131mirafiori forum

http://www.necclassicmotorshow.com/index.php

Some Group B monsters out too :)

I guess no 131's on display as usual :( but next year need to sort something for the big 40th 8)

No, but I think there may be a Trevi on the Betaboyz stand  ;) ;D


Yes we must. I think applications for 2014 stands have already gone in and the deadline is sometime soon. I'll find out.

Yes , we'll have to have  a few good 40th celebrations ,
   bromley pagent up to a 35 car stand ...fiver each get your checks ready ..

Perfect ;D let's get a good spot and put a stand up at the NEC

Jas, keep us posted on entry to Bromley

OK sev and there will be a few others , like Bristol auto moto and brookland s and Stanford
And an expensive  show http://www.necclassicmotorshow.com/tickets.php (http://www.necclassicmotorshow.com/tickets.php)

It doesn't have to be expensive as it's free if you display. The Fiat Motor Club had plenty of spare tickets this year and no takers. In fact it's worth joining car clubs for shows like this as just one show can sometimes recoup the membership fee. My Trevi was waxed and polished and took centre stage on the Betaboyz forum stand  ;D

(http://www.betaboyz.myzen.co.uk/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=2060.0;attach=1790;image)

And here's one for Robert so he may begin to understand the many benefits of a Trevi: "Trevi the Babe-magnet"  ;D ;D ;D

On a more serious note, while I was at the NEC I visited the Organisers' office and got an application form for a stand next year which will be on from Friday 14th to Sunday 16th November 2014. I thought I'd apply for a 5-car stand and have 4 or 5 cars on display to celebrate the 131's 40th birthday. But I need some commitment from people as there's no point getting the stand organised and then not having any cars to display  :-[  I thought we should have a varied selection of cars:
1. Abarth (or replica  ;)) Simon? Andy?
2. Sport (or Racing  ;)) A few to choose from and could be mine if nobody else comes forward.
3. Volumetrico Bobby or Albert (if we can get him out of Holland for a short holiday in Birmingham  ;D)
4. Four door Super or CL. Phil?
5. A series 1, "the start of it all". Must have one of them for the 40th! Simon's 131S?

Cars need to be at the NEC on Thursday (13th November 2014) and need to stay until the "all clear" after the end of the show on Sunday, usually around 6:00pm to 7:00pm.

We need to apply for the stand soon and won't know if we are successful until May 2014.

So, let me know within the next few weeks if you would like to have your car on the stand and you are willing and able to bring it to the NEC on Thursday 13th November 2014 and leave it there until Sunday 16th November. We'll probably arrange for suitable local accommodation for all but let's get the basics off the ground and organised first. If we have enough people come forward we can always ask for a bigger stand!  ;) :D

Hi Theo,

Yes, I should be able to provide an S1 or my Abarth. Would probably struggle logistically to get two cars there though considering the location.

Simon

Hi Theo,

You can count me & my Blue S3 in  ;D ;D

Hi Theo,

You can count me in too for the Volumetrico or a Super Series 2 1600TC ;D

Bobby

OK, so that's 4 cars already we can have on the stand so I'll fill in the form.... Or I may wait a week or two to see if we can go for a 10 car stand  ;D

This sounds like it could be fun Theo...put me down please. I've always been thinking about going and having a 131 stand would  be a great way to see this show for the first time.

You can put me down for a Sport which would allow you to drive up Simon's S1 (assuming he'd let you of course)!!  ;D

10 car stand go for it! ;D It can be done ;D ;D

I cant , for 3 days accomadation travel to and from accomadation and fuel up there , thats why FMC always had spare tickets..
 its like a mini 3ma14 standing still  :D would have been good day though
  still bromley we could have a 30 car stand for the biggest 1 day show in europe and along weekend for a fiver ..

Accommodation can be expensive unless booked well in advance, which we should be able to do. For this year I got return train tickets from Birmingham International coming back to London on Thursday night and returning to the NEC on Sunday morning. The return train ticket and all booking fees came to just ?13.70. My plan was to drive back to Birmingham (using 60mpg diesel transport  ;D) on Friday and stay with one of the organisers for the night and drive back on Saturday night. It was probably a silly plan but as I unfortunately hurt my back and I'm quite the invalid I stayed home for Friday and Saturday. But what is important in organising something like this is to have enough people and 'normal' cars to allow for the transportation of everyone from the show to the hotel and back.

Have to say, I went down to the NEC and what a show it was! Fantastic day!! My only negative if I was to pick one was, way too big to take in on one day. This is def a 2-3 day weekender...... I look forward to seeing the 131s next year! One thing that did stand out like a sore thumb was how well most if not all Ford models were represented, and on quite a few stands too. I saw the Trevi Theo and did wonder if it was yours. Now I know  ;D  

Just did a quick search on laterooms.com ....arriving on Thursday 13th Nov 2014 and staying for 3 nights (I assume participants will head for home on Sunday evening)

 ...and approx one third of the Birmingham hotels are already full!!

I'd suggest that we don't leave it too late to pick a hotel. There is still good choice around the ?150 mark for singles for 3 nights incl breakfast. There appears to be a Premier Inn close by but their prices seem to reflect the 2014 event already! Premier Inns are entirely suitable for 131 events having used the one in Dover satisfactorily on a few occasions before heading cross channel on 3MAs. Maybe we can get a deal....? Closer might be better in case we have to rely on public transport backwards and forwards.... :)

Laterooms are not good for booking so far in advance. They claim "no availability" when in reality they should say "no late availability recorded yet".

There's a Travelodge (or Travelinn) next to one of the NEC car parks and that's very popular with a lot of NEC visitors as it's within walking distance or there's the free car park buses.

But we can't book anything non-refundable until we know for sure if we'll have a stand and that won't happen until May next year.

what about me??????

 i have often badgered FMC about getting any of my seven (count 'em) cars on to one of the stands to no avail, the main reason i am no longer a member.

Sure, the more the merrier  :D  10 car stand it is then but please don't let me down guys.....

We'll need to think about the stand. Carpet makes a big difference but buying it from the NEC is VERY expensive. Anyone has access to cheap carpet? We'll still have to pay the NEC contractors to lay it though as Health and Safety officials won't let us lay our own carpet  :-\  Also need to submit stand details in advance complete with risk assessment statements. It's so much easier turning up in places like Bromley and parking in a field....

Great memories, hope we can place our stance in 2014

Your right Theo, carpet makes all the difference. The FMC stand in my view was let down by poor flooring area and put the overall stand down the last few years. There's a chap across the road from my garage who sells carpet, may be I can sort some off cuts from him or get what we can.

If going for offcuts maybe we'll get red, white and green and have the Italian flag in carpet. And spray a huge "131" on the white centre. Or maybe even print  _{(http://131mirafiori.com/smf/Themes/classic/images/smflogo.gif)}
at the front  ;) But I think I'm getting too ambitious now....  :-\

Good idea Theo, I know we have spoken about this many times but I feel we also need a couple of banners to finish off the stand  ;D we can also re-use at 3ma etc.... 8)

 http://www.exbanners.co.uk/product.cfm?product=165

They're not even too expensive if everyone contributes a bit  ???

I'll contribute to a banner/flags if the total cost isn't too extortionate. Would it be a good idea not to make them too specific to the 40th birthday so they can be re-used?

I hadn't thought carpet was necessary but you've been there before.

I hope we at least get in for free after all this!!!  :)

Yes banners should be just "131mirafiori.com" or similarly generic so they can be used at all the shows. If we want something specific for the 40th anniversary we could have stickers, tax disc holders, keyrings etc. Carpet is not necessary and most clubs don't have them but makes a huge difference as it denotes the stand area and puts the whole display a class higher. Without carpets and/or anything else to denote the stand area it's just cars parked in the arena.