1978 Fiat 131 Supermirafiori Abarth Coupe Series 2, AC, Cromodora Wheels, LOOK

1978 Fiat 131 Abarth Description

1978 Fiat 131 Supermirafiori Abarth Coupe Series 2

2L DOHC inline four-cylinder engine with Weber 34 ADF twin-choke carb Short-throw five-speed manual transmission Champagne Yellow exterior with black accents Black interior Air-conditioning Cromodora eight-spoke wheels Sonata pushbutton AM/FM stereo Twin hood scoops, rear wing, aftermarket side mirrors

A rare and very handsome Italian stallion, MotoeXotica Classic Cars is pleased to offer this 1978 Fiat 131 Supermirafiori Abarth Coupe. Way before its current 500 models, Fiat sold its 131 models in the U.S. during the 1970s.

Dressed in Champagne Yellow with twin black hood scoops and a black rear wing, the car’s finish and trim are in excellent condition. The windows are in very good order, clear and intact. The car’s lights are in good order, including the amber fog lights. This car rolls on Cromodora eight-spoke wheels wrapped within 205/50R15 radials. All of its body panels are straight and solid. The trunk comes with a tire jack, small tool kit, is lined in black and very spacious. The bumpers are in good condition.

Inside, the black front racing bucket seats are in very good condition, as is the matching black carpet. The slightly lighter headliner provides some contrast and is in good order, as is the black instrument panel but there are a few blemishes on it. The three-spoke aftermarket steering wheel with the Ferrari center cap is in very good order. The inner door panels, mirror glass and shifter are all in good order. The car’s interior offered a worldwide first by having the secondary dashboard switches illuminated by a central bulb somewhere in the dashboard and used fiber optics from there to the switches. Completing the interior is a Sonata AM/FM pushbutton stereo.

The 131 was the replacement for the successful Fiat 124, and available as a two-door and four-door saloon and 5-door estate. The 131 was given the Mirafiori name after the Turin suburb where the cars were produced. Naming the car in this way marked a break with the former Fiat convention, established in the 1960s, of naming their mainstream models only with a three digit number, and it set the pattern for Fiat to adopt a new naming practice, with carefully chosen names for subsequent new models.

It received a minor facelift in 1978. New DOHC, or “Twin Cam” (TC) engines arrived, and these models were badged as Supermirafiori. The biggest change exterior-wise for the Series 2 was quad round headlights, new bumpers, new bigger rear lights and new interior trim including a chunky, single-spoke steering wheel. The Series 2 was marketed in the United States as the Fiat Brava from mid-year 1978 with the same 1.8-liter four as had been used in the US-market 131 but before the year was over this was replaced by the 2-liter twin cam four also seen in the Spider.

The suspension system utilized fully independent front suspension, with MacPherson struts, track control arms and anti-roll bar. The rear suspension was quite advanced (when using a solid live rear axle), in that the rear axle was controlled by double unequal length trailing arms, a Panhard rod, with coil springs and direct acting dampers. This design proved far superior to many of its contemporaries, especially with vehicle stability and handling.

The braking system was also typical; the front brakes were disc brakes, using a solid iron disc and a single-piston sliding caliper. The rears were drum brakes, utilizing leading and trailing shoe design operated by a dual piston fixed slave cylinder. They were operated hydraulically, with a tandem master cylinder assisted by a vacuum servo using two separate circuits. A rear-mounted load-sensing valve varied the bias of effort applied to the rear brakes, dependent on the load being carried (and also the pitch dynamics caused by braking effort and road levels). A centrally located floor mounted handbrake operated on the rear axle using Bowden cables.

Competition to this Fiat in 1978 included AMC’s Concord coupe, Buick’s Opel Sport Coupe, Chevrolet’s Monza notchback coupe, Ford’s Mustang II and Mercury’s Capri II coupe.

This car is currently located at our facility in St. Louis, Missouri. Current mileage on the odometer shows

50,578 miles. It is sold as is, where is, on a clean and clear, exempt mileage title. GET OUT AND DRIVE!!!

VIN: 398836

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