Although I knew and liked 131s before 23rd November 1979, an event on 19th November in that year was destined to light a flame of passion for the model, and in particular the 131 Sport for all of the years to follow.
I was 15 at the time and arrived home from school at lunch to find Dad sitting by the fire with a bandaged head. Normally as a sales manager he would be either in his office or on the road - Never in the house at this time of day.
It turned out that he had had a serious car accident in his orange Fiat 132 2000. He had gone to overtake a car on straight road, had hit a patch of black ice, lost the back end and headed for the ditch. Only he was on an overpass at the time and the 132 smashed the railings and came to rest with 1 third of the car suspended over a 40 foot drop. A safety steel cable running through the top rail had snagged the car on the A post about 3 inches below the roof line. It was such a dramatic escape that the local newspaper ran the story and picture on the front page the next day.
Anyway the wound was not serious, the 132 was written off and we needed a new car. This was dad's second 132, and being a Fiat fan just assumed that he would get another...perhaps not orange this time!
A phone call to Elm Motors (the local Fiat dealer) established that there were no 132s in stock at present.....BUT wait...they did have a 131 Sport, available immediately! A test drive was arranged for the 21st and junior was summoned home from school via the headmaster to attend an important family event!
The sales man arrived at the door in what was a vision of a car. I had seen orange, silver, and grey versions,,,but never a black one...and with real alloy wheels! And what a lavish interior - All velour with rear headrests - I can still smell that new car smell as Mum and I settled into the back while Dad adjusted the seat , etc before setting off.
The test drive was nothing special - A quick blast up to 80 on a dual carriageway and back to the garage to stand back and survey the car from every angle. At this stage I felt that all my Christmas's were coming together as I could see that Dad was seriously considering the car despite having a family of 6! After 10 minutes or so I spotted a moment of weakness and waded in with a "please buy this car Dad" look which he couldn't resist as he decided there and then to commit. Into the office and the list price of around IR?6400 was trimmed to around IR?5600 for a cash deal. Throw in a pair of mudflaps and delivery agreed for 23rd November.
That began a 3 year love affair for the car in which I learnt how to drive, took my driving test, spent my Saturdays valeting, went on business trips all around the country just to be in the car. Whenever we met another Sport (which was not often) both cars always flashed as there was a special camaraderie amongst drivers of this special car.
On these business trips the appeal was to burm off any other road users who had the temerity to challenge this road warrior - It was particularly satisfying to be able to take on almost anything on the Irish roads in those days of austerity. I can only remember being beaten once (and quite comprehensively) by a Triumph Dolomote Sprint, but I'll tell that story another day.
The downside of this experience during my formative years, was that my early solo driving in my own car were influenced by this street racing ethos and I took a few chances that I would not dream of nowadays. Luckily I am still here to reminisce!
Here are photos of Dad's car. It started to rust at the bottom of the doors and the leading edge of the bonnet in less than 2 years. It was traded in at 70000 miles against another new Fiat in 1982. Trade in value was IR ?5000 against a IR?10k Argenta 2.0.
The last time that I saw the car was as it sat on the forecourt next to a silver Sport with blue bumpers, both with degrading dealer roof mounted For Sale signs on them. If only I could have scraped together IR?3.5/4k at the time I could have bought the car and stored it for the future.
Subsequent investigations late last year have revealed that the car was last taxed in Ireland in 1988. Judging by the early rate of body decline I would not be surprised if it had been scrapped then.
Does anyone have any other early 131 experiences to share? - It dosnt matter how short they are - Any type of 131 related anecdote is welcome here.