131mirafiori forum

I thought this might be an interesting thread to start over the Xmas holidays...Having been brought up on an unending diet of Fiats it was inevitable that my first car would be one. It's a great feeling being finally let loose on your own and the feeling of freedom granted by your first car will never be forgotton.

This particular (first) car broke my heart with something serious going wrong almost every month. It lasted about 12 months and I spent all of my cash on accessories and stereo equipment, as well as repairs. By the time I was finished, it had blacked out windows, 6 speaker Pioneer stereo with amp, side pipe exhausts and rear headrests! Plus 55 bhp!! What an embarrassment... but fun to look back now!!  :)

I paid ?600 in 1982 (it was a 1975 car), probably spent the same on repairs before selling it with serious chassis rot and a water leak for ?150!  :o

(http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx305/kev132/P1030964.jpg~original) (http://s766.photobucket.com/user/kev132/media/P1030964.jpg.html)

(http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx305/kev132/P1030968.jpg~original) (http://s766.photobucket.com/user/kev132/media/P1030968.jpg.html)

After such a bad experience with the Fiat (and many calls to the AA... and being towed behind a gold Argenta) reliability became the primary consideration and a "flashy" Mazda replaced the 128.

(http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx305/kev132/P1030967.jpg~original) (http://s766.photobucket.com/user/kev132/media/P1030967.jpg.html)

Not my first car but my first Fiat  ;D

Bought it with new T?V/MOT for 450?. From a local scrap yard I got the Abarth wheels, the complete set of head rests and the steering wheel  ;D
Some paint and some sporty stickers and ready to go  8)

I went a long time before my first fiat came along. I'd been driving for about 10 years when I bought my first 131 in about 1999. Don't have a picture of it handy but you've probably seen it before it was my now sold silver 131 1600cl that became a 2 litre Supermirafiori hybrid :)

My first Fiat was a 1969 Fiat 500F :) it was my third car ;D I had it for 12 years, it still had all it's original factory paint :o

(http://i739.photobucket.com/albums/xx34/minicacj/Mobile%20Uploads/photo_zps37f7bd2d.jpg) (http://s739.photobucket.com/user/minicacj/media/Mobile%20Uploads/photo_zps37f7bd2d.jpg.html)

Hi Kev 1681 IE reg not far away from the Rusty Lady 2500 IE regd in Ennis Co Clare 1st april 1976 ;)


(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e354/sidta23/20130314_101504_zpsf53fbfb1.jpg) (http://s43.photobucket.com/user/sidta23/media/20130314_101504_zpsf53fbfb1.jpg.html)

Great that you still have a pic of the 500. Yes the Co Clare reg no proximity occurred to me.

That's some picture if your two projects together...! Will you make it a threesome and do another?  :)

Like the red 128 Heini. Boxy Fiats were just made for "tuning"!!

I hope to complete a few more projects possibly a couple of 131s as well as the green thing the rotmo & the austin seven ;)
here is my 1st Fiat a 1978 supermirafiori bought for ?95 & a wrecked 1977 ta23 celica, Chris it had full velour ;D i think this was in 1982 or early 1983, i loved this car never gave any problems sold it for ?650 a while later ;) never kept cars that long  back in the day!

(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e354/sidta23/Mobile%20Uploads/20131117_120155_zps8dfa0612.jpg) (http://s43.photobucket.com/user/sidta23/media/Mobile%20Uploads/20131117_120155_zps8dfa0612.jpg.html)
(http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e354/sidta23/Mobile%20Uploads/20131117_115632_zpsef000b64.jpg) (http://s43.photobucket.com/user/sidta23/media/Mobile%20Uploads/20131117_115632_zpsef000b64.jpg.html)

That's a nice looking Supermirafiori. I quite like that pale yellow colour ;)

My first car was bought in february 1982. It was a 1975 grey metallic Fiat 131 1300 with a black vinyl roof. The car lasted 2 months and 22 days. On april 30th, 1982, I parked it against a tree. The car was a total loss. I payed it 300 Euros at the time and I am sad to say I don't have any pictures of it :(
But still, great memories and great topic Kevin !! :)

Cheers,
Dirk

Wow Nick...
Your like something from a fiat catalogue of the era...  :D
Must be the casual stand & the turned up jeans....
 :D.  ;D  :D  ;D

That yellow Supermirafiori looks absolutely stunning.

My first Fiat bought just after my 18th birthday in 1990, was a 79 V Plate Orange 131 Sport. The pictures have been placed previously here. Great memories.

A Mazda Kev....

My first car was this silver 131 sport ... 950 punts..
Had it for 2 years & sold it for 850 punts I think... ( no euro back then )
Loooooved this car ...

(http://i1210.photobucket.com/albums/cc408/daverwd/2013-12-27190710_zps91085c50.jpg)


(http://i1210.photobucket.com/albums/cc408/daverwd/2013-12-27185852_zpse787e4e6.jpg)

My first ever Fiat, bought in fall 1992 and used as a winter car the following two winters before selling it on with new MOT. One owner 1983 Super 1400TC in "avorio scuro" color, posh velours interior, non working electric windows, three door locks working, in reverse gear you had to hold the lever. Great car. For almost 10 years I did regret selling her before buying the Ineptitude, which is now the only WR replica on this forum. (Gosh what bulls**t am I writing, must be because I'm a purist. But that's only me).

(http://oelprinz-online.de/images/cars/28_fiat131.jpg)

This is for you Robert...!!  ;D ;)

(http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx305/kev132/Spoon.png~original) (http://s766.photobucket.com/user/kev132/media/Spoon.png.html)

Dave - I don't think we've seen those pics before now have we? Car looks stunning and the combination of silver on those cromadoras looks class - No wonder you miss her!! Hopefully you won't be selling your latest 131...ever!!  :)

I have a set of those wheels Dave i must get them restored soon dont have cetrer caps cos i gave brensports a brand new set of centre caps couple of years ago ce la vie lol!

There the only wheel for a sport Nick... If I had a sport there the wheel I would be running....


She was reasonable clean in her day kevin... Suffered a bit along the top of the wind screen & around the tail lights... Other than than she had new  doors & an immaculate interior...

This was my first 2000 TC I bought and restored back in 1990. It was a 1981 racing and was sold in 1996 to a friend which sold it again. The car was never heard from again so I fear it has been scrapped :(

They all seam to be yellow cl,s :)  just like my first car a  131 a 77 s reg 1.6 cl  about 1985 a right lemon with a later interior and at the next mot found  a load of papermasha in the sills filled over . later crashed in a ditch at speed back wards into a tree :( never had a PIC of my first car  with the super clover leaf wheels .

The first Fiat in our family was their first car at all: a green 500 C "Topolino" Estate, MY1952, purchased as a new car. My Grandpa substituted it with a lightblue/beige NSU Neckar (a Fiat 1100 built under license in Neckarsulm/Germany) in 1959. In 1970 followed a beige 125 S (in which I a had my first car ride being brauchght back home from hospital as a newborn). In 1981 my Grandpa bought his 4th and last Fiat: a golden 132 2000 i.e. as a new car which became my 1st car in 1996.
My Dad Ernst needed 4 different BMWs and a Opel before he joined the club with a silver 131 Super Mk3 1400TC, MY1983 purchased in 1986 and daily-driver since then. Beside his car No3 the only car he never sold and never will.
Last but not least: My brother Jan started his Fiat career with a white 132 2000 i.e., MY1980, in 1999 6 months before he got his driver's license.
Below you find and overview of the cars mentioned above and the pictures of our 1st Fiats in their current state.

Regards,
Ren?

...

That's a comprehensively illustrated timeline Rene!!

We better not start a thread entitled "My second and subsequent Fiats"!!  ;)

I hadn't realised that your gold 132 had been bought new by your Grandpa. I guess that's a "never sell" car too!

Nice to see Ernst's car with the standard headlights and I see that Jan is maintaining the family tradition of swapping the stock of wheels from car to car!  :)

My first Fiat was my first ever car, a 1978 128 1300CL four door in metallic blue (400) with the blue velour interior - reg was SJB230S, which I purchased in Bracknell, Berkshire in about November 1985 (I had been using my Mum's 128 3P for 6 months prior to buying my own car) for ?430. Great little car, but had a tendency to freeze on the inside of the windows as the heater didn't work! :o No pics unfortunately.

Second car was a 1978 128 3P in green with a black Starsky and Hutch type strip down the sides.

Third car was my first 131, a 1981 black 131 Sport, NPF962W. Wow, what a car! Loved it. Crashed it (like most 19 year old boys ::)) repaired it, then it caught light  :o Some years later I replaced NPF with the pretty well known JPD969V, which my now wife Wendy drove into a parked car and wrote off - I guess I have always been destined never to own a black 131 Sport  :'(

131 super-man welcome here, my condolences

My first car was an Alfasud ti bought for 925 guilders(app 400 euro) and stone rotten but man, that thing drove, Swapped it for a near mint Alfasud 1.3 5m. That car I sold to buy my first 131 Racing, a silver import with also serious work needed in the near future, With that car I had a puncture and because of the wet road a light and a fence were too close. I wrote it off but stripped it completely and most parts still ive on in my orange Racing. After 2 weeks in a Lada 1200, kindly offered by my then boss I bought a Giulietta 116 2.0, also rusty but very reliable(really!). When I got my job with a companycar, a beige Peugeot 305 1.5, I sold the Giulietta and bought the orange Racing I still have. It was rotten, didn't run properly, interior worn etc etc but with all the parts of the silver donor we could go on. That was all in 1989-1990. In 1995-1996 we fully restored the orange Racing, as you can see here in the resto part and it is still with us since 5-9-1990. Of course are the pictures in the showroom section ;)

When I was a teenager Dad brought his first Fiat which was a 131 supermirafiori he had the car for about five years before buying a Regata automatic, that was the extent of his Fiat experience.

In 1985 I got my first car a 1977 Toyota Corolla, which in 1986 I traded in a Fiat Regata 85 (my first Fiat) I only had the car for about 9 months going up market to an Austin Allegro (with the square steering wheel) then I brought my second Fiat my first 131 with a 1600 engine - I drove this car until it died and sadly it went to the scrap yard. Fairly soon after this I got my first company car was a Fiat Uno 55s, than came a Strada and my last Fiat company car was a Regata.

In 1990 I left the Fiat dealership and from there onwards all my cars have been anything except Fiat, the last Fiat I drove (until I got the present 131) was a Fiat Croma which my boss lent me to use for a two week holiday.         

This is my first Fiat. It is the last of the 125 specials with a 1600 TC 5 speed. BC coupe motor.

(http://i603.photobucket.com/albums/tt119/o_jb/Fiat_zpsd97a5f08.jpg) (http://s603.photobucket.com/user/o_jb/media/Fiat_zpsd97a5f08.jpg.html)

Not sure if this was his first Fiat but you can certainly see in his face how proud he was of his 131  ;D
But who is he? All I will say is that he is a member of this forum and he is still a 131 owner, in fact he's got two now  ;)

I think that's a very, very young Polegate resident! The Super has a Sussex registration so that could be a clue too. Where on earth did you get these pics Theo?

Aha, a young AC! Thought he looked familiar! :)

With hair :D

Nice looking super ;)

From the wall of the Polgate resident!  ;) ;D

yeah thanks Theo
anita says i look strange with hair, which is lucky as i havent much now.
and that was my first fiat
 

Unfortunately couldn't get a photo of this young 131 owner with his 131 but you can see the pride in his "I have a 131" smile  ;D But who is he  ???

That must be the smiling leprechaun him self married to cornish pixie  eh kev  ;D ;D ;D and an other with a bit more hair.. ;)