Rob and Niek

One day the Fiat 500 F engine head gasket had to be replaced

We started to work on our first Fiat Oldtimer when we were only 14 and 16 years old. Our parents owned a Classic Fiat 500 F that they bought to tour with. One day that Fiat 500 F engine head gasket had to be replaced by a local garage, and we thought "we can do that ourselves!" This garage had a Fiat 500 L for sale and we bought it as our first restoration project car.

Tomorrow is another day!

The Fiat 500 L came with boxes full of parts. We learned about the car and its parts by searching on forums, YouTube and at the FD Ricambi webshop. Rob says about this: we spent hours tinkering in the garage behind the house. We learned that it is wise to carefully check the order of placing the parts. It happened to us that we first had to remove a part again before it was possible to place a part. Even if we did not get it right away, we kept trying. If it didn't work, we put it away for a while and said to each other, tomorrow is another day! Patience is key!

Golden tip

A golden tip that we have received is to first place a rope in the rubber when placing a window and apply a good amount of brake cleaner. Then place the glass and after the brake cleaner has dried, the window remains in place.

We are genuinely proud of our work!

We use FD Ricambi as our main parts supplier. Niek says FD Ricambi has an exceptionally good webshop where parts are easy to find and the one-stop-shop makes ordering fast and easy. Now our latest project – a Fiat 500 Giardiniera- is ready, we like to take all 3 cars for a drive. On a beautiful summer day we drive the Fiat 500 F, the Fiat 500 L and Fiat 500 Giardiniera through the village. People love that, especially when they see young people driving it. We are genuinely proud of our work!