Avantime Owners UK

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OW02GBU The long journey back to the road!!

Hi Everyone.
I am a new member to your superb forum.
Thought I would list a few of my 'Avantime' experiences and if any of you have any thoughts or info to give, that would be great.

First the story BEFORE I bought my Avantime.
I have always liked the Avantime, simply because it is so unusual. I love unusual vehicles. I cannot see any desire to own any of the most popular cars Audi, BMW, Merc etc.

In 2020 whilst we were 'enjoying' the lockdown, I needed some thing to keep me alive. I can't stand sitting around watching TV or similar. So, Me and my son decided that we should buy a fun car and use it for family days out etc. But what car shall we get. (You are now all thinking "yeah, yeah, he bought an Avantime) You would be wrong.
We decided to buy a car that was voted the UK's ugliest car. Anybody guess what it is/was.

Yes, it was the poor Fiat Multipla. So, we started looking in earnest for a suitable 'project'
Well, as always we found two. Which one do you buy when you have two. Well, obvious eh!

BOTH!
So we had two Fiat Multiplas from different locations in the country. Found out they were both registered on the same day, at the same dealers, not far from where we live!!!! Bizarre.
But what the hell has this got to do with the Avantime I hear you ask??

We needed parts for these cars, and we found a guy in Lincolnshire who was breaking one. He was a very nice guy and asked us to pop over to his place and take any parts we needed as he was about to scrap his car. Well, we did just that.
On the way to his house about a mile from where he lived was a superb Avantime parked outside a house. WOW. I think that was the first time I had knowingly seen one in the flesh. So, we stopped and looked at it a few times as we went to this guys house quite a bit. That meant we then started looking up Avantimes on the net, you tube etc.
I'd like one of them, I said. Get one then came the flippant reply from my son who isn't paying for it.
I looked and saw one on ebay (fatal) I bid on it, thinking I would be outbid.
I wasn't.
I won it.
Oh dear, my wife was in hospital at the time so I was able to do things with out being shouted at. (fatal)
Oh dear, I think I have just bought an Avantime.
So long story short I paid for a recovery guy to deliver the car to my house.
Here it is.
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Comments

  • I am trying to upload pics
  • Posts: 0
    **waits patiently !!
  • Posts: 0
    still waiting!!!!!....... what colour is it?....... ;) :D
  • Posts: 0
    i would be interested in seeing the multipla too.... most Avantime owners have more than one oddball car.
  • Can someone tell me how to upload pics here as I have tried several times and can't get past the 'file has not uploaded ' message
  • We sold both the Multiplas, unfortunately. But i do have some pics of when I was restoring one of them. Very enjoyable job it was too.
    Wish I still had them.
  • edited April 2022 Posts: 0

    Can someone tell me how to upload pics here as I have tried several times and can't get past the 'file has not uploaded ' message

    Either click on the little image box above the text input window, or simply drag the image file into the window when posting a message.



    If you still have the same issue, try reducing the image file size.
  • edited April 2022 Posts: 0
    Posting pictures

    Click on the picture logo in the banner bar at the top

    Then choose files

    Select Photo Library to select pictures on you phone / pad

    Touch the pictures you want to insert and the blue tick box with show it’s selected

    Then press the Add button at the top and they will get inserted into the post

    When they all load hit Post Comment







  • beat you to it @berniethebolt :D (teach you to be so detailed in your reply) :D
  • beat you to it @berniethebolt :D (teach you to be so detailed in your reply) :D

    😂

  • Tried to upload my smallest picture
  • it worked!!!
  • Tried to compress the Avantime picture

  • Tried another small picture
  • Looks as if the picture has to be small, perhaps less than 2 mb. Now I have got to find how you make a picture small enough to post. Don't worry I will get there.
  • You can tell I am old as I hate tech
  • But that means I can work on vehicles made before 2009
  • Tried again

  • Wow this is hard
  • The car, as shown above (ha ha ha) arrived and I started checking out what I had. It started and sounded ok. But after running it for a while I noticed the fuel warning light was on, so it needed fuel, and then it started to misfire so, it was running out of fuel as I watched. Turned the car off and noticed quite a bit of smoke coming from the alternator.
    Well, as this poor car has not run since 2016 (expiry date of the last MOT) I decided it must have
    1 New timing belt kit
    2 Water pump
    3 Alternator,
    4 Starter
    5 Full service oils etc
    6 Auto box oil change
    7 New tyres
    8 Subframe removal, and clean up
    9 Any other job that rears it's head whilst I am underneath
    10 Internal blowers do not work, so I need to check why
    11 Clean the leather
    12 Get the 'Grande air' working (got to be the main reason for owning an Avantime)
    13 Drive and enjoy meeting as many of you as I can.

    So, the journey is about to start. If any of you recognise my car, or know of any things that it has had done, or where it has been, please let me know as it would be great to put the picture of it together.
    It looks as if it has been loved and cherished. All the tyres are the same make (Pirelli) It has been fitted with drilled brake discs front and rear, and what looks like 'green' brake pads. It has a new stainless exhaust. So, somebody has spent money on her. I would like to know why it hasn't been used, was there a serious fault, or did the owner not use it for some other reason.
    Anyway. I will keep you up to date as I go, with pictures (ha ha ah) and text.
  • Welcome to the club! You'll find useful technical info here, as well as some necessary sympathy.
  • This club looks fantastic. I can't wait to get out and meet a few of you and see your own Avantimes
  • This club looks fantastic. I can't wait to get out and meet a few of you and see your own Avantimes

    There’s 10 of us at present going to meet up at the Gaydon Motor Museum on Sunday 22nd May see thread 20th (UK) Anniversary Meeting for details

  • Yes, I won't have my Avantime on the road by then, would I be able to pop along even if I am in something else
  • Yes, I won't have my Avantime on the road by then, would I be able to pop along even if I am in something else

    Of course

  • You may well be seeing me. I will confirm later if I will be there.
  • Well, There has been some progress with the Avantime. I made a start date of 15th May. (mainly because that was when i came back from a motorcycle tour with a bunch of mates). The car is now in the restoration position (outside my garage, yes outside I know) I have removed everything at the front (bumper, slam panel, headlights, crossmember, both rads, and rad mount panel, power steering pump, alternator etc.) Then i have started the engine and listened to what it sounds like (perfect). Then refitted the rad in order to run it up to temp to see if it is fine at temperature.
    This is where we came up against a wall.
    I started the engine, run very smoothly, BUT!!!!! There was a huge pall of smoke billowing up from the rear of the engine. Had to turn the engine off (naturally) and moving underneath I saw that (it appears) there is a major oil leak from the rear bank. Probably cam box as well as cam cover. I will have a good look once the engine has been removed.



  • Still have trouble with pics!



  • Still have trouble with pics!
  • Green pads are almost certainly EBC Greenstuff. It shows somebody cared enough to spend the extra. I use them and find them to be an excellent choice for the Avantime giving good feel and shedding very little dust. Good luck with your progress!

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