The finished Fiat 500 L in blue with whitewall tyres

Fiat 500 L, Part 4: Back Together

This is Part 4 of our Fiat 500 L restoration series. Missed Part 3? Read about the primer and paint here.

With the shell painted, the best part of any restoration could start: putting it all back together.

The engine

The 500 L uses an air-cooled two-cylinder engine of just under 500 cc, mounted at the back. Ours was got ready on the bench before going back in.

Fiat 500 L two-cylinder engine on the bench

Fiat 500 L engine and gearbox together

Suspension and brakes

Next came the suspension and brakes, corner by corner.

Rear suspension fitted to the painted Fiat 500 L

Brake and suspension on the Fiat 500 L

Brake backplate and shock absorber on the Fiat 500 L

Hub and shock absorber fitted to the Fiat 500 L

Front corner of the Fiat 500 L with suspension fitted

Rear of the Fiat 500 L during reassembly

Painted engine bay of the Fiat 500 L waiting for its engine

Wiring, dash and front boot

Inside, the pedals, wiring and dashboard went back in. In the front boot, the fuel tank went back in place. On a 500 it lives up front, with the engine at the back.

Pedals and wiring going into the Fiat 500 L

Dashboard fitted in the Fiat 500 L

Speedometer and dashboard of the Fiat 500 L

Fiat 500 L with the front boot open and wiring in place

Fuel tank in the front boot of the Fiat 500 L

Lights and chrome

Then came the details that make a 500 smile: headlights, indicators, rear lights and the chrome bumpers with the tubular guards that mark out the L.

Front of the Fiat 500 L with headlight, Fiat badge and chrome bumper

Headlight and indicator on the Fiat 500 L

Rear light on the Fiat 500 L

Rear bumper fitted to the Fiat 500 L

Engine in

Engine fitted in the Fiat 500 L

Close-up of the Fiat 500 L engine bay

A red interior

New black carpet, red door cards and trim, and new red seats, still in their plastic when they went in.

New carpet fitted in the Fiat 500 L

Fiat 500 L interior with carpet and door trim

Inside the Fiat 500 L through the open door

Red rear trim panel in the Fiat 500 L

New red seats in the Fiat 500 L, still wrapped in plastic

Red seats and door card in the Fiat 500 L

Finished

Wheels on, whitewall tyres fitted, and the 500 was a car again.

Front of the nearly finished Fiat 500 L in the workshop

Finished Fiat 500 L on whitewall tyres in the workshop

The final polish

Before it went anywhere, the new paint got a proper polish. Under the lights, you can see every curve.

Front of the polished Fiat 500 L with chrome bumper and Fiat badge

Polished Fiat 500 L under the lights, front three-quarter view

Low angle of the polished Fiat 500 L on whitewall tyres

Side view of the polished Fiat 500 L

Rear of the polished Fiat 500 L with the 500 L badge

And then, outside, where it belongs.

The finished blue Fiat 500 L with chrome bumpers and whitewall tyres

The finished Fiat 500 L on a country road with the sunroof open

Rear view of the finished Fiat 500 L

Red interior of the finished Fiat 500 L

Summer days

A 500 isn't meant to sit in a garage. Ours gets used: the sunroof back, flowers on the bumper and a picnic basket on the luggage rack. The youngest members of the family have already claimed it.

Two children enjoying the Fiat 500 L, one standing up through the open sunroof

Fiat 500 L with flowers across the front bumper

Picnic basket and flowers on the rear luggage rack of the Fiat 500 L

Fiat 500 L with a flower-covered picnic basket on the luggage rack

From a rusty red shell in Hungary to this. Not bad for a little car we knew almost nothing about.

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