Project 3P, Part 6: a Visit to The Cache (Fiat 128 3P Restoration)

Small things amuse small minds. And I don't mind admitting that this small spring-loaded bonnet prop amuses my small mind, not the least because I wasn't confident that I'd ever find one after exhausting all my regular local and international suppliers of slightly obscure Italian car parts.

A quick tart-up with some fish oil and black paint brought this up a treat!

As-was in the donor car.

But then I visited The Cache, where, as the photo above shows, I was able to secure this simple but very, very welcome piece of hitherto unobtainium (possibly the same as fitted to the 131?). It's hard to appreciate just how much a basic item like this can transform a car; now that it's been fitted, I can work on the engine without fear of knocking out the broom handle that had served as a bonnet prop and copping a slab of sheetmetal on my head. It also means that I can refit the grille without fear of recracking it should the bonnet accidentally tilt too far forward.

But wait! There's more ... ! Twenty odd metres away, my beady little eye spied what I thought looked awfully like a 3P front idicator / park light but, upon further inspection, turned out to be a 3P indicator / park light mounted in a dead straight 3P bumperbar with close to prefect chrome and an intact rubber insert. The lens alone would've been a bonus, as one of mine is slightly cracked, but to land a bumper was beyond expectations!

The rust seen above and below is surface staining only, caused when some dodgy driving light mounts rotted away.

The bumper was found face-up but, somehow, it was the rear side that had corroded. Maybe it'd been the other way up at some stage? Either way, the metal below is solid and it won't take much to wire-brush it out, seal it with fish oil and to whack a top coat of black paint over the entire rear side to preserve it. It's definitely a better option than rechroming the sad rattle-can silverfrost finish of the 'bar that I already had.

Coming soon to UMPH: P3P gets remanufactured front seat belts, replacement rear belts and the interior trim around the back seats gets a tidy-up. And, if all goes to plan, the now redundant broom stick gets redeployed to the rear hatch as a new gas strut is sourced and fitted.

U M P H

(uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.)

iPhone images.

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