131mirafiori forum

I'm considering this 132 and I'm a bit puzzled as to why the engine bay has been painted black. The rest of the car is incredibly shiny and vivid which suggests that it has been recently painted but I don't understand the black paint here. It's very mat which suggests an anti-corrosion measure but I'm wondering if there is a more sinister reason such as covering up poor body repairs. Any thoughts..? The blue air box is another puzzler as are the unpainted bonnet hinges...??? ???. The writing on the cam cover could be from when the cam belt was last changed or ....could have been a means of identifying the engine while it lay on it's side in a breaker's yard ...awaiting a new home...? Am I being too suspicious..?

(http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx305/kev132/rRFS9QW0KGrHqMOKj8Eryu9wyd4BLHn8Iz5.jpg)

(http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx305/kev132/rRFTJQBm0KGrHqEOKi0EryQwEMFqBLHn8WD.jpg)

(http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx305/kev132/100D9518.jpg)

(http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx305/kev132/rRFTCQBm0KGrHqYOKjErzS2Sgr5BLHn8O3-.jpg)

(http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx305/kev132/100D9519.jpg)

Kev

It it is too good to be true , it is not true ....

The hinges worry me .. they must have been replaced after the car was painted  ....

Re black engine may : I have seen people doing it to protect it from rust , blue air box - some people have no taste , but . if you encounter all of these in one car there must have been something wrong with the owner or ... with the car .... ( or possibly both)

Watch out ... 


Miro

Certainly the car is not totally original. The hinges could have been replaced as they had seized perhaps, not a big issue in my opinion however the black inner wings could be a potential issue. Even if it is only black anti rust paint on top of good metal to put the car back to its original state would involve a lot of work including removing everything from the engine bay. A potentially expensive job.

However:

If is is a nice example with the colour and spec you want for the price you want to pay then perhaps it is still worth considering.

Kevin,

When it is an italian car, why it has a german id plate under the bonnet?

I'd say it was for sale in Germany Albert. Kev must like it as he has not posted a link to the advert ;)

Good question Albert - I had not spotted that. Maybe our German members can advise....? ???

Dave - It is in Germany but easily found on Mobile.de. Although you are right in theory - No need to be creating competition for oneself!  ;)

Since posting this I've had a response back on another line of enquiry that I have opened - It's on a car with 11,700 kms from new but the seller wants ?10k for it  :o

it's obviously been repainted recently. black engine bay is a matter of taste. i perfer black engine bay in my cars.
post the othr pics of that 132. i havent seen orange one yet  :o

Just make sure you are first in line for it Kev as strange things can happen. Always worth keeping lines of communication open with the seller just in case.....

I thought this was the 1 in Italy Kevin. German delivered cars wear this badge, so that's correct. I looked at the pictures from the car. Truly shiny but I can understand your worries.

The black engine bay spoils it for me but the rest of the car looks really nice. If it really is as good as it looks certainly worth careful consideration!

wooden steering wheel is wrong for 132 and i'd still rather buy a car in original colour, even with some cosmetic issues than recently painted car

Kevin i thought you could spot a lemon? its just got painted & they didnt even take the tags off first & its only mat black hiding the surface rust which i can see thats underneath in the 2nd pic between the res & the bottle.

Is that the front seats lurking in the background of the 5th picture?

Do you mean an orange Nick?  ;D

The difficulty with assessing a car from photographs is that what needs to be seen can be hidden... and what is seen ...can be exaggerated or mis-represented. I accept that those could be rust bubbles although they could just as easily be lumps in less than perfectly mixed paint. I'd favour the latter as from the standard of paint finish on the car in general, I'd be surprised if rust bubbles had not at least been rubbed down to flat, especially in such an accessible place.

I've asked the relevant questions of the seller and am awaiting a response. There are many other plus points to the car and the cosmetic state overall (including the seats) suggests that the car has been well looked after so I have a bit of a dilemma.  :)

They are not Fiat 132 seats Steve - Possibly Recaros...?

(http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx305/kev132/rRFR6BW0KGrHqIH-C4EsLOON5-BLHn7Mshf.jpg)

(http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx305/kev132/100D9512.jpg)

ok Kev but on both sides the doors are not lined up with the wings properly which could be new wings fitted & not correctly adjusted?? but this could be got right hoping that there is some play with the wings & front doors

That is what i call a mirror finnish on the paint, certaily never came from FIAT looking like that. Some one has spent a lot of time flatening that paintwork, i hope the rest of the car is as good, some times you just have to take a chance Kev, you did say that you had a feeling about the car, what feeling is it Good or bad?
Steve
PS: runners on the Recaro's look like FIAT ;D

Another good spot Nick and one of the questions I've asked, ie what panels have been replaced?

Steve - My head is feeling a bit negative about the car at the moment but my heart does not want to listen. I'd love an orange one but I don't want to risk what Nick terms a "lemon"!  :)

Two more pics that suggest the car could be fine...

(http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx305/kev132/100D9507.jpg)

(http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx305/kev132/100D9508.jpg)

And one that indicates the opposite.... ???

(http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx305/kev132/100D9509.jpg)

its probably good enough Kevin & the wings & doors can be lined properly just takes someone that knows what they are at, i know the lengths we went to with the black celica to get all the shut lines perfect.

I think this car has been totally dismantled before respraying, and being so you should visit the car in person to see possible fails; the black engine bay could be a matter of taste, as far as I know rotten engine bay should mean super-rotten rest of the car, first of all under the doors and under the seats. Apart all, very nice colour.

good point 131dohc!
on all 132's i've seen/had over the years, engine bay was about the last thing to rot. likely roth places are usulally inside front wings, just behind the wheels and front footwells. top and bottom dooredges also.

If someone is going to go to all the bother of stripping down and replacing/repairing a lot of panels believe me they would also drop the engine and do the engine bay as well. So maybe the engine bay is original.
Black engine bay?
Has anyone any proof FIAT didnt spray them black on an Orange 132?

fiat never did black engine bays in any cars, also, paint is not so good so i'd say it's definately not original. by the way, sills (or whatever is the name of the piece of body beneath the doors?) is also black and it was in bodycolour originally.
i really don't see what's all the fuss about black paint in engine bay??? either you like it or not. whole car has been repainted, angine bay also. only way to know if the whole car is any good or not is to go and take a look for youself.
if i were you kev, i'd book myself a flight to germany and contact the sellers of three 132's currently for sale: the white one, gold one and orange one. three cars to choose from, all good in my opinion, white is the best as far as i can see

You don't understand the fuss about the black engine bay? Did you read the full thread..?   :)

I've personally never seen a car with it's engine bay painted like this - Hence my request for views on the forum. Maybe it's a common anti-corrosion treatment in some countries or maybe it's a way of disguising less than perfect crash repairs or body rot. Does that make sense? In addition, the paint treatment in the engine bay area is inconsistent with the standard elsewhere.

I've eliminated the white car as some friends have had a look at it for me already. I don't want a gold car so that leaves this orange car and the green one in Austria. Both cars have their advantages and disadvantages which is what I am weighing up. If I was fly out to see every car that I see and like, it would be an expensive business in time & money. Hence, I like to do as much investigative work as possible beforehand. This approach has served me well on two occasions so far.

So thanks for your views - That's after all, one of the main functions of this forum.  :)

Don't know much about 132s but I'd guess that djape is right and they never had black engine bays. Mass produced cars don't normally have black engine bays but low volume manufacturers such as Ferrari and Maserati and Lamborghini always had black engine bays in the 60s and 70s. The black engine bay paint in those cars was quite thick and sometimes had a crackle finish. I don't think it was as an anti-rust treatment but probably more to do with the fact that shiny body paint  would soon look tatty due to engine heat and oil leaks etc. It may also have had some kind of noise dampening properties. So it could be that the black engine bay in the 132 is more to do with personal taste and to give the car a 'special'  look like a hand finished supercar rather than a mass produced one. So personally I wouldn't worry too much about the black engine bay or the black sills  but I would want to have a closer inspection to see if what Nick has spotted in the engine bay is rust or just some extra thick paint. I also wouldn't worry too much about the black hinges as I'd guess the bonnet was sprayed off the car and new hinges were fitted afterwards. Painting hinges has to be done very carefully and the fact that they didn't bother doing this implies lack of attention to detail.  What looks worse to me is the orange paint on the engine bay name/number plates. Not only they didn't bother removing them before painting but also didn't bother masking them properly or even cleaning them afterwards. More evidence of lack of attention to detail. But none of that would stop me from buying the car if the bodywork is solid and the rest of it is fine and the price is OK. It would certainly stop me from buying it unseen though and these little 'niggles'  make this a car that must be seen and inspected carefully before committing to buy.  As a guess I'd say this is possibly a good car that started to look its age and possibly a bit tired with flat paint so they decided to make it look shiny before selling it.

Thank you, sir!  ;)

i have read the whole tread offcourse. i'm also interested in buying a 132 from EU or even better swiss one, so your quest for a perfect 132 is interesting for me. it will have to wait untill summer next year unfortunately.
over last 15 years, importing used cars from germany and austria has been a very popular way for people in serbia to get a hold of decent cars for not too much money. i've even imported some myself. i've never seen or heard of a car with black engine bay from germany and if you browse german used cars websites you won't find another one. therefore, black paint in engine bay of that orange 132 must be there for the same reason as in my lada and 132 and in the very near future in my 131 also. because i like it. in my oppinion makes the engine bay on everyday car look less messy than when in body colour. also, on that orange 132 it seems to me that it was painted with a brush, rather than sprayed on. it's ordinary mat black nitro based paint as far as i can see. does it cover flaws? probably. common flaw is stripped paint beneath leaky brake lines and/or batery. rot? probably not. even that red 132 diesel that i dissasembled couple of months ago http://131mirafiori.com/smf/index.php?topic=2725.0 had engine bay with no rust at all.

Kevin just noticed that the side mouldings have been painted also, badly as they are all cracked, so whats the paint job really like?, when i changed the colour on my old sport from 628 to white all those years ago i painted the insides of the doors & the engine bay black cos it was cheaper than 628!

nice find sid131! many eyes definately see more details that my two! rubber strips on the doors that should be dark grey are repainted black! it will all peel of over time. somebody was over entusiastic with that black paint. walk away from this one kev!

Yes this is another one of the negative aspects of the car as is the fact that I only have detailed pics of door openings and doors from one side of the car ...and none from the front. This may because of where the car is parked and I am promised more. In isolation, none of the points seem sufficient to dismiss the car but when too many appear together, warning bells ring.  :)

Djape it's interesting to hear that this could be a personal preference (ie to paint it black) as is Theo's idea of it being an association with more exotic cars.

I'll wait for more pics and history of the car before making a decision to inspect it in person.

Meantime to help explain why I am so keen to find a car like this, the next picture is the very first car that I drove at age 15. And the second pic is what became of it on an icy road leading out of Limerick city. (Nothing to do with me) This incident led to a snap decision to replace it with a 131 Sport (which does have something to do with me!)...but that is another story!  ;)

(http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx305/kev132/img317.jpg)

(http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx305/kev132/img054.jpg)

Kevin was your Dad driving? no-one hurt? my god that was close, i understand now why the orange car, but dont dismiss it as djape said many eyes see far & we can only help that you dont get a bad car!
i reckon that the car was repainted & that the engine wasnt taken out & the engine bay was just blown over mat black, there is rust in that pic as i said before but probably only minor & not that bad imo.

what happened with the driver and passangers?
my first car was 132 diesel, dark blue one. i had spun it on an ice covered road about a month after i got my drivers licence and went over and thru the centre line  divider sideways into oncoming traffic and ended up in front of one unfortunate fiat 128 which slamed into my drivers side front door and wing. fortinately, no one was injured. 128 was written off and i rapaired my 132 by replacing whole A pillar, both doors, front wing, rear wing sill, and front left suspension arms. i drove it for another 7 years. incredibly, it didn't roll over even when it hit and went over the 10cm curb sideways! also, direct impact into drivers door left it 5cm away from my shoulder, instead of normal 15cm which proved to me that 132 is a very strong car.

one more point:
132's petrol tank is in a rear right wing, right above rear silencer. when i spun and crashed my 132, petrol takd was also hit. since it was full, it had split open in the bottom and fuel spilled directly onto exaust. fortunately it was a diesel which is pretty much inflamable. i hate to think what would happen if it was gasoline.
on argenta, which is 132's sucsessor, gas tank was moved behind rear seat, as on 131.

the early celica like mine had the petrol filler between the rear lights & the tank where my spare wheel is & after some accidents in the Us & people hurt etc toyota moved the tank to where the 131 tank is so leaving the earlier "flatlight" models sought after & very rare, so is this why Fiat moved the tank in the argenta?

Ah thanks for the concern mateys - A cut to the forehead for the old man was the limit of human damage and he was travelling alone at the time. He looked remarakably calm afterwards when I saw him 2 hours later. I think it must have all happened too quickly to register what could have been a much worse result.  ???

The newspaper headline is in fact wrong as the rails were scattered and were useless in stopping a vehicle - It was a steel cable running through the top of the railing that prevented disaster. It rode up the A pillar and stopped a few inches below the roof level leaving a clearly visible indent.

He had begun an overtaking manouevre not realising the presence of black ice and the back end overtook the front. The local council never pursued his insurance company for the damage to the bridge and we think it was because they felt that there may be some liability of their part. Also solid white lines appeared shortly afterwards.  :)

Your accident sounds just as horrifying Djape - and I agree with you about the fuel tank - What an absurd location! ::)

I looked carefully but I am afraid this one is not up to your standard Kev!
To much detailwork still needed. I should better pay a premium for a top of the line example, although it is difficult to find nowadays!

Well the mystery seems to be solved - Apparently the car was originally green and when it was painted orange (pre 2005 I'm told) the engine bay was left green. A subsequent owner dealt with this by painting it black!

Well that explains why the door jams are painted so thoroughly but for me this puts me off the car, I was dubious anyway but now any doubt that I might be missing out on a great car is gone.

Back to looking I'm afraid.  :)

How about the green one? Have you had any more info back on that one yet?

Yes - Two very helpful forum members have fed back some first hand knowledge of the car which has painted a slightly different picture than I knew already ...so I'm afraid this is off the shopping list too.  :-\

On the plus side, this is the second time that I've been saved a wasted trip for cars that looked to be worth the risk of a flight. A huge benefit for me from the international community that has evolved around these twin cam Fiats that we love!  :)

I'll keep looking - Patience is a virtue although I really have the bug since I drove Enda's red 2000 in Killarney in Sept... :o

Not being able to find something you want is fustrating, but going a long way to view something which is not as described and therefore not what you want is a real pain in the backside ::)

one car sticks in my memory when i was looking for a ta23 celica all those years ago , i went to see a car in galway around 1998 time advertised as mint just needs paint & after speaking to the seller went over to see it with a trailer to take it home, but??? it was the worst car i ever saw & it had all holes filled with fiberglass & newspaper & after a row with the seller he still thought it was mint, so ordinary joe soap dont really know whats good or bad!

go get a white or gold one. they're both good honest, no flaws covered up, cars. i think you won't find flawless 132 at the price range you're in

Have you seen the white one Djape? That's the other car that I've been saved a trip to..! ;) I think I agree with you on the gold one but I dont want that colour thanks - is it still for sale? - It's disappeared from the usual websites.

With the greatest of respect, what price range am I in...?  :)

?100 ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ???

http://suchen.mobile.de/fahrzeuge/showDetails.html?id=121619524&__lp=2&scopeId=C&sortOption.sortBy=searchNetGrossPrice&sortOption.sortOrder=ASCENDING&makeModelVariant1.makeId=8800&makeModelVariant1.modelId=20%2C25%2C1%2C29&makeModelVariant1.searchInFreetext=false&makeModelVariant2.searchInFreetext=false&makeModelVariant3.searchInFreetext=false&vehicleCategory=Car&segment=Car&minFirstRegistrationDate=1975-01-01&maxFirstRegistrationDate=1985-12-31&siteId=GERMANY&damageUnrepaired=ALSO_DAMAGE_UNREPAIRED&export=ALSO_EXPORT&customerIdsAsString=&lang=en&pageNumber=1

if i understood correctly, you're looking to spend around 4k euro

frankly, i haven't seen many 132's out there for more than that. sometimes a really nice one pops up like that red one from holland. there was also one gold 132 in swiss ads last year, i think it was something like 6.000e, really flawless car, 23.000kms, factory installed LPG system, 2000 ie climatizatta.

i'm not looking for a confrontation with you on this subject, or any other for that matter. you are a person of your own free will and you'll buy a car you like. i'm just trying to be of help on the subject. my standards are probably well below yours, or is it just that i'm not so anal about it? i'd have any of those 132's. they're all in better shape than any of 132's i've had over the years.

if you have seen the photos of flaws on a white 132, please share 'em with us.

Thanks for the link - I was puzzled why I couldn't see it any more but I've saved a search for Fiat 132 and this is showing as "Fiat other". I see the price has come down about ?500.

I'm certainly not looking for a confrontation either Djape - I just felt that your language seemed a little confrontational in some of your postings but I'm happy that I'm mis-interpreting you.

The red one in Holland/Belgium(?) was priced at ?6900 and disappeared from sale within 2 weeks so I'm assuming it sold. I baulked at the price but if I had my time again I'd pay up like a shot - It had a few cosmetic blemishes but with hindsight, easily sorted. I've since learned of one that is not for sale but if it was, the owner could be tempetd to part with it for ?10k!! :o I might be a big fan of the cars but not that big! I'll wait a while more.

Anal? maybe....but I'm not interested in a "fixer upper"- I want the absolute best I can find within a reasonable (to me) price limit - Otherwise flaws in the car will annoy me and dilute my enjoyment of it.  :)



The photos taken of the white car were not taken by me so I dont think I should publish them but believe me it is not as "top" as the advert says - It is still a very good car and drives well , but does not reach the standard I'm looking for.

Looks a decent car at a decent price but it's gold ;D

than i'll have the gold one, if it's all right with you, and repaint it orange  ;D
i like the colour, although it's not the same shade of orange as original 132  ;)

guess that's the serious problem with this kind of comunication... you can't see my face, and i can't see yours. too bad we're not neibghours, we'd probably be sitting in front of computer and discuss 132 ads over a pint or two  8)

frankly, when buying a 30+ years old car, i'm happy if i can drive it home. i'd always rather have a car in original paint, with all flaws clearly visible, than a car with a shiny new paint...



here's several more 132's. i lost a count of which ones were already considered

http://www.i0100.com/eu/index.php?area=classic_cars&action=detail&id=7088&fs=1

http://www.i0100.com/eu/index.php?area=classic_cars&action=detail&id=7758&fs=1

http://www.lanciaflavia.it/annunci/dettid.php?gb_id=82596

http://www.lanciaflavia.it/annunci/dettid.php?gb_id=81588

http://fiat.startpagina.nl/prikbord/8925724/fiat-132-1600-gl-in-onberispelijke-staat

http://kleinanzeigen.quoka.de/auto-specials/oldtimer-youngtimer/v_1_cat_82_8209_9400_ad_34566300.html

http://lodz.olx.pl/fiat-132-iid-4857109

http://www.kijiji.it/annunci/auto/annunci-pordenone/fiat-132-gls-1600-1977/2366540

http://www.arcar.com.ar/autosantiguosdet.aspx?qAuto=14957 - interesting, but a bit far away. havent seen such seats yet

http://modena.annuncia.it/Annunci-gratuiti/8-Motori/Automobili/85875/fiat-132.html

http://voiture-occasion.vivastreet.fr/annonces-voiture-occasion+allassac-19240/fiat-132-2500-d/12965409/p#1

http://www.mundoanuncio.com/anuncio/oportunidad_fiat_1175414206.html - might be a very good one

http://www.milanuncios.com/coches-clasicos/seat-132-9964480.htm

http://www.subito.it/132-fiat-ferrara-8178796.htm - interesting...

http://cgi.ebay.it/FIAT-132-1600-1-6-TC-1979-92000-KM-ISCRITTA-ASI-MANTOVA_W0QQitemZ170416341974QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAutomobile_IT?hash=item27ad9b03d6

Man that will take me a while to digest!

The white one in Spain is one we have not seen so far I think. I agree it looks interesting.

Kev? ;)

sitting in front of his computer, biting his nails  ;D

btw, i'm always up for modifications... i'd have one of italian 132's 1600 for 1000e. swap the engine for 2.0vx, add the power steering, power windows and central door locking system from argenta and repaint it in my favourite colour, and get myself a personalized 132 for around 3-4.000e

Thanks for all of the links Djape - Surprising how many are actually for sale when you start looking.

I'll be still looking though...despite this choice!

Surprisingly, I came across a silver S3 132 with an Argenta interior fitted, including the dasboard - Looked terrible but it proves how similar the passenger compartmnents were I suppose.  :)

i've sen several such conversions. argenta's interior is less prone to sun damage so people around here did it often. also windshields and doors are interchangable.
oily bits are 90% same

A bit like women then !!

nice one  ;D

Sorry for the intrusion, but I'd like to be like Kev when choosing a 132. As I said in another thread, I bought one recently after disposing my 131. True, the door sills seems the first interior to go. And the breakers' yard have only those of the same state of affairs. It had black engine bay, spongy rear and sticky steering. What do I attend to first?

define "sticky steering" and "spongy rear" a bit more precisely

Well my 132 steering lacks response while turning right. I end-up either having to reverse and take the corner again or pull harder on the steering. Could the power steering unit that requires servicing?.

Spongy rear means the spring is too soft, having side sways, or is it just my imagination?

With the steering I would check the box is centered correctly. Sounds like you have more left hand lock than right hand  :o

when power steering is about to croak, usualy you get a heavy steering at all times. if you suspect pwr steering system, change the oil for starters and check for leaks. usually nobody ever changes the oil. apart from that, tie rod ends are usualu worn, sometimes, but very rarely, front silent blocks too.
steering lock is controled by two things.
1. make shure that tie rod ends are screwed in aprox the same on both sides, then get the suspension proffesionally centred. guys who adjust geometry often screw in just one side and consider the job done. that way you get uneven steering lock.
2. theres a big screw under the front wings on both sides that limits how far can the steering go. after alingment, srew in those as far as you can untill you get a position on full lock such that tyres don't rub on anything under the wing, but just.


in the rear end, shock absorbers are usually to blame. rear silent blocks almost never fail. mine 132  2,5diesel has done around 470.000kms and rear silent blocks and suspension arms have never been changed. check rear suspension mounting points for rust damage. if they're very coroded, they can shear off completely. rear tyres are particulary important for 132 in my experience. since rear end lacks the panhard's rod as on 131, it's prone to sideways motions much more than mirafiori. get a pair of soft compound tyres, as wide as you can get. i always used 205/60/14 or 195/60/14, depending on what i could find. michelin, toyo, yokohama are good soft tyres.

Yep, 205/60 michelins, are my choice for the rear, and I'll change the shocks to gas types. All rubber-bushing change will be next and I'll get my mechanic to look into the power-steering, silent blocks and tie-rods.
Thanks guys