131mirafiori forum

Found this on the French Fiat 131 thread that's been going for years...

(http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l250/kev131/Mirafioris/2Sports-FrenchForum.jpg)

saw that one before, whats the story with the ill fitting rear bootlid, there are other cars on the forum with the same bootlid that doesnt fit properly

The abarth style bootlids just don't fit right. They're made of fiberglass, poorer quality and no were near as good as the originals. I have the same problem with the bootlid on my car  :(

This bootlid might be a copy of group 4. I made a mould from original group 4 car and it has the same shape(also does not have a hole for lock) I am not sure what was the purpose of that but I have not altered that shape and left it the same way.
I will be making a new mould probably soon so i can make it the same way as it is in standard steel bootlid but this will not be original then.

its things like a ill fitting bootlid or bonnet thats not lined up or door lines that are not straight that destroys a cars looks, thats part of the deal getting all the panels lined up perfectly before & after painting, anything else is just cowboy work & not professional.

I think you will probably find that the panels on many 131s never lined up properly when they were new ::)

In that case most new Renaults are crap cars :) nothing is really lined up properly. As for perfect fit of the parts in a bit more expensive cars, I deal with Lambo and Ferreari parts all the time and work with those cars and all i can say is that NONE of them had the bodyparts fitted properly. Gaps between panels are never perfect but this is probably caused by very limited production but on the other hand when paying this much for those cars we should expect them to be the highest quality.

David they were not that bad, what i mean is just one look at a car & you see the line is off at the wing, door, quarter or whatever thats cowboy work people should not accept it, when i worked at the coachbuilding if i did that standard i would get the gate, when lining the celica panels up i had to dremel a few mm of the door hinges holes, & when doing pauls 127 we had to space behind one of the hinges & do a bit of pulling to get the 6mm gap correct, sorry but i cant stand bad work when a premium is charged. well thats finally off my chest, i say when restoring a car get it better than new! now you know what i mean.

Well said Sid ;).Eugene

Well it was anItalian thing poor panel gaps but lots of power sure to build a good Stratos replica you have to fit the panels poorly to make it look original, hard one to call but to do a good job you need to do a bad job ;) ;)

Excuses always excuses, i rest my case.

Not excuses but which finish would win concours  ??? ???

not everyone is blessed with hands that to make everything perfect we all have our own faults and failings as i have myself if it makes you sleep better at night finding faults in everyone elses work  i pity ye all like works of art like i would;nt tell someone if they were 5 stone overweight that they were fat if they are happy the way the are thats their lives same with cars or anything to many condasending people i feel like a parrot will people ever learn

agree wit u friend. this why i dont come here much times people very  jugmental and  picking falts out of  evrything  quit uncooth :( sad

As a tradesman myself,and regarding my own work,i would prefer to lose money,work longer hours to get the job finished to a high standard.
Why?
Because if i do bad workmanship,i won't be a happy myself,the person who i did the job for won't be happy and i as a tradesperson will get a bad name.
My view comes  from a tradesperson  and i'm sure every other tradesperson would agree  with me ;).Eugene

Well I too am a trades person and I do take my trade very serious but as I said in my earlier posts if these cars are being made to look original wellthen the panel gaps should be wrong as this is a person who might have a close eye on detail  ;D ;D

its allways nice to hear someone praise the work you have
done on your car but a different story when it is being critised.
at the end of the day we are all different  :o :-\

If I paid someone to do some panel work on my car, I would want things to line up. I don't care if the bloke that originally built it had too many chianti's at lunch time before getting back to the assembly line. If I'm going to the effort to restore a car, I want it straight.

I agree 1000% with your coment Tas131 ;).Eugene

Well if you wanted a non original finish then this is the way to go but you are insulting a mans pride and joy as he seems to have made a great effort in getting and driving a 131 and if anyone has seen Sportsfan's 127 that is a class little sports car, perfect  ;D ;D

i just think they look really nice cars! some people can fit panels, some people can stitch seats, some people can weld, some people can preload an lsd, its not a perfect world and neither are 30 year old 131's. and if you are perfect you end up in f1 and you know how boring that is! my panel fit is awful, but my floor mounted pedals and magnesium shocks are delicous.   

Yes Sportfan's 127 is a beautiful car.When i saw it in Killarney last year,i was taken a back by it.Eugene

yes taz if you pay someone who specialises in body work and you are paying him yes but if you do it yourself as good as you can do it and you are happy you dont like people you have never meet before putting it down beauty is in the eye of the beholder

I am only new on the forum and am now worried about bringing out my car as I have an 1800vx (supercharger) with a turbo mounted on it but I dont feel up to any critism on her so might keep her in the shed as it is the only girl I have ever fallen in love with :-[

dont be like that Hector , be proud of your car or cars because behind
it all all these guys are really good guys and very helpfull as you will
find out  if ever you need any help  ;) :D and thank you Dave and Eugene
for your nice comments, looking foreward to meeting you again Sean

Do not worry , if they criticize -this is good. It meanns they are interested. Worst thing whould be no response at all.

PS : Please show what you got  and be a PROUD OWNER.  ( I am, though there is always someone who will pick on details.) To me this is a sign of admiration ! 

hi Miro that is a nice Abarth you got there, if you check out
GKMR08 report and GKMR08 pictures you will see a group of
proud Fiat owners  ;D