The amazing story of a 1976 Fiat 131 Mirafiori and its owner...

[cawimmer430]

Meet the Frenchman Willy Malaroda and his first generation Fiat 131 Mirafiori. Willy and his 131 have been together since 1976 and his car has a total of 1,025,098 km on the odometer. Yes, you read that right. 1,025,098 km. Willy has been all over the world with this car. He's been in virtually every European country with his trustworthy Fiat, from the eastern most tip of Portugal to the eastern most part of Russia, from Greece to Finland - the Fiat has seen it all. The Fiat 131 has even crossed the deserts of Northern Africa and the Middle East. Willy is so passionate about his Fiat that he even shipped it over to the USA. His reasoning: "Why should I rent or buy a car there when I can drive my Fiat?" Accompanying Willy on these travels were his wife and his daughter, Laura. At famous locations in the nations he was traveling in, he'd take pictures of his daughter on the hood of the Fiat with the location in the background. Willy's pictures tell a story of his young daughter growing up (old) with the Fiat.



All Willy has done is do regular maintenance and treat the car with love. Willy has a set of strict rules to which he adheres. Upon starting up the car, he allows the engine to idle for five whole minutes before moving the car. He also never pushes her above 120 km/h on highways and always changes the oil every 5,000 km instead of the 10,000 km recommended by Fiat. And most importantly of all, he never allows anyone else to drive his car. At 560,000 km Willy sent the engine down to Italy for Fiat to overhaul it. He suffered his first breakdown at 878,582 km when a drivebelt broke. Up until then, the car had been very reliable. Spare parts are hard to find nowadays for Fiat 131s and the windshield wiper motors have recently broken down. Finding replacements will be difficult.

Throughout his ownership Willy has kept a small notebook which he calls the "Problem Book". In this notebook he records every little detail about his car: the sound of the engine, brakes etc. The moment something doesn't sound right, Willy examines it. In this notebook he's also labeled the photographs he's taken over the years, namely the location, the date, the mileage of his 131 and the age of his daughter posing on the hood.





October 26, 1985. Willy's one-year-old daughter Laura posing on the hood of his Fiat 131. Mileage at this point was precisely 200,000 km.


May 3, 1989. Laura is now almost five years-old and the Fiat has 300,000 km behind it.


August 7, 1992. Laura is eight here, the Fiat has now traveled 400,000 km.


August 2, 1995. The Fiat 131 in western Turkey. Mileage is now 469,580 km.


June 13, 1996. After 498,250 km, Willy is in Malaroda - the western most tip of Portugal and thus of the western most part of the European continent.


June 18, 1997. Willy camping in the wilderness of Finland. The mileage of the Fiat is now at 525,145 km.


June 22, 1997. Four days after leaving Finland and 526,170 km later, Willy is at the gates of Moscow!


June 22, 1997. St. Petersburg, 820 km from Moscow. Mileage: 526,990 km.


February 20, 2001. The Fiat has covered 600,000 km. Daughter Laura, now 17, doesn't sit on the motor hood anymore.


The Fiat in the USA in 2001! Route 66!


March 23, 2001. 618,346 km is the mileage. The location is the famous Southfork Ranch from the TV show "Dallas". Willy claims that J.R. Ewing would have thrown him out since his economical Fiat will make the Ewings poor! 


March 29, 2001. 622,580 km later, Willy reaches San Francisco.


April 4, 2001. 625,020 km. Location: Monument Valley, USA.


April 14, 2001. After the Niagara Falls, Willy heads up north to Canada. Here his Fiat is in front of the Hotel Ch?teau Frontenac in Quebec. Mileage: 630,386 km.


April 21, 2001. 632,011 km. Background is Manhatten.


October 2, 2002. Mileage is 672,735 km. Willy in Pisa, Italy.


May 19, 2006. Willy is arrested in Bulgaria and secretly takes this picture from the interrogation room. The Bulgarian cops suspect he is a drug smuggler and using his car to run drugs across the borders. He is later released, but the Bulgarian authorities partially destroyed parts of his Fiat in the search for drugs (fuel tank, interior). Willy is fucking pissed. Mileage is 835,537 km.


The moment Consumer Reports has been waiting for! Willy's Fiat first breakdown on March 23, 2007. Mileage is 878,582 km. 20,000 km later the timing belt snaps again causing a second breakdown.


Autobild accompanied Willy on his last drive with his Fiat. He's found a buyer in Germany and he's personally driving there to deliver his loyal car.




Link: http://www.autobild.de/klassik/artikel/fiat-131-mirafiori-1596558.html


Technical Data
1297cc 4-cylinder gasoline engine with 65-horsepower @ 5,200 RPM, 102 Nm @ 3,000 RPM, RWD, 4-speed manual, 150 km/h top speed, 175/70 SR 13 tires front and rear, 2490 mm wheelbase, 985 kg empty weight, fuel consumption = 7,5 L / 100 km



Incidentally, the second generation Fiat 131 was sold in the USA as 'Brava'. Madman can tell you all about it. 

[giant_mtb]

You ruin any thread you touch as soon as you mention Consumer Reports.   

[Cookie Monster]

So a car reached 600k miles, driven by a guy who pretty much babies it... don't see anything that special about it, especially since its engine has been rebuilt as well.

Cars have gone much farther than that. And yes, the CR thing is getting really really old.

[cawimmer430]

So a car reached 600k miles, driven by a guy who pretty much babies it... don't see anything that special about it, especially since its engine has been rebuilt as well.

Cars have gone much farther than that. And yes, the CR thing is getting really really old.

His driving style is slow and relaxed. Big deal. And the engine was sent in for an inspection and tune up at 560,000 km which itself is already an impressive mileage for a 1970s car. Are you telling me some cars can reach such mileages without regular maintenance? Uh huh... 

And did you read where he went with this thing? Eastern Europe and Russia, North Africa, Turkey and parts of the Middle East - places with shitty or no roads at all and stuff like that takes their toll on any car. If you treat your car like shit it won't last as long as it would if you treated it with respect.

[CJ]

My house in Plano is literally about 10 minutes from Southfork.

[Pancor]

My house in Plano is literally about 10 minutes from Southfork.

Hehe,  didn't I accompany you there once?

[The Pirate]

Guy seems pretty OCD.  While it's cool that he attained such mileage and has such fondness for the car, he could have picked something more exciting.  Like, anything else...

[Mustangfan2003]

Hey Wimmer the guy should've got a Mustang

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2Fe1VVJJLY&feature=related

[cawimmer430]

Guy seems pretty OCD.  While it's cool that he attained such mileage and has such fondness for the car, he could have picked something more exciting.  Like, anything else...

What's OCD?

Not sure about America but here people are passionate about mainstream classics from Fiat, Citroen, Peugeot etc. Many of these cars are considered historic and cult here. The Fiat 131 belongs to that club.

[Mustangfan2003]

What's OCD?

http://www.google.com/

[cawimmer430]

Hey Wimmer the guy should've got a Mustang

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2Fe1VVJJLY&feature=related

If a Fiat 131 can rack up such high mileage, than a Plymouth Volare, with some love and care, can do as well! 

Nice high mileage 'Stang. I think "owner love" is very important for any car.

[Cookie Monster]

His driving style is slow and relaxed. Big deal. And the engine was sent in for an inspection and tune up at 560,000 km which itself is already an impressive mileage for a 1970s car. Are you telling me some cars can reach such mileages without regular maintenance? Uh huh... 

And did you read where he went with this thing? Eastern Europe and Russia, North Africa, Turkey and parts of the Middle East - places with shitty or no roads at all and stuff like that takes their toll on any car. If you treat your car like shit it won't last as long as it would if you treated it with respect.

He Was OCD with it by never letting anyone else drive it and by driving so slowly. I bet he could've gotten almost any other car to drive that far as well.

[RomanChariot]

This is a fun story that speaks to a man with a great love for his car.  He doted over it for 40 years and took care of it in a fashion that most people are not willing to, especially for a basic model.

I do have to take issue with saying that he only did regular maintenance.  He has had the engine factory rebuilt.  He has changed the wheels (not just tires), front lighting assembly, rear lighting assembly and from the looks of the different pictures I would guess it has been repainted at least once.  I would guess that there aren't really that many original parts left on this car.  Probably the most amazing thing is that he has been able to keep it from rusting out all of those years but it doesn't look like it has had to deal with salted roads.

[cawimmer430]

He has changed the wheels (not just tires), front lighting assembly, rear lighting assembly and from the looks of the different pictures I would guess it has been repainted at least once.

I think he had the headlights replaced before his USA trip. Those yellow headlights were French-spec headlights after World War II to about the late 1980s. They're legal in all of Europe AFAIK but most likely weren't allowed in the US, so he had to change them to the American standard of the time which I think was sealed-beam. After his return to Europe I think he just left them on the car.

[cawimmer430]

He Was OCD with it by never letting anyone else drive it and by driving so slowly. I bet he could've gotten almost any other car to drive that far as well.

1970s Fiats were generally mechanically reliable but suffered from poor metal build quality and rust. Some of the metal they used was imported from the Soviet Union and those cars literally rusted in the showroom. The Alfasud is the best example of this.

[Secret Chimp]

Yeah this guy is kind of obsessive, but he's adventurous at least. Better than some grouchy miser who's just driven it back and forth from the steel plant 100 miles away all his life.

[cawimmer430]

One more thing I forgot to mention. Willy only touches his Fiat when the distance to drive is over 10 km. He's never been to Paris with this car despite living just 30 km away from the French capital. He claims that Paris city traffic is "poison for the engine and clutch" of his Fiat.

[Madman]

Incidentally, the second generation Fiat 131 was sold in the USA as 'Brava'. Madman can tell you all about it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhLKMFlNW_Y


The 131 replaced the 124 sedan and wagon in the US for the 1975 model year.  The rear-drive 131 was available in three body styles; a two-door sedan, a four-door sedan and a five door station wagon.  All US models sported larger bumpers and four round headlamps.  An 88 horsepower 1.8 litre engine could be paired with either a five speed manual or a GM-sourced three speed automatic.  Midway through the 1978 model year the 131 was re-named the Brava and later that same year a new 2.0 twin-cam engine replaced the 1.8.  An up-market Super Brava was also available for 1978.  The wagon disappeared after 1979.  For it's last model year in America, the 1981 Brava got new rectangular headlamps (replacing the four round units) and a restyled grille.  Fuel injection became standard.  Fiat 131 production continued in Italy until 1984 when it was replaced by the front-drive Fiat Regatta sedan and wagon, based on the Ritmo/Strada hatchback.

[CJ]

Hehe,  didn't I accompany you there once?

Sure did!

[CJ]

If a Fiat 131 can rack up such high mileage, than a Plymouth Volare, with some love and care, can do as well! 

That's pretty doubtful.  You'd be lucky to hit 100k miles in an American car from the 70s. 

[cawimmer430]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhLKMFlNW_Y

Interesting that the Fiat 131/Brava was sold as a "luxury car" in the US. 

[cawimmer430]

That's pretty doubtful.  You'd be lucky to hit 100k miles in an American car from the 70s. 

Most of the time those babies would be displayed in my XXXL-size living room along with other 1970s American landyachts. 

[RomanChariot]

That's pretty doubtful.  You'd be lucky to hit 100k miles in an American car from the 70s. 

There are many American cars from the '70's that would perform very similar to this Fiat if they were driven and taken care of in the same manner.   Although not quite the '70's, one of the first cars that I drove growing up was a '81 Chevy Malibu Classic.  My brother and I drove that car like it was stolen and it was not maintained in an exceptional fashion and it made it to 200,000 miles.  Half of that being after my brother drove it into a ditch and it had to have the frame straightened.

[Madman]

Interesting that the Fiat 131/Brava was sold as a "luxury car" in the US.  

Lots of cheapo cars in America are marketed on their so-called "Luxury" features.  "Look, it has "SUPERPLUSH" seats!  And "ULTRAROUND" wheels!  And 100 per cent see-through windows!  WOW!!!!"

Oddly, we didn't get the larger (and more luxurious) Fiat 132/Argenta, which seemed a no-brainer for the size obscessed American market.  So the 131/Brava had to step in as the top-drawer Fiat over here.

But at least you could get a $400 rebate on the 131/Brava in 1980!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arFpe8YgSww&feature=related

[cawimmer430]

Lots of cheapo cars in America are marketed on their so-called "Luxury" features.  "Look, it has "SUPERPLUSH" seats!  And "ULTRAROUND" wheels!  And 100 per cent see-through windows!  WOW!!!!"

Oddly, we didn't get the larger (and more luxurious) Fiat 132/Argenta, which seemed a no-brainer for the size obscessed American market.  So the 131/Brava has to step in as the top-drawer Fiat in over here.

But at least you could get a $400 rebate on the 131/Brava in 1980!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arFpe8YgSww&feature=related

I love those '80s commercials. So upfront and honest - unlike the stuff today that talks to you in "mysterious ways" and just piss you off. 

Interesting that the Fiat Ritmo (your Strada) was sold in the US! Most of those fell apart early on even in Europe! One of the worst Fiats ever.


Was the absolutely friggin beautifully gorgeous sexy I would kill for Fiat 130 Coupe ever sold in the US?

[Madman]

No, we didn't get the 130 either.  For some strange reason, Fiat never brought their bigger cars over here.  Seems odd that Fiat didn't sell a big over over here in Big Car Land, doesn't it?  The 124 and later the 131/Brava were the biggest Fiats we got.

[cawimmer430]

No, we didn't get the 130 either.  For some strange reason, Fiat never brought their bigger cars over here.  Seems odd that Fiat didn't sell a big over over here in Big Car Land, doesn't it?  The 124 and later the 131/Brava were the biggest Fiats we got.

Strange indeed. The Fiat 130 Coupe and Fiat 130 Sedan would have been perfect for the US.

The Fiat 130 Sedan is a hotty. 

[Madman]

Here's the one I really wish we got..... The 131 Volumetrico Abarth.  Supercharged twincam 2.0, baby!

                                        

[93JC]

I find it hard to believe the US didn't get, at the very least, the 132. It was available in Canada.

[sportyaccordy]

The Fiat 132 looks like the Frrri 400. Was it?