RE: Fiat Strada Abarth 130TC: You Know You Want To

[Dunk130TC]

dugsud said:

Used to lust after the 130 back in the day but alas I could only afford on of these.....which were fun too :-)

I went through about 10 of these in the late '80s! 70 peaky horsepower, a redline at 7200, they were far better than the wheezy 1275 GT alternative. They looked like a mini 928 if you removed the back bumper and swapped the tyres from 135 to 185. Still got a piece of the rear seat of my first car 127 sport as a kneeler in the garage!

[gethyped]

I had a 105tc when i was 18.Was a great car and quite lively.Always regret not replacing it with a 130tc. They were always a leftfield choice of hot hatch.

Edited by gethyped on Friday 22 March 12:55

[Carnnoisseur]

stats007 said:

My first car was a Strada 65CL. A terrible car which rotted faster than it accelerated to 60. Always fancied a 105 or 130 but then the Nova SR hit the streets.

Mine too, I bought a burnt orange 75CL when I was 15. Whilst all the other kids were out playing on their bikes, I was busy preparing rust patches to be rubbed down and sticking bits all over the place from Halfords (forgive me, this was back in 87). After two years of loving labour and then securing my driving licence, I stacked it into the back of a bus and wrote it off, the first and only time I remember crying. I then replaced it with a Strada Cabriolet - those were the days........

[newdogg06]

stats007 said:

My first car was a Strada 65CL. A terrible car which rotted faster than it accelerated to 60. Always fancied a 105 or 130 but then the Nova SR hit the streets.

Me too! White/ferrous oxide in colour and a baptism of fire on how to fix cars at the roadside. The 130 was on my list but I ended up going the Ford route.

[crofty1984]

JREwing said:

You suggest that people would reject one based on badge appeal?
So instead they would buy a Ford or a Vauxhall or a Volkswagen....I can't see the distinction?

Really? You can't see that there are great numbers of magazines dedicated to all of those marques? Or the fact that certain cars seem to cost more than they objectively ought to? (I'm looking at you, Mk2 Escort/VW Camper!)
Fair enough.

[bigaoi]

Nice. There was a Strada Abarth that lived down the end of our road when I was a kid, I always used to give it a second glance. There was also an RS1600i.

[wongthecorrupter]

I had one of these in 1995 in red, problem was i was 18 years old and drove it like i stole it, it cost me a lot of money in repairs and a trip to the courts for speeding.Loved the car though

[shadwell davies]

131 Sport for me many years ago.....Failed its first MOT on rust, blew diffs every year.

Think if I drove one now I would feel let down!

[Cliftonite]

I remember having a new, but fairly basic, Strada as a hire car in Jersey back in the day.

I recall the gear-change being very rubbery, tight and imprecise. And that as soon as the "Low fuel" light comes on you ain't got any!!!

[The Don of Croy]

£3.5k...tempting.

Somewhere in the loft I think there is a 'pull out special' from CAR or somesuch, and in there is a road test of the 130TC against the Delta turbo. The conclusion was to get the Strada engine in the Delta body...but I still prefer the 130TC.

[whitestu]

I had a 105 mk2 which handled brilliantly. I remember chasing a police car with the sirens on in the Pyrenees when driving down to Spain. Great fun until the head gasket went. It was even quicker when the Spanish garage skimmed a load off the head!

[V12 Migaloo]

Love the Ritmo, sorry Strada... Rebuilt one with a freind and his Dad,(I say rebuilt, I just stood there watching!) they were the most english of guys but his familty where really Italian under the skin, he had a 65CL, his bro a 127 Sport, his mum a 1500 Delta and his Dad a Thema Turbo.... loved it and them, his Mum made the best Tea ever, Jeff Boggis are you still out there!!!! All us boys had Italian cars, no one wanted German, these where 2 a penny back then then, could have bought them with a bag of nuts and a bunch of grapes, now likes hens teeth. Love it great memories cheers PH.

[snowmuncher]

owned a bogo standard Strada for a while, awesome little cars

If had a spare £3500 I'd be tempted

[vsonix]

lovely little car although 3 and a half bags..? If I had pots of cash I'd buy it for a giggle but it's not that high up the wish list. Even back in the day I remember them going well although I preferred the shape of the Ritmo.

[I WISH]

Drove one of these back in the day and remember it being really quite impressive and grunty.

Made a GLORIOUS intake noise courtesy of the twin Weber 40 DCOEs.

One of those rare cars that makes you feel a hero.

One of the best FIATs ever.

[MadDog1962]

Somehow does not look as ugly as I remembered it in these photos...

My research supervisor bought one of these when I was a postgrad in the mid 1980s. It was a bit of a problem child, but went rather well. Handled well too!

If you really want to be a bit different, you could do worse.

[RemyMartin]

OOOOFT Strada Abarth.

Lovely carbureted induction boom.

This or a MK1 Golf....Strada for me.

[nismo48]

A pretty good car back then...!!
Had 2 gunmetal grey's and a silver one..
At 4yrs old the door speakers fell out due to panel rust..!!
Back on topic had a Mk 1 Abarth 1985C...at the time it was only
3 yrs old,but still had killer rust...!!
Awesome car and was definitely a different alternative to the XR2/XR3/Gti hatches back then..

shadwell davies said:

131 Sport for me many years ago.....Failed its first MOT on rust, blew diffs every year.

Think if I drove one now I would feel let down!

[Bezza1969]

What a magnificent car! I've still got the Brooklands Book on the Fiat Strada Abarth and it was highly rated in its day..but, for £3.5K would you really choose one over, say a very tidy 205 GTi 1.9? Im afraid I wouldnt, its too rough around the edges, likely to be fragile and I sense it might frustrate if owned now...

[interloper]

GTRene said:

I love that kind of seat, makes a lot of modern bucket/sport seats look stupidly over styled, yes I'm looking at you Audi!

In all honesty, back in the mid eighties I was a shallow child and thought the Strada was an odd looking thing. How times and taste changes, because its now one of the few hot hatches I would like to own.