Fiat 131 Racing/Sport, Mirafiori/Brava (ESC 169W), Rebuild/Restoration.
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- Опубликовано: 20 окт 2024
- This car was extensively rebuilt (re-engineered!), in the early 1990's by a friend of mine. I bought it off of him in the early to mid 90's. this slideshow hardly scratches the surface of the rebuild, I have literally hundreds of photos of the rebuild, too many in fact to post. I wrote to Retro Cars Magazine, who published a letter asking where it is now. Sadly, after being sold locally and then going to the Glasgow area, it seems to have been sold down south where it appears to have been broken up.
As you can see from the photos, the restoration was extensive and I was surprised to learn from the Glasgow owner that the car required a lot more welding for its MOT. Note that all the inner sills and floor were rebuilt with 1mm galvanised steel, and the excessive amounts of Waxoyl. I guess there's no stopping the hungry tinworm!
Ever since I lost track of the car, I've often wondered if the shell is still intact and possibly awaiting a further rebuild, and will it ever be put back on the road again? Also, what ever happened to the engine? The 131 was more than capable of out accelerating Peugeot 309 GTI's, MR2's and such like (So I was told officer ;-)
A brief spec included....Twin 40 weber carbs with straight inlet manifold, cam driven distributor to allow the straight manifold, Holbay Tornado cams, high compression pistons, Alquati exhaust and manifold (2.25 inch), verniers on the cams, fiat 124 sport alloy timing belt cover, Fiat 127 Sport (Abarth) steering wheel.
Great project! I would never have had the patience! I had 3 131s throughout the 80s - an orange P-reg Mirafiori Estate, then a bronze T-reg 1600 saloon with a very noisy diff! Later on, a blue 1600 saloon HHH 758V (always remembered that number!) I loved them as you even got good sporting performance out of the 1600's.
Your car is still on DVLA's database - currently unlicensed.
Cheers, Robin.
Thanks for that. I had two and they were brilliant, if a little tempremental, cars. The gunmetal car in this video was very quick, quicker than Peugeot 309 GTI's and Golf GTI 16v for example.
It's good to know that it's possibly in a garage somewhere. Thanks for looking that up. I had a letter published in Retro Cars Magazine and it seems that the engine/gearbox had been seperated from the car and sold on. Such a waste after all the effort and amazing attention to detail of the rebuild.
A blaat from the past! represents a fair chunk of my life I'll never get back :-) forgot I had to recess the fuse box untill I saw your pictures.
That takes skill and devotion; really miss my one.
A true labour of love, and I can understand why having had a black (no spoiler) 1980 Sport from '82 to '86. It turned heads wherever it was parked - and, no, NOT because of the rust! That came later.
Thank you for the kind words. I'd dearly love another 131 (I've owned two), but they rarely seem to come up for sale up here or on E-bay. Also, the cost is becoming a little prohibitive as values rise.
I don't think I've ever been in any car that could make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up like the car pictured in this slideshow. Imagine a Fiat Twin Cam with Weber twin forties through a 2.25 inch Alquati exhaust and manifold. Awesome!
Posted before I finished my tale.. Registration was NAX 422X. Always got a wave when another one went past.....not that that happened too often. Great car and a fantastic engine....yes, wheel spins in third gear.
nice job love to se bringing live to a old clasiccar
The man who built this car re-engineered it. He was determined that nobody would be able to pick any faults with it, to the extent that good metal was cut out to get to the hard to reach rust. It was a long restoration but worth the effort. I'd love another but the tin worms got most of them. Hard to find these days.
Thanks for viewing and thanks for the cmment ;-)
I had one of these great cars...the first car I bought by myself and I think the salesman saw me coming from quite a long way off!!Still my one was black with and orange velour interior.
Молодец, чувак!!! Gut!!!!+5+5+5
i have this car 1980 in orange
in denmark weuse salt in the wintertime that killed my old 131 racing
but still have the Pictures ha ha