Comments: 1-15, 16-18
I recently overhauled the little car after it's 12 year long rest. The only real problem is the dirt in the fuel system, the main jet in the carb gets clogged now and then. I also had a flat tube. No blame there, the car is 27 years old and it's my daily driver.
The beefy engine delivers about 80 HP, not bad for a 1300. The car is also very light, and it drives like a race car (that's why I gave it a 7 for comfort, the suspension is quite stiff).
Fuel consumption is pretty bad, on 1 liter of gas I can go about 9 Km.
Not many of you know the car, but it's a beautiful little coupe.
When you press the pedal you'll hear that deep grrrrooooowwwwll!!! I guess nothing beats a double Weber when it comes to sound.
My father used to own one of these back in Bosnia and I must admit that the car was bloody fast for its time due to its low kerb weight (no chassis) and the sound it made... nothing beats Fiats when it comes to a four cylinder engine note!
I had a brand new 128 back in 73'. I loved that damn car. Broke my heart when my best friend drove it and bent the front axle... I wasn't able to get a replacement for months and my dad finally made me get rid of it. If I ever win the lotto I will track one down and buy it!
My father bought an SL 1300 back in 1973. This car last 24 years.
The main problem of this model it's corrosion. Nowadays my 128 it's rusting away in my house backyard.
If mechanical parts are easy to find body panels and doors are impossible.
I really miss the Weber carburettor roaring and the seventies black interior with the cheap chrome all around.
I had a '74 Fiat 128 SL from 1981-1982. It is still one of the most beautiful little coupes ever made. That car could stop on a dime, and after many months I discovered that the rear brakes weren't even functioning. After that it stopped even better!
I got rid of it due to rust, but no car provided a more thrilling ride. It had terrible electrics; the headlights once went out on a dark forest road after hitting a small bump.
Too bad Fiat is gone from the US: they make cool cars.
In September, 1974 my wife and I were the happy recipients of a brand new Fiat 128SL Sports Coupe as a wedding gift from my father in law. He was born in Detroit so convincing him this was the right car for us was a bit tough.
The Fiat was a beautiful coupe and when it was in proper fit a delight to drive. My wife and I made several roundtrips from our hometowns in PA to my assignment at Lowry AFB in Colorado in our Fiat.
We had modified the seat belts for a better fit, having a shop add about six inches to the webbing on the inside strap so that the shoulder/lap belts fit more comfortably on both of us. We found the vinyl upholstery to be less than durable, particularly with an Irish Setter tromping around on the back seat, but soon sheepskins took care of that all the way around.
As I recall the clutch cable was a frequent problem and I became expert at replacing it in a matter of minutes - and I ALWAYS carried a spare.
While the four speed did result in high revs at highway speeds, the car was a treat to drive in most conditions. I believe there was some sort of factory camber setting error that could not be fixed and as a result the car simply ate tires alive on the front wheels. This condition was exacerbated when my wife slid into curb one icy morning. In a cost benefit analysis (as only a poorly paid enlisted man could make) I opted to just replace tires every 15,000 miles or so instead of springing for the far more costly "real" repair job.
Our Fiat was dark blue with a tan vinyl interior and had the 1974 safety bumpers which, while ugly were pretty darn strong. The also were great for use as a seat when changing into hiking boots or biking shoes at the trailhead!
All in all, the Fiat 128SL was a delightful part of my lifetime of car memories. Remember that this car predated the VW Scirocco in the US Market place and I believe was every bit as beautiful. I do recall though that there were times when I wished that my SL had been a hatchback.
Would LOVE to see a Fiat 128SL on the road again.
- Very good the previous comment I even got inspired -
My first car was a Fiat 128 SL 1300, red color which was given to me after 20 years of usage.
Nowadays I don't know if this car still exists or if it was taken to some junk yard, I'm living in Poland and the
car stayed in Portugal, when I left my country the SL was completely destroyed with rust mostly in the doors, door sills wings and around the rear window. All the door trimmings, instrument panel, carpets and seats
are still in my mother's house.
Some mechanic took the car away.
My father bought it new in September 1973 - 3 months before I was born - in Lisbon, he asked the car in
white, but when he went to the saloon we was told that only red was available and there was no other chance
since those cars were imported directly from Fiat Italy, in fact it had Italian number plates and an I for Italy in
the boot.
After this the car was taken to Angola when it was a Portuguese colony. In 1974 with the Portuguese
revolution my family had to return to Portugal and together came the car.
From 1974 to 1978 we were living in the coastal area so the first corrosion problems arrived. In 1978 we
moved to the Northern part of the country and the rain and moist took care of the rest.
By 1983 the car had to be repainted and never more was the same since the repair was made quite
unprofessionaly, body parts such as doors, doors sills and wings were already quite difficult to buy in Fiat
service -mostly because of lack of interest from the local dealers-
All the maintenance was made in an independent, but autorized Fiat service - more a friend than a
mechanic - and mechanicaly the car was quite reasonable apart from a very trashy gearbox and quite
hard clutch, with the typical problem of braking the cable, wich was already mentioned above.
The internal heater was very weak - only two speeds - and the rear window was steaming awfully making an
already bad visibility even worse, the electrical defroster was an expensive option for the S and SL in 1973.
The plastic chromes painted in the inside trimmings and the dashboard were prone to pill and crack as much
as the two little back windows with some plastic openers glued to the glass wich were easy to detach. The
steering wheel in the SL was padded with a soft material very good looking, but terribly easy to torn.
I observed that the USA SL versions were much more complete than the European ones.
In Europe the SL had no radio, no hazard button, no cigarette lighter, no head resters and seat-belts and even
the handbrake warning light was optional! At least radial tyres were fitted.
The 1290 c.c. engine was fitted with a twin carburettor Weber, but to drive an 128 SL fast one needed to rev
the engine a lot wich was quite exciting because of the noise this one makes. This twin Weber had to be
tuned often.
Fuel consumption was not bad, but in some cases more than 11 liters each 100 km, quite a lot for European
standards.
Confort in an SL in my opinion was null. Not only the suspension was quite dry as the seats -taken from the
850 coupe special- were to short in the support for the back, in the back seat with the wheel arches taking
space to passangers and the narrow space for legs the SL was good for childrens, at least ashtrays in both
sides of the inside back trims were available.
Road holding was very good tough the narrow tyres (145 in 13 inches wheels) didn't help to much,
under-steering in fast turns was easily neutralized by lifting the throttle a little. Disk brakes were not deciving
but braking power was all placed in the front so the back had tendency to slide gently in emergency brakes.
The boot -or trunk as Americans say- was indeed good for such a small car mostly because of the spare tyre
beeing placed in the engine compartment - I saw two severe accidents with Fiat's 127 using the spare tyre in
the engine compartment and this one fled away in both cases - but in 1973 car safety was still in the
beginning -
Nowadays the 128 saloon and the 128 S, SL and 3P are almost extinct, this cars don't have commercial value
and were produced in thousands mostly the saloons.
Mechanical spare parts are still available since the Fiat Ritmo, Regatta, 124, 127, 131 and even the Uno
have common parts, but when it comes to find body panels this can become a quest.
If you have economical possibilities and nostalgia for an SL buy one and restore it, for sure you will not
regret.
Last year at New Years an older couple (friends of mine) approached me in the Golden Eagle Saloon in Ester, Alaska and offered me their 74 Fiat 128 SL Coupe for free! When asked why they would make such a generous offer they replied, ‘Because we know you’ll give it a good home’. I accepted without even knowing what I was receiving. The car was bought originally by my friends in Anchorage, Alaska and in all these years they managed to only put 64,000 miles on it. They maintained it perfectly and kept it garaged always. It had nothing more than superficial rust and a few very minor dings.
I replaced the exhaust, fixed a dinky electrical problem and repainted it. It’s the most original car I’ve got. Drove it every day last summer and it was tons of fun.
I bought a little Fiat 128SL back in 1985 and had it for three years. What an amazing little car when it was on the road!! Sydney-Melbourne in 9 hours on the old road!! 5500 revs all the way!! Past the Commodores (Opels) up the hills and through the corners - I felt like Mario Andretti!! Just as well the police were in bed as we have ridiculously low speed limits here.
Pity I had to get under it all the time and had so much trouble with clutch cables until I found out the top engine mount was shot. Once replaced all was well.
However, the engine wore out (was on the way out when I bought it) and I can well remember the new owners driving away with a small cloud of smoke chasing them. Lucky it had 50-70 multigrade.
I loved the handling, gearchange and driving it. So comfortable with my wife and son. He learnt how to drive in it on the back roads at the age of 13 and so loved manuals that he still has them.
Have never seen another on the road since.
1974 128Coupe SL! What a wonderful toy! I had on earlier one in Houston when going to college, but was hit in the front, didn't have the money..., so it disapeared :- (
I bought another 128SL in Colorado (2004),where I live now. And yes! there is rust galore, but the car runs WELL! I need a passenger door foremost! Suspension is actually not there, but the parts are? It is a yellow/lime green and it looks good when washed, hope it lasts another five years!
The sound and feel of the engine is super even though it only has the US Webber 28 :- (My next process is the suspension and neutralizing the rust(ing). These are great toys/cars that actually are quite reliable.
Driving these babies hard, IS fun!
I had a 1973 red 128 SL while living in Spain back when I was in the Air Force. I bought it in 1986 and it was in pretty good condition... dry climate helped avoid the notorious Fiat corrosion problems. Interestingly enough, it was a US spec edition, having been shipped over from the US by an USAF guy. I remember that the engine seemed pretty advanced (compared to US cars) for the early '70s, with the overhead cam, very high redline (7000 RPMs), etc. I also remember having the aforementioned problem with the clutch cable, but that was a pretty easy fix. Compared to the European versions, the US version had better seats, bumpers & the safety glass. I drove it fairly hard for a couple of years, it had superb handling and that pleasing exhaust note, especially at the higher RPMs. What a pleasure to go tearing down some mountain road, keeping your shift points at around 6000 RPM. Sharp looking car, too. Too bad you never see them around any more. I also remember that the Fiat/Bertone X1/9 had the exact same engine as the 128. A friend of mine had one of those. A few years later, I happened to pick up the sedan version of the 128, but it wasn't nearly as satisfying to drive.
I bought my red 128 sl in 1974, brand new. Tan fake leather interior, and I got a $150.00 rebate on it that I had to take the dealer to court for! My "baby Ferrari" was a joy, I was lucky enough to have 2 shops in town that specialized in Fiat Performance. I took off the ugly black rubber bumpers, installed a body kit. So they put bigger valves and two dual intake webbers on it with a hot cam, a oil cooler and she had about 130 HP. Also had them put koni shocks on it, Chromadora italian Magnesium wheels and I installed a custom black/red interior, with a 4 vdo gauge cluster on the counsel. Loved it to death, and even though I took great care of it, in true Fiat form, it blew rubber cam belts frequently, and despite living in dry southern california, developed rust bubbles in the 2nd year! Traded it for a new 280ZX Nissan. I still think of the joy I got from driving that little car! Super Steve
I also rely enjoyed a 1974 that I purchased new. Drove it from Vermont to Arizona. Quite a trip; a bear ripped open one of the back windows at Yellowstone and we later hit a mule deer. The car survived both, but made it back to VT with no radiator fan. I put an Abarth exhaust on it which added to its delightful sound. Unfortunately it later got totaled at about 46,000 miles when a car pulled out in front of my wife. Those ugly bumpers helped out when she hit the other car at 50 or so. Other than whip lash injury it protected her well. In its short life span I never had a bit of trouble with it.
I have one of the latest version. It is called Yugo Skala 55. Serbian production (november 1989).It is FIAT 128 hatchback version (five doors) so it is really practic. It is the best car of that type here in Sarajevo, Bosnia. Yesterday I achieved 150 km/h (5300 rpm) on the motorway Sarajevo-Visoko. Max. speed is 160 km/h. Nice result for only 55 HP. 6000 rpm is really nice, woaw what a sound. I - 55 km/h (6000rpm), II - 80 km/h (6000 rpm) or 85 km/h (6400 rpm), III - 123 km/h (6000 rpm) and IV - 160 km/h (5700 rpm) after very long pushing to the limit. It is not true about poor fuel consumption and rust. My car is in perfect condition even after 130.000 km and 17 years. Fuel consumption is sometimes even lower than 8l/100 km in city. On motorway fuel consumption is about 5-7 l/100km (it depends on driving style). Electronic ignition makes wonder. There is no problem to drive the car in 4. gear 1200 rpm. Really elastic high touring motor, the best ever made in car industry. We have a nice FIAT BRAVA in family. Excellent car. Why? It is Fiat too.
I bought a 1973 128SL brand new in in California and if I recall, the total price out the door was just under $3,000! It was a sort of burnt orange exterior with black interior. What an awesome car. Never gave a problem for the first 4 years then one day while driving, the engine started a repetitive surging and me being young and impatient got tired of the problem and rather than fix it (fuel pump), drove it to the nearest car lot and traded it for a 1973 Olds Cutlass Salon. The little Fiat was in immaculate shape in every way... what an idiot I was to let it go.
I bought a 1973 128 SL from new. Red with black leather interior. I had many beautiful memories driving that car which I still think that it had the most beautiful shape in its class and a lovely roaring engine sound.
Why don't Fiat make cars like this anymore!!