Abarth 124 Spider and the nightmare of fitting an Orra Racing Intercooler

My first blog of the New Year 2026, and just a heads up, I'm immediately going to start whining. I will let you decide if you think I have a fair reason if you choose to read on.

So, as many of you will know, I enjoy modifying my cars, which can be an expensive pastime, and for that reason, I like to find out as much as possible before committing to doing stuff.

After much research, with some advice from various people from the Abarth scene, I decided to opt for an Orra Racing Intercooler. This was a follow-up from other mods, as I slowly progressed towards bigger, more expensive ones to boost my car's performance.

Abarth 124 Spider Orra Racing Intercooler

After speaking to Orra Racing via WhatsApp and using Italian translation, I completed the order request online for my Abarth 124 Spider, choosing Red silicone hoses to go with the larger performance intercooler. I also asked if they could supply a 135-degree bend for one of the pipes, as I had read on a forum that this would help with fitting the intercooler between the alternator and steering rack on a right-hand-drive UK car. My order was placed on the 13 th October 2025, and I paid 919.64 Euros...choosing to pay via PayPal in 3 instalments.

The weeks passed by, no contact from Orra... I waited patiently, then on the 11th December, I contacted Orra with a message, "Please could you tell me how things are going with my order?"

I then got a reply, "Hi, your order is ready. We will arrange shipment tomorrow. I will notify you with the tracking number."

Move to 16th December "Good morning, your order is ready. I'll send you the tracking number now." "Unfortunately, we only have the Black silicone hoses available. Is that okay?"

I replied, "Hi, how much longer would I have to wait for the Red ones?"

"Unfortunately, the shipment will arrive at the end of February; there are some delays."

I thought to myself, Well, I have waited this long, what's another couple of months, so I replied

"If posssible  I'd prefer to wait, just the other parts of my car are completed in Red."

I was then informed, "We have already organised the shipment... and keeping the package stuck for more than 2 months becomes more complicated."

So stupidly, I accepted that the intercooler was coming... The first BIG disappointment.

The intercooler arrived within a few days. I had already arranged to have it fitted at my good friend Kurtis's workshop, over at Wolf Performance, with an agreed fitting price and a day to drop my car off.

Big Disappointment Number Two

After a couple of hours, Kurtis from Wolf performance calls me,

"Err, Glenn, there is a problem. Could you come down and have a look, and I can  show you and better explain."

So,  Ern and I go to see Kurtis, where he points out to both my dad and me the problem with the pipes/hoses and the plumbing up of all the required parts whilst my car is up on the lift.

Orra Racing Alloy Pipe - checkout the angle

Orra Racing Alloy Pipe - Can you see a issue ?

 

As Kurtis discovered and I now realise, whilst the intercooler itself is fitted snugly, there was no way the combination of pipes/hoses was going to connect up.

As I stated when I ordered the intercooler from Orra Racing, "My car is a right-hand drive." I had read on various forums about the alternator and steering rack being an issue. This seems to be a problem when European suppliers provide their intercooler with pipes and hoses that they claim will fit.

I just want to make it clear: we tried every combination of the provided pieces, and there was no way the various bends were going to fit between the alternator and the steering rack.

One of the only temporary solutions was to use the standard pipe where the alternator/steering is located. The thing is, once you start adding more joints to a system, the greater the chance of leaks, and it can lead to a bastardised job. All I wanted to do was buy a bit of kit, have it fit, work and move on to my next addition to my car, not this headache, especially when a company says it will fit and it obviously doesn't.

Kurtis then came up with a solution. He knew a guy who could potentially make an alloy pipe designed from the original, which would be a solution moving forward. The thing was, he didn't know how much this bespoke pipe would cost until he saw the fella.

My gob almost hit the floor of my dad's car on the way home as Kurtis rang me back...

"Glenn, mate, that pipe will cost £360 to get made. What do you want to do?"

I replied after a little thought, "Aye, just get it sorted."

New Custome Pipe

New Custome Pipe

New pipe

Anyhoo, my car has now been off the road for a week. It's taken the alloy-welding guy a bit of time to design and weld up the new pipe, and for Kurtis to fit it and test my car. Hopefully, I'll be picking her up soon.

So, I would advise anyone heading up this route to get and fit a larger, performance intercooler to do your homework. Don't just assume something will fit. 

Oh, and the best of it is that upon contacting Orra Racing, they were adamant that the fault of the intercooler not fitting was at my end. They assured me, "We even sent the 135-degree bend, and this has been supplied to another UK user who fitted it with no problem."

Orra Racing has since stopped responding to my WhatsApp queries. When I asked to see the blog post this other user had posted, they did not reply. Oh, and the video and images they sent me are for a left-hand-drive car. 

It's my fault I agreed to the black hoses after they were already shipped out, or it was too much hassle to keep my shipment until the correct ones arrived.

Anyhoo, those in the know can take a look at the images I have posted. Maybe you can explain how you would have solved the incorrectly oriented angle of the supplied alloy pipe.

In ending would like to say a huge thank you to Kurtis over at Wolf Performance for trouble shooting anddoing everything he could to get my car sorted.

Much better power washer and shorty pressure washer gun - Ooh it's pretty too.

 

Finally got Lola washed

Lola (Loud.Obnoxious.Little.Abarth)

Well, I'm still off work, not feeling great as I am gradually reducing the steroids each week. 

Hopefully, once I start this new treatment, which is next week, in a few months, it will kick in, and I can get back to some normality.

Anyhoo, I have been keeping myself busy with little jobs here and there, and of course, doing stuff I enjoy: reading, writing, and messing with my guitar.

It must have been a good few weeks ago when I went to wash my car, my wee Abarth 124 Spider, 'Lola.' I got all the gear out: a bucket, a wash mitt, and the snow foam bottles. I have four of them—one for the pre-wash, another for the snow foam, one for the ceramic coating, and the final one for the alloy wheel cleaner.

I unwound the long hose attached to a reel on the side of our house and brought out the small Karcher, which my dad had very kindly bought me about 5 or 6 months ago. Plugged the Karcher in, turned on the water and..."Yer've got to be joking," the Karcher was dead, nada— nowt.

Little shitty yellow box

So I went indoors whining, like I do when things aren't going to plan, swearing my head off about the Karcher and a woe is me, "All a want ta dee is wesh me car." Anyway, Ern comes out, checks out the little yellow shitty box of trouble, and he can't get it to work either.

Long story short, Amazon, who always seem to be good at accepting stuff back, just told my dad to pack up the Karcher, not to worry about its original box, and send it back. So Ern did as instructed, and within a couple of days, he was reimbursed—nice one.

Anyway, moving on, as you all know, the weather has been a bit naff lately, with rain and really strong winds, so my car has been sitting in the backyard, all covered in muck and leaves.

I got on to my dad saying, "Look, I've been online and read a few reviews about this jet wash, it sounds canny, but I think the bigger one is even better, as it has a wind-up reel on the machine and it stands up."

Ern and I had a look online and saw that we could get one at Toolstation. It was a Hawksmoor 160bar model. 

Ern headed off to see if he could check out one or, if not, get one in stock. I agreed to put the extra £80 or so towards the machine, alongside the £50 he had got back from Amazon.

Oh, and I had also seen an ad on Facebook for a stumpy power wash gun. Top tip: I wouldn't buy from sellers on Facebook. If you see something you like, you can generally get it cheaper on Amazon. So I was off searching on Amazon and came across this funky-looking gun with various ends and fittings.

When Ern returned, he had a look, thought it looked canny, so bought it to fit on the new power washer when it arrived.

Adaptor from Amazon

Gun to pipe adaptor

Canny bit of kit this funky stubby pressure gun

The Hawksmoor High Pressure Washer 160bar, by the way, is a 100% improvement over the Karcher K 2 Horizontal, which I grew to despise.  I just used it this morning to wash my car, and it makes the job much easier to get the thing out, use it, and then put it away.

Hawksmoor Pressure Washer 160bar

My dad had fitted a longer hose on the Karcher, which was so stiff it was a nightmare to loop back up for storage. The hose pipe fitting to the machine always leaked, and even though I took great care of it—emptying it after use, putting it away carefully, etc.—the bloody thing broke way before its time.

The hawksmoor: Yeah, like everything else is made from plastic; however, it does appear durable, it's easy to move on its wheels, the hose is a lot more supple, so easy to move when you are going around a car, plus a lot quicker and easier to wind up and put away on the in-built reel. 

The hose is flexible, and the reel makes it easier to put away

The pressure is about right for what I wanted, and it's working well with my cars. I can't say what the original lance/gun is like because my dad fitted the new stubby gun, which is much better to use. It makes it easier to get under wheel arches, and I didn't have to fight with a long lance or worry about the hose scraping across the paintwork as I was washing.

Cool looking and works great

Stubby Gun

Stubby gun you can change the nozzles easily

I know not much of an in-depth review of each item, but hey, if you are interested in any of this gear, you can do what I did and find loads of info online.

  

Wor Nev supervising

Here is a link to the Stubby gun, which we got from Amazon. It comes with various ends that click in place to adjust the water stream for different jobs. Just click on images...

You can pop different nozzles in, really quickly and easily

Oh, and I had to buy another electric snow foam bottle. When I went to get one of mine, I hunted high and low in our shed and thought I was going mad since I couldn't find it. 

If you are going to get yourself an electric snow foam bottle, shop around as they are all at different prices; sometimes you can hit on a bargain. I think I only paid £8 for this one, but looking, they have gone up in price.

I have a couple of these; they work really well

Ern revealed, "Oh, I borrowed it for one of my friends' dogs." If Wor Nev were that clever and would wash my car for me, I would even give him a bit of pocket money.

Gaurdian Designs - Just sitting in the house going broom broom

 It must be about 6 weeks ago that I decided to treat my wee Abarth 124 Spider to a new, and I suppose some would call expensive and not needed, steering wheel. You see, I got my eye on a company called Guardian Designs, who are based in Poland and loved the look of the steering wheels they offered.

Guardian Designs Steering Wheel Abarth 124 Spider

 The wheels can be customised, and all you have to do is select the style of steering wheel that you would like, then go through the process of making it your own. There are lots of options from different materials like nappa leather, perforated nappa leather, alcantera, etc. Then there is thickness, grips, colours, and the list goes on.

I chose a Corsa D design, which has a flat bottom, and specced the wheel up with a chunkier size, opting for the GT at 120mm, alongside thumb rests. I also went for Sports Ferrari red stitching with a red Ferrari Noon marker, and the wheel is done in black Nappa leather in a seamless Pagani style.

Oh, and I also requested that the steering wheel spokes be painted a silk black, which came at an extra cost, but in my opinion was well worth it.

  

Beautiful stitching and finish

I know the design will not be to everyone's taste. I wanted something that looked pretty minimalist, so that is why I didn't go full on bling, with various materials and colours.

The black fins of the spokes makes a huge difference

Checking the steering wheel out, the finish is amazing. The one piece of leather wrapping the wheel is perfect, and the stitching looks fantastic. The wheel does feel a lot fatter than my original, so it is going to take some getting used to. Hard to tell at the moment how it will feel on the car, as I am waiting to get someone to fit it. So at the moment I have just sat on the sofa and pretended to drive my car, holding the wheel, obviously making the necessary "Broom Broom" noises of my Abarth.

Just a little more info. As mentioned, the steering wheel took about 6 weeks to arrive. I didn't have to send in my own wheel. The time frame is so that all the custom work can be carried out. Communication with Tomaz over at Guardian Designs was excellent; he answered all my queries, and I paid by PayPal with no problems for the extra work and the painting of the spokes.  I was kept updated on the expected delivery of the package coming via FedEx, and when it arrived, it was very well boxed up, with protective foam and a cover over the wheel.  Basically, all that is required is the old wheel to be removed and the new one plugged in and positioned and tightened into place. I have been advised as the splines are so fine on the steering wheel that I will need my car aligned.    

Boxed up well

Wheel is protected with a cover

Foam on the wheel rim to prevent it getting damaged

  Once I get the steering wheel in place, I shall post some more pictures and be able to offer my thoughts if I have made the correct choice in getting the thicker rim.

Oh, and I thought I would also mention something else to do with my Abarth. After having her serviced, the mechanic mentioned some of the suspension bushes were wearing and could do with being replaced. I wasn't expecting the shock I got when I started researching just how many of these bushes there were, and just how much the job would cost.

So after having my car down to Mazda Dudes at Darlington (The Abarth is on the same design as a Mazda ND, and these guys know their stuff) and discussing the options, I came home and started looking into replacing all of the bushes, both front and rear. Initially, trying to find a complete kit was a bit of a ballache. Fiat/Abarth, from what I hear, tries to tell you that the bushes in the rear hubs cannot be replaced, and reading on forums, some people have been quoted absolutely astronomical prices to replace the hubs with new ones, something in the region of £2500, then the labour to fit them.

Example of Poly Bushes

Anyhoo, I have discovered a company called Polybush.co.uk, and they appear to have front and rear Poly Bush kits. The price is just a shade of £850 for both kits, and then of course I will have to sort the fitting out, hopefully with Mazda Dudes. As I intend to keep my wee Abarth, I figure it's money well spent. Now, just need to save up a bit more, wonga.

Ironically I'm attacking myself!

A little ride out with my dad, a lovely day with the top-down

When writing here on my blog I have always attempted to make the content both interesting and honest, with some added humour and possibly some fun facts here and there. Over the years I have written about good times, and the fantastic opportunities I have been fortunate enough to have come my way, as well as sharing some of my tougher experiences, all in the hope that someone may come across my words and either take inspiration or it might possibly help them in some way when experiencing what can be embarrassing or still stigmatised topics, things like mental health or problems in relation to other bodily functions.

I guess if you can read the words of someone who is going through a similar thing, my way of thinking is "I hope you understand you are not the only one" and possibly, or should I say hopefully you can reach out and find the courage and confidence to talk to someone, as in my experience that always helps.

And so I really don't want this blog to come across as all doom and gloom. I am going to try to as always leave it with a positive spin, it's what helps me get through.

Let's have a quick recap just in case you haven't read any of my previous blogs. Oh and in keeping it real I have reverted to my couldn't give a fuck attitude, so if you are offended at this point and think because I have my sweary head on the content is no less valuable, well thanks for reading to this point.

So in May of last year 2024, I took ill with what I thought was a virus. I had the usual upset tummy and the shits. I knew things were slightly more serious as after shitting through the eye of a needle for about a week, probably going to the bog about 10 times a day and feeling like death warmed up things were not improving.

Long story short after visiting my GP and getting a referral to the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Clinic (IBD), things were set in motion for various tests, most as you can imagine being very embarrassing. Now this is where my first piece of advice comes in for anyone going through this experience early on. I happen to work in a hospital and I can assure you we deal with all sorts as part of our jobs. I would like you to think of it this way going to hospital with a problem should be no more embarrassing than say going to get your car serviced, or heading out and buying a new TV. By that I mean the staff in each department are trained to look after you. So when you are thinking "Omg such and such is going to see my bits" or " I can't bare the thought of someone sticking either a finger or camera up my arse, how embarrassing". I know it is a natural reaction for many people, and that's okay. However, If you can stop and think of it in another way, you will see it is just a job that these professional doctors and nurses, who are trained, and I can assure you they will have seen many other people's bits and bobs, and seen just about every aliment the human body can go through. For them, it is just another day at the office. I think at times we can all get so wrapped up in our own little worlds and psyche, and in our heads make ourselves out to be super special, "The only one", and don't get me wrong you are special and you are the only one, however, in the grand scheme of things no one really cares about that zit on your face, if you are carrying a spare tyre, or you are walking with a limp. I mean farting in a waiting room and not admitting to it, then looking around to see if anyone heard you, is a totally different type of embarrassing situation, yep you can't blame the dog on this occasion.  

Anyhoo after several colonoscopies, a sigmoidoscopy, an ultrasound and an MRI I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis and this is where the title of this particular blog comes in. You see Ulcerative Colitis, although not fully understood could be caused by the immune system going slightly tits up and then your own body starts attacking itself. This illness as I have learnt can be debilitating, and I am fortunate as apparently mine is only classed as being mild. That said it has caused me to be off work numerous times amounting to over 6 months.

Treatment-wise last year I received a course of prednisolone a strong steroid and had to take additional calcium supplements with this. The drug was amazing, helping me feel relatively back to normal in a few days. The only side effect that I noticed was that I began eating like a proverbial horse for around 2 months. Unfortunately after a further month or so and going on to a drug called Octasa to try and treat my UC I had some really bad side effects after only being on the medication for 3 days. I was all over the shop, couldn't concentrate, had really bad tinnitus, and my work colleagues described me as like someone on speed. My UC began to flare up once again so I had to have another course of steroids, which you are only allowed to have twice per year. So that was my two courses in 2024.

I was then started on another treatment, this was Salofalk Granules. I started this in I believe late November and initially thought they were working. However in December of 2024 my first ride out on my new bike, when I  happened to do my Achilles in. I thought I had caught a flu virus. This virus and flu-like symptoms persisted for over 4 months and just wouldn't go away. I had to go to see my GP and ended up having two courses of antibiotics I also had to further go back as I felt I had gotten sinusitis, something I had never suffered with before.

It wasn't until I started researching the Salofalk Granules that I discovered some of there side effects. I could list them off and say "Yep got that, that and that!"

Joint pain, severe heartburn, runny nose, sneezing, sore throat and congestion. Flu-like symptoms include extreme tiredness, difficulty urinating, decreased appetite, generally unwell feeling, and nausea.

Something else strange occurred, however, it was not listed as a side effect of the Salofalk. I began getting the most severe and extremely frightening panic and anxiety attacks. I am not sure if these were brought on by not being able to breathe on a night. At times I had this sense of drowning whenever I lay my head on my pillow. My sinuses were killing me and I coughed so much that I ended up with a blood blister on my uvula, that dangly bit at the back of your throat.

I am afraid to say the panic attacks have remained and I now encounter them every day, and even worse they have presented themselves during the day. They come out of the blue over the stupidest of thoughts. For instance, if I cannot remember a word, a name, a movie or a song lyric. If I see one of those daft puzzles on a Facebook page, which I can't immediately solve, or if I am flicking through the channels of the TV and cannot find something to watch. In reality, anything can set them off. Apparently, it is your body reacting to its primaeval fight or flight response, hey I am a fucking one-legged bloke so there is nee way I can carry out the flight part, so I have to just hyperventilate, and try to fight the feelings of insanity. I discovered one thing that kind of helped. I now have to sleep with my bedroom window wide open, so I can feel the cool night air. The only drawback is, it can be fucking freezing on a night and I can't pull. The duvet over my head or I start flapping. I know it sounds funny, but unless you have encountered these sorts of attacks, they are absolutely terrible.

Moving along my whole world has felt like it has come to a standstill and not for the first time in my life. Memories of Black Dogs and their shadow, along with bottomless black holes come to mind. Dark places I really, really do not want to revisit. Following my amputation, cycling became my way of releasing a lot of stress in my life. Unfortunately due to the UC and also as mentioned hurting my Achilles, well I have found myself getting more and more isolated. 

Work became very stressful, and I was in so much pain and discomfort along with fatigue that I dropped my hours, going from 30, down to 24. I had to decide whether I could get through the two full days and two half days I worked without having a trouser accident. Morning became very, very stressful, " Did I need to go to the toilet, once maybe twice, even three times, as we know three is a charm before going to work". Getting on about embarrassment I am one of those people who absolutely hates going to any other toilet other than the one at home. I know, I know it sounds absolutely bonkers. By that I mean I don't mind going for a tinkle, but I hate going for a dump, even now more so that I have a stupid fake leg that makes it hard to sit square on a toilet. So logistically going anywhere other than home is a complete nightmare.

And that just about takes us to the beginning of this week, well Sunday to be exact. My UC began flaring up on Friday and Saturday, you see I had stopped taking the Salofalk on the 16th of March, I just couldn't tolerate the side effects. I decided to go to work and try my best. Starting at 8:00 am I was only there until 10:00 am, and had to inform my colleagues "I need to go home I feel really unwell".

Further contact with my IBD nurse proved difficult as the email messages were so slow, so I decided to wait to have a chat with my GP who I had already had an arranged telephone appointment with on Tuesday. I was so stressed and anxious that I just blurted everything out. My Doctor was absolutely fantastic in listening to my concerns, and in her response and call to action. She informed me she would get in touch with the gastroenterology department and get things sorted, which she did. I was informed  I would need to start on another course of steroids and the following day I was called by the IBD nurse and informed an appointment had been made for me to have another sigmoidoscopy, so that was yesterday, or Thursday the 10th of April as I type. "Oh, how wonderful!!!" and I hope from that you get my sarcastic tone and not the fact I was super thrilled. More fingers up my corn hole followed by the most uncomfortable camera, which felt like it was doing a loop the loop around the many curves of my inner bowl. At one point I thought the machine had broken down and the bloody thing was stuck up my arse. Especially as it felt like the endoscopist was doing some sort of a jiggy, jiggy action to try to remove it.

Upon having the procedure done and leaving the hospital with my trusty chauffeur, The Ern, as we drove home I commented to my dad "I cannot believe anyone would have something stuck up their bottom for mere fun" I can recall seeing a TV programme yonks ago, where they were talking about the types of "Accidents - he says with an undercurrent of a cough", where people came in with various things stuck up their bottoms. It's unbelievable... I mean why the fuck would you want to stick the likes of Buzz Light Year up your hoop, he is never going to get to infinity and beyond up there poor bloke. Then there are things and I shit you not like glass bottles, light bulbs, a fucking live eel, don't think it was electric! Love eggs, a jar of instant coffee with pins in the lid, "Why and what the fuck, how would it even fit", concrete and a can of deodorant, do these people not read the instructions, it's supposed to be used on the outside. The list is endless. It really does make you think that humans are a law to themselves and the most dangerous animal since time began.

Ooh, and whilst I am on about interesting facts, well I am not sure the last bit was interesting, more fucking scary, but do you know what the only creature here on earth is that can go for a dump and produce cube-shaped poo? And I am not making this up, the poo actually looks like little oXo cubes. It is a wombat. They have evolved over the years to have a poo in the shape of a cube so that they can leave the little presents as markers and they don't roll away when marking out their territory. Kind of handy if you get lost and don't have a ball of string, just have a shit and leave a neat little trail I guess. Anyhoo hope it hasn't put you off having an Oxo.

Cube-shaped poo, who knew?

If you are going in for a colonoscopy you can have a light sedative along with gas and air. I would suggest having both of these, it makes an unpleasant procedure a lot more comfortable. The worst part I can assure you of a colonoscopy is having to drink the horrible laxative drink. If you can, make sure you try to get all of the first 2 litres down, as if like me you can't and try and cheat,  then your endoscopist can't see clearly during your procedure, well you may have  to have another appointment made and go through the whole thing again, then they may ask you to drink 4 litres of the vial stuff. The sigmoidoscopy is easier in the prep a quick self-inflicted enema, which I can only describe as what I think it would feel like to squirt a bottle of Fairy Liquid up your arsehole, then after a few minutes you get the most awful burning sensation and as you rush to the toilet it just explodes at a rate of knots. The sigmoidoscopy although it doesn't go as far up in the investigative procedure I found was a lot more uncomfortable, and sedation is not generally offered, though you can request gas and air, which to be honest isn't great. 

Results are in Mayo1 which I think means mild UC. I have patchy areas of inflammation. If this is the case I just can't fathom how it is making me feel so unwell during a flare-up.

Anyhoo at the moment, three days on, and with the steroids, I feel loads better. I am ravenous and can pretty much eat anything I want, and now watch my prosthetic limb won't fit in a week or so as I will become increasingly porkie. The meds have also enabled me to go out for a few short walks with my dad, something I am really grateful to be able to do. Each day spent with my dad as he is now getting on,  and will be 85 this November is a special day. The older you get, the more you come to realise other people who are dear to you also age, and none of us are here forever. So that time spent in someone's company doing the simplest of things is very special.

Out for a little walk with The Ern

The Ern over by a reservoir on the moors near Consett

My dear old dad

I feel I have tumbled down that big mountain of hope and I am at the very bottom once again. My choices of what I decide to do next could be considered either easy or difficult. I could choose to just give up and let all these setbacks define me, or I could choose to pick myself up, face life's adversities and take one step at a time and climb.

I am not ready to quit just yet!

 

Over by the pond at Chapman Wells

Chapman Wells and the pond

As always thanks for reading, hopefully, people don't don't think I am a little too out there. I just think embarrassing subjects need to be talked about and I can talk "shit with anyone LoL"

A final word of advice "It's not big and it's not clever to intentionally go sticking things up your Bung Hole"