So what do you all think of Fiat 128 Coupes?

Probably a cut and fabricate-your-own patch job. The area doesn't look overly complex but needs attending to. It'd be a good chance to bone up on the bodywork skills!
 
The third photo shows a stress crack, they are not uncommon in the 128s and if in critical areas; ie shock towers or sub frame can cause flex that wears cv joints, control arms and tires. Usually corrected by early detection and welding. A strut brace helps. The prices for 128s have been going up in the last few years, not a lot out there for sale, But $5-$6k cars typically have been fully restored and or improved with performance modifications. Buying a car almost "finished" may deprive you of the "joy" of the build, but it probably will be cheaper than building it yourself and it will be a faster path to the driving fun zone. One example I can think of was a member here, out of Florida, offering a clean resto mod two door in the $4.5K range, that was about 3yrs ago?? Most expensive example was a pristine, restored stock 3P ot of Northern Cal $7-8k.
 
Assuming it's been well done, always cheaper to buy other peoples labor and parts then do it yourself. Way-way-way cheaper.

Any coaching on carb options for this one assuming it keeps it's apparently healthy 1100 engine?

Thank you!
 
I know the conversion from 1300 to 1500 motor is fairly simple. You use the 128 oil pan, pump and return pipe, flywheel and starter an it bolts right in. All the 1300 ancillaries such as distributor, intake and exhaust bolt right on even if the 1500 was originally fuel injected. I don't know if conversion from 1100 to 1500 is the same.
 
Thank you Carl. So the original engine if healthy would be around 50 hp? I don't think finding 1300s or 1500s is going to be very difficult, I would imagine with a 1500 you could get 100 hp out of it quite easily and not have the engine be stressed, that would probably make this pretty darn entertaining.
 
I have had a 74 128 sl Coupe for many years. It is surprisingly roomy inside with a working trunk. Used to daily drive it for years and it was fun to drive and fairly easy to work on. One thing is there is more room around the front side of the engine in the coups then the sedans. The four speed gearing is too short for long distance cruising. My little brother drove it regularly between home and the U of W. He grew to hate the little guy. One time he tried to blow it up and floored it between Seattle and Spokane. Nothing happened and he realized that Fiats have pretty tough little engines. Out of the box they handle pretty good for an older fwd car and I guess you can tweak the suspension to make it better. Even with an upgraded motor and trans, just don't expect it to scare away any late model cars on the straight or the twisties. You will surprise a few of the newer crowd and the Coupe is a handsome classic design. That being said, the Coupe and 3P are pretty rare and the value might be in keeping it stock or at least making all modes reversible. That one looks to need some body repairs soon so they don't get worse. I am torn to fix mine up and highly modify it or just preserve and repair as needed. Heaters, defrosters and wipers are classic 1970's fiat. Some body and trim parts are very hard to find and you are limited in off the self suspension goodies for the Coupe. I'd get it, fix enough to drive and see if you like it enough to go deep. If the price is right I don't see how you could go wrong. Oh, one more thing, gas mileage is surprisingly poor for a little car. I had read that in a few places also, so it isn't just me. About 28 on the highway and around 22 in town. Good luck.
 
Hi there, thank you for the thoughtful post in background.

It needs a new carb to be usable, so I'll have to budget for that right away. The bodywork needs to be addressed immediately or it's going to continue to get worse obviously.

Is there a bolt on Weber that works well with a healthy 1100?
 
tdskip said:
Sorry, I should've asked if a five speed swap is feasible as well
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I put a 1979 Strada with 5 speed in the 1975 128 Sedan I had. There was probably an easier way but this was before the internet so I was on my own in figuring it all out. I cut and welded Strada inboard axle the the outer end of the 128. I think the 1500 X axles will work. The engine and trans fit but had to put 1/2 inch spacers on the sway bar bushing so the bar would not rub the end of the trans. It fit but the clearance was on the bar and trans was to close for suspension travel.
 
The only workable 5spd options for the 128 sedan that I know are; The uber rare and $$$ Colettti 5spd conversion kit which uses the existing case with replaced internals and a special end cap. It is also possible a Yugo GVX 5spd can work with some cutting on the case to clear the control arms. The Yugo 5spd trans will work with little or no mods on the 128sl and 3p because they use a Strada like radius arm suspension. The Strada trans may work for the 3p and 128sl, but the axels and larger trans case could be issues. The Yugo trans if you can find one is probably the cheapest option, there is also a copy of the Coletti kit out of Serbia or that region, probably not cheap but the Italian version is no longer being made. Perhaps our Serbian or Macedonian members can share some info about this, they have a lot of experience tuning Yugos,128s and 128 variants. As far as replacement carbs, someone posted some basic weber rebuilt carbs (not performance) very cheap in the FSW section, that should work on a 1100.
 
Wait - what carb am I looking for? Looked at FSW section and nothing jumped out at me.

Sorry if I'm being a dolt.
 
tdskip said:
The front wheel drive section of the form doesn't seem to get much traffic, so forgive me for asking a question here.

Fun to drive? Usable as around the town daily driver? Parts supply ok? Is there any market for them if I buy then decide to sell after having my fun?

Thanks!
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Lots of topics to cover...

1) If more people posted in the FWD section, it would have more traffic! ;)

2) I find all models of 128 to be a real kick to drive. Some simple suspension mods correct the US-spec ride height issues and wake them up. They will run with other boxy/sporty sedans of the era in the twisties, not necessarily in a straight line. I have logged a lot of miles in 2-door sedans. A '76 and later '78 Rally were primary vehicles for me through college. Around town they are great since they are peppy, easy to maneuver, can be parked anywhere, etc. Ingress and egress is easy, especially how skinny the doors are. Your friends will laugh about sitting in the back seat...until they sit in the back seat - super comfy, tons of head room, and while the leg room is tight it's not worse than modern compact cars. The trunk openings are narrow but you'll be surprised how much they can hold. I've moved 128 engine long blocks for example. On the highway they are pretty buzzy, but if you're cool with the slower lanes, a 128 will get you there. I've done SoCal to Bay Area runs plenty of times, and even SoCal to Oregon. When I moved to Charlotte I drove the Rally up to the Carlisle event and back. The early cars had less cushion in the seats. The later model cars had a little more support (under the legs especially) and I haven't been in many modern cars that were as comfortable on long trips. If the windshield is sealed (lots of them leak) they make decent foul weather cars (the heaters get toasty). Wipers can be slow (like many Fiats) but maintenance helps.

3) Parts - the other guys nailed that. Finding good interior is the most difficult. Trim next. Mechanicals not too bad since they pull from the Fiat parts bin (lots of crossover with X1/9, Yugo, and other euro models we never got).

4) Carburetor - the 1100 engine came with a single downdraft. You could swap to a two-barrel carb from a 1300 (or any of the upgrades for that carb). Probably a 32 DMTR or 34 DMTR would be a good bet since they have the mechanical choke (like the single barrel). You will need the two-barrel intake manifold. Probably the throttle linkage as well as the configuration changed for the 1300. Won't bore everyone with the details now...

5) Transmission. Kevin summed that up nicely. There was also an Alquati 5-speed conversion (another rare bit). Unless you're really going to log a bunch of freeway miles, and need that taller gear, an easy way to go is to find a 4-speed from a later 128 ('77-up) or Yugo. These had 3.76 final drives instead of a 4.08, which brings the revs down a bit. Also, I would avoid a 5-speed swap unless you ditch the 1100 for a 1500 engine. I put a Yugo 5-speed in a 128 with a 1300 (with minor engine mods) and it was not happy pulling 5th on even light grades.
 
tdskip said:
Wait - what carb am I looking for? Looked at FSW section and nothing jumped out at me.

Sorry if I'm being a dolt.
Click to expand...
I am sorry, I should have clarified the carbs I was referring to were being offered by a member here, 74xcleveland, in the FSW in January but he had a number of the and was continuously offering them on Ebay, I think they were rebuilt 32DMTRs for about $35
 
I put an unknown year 128 transaxle in my 128 wagon and I was surprised that it would do 70 at 4,000 rpm which is pretty reasonable for a Fiat so it must be from a later 128. My track day 128 had a much lower geared transaxle and it would scream at highway speeds. Oddly enough the motor ran smoother at 5,500 rpm then it did at 4,000. This is the car that made me discover ear plugs for long highway trips since it had a gutted interior.

I guess what I'm saying is you can get a reasonably geared 128 with a four speed.
 
Thanks.

So it sounds like leave the 4 speed alone (or look for one with slightly longer legs) and focus on the engine if I want to tweak it.

The 4 speed will bolt up to a 1500, correct? The 1500 swap challenges are more the ancillaries, mounts and oil pan fit etc?

Well - what I should really do is just get the carb sorted and use it, but you all know how this goes...
 
So I take it you bought it? You now know what you must do. Build thread with a bunch of pi'chures for us to look at and give useful/less advice! And I'd like to be first in line if you want to pass it on.:cool:
 
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