1959 Autobianchi Bianchina dashboard switches

[Mike in NC]

Greetings! We're in the process of restoring a 1959 Autobianchi Bianchina and were wondering if someone might have some insight into the function of the dashboard switches? Any information would be greatly appreciated! Please refer to attached photo. Thank you in advance! ~Mike

[Tweak]

Welcome to the forum.

Switches....maybe one is the eject button and the other drops an oil slick for those following too close, machine guns.....I don't know Mike?


Seriously no clue but someone will likely know.

[Fiat500USA]

I don't know if this will help, but here are some pages from the 1957 Fiat 500 manual that may give a hint:

[MrFiat]

I might be able to be a small bit of help. I know very little about the specifics of the Autobianchi, but Fiat used very similar guages and controls on many of their automobiles and other manufacturers bought many of their parts from Fiat. This looks to be quite similar to the '59 -'60 Fiat 600 though the switches and lamps are in somewhat different locations on the dash. However, I'm fairly certain that the various functions are the same.

I'll give you some clues here but if you PM me with an email address I can send you some scanned pages from the 600 shop manual including wiring diagrams.

ok, there were generally three switches and several colored lamps.

One of the three toggle switches enables the headlamps. Generally the DOWN position is OFF. When in the UP position, the larger of the two levers on the steering column determines the high beam, low beams, or lamps OFF condition. Blue lamp is the high beam indicator. The Green lamp when ON generally means the headlamp system is active ( ie. the headlamp switch is UP).

The second of the three switches turns the instrument cluster lamps on or off.

The third switch controls the windscreen wiper. In the 600, this is a three position switch. The center position is OFF. The UP position is ON, generally only one speed. The down position is spring loaded and serves to return the wiper blades to their parked position.

The other two switches are not part of the 600's circuitry, but I suspect that one of them is some sort of interior convenience light. The other might be controlling a windscreen washer. although the 600 had a manual pump instead of an electrical one.

Hope this helps.

In looking more closely at your photo, switch 6 looks like an addition. Could it be controlling some aftermarket fog or driving lamps?

[Fiat500USA]

I might be able to be a small bit of help. I know very little about the specifics of the Autobianchi, but Fiat used very similar guages and controls on many of their automobiles and other manufacturers bought many of their parts from Fiat. This looks to be quite similar to the '59 -'60 Fiat 600 though the switches and lamps are in somewhat different locations on the dash. However, I'm fairly certain that the various functions are the same.

I'll give you some clues here but if you PM me with an email address I can send you some scanned pages from the 600 shop manual including wiring diagrams.

ok, there were generally three switches and several colored lamps.

One of the three toggle switches enables the headlamps. Generally the DOWN position is OFF. When in the UP position, the larger of the two levers on the steering column determines the high beam, low beams, or lamps OFF condition. Blue lamp is the high beam indicator. The Green lamp when ON generally means the headlamp system is active ( ie. the headlamp switch is UP).

The second of the three switches turns the instrument cluster lamps on or off.

The third switch controls the windscreen wiper. In the 600, this is a three position switch. The center position is OFF. The UP position is ON, generally only one speed. The down position is spring loaded and serves to return the wiper blades to their parked position.

The other two switches are not part of the 600's circuitry, but I suspect that one of them is some sort of interior convenience light. The other might be controlling a windscreen washer. although the 600 had a manual pump instead of an electrical one.

Hope this helps.

In looking more closely at your photo, switch 6 looks like an addition. Could it be controlling some aftermarket fog or driving lamps?

I was thinking of you when I read this! Makes me wish I had an older Fiat to drive around in. My 87 X1/9 is too modern! LOL

[MrFiat]

I was thinking of you when I read this! Makes me wish I had an older Fiat to drive around in. My 87 X1/9 is too modern! LOL

Thanks and you are quite right, progress isn't always all it's cracked up to be !

[Mike in NC]

Thank you all for your reply!

As luck would have it, my wife is Italian will be able to easily translate the document into English. (Mr. Fiat, I'll send you a PM once I'm finished here. Thank you for the offer of forwarding a copy of the 600 brochure!)

Nevertheless, I suspect that you're right in that many of the Autobianchi switches are inline with those on the Fiat models from the same period. However, I'm still unsure of the function of the pull lever (#6 in the photo). Also, I realized that I inadvertently cropped off a second light indicator to the right of the ignition switch. Perhaps it's either the blue or green lamp mentioned?

Again, thank you so much for the insight!!

[Fiat500USA]

Maybe the hand throttle? Pull it and watch the accelerator pedal to see if it moves. Or maybe the defroster?

[Mike in NC]

Maybe the hand throttle? Pull it and watch the accelerator pedal to see if it moves. Or maybe the defroster?

It's possible. Unfortunately, the car was largely disassembled from a previously unfinished "restoration" project, so it's hard to know for certain based on what we have. It's a mysterious mystery! Surely someone will know.

[MrFiat]

Maybe the hand throttle? Pull it and watch the accelerator pedal to see if it moves. Or maybe the defroster?

Chris, I think you're right. I didn't realize it was a pull device. Couldn't see it well enough in the photos. The 600's did come with a pull cable that manually yanked on the foot throttle. It was intended to keep the car running from cold while the engine warmed up. It might also be the manual choke cable. ( remember chokes? remember carburetors? so long ago !!! )

[MrFiat]

Mike in NC
Got your PM. Thanks. I'll work on this later today and send you an email. Should be fairly straight forward to figure out which switch is which.

[Mike in NC]

Mike in NC
Got your PM. Thanks. I'll work on this later today and send you an email. Should be fairly straight forward to figure out which switch is which.

Fantastic! I'll keep my eyes open for your email. Again, thank you so much!