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I'm considering buying a Fiat 131 wagon that popped up locally, but I know absolutely nothing about them. Can anyone give me any pointers on what to look out for when inspecting one, or any other valuable information about them? I've never owned a Fiat or any other Italian car, just a variety of battered '70s Yank Tanks and one '74 Celica (the best car I've ever owned, hands down, though that really isn't saying much considering the competition, I suppose).
Does anyone have any pictures of modified 131s (besides the rally cars, I've seen those)? I keep looking at this thing and wishing for thinner (non-us) bumpers, a drop, and wheels (though I see Fiats have a funky bolt pattern that may make that difficult).
Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
Thanks!
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80's Italian cars all suffer from rust and dodgy electrics, interiors are sometimes delicate as well, i had a couple of 131 mirafioris back then, they were always cheaper and rustier than pretty much everything else second hand, 2 litre twin cams went well and sounded lovely, costs a fair bit to rebuild the engines these days though.
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Volvo back as my main squeeze, more boost and some interior goodies on the way.
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dubzi
Part of things
Posts: 711
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Fiats are 4x98 aren't they? 4x 100 with  wobble bolts are an option? Had a 131 as my first car. Stuffed it into the side of a lorry which didn't do it much good.  They're not very good for that! Other than that, rust and the fact the brake cylinder seals died overnight leaving a puddle fo fluid on the drive were the main issues. |
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Happiness ain't at the end of the road. Happiness is the road.
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Fiats are 4x98 aren't they? Yes. Probably still plenty of bits around Stateside though, particularly in the western states. Back in my X1/9 days I bought a copuple of tuning bits from Al Cosentiino at FASA in California. If you need mechanicla bits he's very knowledgable but he is a bit, errm, eccentric. 131s are nice cars to drive. Go for it. My greatest car regret is turning down a swap of a 131 Sport from my 1850 Dolomite back in about '89. Don't make the same mistake. |
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1953 Minor (Long term project)
PT Cruiser
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Yep, I'm in America. Detroit actually, just changed my profile to make that more clear, haha.
I have to guess that this car wasn't originally a Michigan car, as it still exists, and everything rots bad around here. It's supposedly the current owner's DD and he keeps it maintained.
Fiats are pretty uncommon around here- I see X1/9s for sale from time to time, and 124s (actually, a lot of rotted 124s... those are surprisingly common, I never see roadworthy ones though), but anything else is non-existant.
I don't think this car is a twin cam, are the single cams good motors too? If I really ended up digging this and keeping it (provided I buy it, of course), it'd likely end up with some silly engine swap in the future anyhow. I'm in love with Ford's current DOHC all aluminum V6 that's used in some of the fullsize FWD cars and the current V6 mustang, waiting for them to start popping up in scrapyards, haha.
Any particular rust spots I should look out for on the 131s, or just all over? I'm presuming obvious places like the sills, inner fenderwells, bottoms of doors and fenders, floors, frame rails, top of firewall, but does it rot in any strange places I might not be expecting?
Is the wiring bad from crappy materials or a lack of fuses or...?
Really appreciate the help!
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rust everywhere even the roof, both the body & electrics is down to poor quality of materials
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theres more to life than mpg & to much power is just enough.
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yeah everywhere, i remember cases of cars going rusty enough to have holes in before the warranty was out, as the one your looking at still exists it must be a good one, still check it everywhere though, not just the nromal places. Single cam motors are ok, just not as great as the twin cam which was a brilliant engine for its time.
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Volvo back as my main squeeze, more boost and some interior goodies on the way.
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i'm sure the usa only got twin cams,fuel injection and smog gear really dropped the power on them though.
excellent cars,i love them,so go have a look and get some pics!
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If it were on the west coast I would scoop it up in a heartbeat.
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They're not very good for that!
