Team-BHP (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)

-   Test-Drives & Initial Ownership Reports (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-drives-initial-ownership-reports/)

-   -   The Red Rocket - Fiat Grande Punto Sport. *UPDATE* Interiors now in Karlsson Leather (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-drives-initial-ownership-reports/129039-red-rocket-fiat-grande-punto-sport-update-interiors-now-karlsson-leather-10.html)

Awesome job done Karthik! I was eagerly waiting for this post. The only faint concern would be the roof edges which does not seem completely covered in black. Still, it would be running for the hottest hatch in Bangalore!

Fantastic work Karthik. Very professionally done for a DIY job :D

As Eminenttismo said, the plastic cladding looks carved out of CF. Good job by Sidhu sir and the 3M team.

That black gloss film is a nice touch but i guess the edges are a little exposed but nonetheless look classy.

The car now screams for smoke effect on the lights. You can also try to get the plastic silver strip on the dash painted in red like how cRaZy DrIvEr has done so it goes with the exterior.

Cheers and happy driving!!!

KarthikK, WOW!clap:

This is how a Punto should look. (I may still cry for a 1.6MJD or 1.4 T-Jet heart:D)

Now procure 16 inchers (Alloys) of Linea Emotion.

Smoking of lamps (front and rear) may make the beast more butch. I recommend you to keep it as OEM.

There are n number of options available still for modding your Punto. But this is the best combination and you should pull the plug now to keep her stock, still unique.

Even said so, an Abarth logo for hood/boot is always welcome.

Cheers!

Vinu

haha thanks Vikram! Alloys, as of now no budget. Need to wait for some more months before embarking on future adventures *lol*.

OT - You had sms'ed me some time ago, i noticed the unread message but my phone was hanging and finally died out that day. Unfortunately lost all the old numbers and messages when i formatted, you'll need to sms me again bro.


Thanks a lot HighOctane! It'd be my pleasure to meet you during the next meet.

rather than paint (I don't think I will tamper with any OEM parts), I was thinking of importing the Abarth Punto radiator grille as a spare part from UK. That way, I can just re-fit/swap back to the OEM part whenever I want. Problem is finding some godfather there who can courier the part to me.

Thanks a lot shashank :thumbs up
Would love to do those. They're available as spare parts in the UK, but they cost a truck load of cash. I'll need to lie low for a few months if I were to be able to afford those. Hehe.

Thanks a lot Eminenttismo.
Absolutely. I will stay away from repainting them though. I'll try to source the abarth spare parts and check if they can be retrofitted.

those guys seriously have some talent. This plastic piece was sticking out like a sore thumb, and suddenly it is the highlight of the car's front now!

Thanks a lot hemanth.anand. We all know who was the inspiration for this :thumbs up, the very first Abarth Punto on team-bhp owned by a certain hemanth.anand. Thanks for answering those PM queries about the abarth customizations.

In fact, the T-Jet+ has been quietly lapping up important upgrades in the background *lol* . If you were following my other T-jet thread, the linea just got a set of michelin primacy LCs while the Punto was getting visual makeup. Next month's credit card bill will give me a royal cardiac arrest. Ouch!


thanks a lot supriyo ji. Yeah your Ritz is a huge inspiration on how hot hatches need to look like, definitely inspired this abarth punto mod set, hehe.
Yeah supriyo, the fit and finish is a bit rough still, being a DIY. I'll see how I can cover that gap now. I tried taking extra length and sticking it there, but it bends at the place where the windshield starts and slowly the gum comes away. I need to figure out how to make that stay in place.

RD thing I will get it done after around 6-7k kms on the odo. Lot of people advised me to allow the engine to settle in fully before doing any remaps / tuning box fitments. Did you decide on yours?

Thanks nkrishnap, i need to import the abarth grill and headlamps/taillamps I guess. They cost a bomb (20k for headlamp set and 10k for tail lamp set). I will have to start auctioning my belongings at this rate *lol*. Definitely planned for later next year.


Thanks kkstile. Glad you liked it. The fit and finish on the front is a definite problem area, I admit. I'll visit some local shop and get that gap addressed by professionals. It seems to come out whenever i paste it near that windshield starting point.

Thanks a lot Srinath!

yeah *lol*. I'll cover the exposed part with the help of some local accessory shops next week.

Yeah that red tape idea was very good by crazy driver. Makes it look like the interiors of a BMW 3 series sport edition.

Thanks a lot myavu.

I actually have these on the t-jet, hehe. I was thinking of those scorpion claw alloys on the euro-spec abarth. If only wishes were notes *sigh*.

I am not going to actually do any painting/smoking of OEM parts I guess. The best option is to keep the OEM parts aside, and retro-fit the Abarth Punto's parts. They are a direct bolt-on job and can be reversed anytime. Better option on a long term perspective, isn't it?

Absolutely agree. For now, plug is pulled till I can save up some more cash to afford the real deal.

the decals are a good option. I will get them shipped from UK shortly. I want to do the entire decal set in 1 shot, whenever it happens - front grille badge, steering badge, rear badge, alloy wheel centre cap, etc. Fingers crossed.

Very first...probably yes, but as you wrote earlier, its not rare anymore. Now when people's heads turn, its only for a red rocket.

Good, you are saved :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR! :D

I have seen 3-4 more white abarths lately in Bangalore, all inspired by yours surely. You were responsible for the revolution, absolutely no two ways about that :thumbs up. Mine is still half-baked, Indian-Italian cross breed Punto at the moment *lol*.

I'll need some more advice from the guru on completing the entire package like yours :D. Will PM you soon for more query/pestering sessions. Be prepared, hehe

Looks really neat.

How much did the 3M strips come to?

I was at Sidhu's (3M) last weekend and I was contemplating covering up the plastic bits (specially the hood part) with that material.

Let me know how it holds up as well.
Even before the old year gets over, expenses for the next year are cropping up stupid:

Thats a really hot Punto Karthikk. Smoked headlamps with better alloys will make it a lot better. On the rear, try something on the lower portion of the bumper just like what hemanth.anand has done on his Punto. To give you an idea how it would look on a red Punto, I am attaching a pic of a Punto that I spotted in Switzerland. How much did the glossy vinyl on the roof cost you? And whats this shampoo water spraying method??stupid:

Wow! Loved every bit of your review and rightfully rated 5*s clap:. Quite an exhaustive review at that, gives one an impression of actually being out there. First page itself took me quite a while to go through. Black Abarth stripes on red do stand out and are one of my favourite bits, the piece on the front bumper seems to start a little abruptly though.

You're ride looks enviably hot! :D Awesome work! Keep it up.

Thanks aqualeo2040. The CF work came to about 2k for the quarterpanels, B pillars and the bonnet plastic panel.

I'll update any peel-offs on this thread, but a lot of people are using the CF wraps on different areas of their cars for long durations. It should last the distance I guess.

Thanks a lot SUPERSPORT. Nice image there you gave for reference. I'll have to source one of the bumper spoilers from abroad I guess. The glossy vinyl came to around 4k (converted from dollars).

Shampoo solution? Mix 2-3 sachets of any shampoo in water spray can and spray that water on the surface before attempting to paste any stickers. It makes the surface slippery, and easier to align or move the stickers into the correct position. You can then use the squeegee and push out all the shampoo solution /air bubbles under the sticker. The shampoo doesn't affect the vinyl adhesive in any manner whatsoever. You might have seen some sunfilm shops using this spray when they fit tints on the windows. Its the same funda. Since the area of my stickers was pretty large, I didn't want to make any mistakes when pasting them. :)

Thanks a lot Glenrox! :thumbs up I agree on the abrupt ending of the bumper stripe. In European Abarths, that fog lamp cluster is black colored, so that looks like a continuation of the black stripe. I'll have to do something about that in the next stage (when vitamin M permits)

Thanks for that shampoo solution method.clap: I never thought it would work with the vinyls. I had pasted some matte black stickers on the front bumper of my Polo to make it look similar to the R-Line version. Although the sticker was small it took me around 3 hrs to paste it properly. Now I want to do something on the rear just like the above Punto and this technique will be of big help. Sticker guys agreed to paste and then cut the vinyls which would scratch the paint. With this technique I think I can handle it myself.

What A Car!! Excellent review and Hats off mate!!

It looks absolutely out of this world. I guess even Fiat would go :Shockked: and look back and ask if its the normal Punto or the Abarth Punto.

A set of Sexy Allows and you and your Abarth Punto will be the talk of the town (If it isn't already).lol:

Well even the sticker pasting guys will have used the shampoo solution I am sure stupid:. They don't scratch the paint when cutting it. Most of them are experts, and are just making a depression with the blade, in the part of vinyl which they cut. They then tear off the unnecessary portion by hand. They don't actually press down the blade and scratch the paint.


Thanks a lot sambhav.jain. Glad you liked it. I'll see how I can spruce up the alloys after a few days. :D

Bro you know what I am not trying to advise you on wat to do here but probably a small suggestion on how you can get started.

Remember what I did for my Getzy ?? I searched all over for an Alloy with Glossy black Spokes and a white lip but could not find any, atleast not in 14" & 15". So I just did the next best thing, got it custom painted. clap:

May be its just me, but I feel Punto Alloys are not very classy in its OEM Avatar. So, if you would want to keep the design, just go ahead and change the color, may be U will get the 'Best of both':D

You can actually get this job done at A1 Car Tires, right at the beggining of Siddapura road that leads to Ashoka pillar. The workmanship is really awesome.

Here is what I mean :

OEM -


Custom Paint -

Karthik - Good news for you ! You might want to look this up - http://indianautosblog.com/2013/01/f...ssembled-59138

:)