Just to clarify even though this is not what this thread is about.

VPW is a format of J1850- they are not different (VPW= Variable Pulse Width). This is a format of communication GM used from 1996-approx 2004

SCP is a different format- that is J1850-PWM (pulse width modulation) and is Ford

Again, not what this thread is about.....

 

The 4200 is an attractive car. I like that color combo; was popular choice.

The 4200 can be a handful to own. A friend traded his GranSport in on a Ferrari at a Ferrari-Maserati dealer. His GranSport was the nicest condition one in the country. The third brake light went out and the Ferrari dealer ended up selling the car at auction as it would've been to expensive for them to fix! They didn't see the value in the car. They had it in the showroom for a couple weeks until reality sat in. If it weren't an FM dealer, maybe the few little things may not have been as expensive on parts.

I ruined a shirt once on a sticky vent transferring to the sleeve cuff; that was my first time in one. Car was only 3 years old and everything was melting inside.

 

Sorry, I missed the PWM part after J1850 when I put SCP.

I like the pic (though it's a bit definitive about VPW and pin 10 - the pin might be present though VPW signalling wouldn't be using it).

 

The original colour is a dark blue and was wrapped at some point. Blue with red interior is a bit odd but sort-of works. Cream or tan would have been better.

Best price I found for front discs was 550€ a pair, and they are not that big or special.

My FIAT Coupe has the same black rubberised paint on the centre console. I have had to remove it with acetone and repaint it with mat black spray. Still have to do the one around the handbrake lever. Horrid stuff!

Fiat Coupe: https://www.autobelle.it/altre-immag...1519643054.jpg

 

Yes, skyhook is to be avoided like the plague. Same with the cambiocorsa IMO. The thing is this type of tech was in its infancy then. It was just not there yet. The problem is most people opted for it, exactly because it was new. So manuals are very rare and command more money normally. They are also cheaper to run as they don't eat clutch as the cambiocorsas do and the clutch is a bit cheaper too.

 

Always found them charismatic. The 5 cylinders turbo sound lovely too.

 

Been a fan of the Fiat Coupe since it came out. Was never imported to the US.

 

Many owners did not know how to drive Cambiocorsa cars correct. They need to be driven fast and like a manual; not so many owned them like that. Same with Vantage Sportshift, but more owners drove it as expected.

 

... but they are getting harder to repair / keep going as some parts are disappearing already. Ours is in the last throws of the bodywork restoration and it will then get a complete suspension, bearing, etc. refresh and new timing belt. Then we will have to be careful with it

 

I think they were just bad. Even if you tried driving them fast and hard. It shifted slow and too much body roll. The Gransport iteration and later cars are better. But the earlier cars are not good in that regard.

 

I can imagine. I guess it's probably the same story with the other similar cars from that era like the Barchetta, GTV and Spider?

 

Yes

I was toying with getting a Barchetta but a lot of the plastic trims are getting brittle and there are very few about that haven't suffered rust due to leaky roof seals. An SLK or a Z4 are simply better made so would be a better bet for a cheap convertible.

Getting parts for any of these cars is getting hard as the FIAT group just doesn't have a history of supporting old cars. There aren't enough models that have a long-term following to make it worth adding to their business model.

 

Yes

I was toying with getting a Barchetta but a lot of the plastic trims are getting brittle and there are very few about that haven't suffered rust due to leaky roof seals. An SLK or a Z4 are simply better made so would be a better bet for a cheap convertible.

Getting parts for any of these cars is getting hard as the "standard" FIAT group just doesn't have a history of supporting old cars. There aren't enough models that have a long-term following to make it worth adding to their business model.

 

Real pity.

I used to know a person who had a 2001 GTV. It was in tip top shape and was the V6 too. Lovely sound and looked lovely. He used to say he had no problems finding parts for it. But it has been a few years. Maybe now it's different and similar to the Coupe and Barchetta. Those GTVs came out I think in 95. So about same age.

 

Yep, both released in '93 I think, both based on forms of the Tipo 2 platform. More money went into the Alfa's suspension, especially at the rear. Parts were easy to find in the early days as they were fairly mainstream cars but body parts especially are now rare and some mechanical parts are disappearing. The GTV is a nice looking thing. I ended up going for the FIAT because it was going to be my only car and its packaging is a bit better. Both are a bit "exotic" in the land of Mercs, Audis and BMWs. Hmm! What are GTVs going for ...

 

Personally, I'm with you. Even if it's impractical, I've though about manual conversions for auto cars a lot. Ultimately, I got to like having an auto in my old XJ, but I was always intrigued by the fact that it was offered with a stick in the UK.

 

I think our best shot at a manual conversion would be the ZF S6-53. It was used by car manufacturers on cars that had the ZF 6HP26/8 as the automatic transmission.

One of the applications of the ZF S6-53 was in the 2006 S-Type diesel.
The F-Type comes with the ZF S6-45 which has a lower torque rating.

I am not sure if the two pieces of information above give a clue on how to handle electronics.

 

If you take out the ZF 6HP26 then you need a CAN device to simulate it (i.e. accept network messages to it and send back meaningful ones as if it's still there and doing the right things).

Or you remove a heap of logic from the PCM involved in the above.

I suspect hardly anyone, quite possibly no-one, is prepared to hire someone with the skills to do any of those.

Failing that, you stop using the Jaguar-supplied PCM and use a standalone one - which has a ton of knock-on issues (discussed in threads elsewhere). I think this is the more viable but very painful way.

Another choice would be to remove the Jaguar-supplied engine & autobox and drop in some others but again this has knock-on issues.

 

While some things CAN be done doesn't mean it SHOULD be done.
Get a Vantage instead.

 

Yep. May be cheaper overall.