taillights, which are correct?

[Fiat 131 Abarth#2]

Hello,

need help:
someone has a picture from the rear side Fiat 131 Abarth (winner car #10 mote Carlo 1980)
because  the taillights?
model car's has 1 and 2 series,  there is confusion! which are correct?   

Enzo 

[mirafiori76]

Enzo,

Walter's car had the square lights in the 1980 Monte Carlo rally. Markku Alen however, had the first series on his car number 3. Which he wrecked, by the way.

[david]

I think what happened is that as and when the original shells were wrecked they were re shelled with a new body so that explains why they have mk2 shells.

[mirafiori76]

Hi David,

I think that's only partly true. Yes, some were wrecked but at the end of 1979 they didn't have "old" stock anymore. So they pulled shells from the assembly line. Since Fiat gave the 131 a face lift in 1978 it's obvious that the new rally cars had the square lights.
Look at my car. It has the square lights.

[Fiat 131 Abarth#2]

Hi Mike,

thank's for the info,  OK than i use this! (sorry 106Usj i can not sale the taillights)

Enzo    

[106usj]

No problem Enzo.
I am in no hurry for some, i can get some another time somwhere.
Most people fit series 1 rear panel on Abarth replica do they not ?
Maybe i am wrong.
I think series 2 lights look beter anyway.

[simon131]

I'm not sure that the rear lights on a Group 4 have any bearing on the age of the shell actually.

There's a guy in Australia who owns a Stradale and a Group 4 car and has carried out extensive research into which chassis numbers carried which type of rear lights, and he found that the rear lights were originally series 1 type on all cars until the cars were damaged when they had the later rear panel (S2) welded into the earlier shell. I don't know how true that is, but he supports his findings with an interesting comment about the chassis numbers of both Stradales and Group 4 cars all coming from within the same batch of numbers - and this is also borne out in my own Stradale as well as others I've researched.

As I say, the above is based upon information from a thrid party and not something I've researched fully myself, but interesting all the same.

I was also told that all of the Group 4 cars (certainly the first batch) were pulled from the Stradale run and converted to racers so their chassis numbers will come from the same run as the Stradale - but I have absolutely no evidence to prove or disprove that the original 50 or so Group 4 shells were added to later with Series 2 2-door shells.                  

And just to added further to the confusion of the chassis numbers - some chassis numbers were put into more than one shell (generally when a shell was destroyed) and also some Abarth 16v engines didn't even have numbers - at all!

[mirafiori76]

The story is that there were 400 Abarths build. 50 of them would have been withdrawn to the factory to be converted to group 4 rally cars. This is how it's told and written.
But, it can not be because you needed 400 cars to be able to take part in rallying. One story right out of the window. Second to that; some group 4 cars don't have the same differences as the Stradales. No windows and air holes in the rear buffer plate. And how about the fact that there are cars with square taillights?
As far as i can count them there are 48 licensed. There are more cars used and fact is that Fiat used chassis numbers on several body shells. So they produced more of them factory group 4 cars. But nobody does really know or remember how many. But it seems typical for Italians.

[mirafiori76]

Forget to add; even those 400 is not for sure. Probably they produced less then that.

[simon131]

It's all very uncertain when it comes to the story and facts surrounding the history of the 131 Abarth and the numbers of cars built and shells used isn't it and it seems that there's nobody either from Fiat or Abarth who is able - or willing - to tell the full story As you say Mike - typical for Italians

[mirafiori76]

That's the point. And i would like to know everything. Don't you? Just having, owning this car makes you anxious to learn everything from it. The history about everything. I have this need for knowledge since the first time i laid eyes on the rally version back in 1987 and i guess my hunger for more will never go by.

[f1lmm]

No problem Enzo.
I am in no hurry for some, i can get some another time somwhere.
Most people fit series 1 rear panel on Abarth replica do they not ?
Maybe i am wrong.
I think series 2 lights look beter anyway.

i have a set for sale.let me know if you need them

[stathe174]

I have a video documentary about rallying that shows cars with first type rear lights and second type rear lights running together at tryouts...
As I remember mine (the one that had a sea burial) had first series tail lights... And my dad still screams to me because it was a works original group 4 car...

[Tas131]

As I remember mine (the one that had a sea burial) had first series tail lights... And my dad still screams to me because it was a works original group 4 car...

Now that story is worthy of another topic!

[stathe174]

I was pushing it a bit too much for my driving abilities and... there she went dropped down from a 25m cliff into the sea... May she rest in peace... Unfortunately for me I jumped out and broke three ribs on the left and my hand in two places (that should teach me)... My father on the other hand... wasn't that happy about the car... (after he saw that I was going to be OK )