[greg.harvey]

Originally Posted by Gardin

By the way, engine power is not a problem as you might think. Mine runs 130km/h or 80mph easy, and it's standard engine and transmission. But I'm told it can't handle the high revs over longer distances, wich is why I'm requering the info. Next year I'm going from Copenhagen, Denmark to Torino, Italy in it to celebrate it's 50 birthday;-)

Hi,

Nice - I drove mine back from Milan to London originally...

I'm not saying you're lying, but you are either mistaken or have been lied to I'm afraid. I have a Fiat 500 F and I assure you, neither the Nuovo, Gardiniera, D, F or L are capable of any more than 60mph (about 95km/h) with standard engine and transmission. It simply is not possible. Apart from anything else, the suspension is not up to going more than that, so modding the engine without modding the suspension is extremely dangerous. Also, the Panda head/suspension conversion of an L (I mentioned) is only good for 90mph (which is actually about 135km/h) at a push on a long straight.

60mph is flat out for the vast majority of standard 500s which means one of two things:

- Yours is not standard and is already modded - make sure the suspension is too, if the engine is and you don't want to die

- Your speedo is fairly wildly inaccurate

The 500 R is the only proper Fiat 500 with slightly improved performance as standard. I believe it was produced in 1975. It has the 594cc Fiat 126 engine and suspension in it factory fitted, but even this only makes it good for about 70mph (105km/h) according to all the websites I could find, not the 80mph you claim for yours. My guess is you have a combination of an R with a dodgy speedo. If you do have an R then you might just get away with a 5th, but seek professional advice.

Be curious to know which is the case.

Folks, don't forget Minis are far superior cars to Fiat 500s. The 500 was old technology when it was new! The smallest Mini engine produces more than twice the horsepower of the 500 engine, which is what makes a 5th gear feasible.

Cheers,

G

Ps - you're quite right about high revs/motorway driving. Any more than an hour or 100kms at solid high revs in 4th and you should give the engine a 10 minute break.