Body

The body of the Fiat Bravo/Brava is of unitary (monocoque) construction.

The floor pan, side panels and roof are welded together.

Major body repairs must therefore be carried out only by a specialist workshop.

The bonnet, tailgate, doors and wings are bolted on and can be easily replaced. When refitting, it is essential to maintain the correct panel gap (= width of the gap between the respective panel and the surrounding body). Otherwise, for example, the door may rattle, or increased wind noise may occur while driving.

The gap must run parallel in all cases, meaning the distance between the body panels must be the same along the entire length of the gap. Deviations of up to 1 mm are permissible.

• If welding or other spark-producing work is carried out, always disconnect the battery completely (positive and negative cables) and carefully insulate both terminals (+) and (-). For work near the battery, the battery must be removed. Caution: this will erase electronic memories.

  Therefore, before disconnecting, be sure to read the notes in the chapter "Removing and installing battery".

• During repair painting, the vehicle may be heated in the drying oven or its preheating zone to a maximum of +85 °C. Otherwise there is a risk of damaging electronic control units in the vehicle.