Owned a 76 Fiat 131 Mirafori back in high school. Fun little car, never had a problem with it. Did a little custom work to make it look like a rally car. Kind of what like people did to the Datsun 510.
This new S500 has a five star rating due to seven air bags.
I going to see if I can locate a picture of my 850 spyder, it was the racing green with a rally stripe. I had to build a new front bumper out of tubing, the original was bent and rusted.
Mine had a "hard" top. which was a plastic removable unit. Hit a bump just right with two people in the car and it would be necessary to stop and re latch the back of it.
I don't think it was made for two people over 220 lbs each, but the seat would go back so far that I could not even reach the pedals!
(Message edited by etennuly on September 16, 2011)
Posted on Wednesday, September 28, 2011 - 03:36 pm:
I would sure have a problem trusting a Northern car. If you drove that era Fiat through a drive through and got fries, the aroma of salt would have it corroding away!
There is this other problem.....I don't fit in one anymore. I just barely fit back in the '70s when I was fifty pounds smaller.
And that is a lotta $. CL had a Southern one a couple of months ago for $2300, wasn't that nice but a quart of paint would fix the entire car.
Posted on Wednesday, September 28, 2011 - 03:57 pm:
I did. Thanks. I can't find the pictures of the one I had.
Never liked it when a new girlfriend would say "your car is cute" though. I guess back in the day if you were serious about a 'sports' car of this type you drove an MG or Triumph.
Vern - my parents had a Triumph Spitfire when I was a teenager. It's what I learned to drive at age 16, I loved that little car. Many years later Carlos bought me a Fiat Spider. It was funny how "big" the Spider was sitting next to the Spitfire in the garage! Best night we had was riding down the back county roads in these two little rag tops taking the scenic route to dinner.
Now Carlos laughs at me since I was driving one of the smallest cars on the road when he met me and now I won't let go of my Suburbans! My, how children change your style of vehicles. Not to mention gotta have a tow vehicle for the bike trailer!
So, I went and looked. My car has between 4 and 5 stars, depending on where you are in the vehicle. The right side of the car is apparently safer than the left side. Should have bought the British model.
One the most awful cars to work on, nothing accessible, you have to be a gravity defying contortionist with those things, oh & you need very small hands with very long fingers, preferably double jointed.
When I worked as the service reception engineer at a FIAT dealer back in the 70s the mechanics would draw lot's to see who got the job on those.
I've found an Abarth Ritmo 125 not far from me that tempts, but I really want a 131 Supermirafiori Sport 2000TC.
I can't find the pictures of the one I had. 
