81 Strada for sale

Dave, that does not include my spider that was parked in front of the house and was pushed up on the curb by a Schwan's meat truck 30 years ago.
No conspiracy, my middle daughter is an idiot and I don't think the two ladies trapped in their Avalon as it lay on it's side after trashing my two Xs could have been convinced to take a run at those cars!

BJ, that's what I'm talking about.
 
bjwhite said:
Agreed!
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I kinda like the Strada. I looked for one, but they all disappeared years ago. An injected Strada would be sweet!

I did go look at a solid local 1987 Abarth 130TC. It needed some TLC, but not much. I opted for an Abarth 500 instead, but I made a mistake. I should have bought the 130TC. I do prefer the 125TC and 105TC looks though over the 130TC :) But those dual carbs are quite nice in the 130!!
 
carl said:
Dave, that does not include my spider that was parked in front of the house and was pushed up on the curb by a Schwan's meat truck 30 years ago.
No conspiracy, my middle daughter is an idiot and I don't think the two ladies trapped in their Avalon as it lay on it's side after trashing my two Xs could have been convinced to take a run at those cars!

BJ, that's what I'm talking about.
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I'll never forget that! We were literally pming at the time it happened!😭
 
Such a fun thread to read....lots of great comments:

bjwhite said:
Man what's with all these people with these wives who say no to car stuff? haha. Wow.
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What's with all these people with wives?


Lowtechprime said:
Seems like a good price and in really good condition, local for me as well. Unfortunately, I don't find them particularly attractive... Also 1981 in L.A. rules it out.. I only have one vehicle left that needs to be smogged, and would not add another one. Plus the number of four door cars that I would own can be counted on less than one hand, and that's not one of them😁 Still, should be an excellent buy for some fan!
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I with you on the "four-door" part. If it was a two-door then maybe.


bjwhite said:
Agreed!
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But those are all two-door versions. Wouldn't work on a four-door.
 
bjwhite said:
Well. My wife is awesome. I chose well. :)


Meh, I bet it would. Lots of awesome four door hot hatches....especially modern ones. Focus RS, Golf R, etc.

I bet an Abarth converted four door would still look great.
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Are there awesome modern hot hatches? Or awesome modern cars in general? To me, cars from the late 80's on pretty much look like cars that have had cheese melted over them... Kind of soft and shapeless, wheels all offset to the outside, flush glass, no trim... Pretty blea I say, no thank you!😁
 
dnudelman said:
Lot of fuss about this car. When they came out I thought they were #$@y. Still do and I guess the american car buying public agreed and FIAT pulled out of the market. I can't seem to find the Strada's USA sales numbers. By comparison, AMC sold over 200,000 Pacers.
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Says the man who seeks out ancient Toyota Minivans (“ ohhh, this one only has 150k on it….”) and covets Brazilian “Alfa Romeo’s” not to mention Federal spec Rover 3500 SD1’s……

My dear old father (RIP) drove an 81 Strada off the showroom floor in Seattle, it was a fine car that replaced a totaled Lancia HPE. And just remember Strada / Ritmo’s were the basis for this….

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You can shoe horn a twin cam into one of these pretty easily, and with all off the shelf OE parts...

a 1585 twin cam from a ritmo / strada / regata 105 is 105hp, thats like an Uno Turbo in output and these weigh less than an X19 ... the performance killer is the very tall final drive (3.2:1) that the 1600 105hp twin cam models used, but fortunately the transmission internals are the same as the SOHC 5 speed X19 / ritmo, so swapping in a 3.76 or 3.59 is easy and really peps the acceleration.

The automatics are horrible, and that's not made by Fiat but made by VW...

Integrale is the ultimate hot hatch, and it's a 4 door!

SteveC
 
bjwhite said:
And my Thema! :)
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Thema is a different platform to strada / ritmo / regata ... thats more like croma/thema/dedra/alfa 164 (I think) and saab 9000 (all on a common platform) ... although they did shoe horn the delta 4WD running under some of these.

that must be a one of a kind in your part of the world?

SteveC
 
"Integrale is the ultimate hot hatch, and it's a 4 door!"
Oh yes, I agree! It is at the top of my very short list.. Unfortunately, being in Los Angeles I will most likely never have one😭
 
New parents find out that two door cars are terrible!
Hot hatch with four doors, try on a current GTI

Not a hot hatch, but a 124 sedan is on every Fiat enthusiast's bucket list and it's four door.
 
I had (actually still have, but not currently driveable) a very rare '81 FI Strada 2 door. What a BLAST to drive! Less weight than an X1/9, so it's quicker; HUGE comfy interior; engine revs to the moon (just like the X1/9); and goes thru snow and everything! Downside is the same weak 5 speed gearbox as the X...
 
fiatfactory said:
Thema is a different platform to strada / ritmo / regata ... thats more like croma/thema/dedra/alfa 164 (I think) and saab 9000 (all on a common platform) ... although they did shoe horn the delta 4WD running under some of these.

that must be a one of a kind in your part of the world?

SteveC
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haha. Yeah. Thema was a Type Four platform along with the Saab 9000, Fiat Croma, and Alfa 164.

No Integrale 4WD under the Thema although they did do a Dedra Integrale.

And yeah Themas are rare here in the US. Most of the ones here are 8.32 (the ones with a cross-plane crank 3 liter Ferrari V8). Mine is a 2 liter twin cam turbo made famous as the motor in the Delta Integrale.
 
Nice looking SAAB BJ. BTW I had a 164, suffered through 1 engine replacement (tensioner failure) and 2 diff gears failing and sawing through the 5 speed transaxles. Nice car to drive but cruel mistress. Bought it from a very dubious Ferrari Dealer (flaviaman). I imagine if I had the SAAB, it might still be on the road.
 
Dr.Jeff said:
124 coupe yes, sedan no.
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124 2 door Yes! 4 door, no thank you... By the way, what makes that car a Coupe? That car is a 2 door sedan.. There have been a lot of more recent cars that call themselves Coupes that are really 2 door sedans(Mercedes and BMW come to mind, I'm not sure if Mercedes has ever really made a Coupe..) One of the defining traits of a Coupe is that you can get to the trunk from the back seat, no bulkhead, no rear parcel shelf under the rear window.. Datsun 1200 coupe vs. 1200 sedan, Classic Mustang Fastback vs. notchback, etc... That line gets a little blurry around 3 door hatchbacks with rear seats that fold down. I guess a 3 door Civic hatchback from back in the day could be considered a Coupe.. Just because it's smaller and has 2 doors does not make it a Coupe. A classic Mini is still a 2 door sedan, or saloon as they call it over there...
 
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Lowtechprime said:
124 2 door Yes! 4 door, no thank you... By the way, what makes that car a Coupe? That car is a 2 door sedan.. There have been a lot of more recent cars that call themselves Coupes that are really 2 door sedans(Mercedes and BMW come to mind, I'm not sure if Mercedes has ever really made a Coupe..) One of the defining traits of a Coupe is that you can get to the trunk from the back seat, no bulkhead, no rear parcel shelf under the rear window.. Datsun 1200 coupe vs. 1200 sedan, Classic Mustang Fastback vs. notchback, etc... That line gets a little blurry around 3 door hatchbacks with rear seats that fold down. I guess a 3 door Civic hatchback from back in the day could be considered a Coupe.. Just because it's smaller and has 2 doors does not make it a Coupe. A classic Mini is still a 2 door sedan, or saloon as they call it over there...
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classic mini is just a mini :D
 
Lowtechprime said:
124 2 door Yes! 4 door, no thank you... By the way, what makes that car a Coupe? That car is a 2 door sedan.. There have been a lot of more recent cars that call themselves Coupes that are really 2 door sedans(Mercedes and BMW come to mind, I'm not sure if Mercedes has ever really made a Coupe..) One of the defining traits of a Coupe is that you can get to the trunk from the back seat, no bulkhead, no rear parcel shelf under the rear window.. Datsun 1200 coupe vs. 1200 sedan, Classic Mustang Fastback vs. notchback, etc... That line gets a little blurry around 3 door hatchbacks with rear seats that fold down. I guess a 3 door Civic hatchback from back in the day could be considered a Coupe.. Just because it's smaller and has 2 doors does not make it a Coupe. A classic Mini is still a 2 door sedan, or saloon as they call it over there...
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In my day a 2-door was a couple and a 4-door was a sedan. Otherwise you had a wagon, a truck, and a van. Period. None of the marketing bull that has confused the public endlessly. ;)
 
A coupe is a 2 door 2+2 seating arrangement car. It is not a two door sedan which is just a sedan with two doors but the same same accommodation as the sedan. They are generally lower than the sedan from which they may be related and would have their own specific bodywork.

The 124 Sport Coupe is a coupe just as a 300CE MB is a coupe.

The 850 Sport Coupe is a coupe as well due to its 2+2 seating configuration even though it is similar to the 850 Sedan.

I own one of both. They are unequivically coupes and two of my favorite cars.

The Mini is neither a sedan nor a coupe, it is a Mini, the first of the two box designs and falls in neither category.
 
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