My latest fiat addition to the family !
I dont know if this is savable or not yet until I get the time to have a good look at it , its been stood outside a closed down Fiat garage since 2008 when it was parked up because the clutch was slipping.

wow Michael-

a genuine Mk2!

How come it was just standing outside the garage; had it been abandoned..?

What did you have to do, to be able to get it..?? Did you use the DVLA to track down the owner..?

It was stood at the side of a Fiat dealership that closed down many years ago and I remember the mechanic who owned the garage driving round in it years ago, he parked it up as the clutch was slipping and never got round to fixing it , I have kept driving past it for years looking at it so eventually I got someone who knew the owner to go round and knock on the door and ask if he wanted to sell it, apparently other people have tried to buy this car but he was not willing to sell it at the time but as its now been stood since 2008 I guess he thought it was time to get rid , I paid £200 for it.

Do we have a section on the forum for a Fiat 131 ? I cant seem to see one .

'not willing to sell it'...!

Why not! crikey; some people stand in the way of conservation, don't they...?

I've never seen a 131 section, Michael...

Fingers crossed you're able to save it! I have faith in your abilities.

puntofan01 said:

Fingers crossed you're able to save it! I have faith in your abilities.

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I'm not that good, I'm not even a mechanic ! I just have a love of Fiat cars and back in the 80 s I had a Mk 1 Uno, all 4 doors are completely shot and if I can save this car it's going to need more money spending on it than it will be worth running but at the end of the day it's a love affair of fiats for me not the money.

Well still not had a good look underneath but I can see plenty of rust !
Got ,4 cars and a van to get prepared for the mot this month so time is a bit short at the moment but had a play after work tonight and I managed to get the engine running and I have to say it sounds good,don't forget this has stood outside for 9 years without turning a wheel ! Left it idling for a while and fan cut in so so radiator,head gasket are all ok

How's things with the Uno?

Still standing in same place at the moment ! Been busy getting all my other fleet ready for winter but the Uno will be coming inside in the next month or so.☺

I see! Keeping fingers crossed!

Finally managed to get an inside space for the uno , one thing I have noticed , its thirsty, went to a garage with plastic petrol can and got £5.00 worth of petrol which filled the can half way, connected a plastic pipe to the fuel pump and insert in in the petrol cal can, after just 10 miniutes of idling and moving it in to my workshop with a slipping clutch , the petrol can was nearley empty !!!!

Decided to have a look in the boot first, took out carpet, seats, seatbelts , found a bit of surface rust around the shock absorber top mounts and the boot floor !

Dont know if this is saveable or not but I am going to have a good go , Im not a welder but I do have a gas mig and done a little bit of mig welding before but this is going to be good practice and test my skills to the limit !
I have seen other people restore cars as bad as this so watch this space .

I have faith in you.

Boot floor one passenger side cut out ready for welding,wheel arch needs a piece welding in as well, the bit underneath is the boot floor strengthening beam which also need attention. need to get the bumper off now for better underneath access.

strut top mount needs a but of work ,as does the strengthening bar .

cut out the rusty bit of the suspension turret to get better access to the strut strengthening beam, the rear arch and strengthener are available as an aftermarket part for £109 but I thought better to put to use all the tips I have picked on wheeler dealers and have a go at repairing the old bits !

new part made ready to weld into the top of the strengthener beam, perfect tit, then get all the surrounding rust dissolved with rust remover, paint with weld through primer and then make a top for the wheelarch.

While the rust remover is working decided to take off the rear bumper.

perfect fit, now ready for painting and welding in.

Got the rear bumper off , oh dear, found a bit more rust, I think that because the car had been sitting for 9 years facing down hill water has accumulated around the rear bumper, surprisingly enough though the rear valance in made in 2 half's and the left hand side is perfect.

New part welded in, just got to make a top for the turret now, boot floor cut out reveals boot floor strengthening beams have also rusted right the way through, 2 x new ones fabricated in 2.5mm mild steel, thats the advantage of having a fabrication/metalworking workshop just down the road from me I can get parts made up to order!