Back in the early 90s I had this mad notion that there might still be some Fiat 131 Sports around and that I would like to buy one. I didn't hold out too much hope as the last experience (Dad's car) began to rust within 2 years of new.

I discovered the Fiat Motor Club GB and the Fiat Twin Cam register and was surprised to see that some cars still existed despite my not having seen one for 7/8 years. Most were tatty and I got advice that the very best ones would fetch the princely sum of ?2000!?

I started looking at what was available with the requirements that I had a car in original condition (without a sun roof or boot spoiler!). I went to see a few here and there but could not decide what to buy. I did in fact find a lovely rebodied (from South Africa) car for sale at the top price of ?2k but I decided that this was too much money. The car looked mint with an expensive engine upgrade. I offered ?1k which was declined. (The seller was very keen to sell and later accepted my offer but it was too late then).

While in London visting family I came across Loot and spotted 4 cars for sale all in the London area. A few days was spent looking at some interesting cars and I finally decided upon this grey car in South London - 4 new tyres, a new exhaust with a long MOT. It drove fine, seemed not to have much in the way of rust (although the floor was a patchwork of previous welding and the bonnet was a bad underneath) and had no sun roof! It was a funny colour (I later learned that it was Ford Mercury Grey) and I did a deal for ?450.00.









After an enjoyable drive home to Cornwall reaquainting myself with the sights, sounds and feel of a Fiat 131 twin cam I parked it up in the garage with no real plans ...or cash.

Meantime I took some arty photos for an article in the club magazine.





A local Fiat dealer heard about the car and offered some cheap replacement panels. A rear boot lid and panel for ?30 each... so I approached the local crash repair guy who very generously offered a full respray in return for some business referrals. This was an offer too good to be true and I agonised over what colour to paint it. I really was not a fan of the grey so having seen a really nice silver car I decided I'd go for that. A replacement wing from the FTCR at ?40 sorted out a slightly dented near side wing. New shocks at ?10 for the pair also were added.

The job was done over a few months in between other work so progress was sometimes slow. Luckily I was able to access the workshop and record some of the work being done.















The paintwork guy was a real stickler for imperfections as can be seen by the rework in places.

Once all of the panels were on and the surface ready for painting into the oven it went.





Once the primer was on I suddenly remembered the fact that the pillars should be black so I contacted the garage to ensure that this element of originality was maintained. At the same time the grill was also painted matt black.





Painting done and re-assembly...





At this stage the garage admitted that they had considered the choice of colour a bit mad for a classic sporting Fiat having thought that red would have been a better choice. However as the trim and lights were re-fitted the contrasting shades became obvious and they final look as given the thumbs up.

The drive home was tempered with the fact that the car was overheating but from a cosmetic viewpoint the car looked brand new from some angles - A real quality paint job.

See what you think...















I kept the car for 3 years deciding to sell it on as we were moving to Bristol and it was going to be extra hassle to keep. Surprisingly it was difficult to generate interest at a price of ?1000, a buyer eventually driving down from London to purchase it - I let it go for ?950 - What a bargain now.?

The car was sold on again at least once and the present owner has been in touch with me. He is planning a complete body restoration having invested a huge amount of money in an engine and suspension upgrade. He has managed to source all new body panels including doors and I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

This story has been prompted by the purchase of an Epsom scanner (V100 photo) this afternoon. It's quite quick and the resolution is up to 3200dpi. As soon as I get some more time, I'll scan more old photos and try to tell some more 131 stories.?

Hi Chris

No I didnt take the engine out - The offer of a free respray didnt extend that far, although the door jambs and all around the doors were done as can be seen in the masking pictures.

Lessons learnt from this exercise? - Dont change the colour unless you are prepared to paint absolutely everything. The non colour matched areas will stand out, most of all to the owner and will be a source of constant annoyance. If I was doing it again I would certainly have painted it original colour grey and then have had the engine and bay professionally cleaned. I also would have painted the grill standard grey colour and ditched those dingy wheels.?