Interesting Facts About Innocenti You Probably Don’t Know – Common Problems – and PDF Manuals for Download…
Innocenti was founded in 1931 by Ferdinando Innocenti and the main purpose was to manufacture steel tubing. The facilities were destroyed during World War II, which left the company trying to get government grants to rebuild their factories.
The company rebuilt its premises in Milan and then embarked on making scooters. This progressed into making automotive parts for other car manufacturers.
Some of the manufacturers that Innocenti made car parts for were Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Lancia and later when they merged with BMC, Innocenti began producing cars starting with the A40 Farina
After World War II, the company was better known for the manufacturing of Lambretta scooters.
However, in 1961 the company started to build the mini under licence from the British Leyland Motor Corporation (BLMC).
The mini’s that were built during this era had 998cc and 1275cc engines and other models followed such as the Regent (Allegro).
During this time, they also produced the Innocenti Spyder from 1961 – 1970 at which time BLMC took over control of the company.
Apart from the models mentioned above Innocenti also produced coupes. These are quite rare and were designed along the lines of Austin-Healy cars. There were only 487 Innocenti coupes built in between 1965 to 1968, so they are generally great collector’s items.
They appear small when first seen but the interior space comfortably allowed for 6-foot drivers with ample headspace and seating. It was regarded to be more comfortable than the Austin-Healy Sprite and deemed to perform better.
In 1972 the British Leyland group acquired Innocenti and had high hopes for the new subsidiary but unfortunately ran out of money and was nationalised by the British Government.
At that time Innocenti was only second to Fiat and ahead of Volkswagen and Renault in units sold per year.
Once BLMC were nationalised, Innocenti was passed to Alejandro de Tomaso and was reorganised to the De Tomaso group and traded as Nuova Innocenti.
They at this time had lost the three biggest selling models namely the Mini, Austin 15 and Regent. The company recovered with the Bertone-bodied Mini which was using the BLMC 998cc and 1275cc engines.
Their main market was to British Leyland’s concessionaires which slowly died out during the early eighties due to the fact that British Leyland did not want to have internal competition.
As the sales dwindled in both France and Germany both these markets came to a halt by 1982 and it was also the time when the engine deal with British Leyland came to an end.
After this period in 1983 Tomaso started using Daihatsu engines which he further developed a turbocharged model to be used in both Daihatsu and Innocenti cars.
In addition to producing their own cars, Innocenti also produced body work for some models of Maserati. Production kept on decreasing along with prices from the main competitors Fiat.
Innocenti responded by making cars that were more personalised to increase prices.
Common Repairs found with Innocenti Mini and other Other models
Innocenti cars are now getting on to being classic and vintage, therefore, having a service and repair manual will ensure that the car will be maintained to the original standards.
Being old cars there are problems that can arise that could be troublesome to fix because of the lack of available spares. There are problems with some of the Innocenti Mini Cooper models with the front brake locking.
When the manifold vacuum is disconnected the front brakes release. This could be a problem with the servo which is difficult to obtain.
It is in situations like these that a good service and repair manual could solve the problem. It will allow you to read up on all the specifications and try and find an alternative servo.
If you are a person that would like to own a classic Innocenti Mini Cooper there are a few areas that you might need to replace. The reports from other motor car enthusiasts have mentioned that often the front and rear brakes need to be replaced.
The brake hoses are old and need to be replaced along with the CV joint boots. Because these cars are old it is wise to replace the tie rod bushings along with the wheel cylinders.
The Innocenti Mini is often known to have very bad fuel consumption and could be that the catalytic converter has failed completely.
What happens is the crankshaft sensor signals the injector computer or ignition control when the cylinders should fire.
This causes the ignition spark to provide a spark to that particular piston. if these are out of sync the car will run rough and will be less efficient. There could even be situations where the engine will stop running at all.
There are also times that the fuel consumption is not what it should be and the engine not running smoothly. This could be caused by a loose-fitting gas cap and it needs to be replaced.
There are quite a few problems related to the fuel mixture and intake to do with the Innocenti engine. Having a repair and service manual will enable you to find how to fix the appropriate problems.
It is important to note that the Innocenti Mini’s were fitted with Veglia gauges and the speedometer cable are completely different to those that were assembled in England. It has a special end to fit the speedometer and also still fit the gearbox end.
Innocenti cars could need the suspension rubbers replaced and repaired. This is not really a problem with
Innocenti cars but rather to do with the age of the vehicles today.
The Innocenti range of vehicle especially the mini are great collector’s cars especially if they have been well maintained. In order to keep the engine and body in this shape a comprehensive service and repair manual will help the owner to service and the repair cars.
Purpose of this is to catalog and include one of most comprehensive, useful and accessible “automotive repair PDF manual” database on the web for all Innocenti models.
It’s your go-to source for learning all about Innocenti – when you can’t find it elsewhere.
To get started, select the intended car model below…
