131mirafiori forum

Hi, we have this 1600TC for sale, just in from Italy so LHD. Is very pretty :) Not the cheapest at ?5495 but  rust free and original with a lovely engine gearbox etc, ready to go. G

A couple of other things i forgot to mention. The old boy who owned it from new, had power steering fitted (still have the original rack that came with the car) rear seat belts and rear sun blinds. Not being an expert on 131s i think these are fairly rare options? If they are not i am sure someone can advise. G

Very nice...how much do you want for the passenger side door mirror...? ;D

Welcome to the site. Why don't you put up a separate thread with a comprehensive set of pictures and history of the car. Especially pictures of the rust prone spots. It's not a cheap price as you say but a lot more information is probably required before people here would be interested...Good luck with the sale by the way... :)

Hi Graham

As Kev has written - would probably generate more interest in your sale if you post these photos and full details in their own thread in this section of the site. Perhaps you could also post up answers to the following -

Will the car be UK registered at the time of sale?

Any service history with the car?

Has the car been restored/had engine work, etc?

Where are you/the car located?

Contact details?

The series 2 Super is always spoken of fondly by users of this site so I'm sure you'll find a new owner. Good luck with the sale.

Simon

Sorry Folks, managed to do it the wrong way round, posted here before i found the "Trade" bit, now posted on there to. Did not want to load a whole load info etc on a thread that was patently not the right one to do so. I know from experience from some other sites how tetchy people can be about that and being new on here i did not want to start off on the wrong foot. G

Just start a new thread Graham ...in the for sale section.  :)

The price is a bit challenging for a LHD Series 2 1600TC but values are going up all the time. I know that some people could pay as much as ?10k for a perfect 4 door Supermirafiori.

Don't worry about upsetting people too much. We try to promote a friendly and welcoming site even if a few differences of opinion arise from time to time. New members are always welcome no matter what their motoring interests are.

I think I've come across your site before. If I'm right then I believe that you only deal in the high quality end of the market. I think you may have sold a Swiss Fiat 132 2000 Series 3 in white (and on gas) a few years ago...in the UK. :)

Hi Kev, in answer to your questions. No its not been restored, its pretty much as we found it and drove it home (1800kms) We presented it for an MOT which it went straight through and she is now fully UK registered with tax in the window. As far as pictures of rusty bits? There aren't any! Even the inner wheel arches are still in original colour, clean and no rust (front suspension springs still have the manufacturers markings on them!) Yes it does have the odd mark/dink here and there and a small area on the boot lid that has been polished through, but hey its a 30 year old car and we felt it would be a shame to have it painted. Full details are on www.classics-cabriolets.co.uk.
Yes we do also supply the other end of the market , in price, but hopefully the quality remains the same. Paul has dealers buying from him that think nothing of six figures behind a number but we also specialise in cars in the ?10K and below bracket. An example of this is we have just bought a Autobianchi 112 and a simca 1100, these unusual cars represent a growing interest in the UK for affordable "quirky" classics, lets face it 30K plus for a mini or BDA Escorts making over ?100K !! things are getting a bit silly. Look at Fiat prices in the last few years. Why should a 131 be worth so much less than an Escort when we all know its twice the car?

Pics of the Simca and Autobianchi

Both wonderful cars. My father once owned a Simc 1100 rally 2. Fast little thing. Too bad it broke down very often.
I have owned 2 Autobianchi's Abarth in previous times. Now and then a picture from the second one pops up somewhere...it's in Alitalia livery.

These two cars seem to be in very good condition.

Hi Mike. I must admit i have a bit of a thing about cars like the Simca, renault 8 etc ( but dont tell everyone). We were looking for an Abarth version when we found this 112 and to be honest the Abarths have priced them selves out of the market, this one looked nice and was more or less rust free how we like them. G

Lovely looking 131 and is sure to find a new owner. This blue colour was always popular, although most people prefer the Metallic.

Thanks Rob, just got back from a local car show where it was the only early Fiat apart from the usual array of 500s. Could not believe the interest it generated. Everyone had a story to tell of when they or their parents had one, got a bit bored telling people it had not been restored. Lets hope it goes to a good home eh. G

Any show I took my Panorma or my old 1600/TC to was the same :) 

C.A.C

Any pictures of your Panorma. As much as I like Sports and Supers, I think it is great that people have other 131's outside of this.

Photo's of my Panorama Rob :) it's getting a full rebuild and will not look like it does in the photo's when its done ;)

(http://i739.photobucket.com/albums/xx34/minicacj/panorama3007_zps685d9ab8.jpg)
(http://i739.photobucket.com/albums/xx34/minicacj/panorama3003_zps47031c0d.jpg)

A few pictures of the 131 taken today when we started to give it a tidy up in the boot area.  ;D

more pics

more! Is there any way to put more than 2 pics on at a time? Thanks. G

Host your photos somewhere like Photobucket (http://www.photobucket.com) or flickr (http://www.flickr.com/) and then add as many photo URLs ('pointers') to a message as you like. You can actually attach 4 photos per post. Once you create a post with 2 photos attached, go back and edit your post and you'll be allowed to add another 2 photos.

PS You can also link to images on your website so [img]http://www.classics-cabriolets.co.uk/display_car_gmi.php?car_id=19071202&img_id=02[/img]

will display the image

(http://www.classics-cabriolets.co.uk/display_car_gmi.php?car_id=19071202&img_id=02)

Thanks Theo. I am better at driving a car than these computer things, if you have not already guessed! G

I like the registration! Very similar to my Gamma  ;) (United Arab Republic  ???  ;D ;D)

(http://i1237.photobucket.com/albums/ff477/TheoKyriacou/Brooklands%20NYD%202012/P1100498.jpg)

Looks a bit like "You arsey?" ;D  Have you seen the series 1 gamma we have just imported on our site? G

I have now! Looks lovely  ;)

Getting back to the number plates, I'm not a believer in coincidences. My Gamma used to have a personalised registration which the previous owner kept so its UAR registration was given to the car in 1996. Your Series 2 Super obviously has just been UK registered so I wonder if UAR registrations are for older cars that are being UK registered much later than their manufacture date. Unused Archived Registration perhaps?  ;D ;D Maybe someone who knows more about the DVLA's black magic for issuing registrations can tell us.

By the way, can you have a Silver on Black registration plate on a 1982 car?

In answer to your last question - not legally. Black and silver plates for pre-1973 cars I believe.

Shame the blue Super is registered on a Y-plate. The last Series 2 131 actually rolled off the line in the third quarter of 1981, so the last registration would have been X-reg. In fact you can get X-reg series 3 Supers - I know 'cos I had one. ;)

What's the story of why the blue S2 is registered on a Y-plate Graham?

I've seen a few cars that the DVLA has got wrong ::)

Having been involved with registering cars and the DVLA for 30 odd years i feel a lecture coming on. Firstly no the black and silver plates are not legal for road use on a post 72 car and can only be used as display/show plates, but we like them so tend to put them on the cars then supply legal yellow and white plates if they sell in the UK ( alot go out of the country, latest one just sold ,Alfa Giulietta to Nashville USA).
As far as the UAR side of things the answer to that is that each DVLA office retains a run of age related plates to use on vehicles being age related first registrations, for each particular year, so the Gamma would of been first registered through the Chelmsford registration office here in Essex, hence having the same plate as our 131. (It would/should also be an 82 produced car). Why the "Y" reg not an "X"? This is because our plates change at that time was August the first. So an 82 car could be X or Y plate, unless you can prove its month of manufacture was prior to August that year, then DVLA always take the later letter ie "Y" As most dating letters only show the year of manufacture, this is why you get so many apparently incorrect plates on late in the model run imported cars.
I think from memory it was back in the early 80s that DVLA  or DVLC as it was then, adopted this system? Prior to that if you imported a car then it recieved the current registration letter for that year, so you had 55 Caddies being given a "Y" plate as well to add to the confusion. If you come across one of these obviously incorrect to year registered cars, as long as you can get it dated, you can get it back on its correct plate and in many cases, as they are pre 72 re-classified as "Historic" tax class so no road tax ;D Phew!
Hope that sheds some light on it. G

Like Simon, I have never seen a S2 Super on the Y Plate. The first time I saw a Y Plate Sport was at the NEC Classic Car Show in 2005.

Am I right in saying that manufacturing for this model ceased in the 4th Quarter of 1981.

Whatever, X or Y Plate, it is a great looking car. However, the colour would be far from my first choice. Am I right to assume that if it was in Metalic Blue or my favourite Metalic Green it would have sold by now  ;) ;).

The debate is open........... ;D ;D ;D

I have worked in the motor trade for many years now ;D sometimes some new cars don't sell when a facelift / new model comes out. So this is what  most likely happened this 131. I have seen back when I worked in a BMW and Honda dealer, you would see old models that we say ended in 1999 and not first registered till 2000 or 2001 ! It can still happens to this day in car dealers, but not as much as it did back in the good old days, now with all the EU laws with CO2 emissions. If you went in to buy a new car and had the old and newer cars parked beside each other, most people go for the new model, as most people don't want to be seen driving around in a out of date model. The S2 is a better looking 131 but if you were buying back in the 1980's the S3 did look more 1980's then the 1970's S2 ;)

Thanks Rob for that info. So there you go folks be the owner of the only Series 2 131 Super mirafiori on a Y plate!!  ;D

Could you put some more photo's up of the velour seats G ? 

Don't need a lecture thanks Graham  ;) - I've imported two 131s myself so I know only too well the process. ;) Both my cars were allocated the 'correct' year letter, but obviously that was because I was able to prove the actually calendar day of first registration.

I agree with others on here, your car is a lovely example. I'm sure it will sell.  8)

Rob - final production of the Series 2 was third quarter 1981 - when the series 3 was produced - on the same factory line. Incidentally, 131 Sports and Racings were also discontinued at the same time as the 2000TC Series 3 Super was produced on the Sport line. Y-reg Sports were still produced no later than 1981 just that they had stood around prior to sale - which is often borne out by the fact that in my experience, these later registered cars are more rotten than V or W-reg cars.

I hear you Simon, but when you write things rather than talking it always seem to come across as a lecture. As it happens my old T plate Super fell apart in front of me and that was when it was only a couple of years old. But then it was Laquer red (Pink!) so it probably died of shame!! Will post some more pics of seats in a bit.

seats. The slight creases down the sides are where the old boy had covers on virtually from new, looked after the seats superbly but sqeezed the edges, they are slowly but surely disapearing as the foam expands again. :) G

Nice interior ;)

Has it got the full velour seats or are the seat base sides vinyl? I can't tell from the photos.

It looks like it has internally adjustable door mirrors as fitted to the series 3. Have these been fitted as an upgrade or did it have them from new I wonder?

Vinyl , from memory, round the bottom of the seats. Not 100% sure as not got round to cleaning  the interior yet, past a quick wipe down and hoover, will look and double check. As far as the mirrors go? Dont know its not something we have done so cannot shed any light on that one. Have been told it must be a very late production model so maybe they did use the S3 type? Thanks. G

Hi Rob, do you or anyone else have the vin numbers relating to the series 2 131s? Now have the vin for ours and wondered how late in the production run it is? Cheers. G

Tom Widdrington of the Fiat Motor Club has access to most of the Fiat VIN number and production dates data and he can get production dates for any Fiat. He does this for insurance valuations but I believe the information is only available to Fiat Motor Club members.

I have the contact details for Tim Speechley, the Homologation Executive at Fiat Group Automobiles UK Ltd and he can usually get a production date for any Fiat. I don't think I should be posting his contact details on an open public forum so either look him up or send me the car VIN number and I'll contact him on your behalf.

PM sent. G

Hi folks, slight problem with the old rego! Between myself and Theo we have been trying to trace its parentage and as to why the late Y plate registration? Well it turns out a mistake was made on the original dating cert for the car and as such DVLA, based on this, placed it on the wrong reg. It is actually a March 1980 car so once the correct dating cert is recieved  DVLA will re-issue the correct to year plate ie V. Phew, problem sorted, many questioned answered and a special thanks to Theo.

With it being an 80 on the V Reg, that would be of benefit as the theory is the latter cars (W and X Plate) were more susceptible to rust  :).

However, I had a V Reg Sport and it rusted ??? :-\ A great deal :'( :'(

Well this one has no rust so heres hopeing! G

Well that theory would of made my dads late 1984 S3 a rot box in the showroom. 

I am suprised Graham this car has not sold.

So am I Sev. We have  interested parties in South Africa and Portugal at the moment plus a gent coming to view on Saturday. I honestly think that the first person that views it, that is genuinely interested in buying a 131, will buy it. I am not saying it is fault less, after all it is a 32 year old Fiat that has been out of the showroom, but if your looking for a 99% rot free, non restored, original car with nothing more than a few dinks and scratches, then you would go a long way to find better  ::) G

Would you take over any more 131's from Italy when you have this one sold G ?

Already looking! ;D just real hard to find A. 1600/2000s and B. Clean non rusty ones even out there! I see you have a 1300TC do you think the demand is there for them? G

I had a 1978 S2 1600/TC and my S3 1367cc TC is not far of the 1600/TC power wise, in top gear the 1367cc TC pulls better. The 1300/TC's & 1400/TC's did get better owners too :) In Italy Fiat sold lots of the small TC engine's then the 1600/TC and the 2000/TC were rarely sold there.

I never knew they did a 1300 and a 1400 TC motor, thought the 1400 was a single OHC unit? So Fiat badged the Super as a 1400TC as well then?  ??? G

Graham,

1400 Tc engines were only available in the last production years and were sold in just a few countries like Italy, Germany and, i believe Britain. In my career of 29 years 131 i have only seen one original 1400 TC. So i guess only a handfull were produced. I'm sure somebodey here knows production figures.

Fiat Ireland and UK only had the S2 1300 OHV &  the S3 1400 OHC. I say the S2 1300/TC & S3 1400/TC would have sold in Ireland.  The S2 1300/TC's & S3 1400/TC's only sold in Italy, Germany & France, most of then were sold in Italy & Germany. In Spain Seat had a S2 Super with a 1430 OHV engine.

The small TC engine's are very good on MPG too :)

We did get the 1300 t/c in the Lancia beta. I remember driving a beta coupe with this engine at the garage I worked in the early eighties.

I'm sure a school teacher that taught me had a white series 2 Supermirafiori 1300T/C once.

I had one of those rare original 1400TC Supermirafioris. A 1983 model in "avorio scuro" with brown interior  :o This was my first 131, bought in 1993, 10 years before the "Ineptitude". I liked the car and especially the 1400 engine  :)

I allways found that 1300 cc and 1400 cc engines were a bit "light" for the 131's. After all, the cars weight is around 1045 kg's. I once owned a 1300 Special 4 door and it wasn't very fast. Reliable though but top was 135 km's. Even my 1600 CL is no mach for nowadays cars.
That's why i am planning to exchange the engine for a 2000 TC. If i can find an inletmanifold with carburator that is.
Personally i think Fiat should have fitted the 1800 TC from the first series 132's. That IS just the best engine in the series. But very rare now.

Got a few carbs laying around from when i raced a Beta Coupe and used to buy cars to break for hubs etc if you ever need one? Manifolds are no good as they sit at the wrong angle due to the beta fwd unit leaning backwards compared to a Fiat instalation. G

My 1600CL is worse then your one, it had a 3 speed GM automatic box :'( no power at all and 20 mpg :o but I have a plan to fix that ;D I know someone who had a 1400/TC at 178km/h :o

All re-registered now, back on the correct V plate. G

They was plenty of them in Italy, at that times 1400tc third series supermirafiori was by far the most frequent 131 supermirafiori on italian streets, it was much more common than 1600 and 2000. I have one, and in Italy they were badged as 1300tc, but they were 1367cc.