

not forgotten at all here in italy

[@stevenspilsbury9801]

We had a S reg sporting in burnt orange and was our first new car as well.

[@ItaliaAutos]

lovely.

[@PLMacflyPL]

Buy normal punto without rust and swap all parts from GT Version including ofcourse engine

[@ItaliaAutos]

harder than you think as most dont have sunroof and chassis number will be wrong

[@MrPabsUk]

Shame, I had a mint Punto Sporting (1.6) shell I scrapped about 4 years ago, not a spot of rust on it... I`ve never seen one with outer sills like that, nowhere near! Seen a few with light inner sill to floor joins rust, but thats like its sat on a Scottish beach for 5 years! Good luck!

[@richardgoodge7666]

Never had a gt but did have a sporting in same colour and loved it

[@ItaliaAutos]

i wouldnt say no to another sporting.

[@byronmills5952]

That is rough undermeath! Personally I'd be salvaging some rot free floorpans from a doner shell and splice them in when the time comes to sorting the grot. I've got a lot of time for the mk1 Punto in any shape of form. Ill be looking forward to the progress on this one. It's nice and complete and ripe for some major tlc. 👍👍