Gran Finale decals.

Some advice if possible please.Just purchased 1989 x-19 with Gran Finale
decals below the waist moulding and also pin stripes along the side.
The owner(from new) advised that this was fitted to the last few cars
sold in the uk.For me the car would look better without,but i am
reluctant to remove them if this would have an adverse effect on
the value of the car,or upset the purists!

Many thanks

Tim

Gran Finales never ever had any form of decals or pin stripes along the sides, they may have been fitted by a less clued up dealership perhaps? The only decal on the body should be the small Gran Finale sticker on one of the front wings. So remove away! a hairdryer should do the trick, just be aware there is the possibility that if the car has been left out in the sun a lot removing the pinstripe will leave a long darker line on the bodywork... As for upsetting the purists - there aren't many left as so many X1/9's have had subtle modifications by now so its no big deal.
Cheers,
Jim.

.. and as for value, I wouldn't loose any sleep.

First rust, then engine, then interior, then some way down the line correct decals! Just about anything is correct on just about any X1/9, it just depends what was to hand the day it was put together!

Those Decals may just be holding the car together....!!!!

Removing the stripes on my VS was impossible with a hairdryer / heat gun. The vinyl had gone brittle and you could get about 2mm off at a time before it snapped.

I (do not read on if you are squeamish) used a chisel :shock: (!) to scrape them off a la wallpaper scraper style, but mine was going in for extensive restoration so it didn't matter.

On that subject, called in yesterday to check on progress (we are a week late now) car looks fantastic. The guy doing the job has taken some snaps that he is going to email me (i forgot the camera) and I will write a little ditty for the mag if you want.

Looks like it will be about another week and the bill will be nearer £2k but I am very happy with the quality of the job.

Original Fiat paint colours are being used but I have not opted for the original brown/black, this time it is a proper metallic black with silver top.