Fiat 132 - Engine bay question....?

[parrish]

That is what i call a mirror finnish on the paint, certaily never came from FIAT looking like that. Some one has spent a lot of time flatening that paintwork, i hope the rest of the car is as good, some times you just have to take a chance Kev, you did say that you had a feeling about the car, what feeling is it Good or bad?
Steve
PS: runners on the Recaro's look like FIAT

[kev131]

Another good spot Nick and one of the questions I've asked, ie what panels have been replaced?

Steve - My head is feeling a bit negative about the car at the moment but my heart does not want to listen. I'd love an orange one but I don't want to risk what Nick terms a "lemon"! 

Two more pics that suggest the car could be fine...





And one that indicates the opposite....

[sid131]

its probably good enough Kevin & the wings & doors can be lined properly just takes someone that knows what they are at, i know the lengths we went to with the black celica to get all the shut lines perfect.

[131DHOC]

I think this car has been totally dismantled before respraying, and being so you should visit the car in person to see possible fails; the black engine bay could be a matter of taste, as far as I know rotten engine bay should mean super-rotten rest of the car, first of all under the doors and under the seats. Apart all, very nice colour.

[djape1977]

good point 131dohc!
on all 132's i've seen/had over the years, engine bay was about the last thing to rot. likely roth places are usulally inside front wings, just behind the wheels and front footwells. top and bottom dooredges also.

[parrish]

If someone is going to go to all the bother of stripping down and replacing/repairing a lot of panels believe me they would also drop the engine and do the engine bay as well. So maybe the engine bay is original.
Black engine bay?
Has anyone any proof FIAT didnt spray them black on an Orange 132?

[djape1977]

fiat never did black engine bays in any cars, also, paint is not so good so i'd say it's definately not original. by the way, sills (or whatever is the name of the piece of body beneath the doors?) is also black and it was in bodycolour originally.
i really don't see what's all the fuss about black paint in engine bay??? either you like it or not. whole car has been repainted, angine bay also. only way to know if the whole car is any good or not is to go and take a look for youself.
if i were you kev, i'd book myself a flight to germany and contact the sellers of three 132's currently for sale: the white one, gold one and orange one. three cars to choose from, all good in my opinion, white is the best as far as i can see

[kev131]

You don't understand the fuss about the black engine bay? Did you read the full thread..?  

I've personally never seen a car with it's engine bay painted like this - Hence my request for views on the forum. Maybe it's a common anti-corrosion treatment in some countries or maybe it's a way of disguising less than perfect crash repairs or body rot. Does that make sense? In addition, the paint treatment in the engine bay area is inconsistent with the standard elsewhere.

I've eliminated the white car as some friends have had a look at it for me already. I don't want a gold car so that leaves this orange car and the green one in Austria. Both cars have their advantages and disadvantages which is what I am weighing up. If I was fly out to see every car that I see and like, it would be an expensive business in time & money. Hence, I like to do as much investigative work as possible beforehand. This approach has served me well on two occasions so far.

So thanks for your views - That's after all, one of the main functions of this forum.  

[Thotos]

Don't know much about 132s but I'd guess that djape is right and they never had black engine bays. Mass produced cars don't normally have black engine bays but low volume manufacturers such as Ferrari and Maserati and Lamborghini always had black engine bays in the 60s and 70s. The black engine bay paint in those cars was quite thick and sometimes had a crackle finish. I don't think it was as an anti-rust treatment but probably more to do with the fact that shiny body paint  would soon look tatty due to engine heat and oil leaks etc. It may also have had some kind of noise dampening properties. So it could be that the black engine bay in the 132 is more to do with personal taste and to give the car a 'special'  look like a hand finished supercar rather than a mass produced one. So personally I wouldn't worry too much about the black engine bay or the black sills  but I would want to have a closer inspection to see if what Nick has spotted in the engine bay is rust or just some extra thick paint. I also wouldn't worry too much about the black hinges as I'd guess the bonnet was sprayed off the car and new hinges were fitted afterwards. Painting hinges has to be done very carefully and the fact that they didn't bother doing this implies lack of attention to detail.  What looks worse to me is the orange paint on the engine bay name/number plates. Not only they didn't bother removing them before painting but also didn't bother masking them properly or even cleaning them afterwards. More evidence of lack of attention to detail. But none of that would stop me from buying the car if the bodywork is solid and the rest of it is fine and the price is OK. It would certainly stop me from buying it unseen though and these little 'niggles'  make this a car that must be seen and inspected carefully before committing to buy.  As a guess I'd say this is possibly a good car that started to look its age and possibly a bit tired with flat paint so they decided to make it look shiny before selling it.

[131DHOC]

good point 131dohc!
on all 132's i've seen/had over the years, engine bay was about the last thing to rot. likely roth places are usulally inside front wings, just behind the wheels and front footwells. top and bottom dooredges also.

Thank you, sir! 

[djape1977]

i have read the whole tread offcourse. i'm also interested in buying a 132 from EU or even better swiss one, so your quest for a perfect 132 is interesting for me. it will have to wait untill summer next year unfortunately.
over last 15 years, importing used cars from germany and austria has been a very popular way for people in serbia to get a hold of decent cars for not too much money. i've even imported some myself. i've never seen or heard of a car with black engine bay from germany and if you browse german used cars websites you won't find another one. therefore, black paint in engine bay of that orange 132 must be there for the same reason as in my lada and 132 and in the very near future in my 131 also. because i like it. in my oppinion makes the engine bay on everyday car look less messy than when in body colour. also, on that orange 132 it seems to me that it was painted with a brush, rather than sprayed on. it's ordinary mat black nitro based paint as far as i can see. does it cover flaws? probably. common flaw is stripped paint beneath leaky brake lines and/or batery. rot? probably not. even that red 132 diesel that i dissasembled couple of months ago http://131mirafiori.com/smf/index.php?topic=2725.0 had engine bay with no rust at all.

[sid131]

Kevin just noticed that the side mouldings have been painted also, badly as they are all cracked, so whats the paint job really like?, when i changed the colour on my old sport from 628 to white all those years ago i painted the insides of the doors & the engine bay black cos it was cheaper than 628!

[djape1977]

nice find sid131! many eyes definately see more details that my two! rubber strips on the doors that should be dark grey are repainted black! it will all peel of over time. somebody was over entusiastic with that black paint. walk away from this one kev!

[kev131]

Yes this is another one of the negative aspects of the car as is the fact that I only have detailed pics of door openings and doors from one side of the car ...and none from the front. This may because of where the car is parked and I am promised more. In isolation, none of the points seem sufficient to dismiss the car but when too many appear together, warning bells ring.  

Djape it's interesting to hear that this could be a personal preference (ie to paint it black) as is Theo's idea of it being an association with more exotic cars.

I'll wait for more pics and history of the car before making a decision to inspect it in person.

Meantime to help explain why I am so keen to find a car like this, the next picture is the very first car that I drove at age 15. And the second pic is what became of it on an icy road leading out of Limerick city. (Nothing to do with me) This incident led to a snap decision to replace it with a 131 Sport (which does have something to do with me!)...but that is another story!  

[sid131]

Kevin was your Dad driving? no-one hurt? my god that was close, i understand now why the orange car, but dont dismiss it as djape said many eyes see far & we can only help that you dont get a bad car!
i reckon that the car was repainted & that the engine wasnt taken out & the engine bay was just blown over mat black, there is rust in that pic as i said before but probably only minor & not that bad imo.