The 1972 Fiat 128 near Lynchburg, VA. The lovely Natalie was inside the car smoking.
As soon as I had the bucks, I traded in my ’62 Ford for a brand-new, Positano Yellow 1972 Fiat 128 two-door sedan. The Fiat set me back $2,000, but they gave me $100 for my Ford with the Italian Circus option. I financed $1,000, then paid off the car in one year at $98 bucks a month.
I truly loved the Fiat. Finally, I was able to outfit my car with all the goodies from Road & Track that one dreamed about. In Long Island City, and just a short subway ride away, was Fisher Products, purveyors of all things Abarth, including a 13-inch, leather-wrapped Momo-Abarth steering wheel (which I still have), and an Abarth exhaust system with salami-cut, chrome-tipped, dual outlets. Damn, I was stylin! Well, at least in my own mind.
With the 128 I learned how to adjust the clutch, change out front disc brake pads, remove and reinstall a distributor (a must for changing condensers) and other stuff, as my local Fiat dealer was totally incompetent. However, these skills prepared me for my next car, a VW Rabbit.
While far from perfect, the 128 was still much better than the coeval turd-like Triumphs and MGs. Sadly, an out-of-control Datsun 510 ran into my Fiat, on a snowy road in Kensington, MD, one winter’s eve. Total City. Actually, not all that bad: State Farm gave me $900 for a six-year old car infested with the dreaded tin worm and suffering from the Blue Exhaust Syndrome, a result of a couple of trips to Texas and New Mexico from Connecticut. (Seventy-five mph in an 1,100cc Fiat comes out to 4,300 rpm–and FOR HOURS ON END!)
Terminal wreck damage.
So now it was time for a new car. What would it be? My wife had bought a new ’74 Datsun B 210, one of the crappiest cars ever inflicted on the buying public. A real tumbrel. I also found Detroit’s current products truly offensive in every sense imaginable. As an industrial designer, my aesthetic sensibilities were offended six ways from Sunday by the bloated, Broughamesque excrescenses that Detroit still thought (or at least hoped) the buying public lusted after.
Thus did I buy a new 1978 VW Rabbit at a time when Olds Cutlasses with various flavors of vinyl roofs were the best-selling cars in the U.S. I splurged on two options, a sunroof and an all-vinyl interior; woo woo! And oh yes, orange paint that VW called Panama Brown. I’d considered the Scirocco, but my head grazed the roof and besides, the thing was a thousand bucks more than the Rabbit due only to its styling.
Speaking of which, the 128 was styled by Boano (an occasional designer of Ferraris), and the Rabbit by Guigiaro. Although I liked both, I was especially drawn to the subtle surface development of the 128.
On the road with my wife in South Dakota, on our way to the Black Hills in our new 1978 Rabbit.
I loved the low-end torque that Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection gave the motor. In spite of its mere 1,457 cc, the engine felt like a V8 compared with the 1,100 cc Fiat mill. Sure, these engines were diminutive, but the Fiat probably weighed just 1,600 lbs (725 kg) versus the Rabbit’s 1,750 (794 kg). It’s all about power-to-weight, baby. Still, everything else on the Vee Dub was clunky compared with the 128. All of the Fiat’s controls felt interconnected. Its steering, brakes and transmission all felt as though they’d been designed by a team that truly understood ergonomics and sensory perception. The Rabbit was Teutonically-clunky, but nonetheless able. My beloved Momo steering wheel made the transition from the Fiat to the “Rab”.
Wife at campsite with Rab and tent. This image was taken with a tripod-mounted Olympus OM-1 with an open shutter as I walked around firing a Vivitar 283 flash unit multiple times.
The Rabbit was a much better long-distance cruiser than the Fiat, and occasionally my wife and I would remove the back seat and pack the hold with camping equipment and a cooler. At the time, our vacations were centered around how far we could go and how many states or provinces we could visit in a three-week period. The Rab was an admirable cruiser when new. My wife and I would read to each other on the road–lots of first-printing Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew books, since they were ethnically insensitive and therefore amusing. I was also adept at on-the-fly ad-libbing. Did you know that Nancy Drew was quite the slut? Then we discovered the Longarm series of adult western novels. Wow! Ten times in one day! What a stud!
On the road again.
This one was on a cross-country run from Milwaukee, WI to San Francisco; this picture was taken in the Sand Hills area of Nebraska. Yes, those are genuine Cibie Super Oscars, guaranteed to blow any stock Rabbit alternator. Still got ‘em. Given the amount of distortion, my guess is that I shot this with my OM-1 and a 21-mm lens.
Who needs an SUV? The Rabbit hatch was very commodious.
With the rear seat removed there was plenty of room for camping gear. My wife and I fabricated a tarp to cover the storage area. Genuine Naugahyde, from the skins of baby Naugas. Too cool for school.
Same trip, Milwaukee-San Francisco. Camped in either Wyoming or Utah, at the Flaming Gorge Reservoir .
May 31st but cold as hell. No campfire cooking. In the morning, I packed up as quickly as I could and drove to the first café I could find. Gazelles, or unicorns, followed me as I drove back to the paved road, perhaps to make sure that I got out and didn’t return. Later on, it was snowing as I crested the Wasatch near Park City. My descent into the Salt Lake Valley was boring: 55 mph (88 kph) on I-80, the same road I now drive at 84 mph (135 kph). Made it to Carson City that night.
Next, Part Four: Amusing Things to Do with Rabbits.
Great article, I really enjoyed reading it. The 128 was a really fun car to drive but like Keith said here, they didn’t last long until needing a major overhaul. Not that it really mattered since any Fiat of the era would be a complete rust-bucket about time the motor started pushing blue, something about the same time stated, three years and 60,000 km. Time to go car shopping at that point, since it wasn’t worth wrenching on these things.
I have an identical Rabbit for a while although mine was a diesel. These were truly excellent cars. In many ways they were the best small cars I have ever driven and I loved the unassisted rack and pinion steering. The driving position was brilliant on these cars and by this point, they were pretty reliable. Even the things that went wrong on Rabbits were easy, cheap fixes and there were loads of cheap parts around. The gas ones were really peppy, the long stroke four making excellent torque and was really smooth, too. I still like the implacable diesel. Those little motors could take abuse and with the low end torque they made in the light car, I never had a problem keeping up with traffic.
The Mk1 Golf was so good they are still selling it in South Africa!
They finally quit making them at the end of 2009.
Len,
Who the hell is Keith?
Kevin
You, obviously. Hey, it’s still early here on the West Coast; give him a break.
Early Alzheimer’s added to the mix, too.
Who needs an SUV? The Rabbit hatch was very commodious.
To this day, I’m sure there are many who refuse to believe that I moved almost the entire contents of a one-bedroom apartment – two club chairs and ottoman, end tables, kitchen table and four chairs, bedroom chest, nightstand, and full-size bed frame, boxes of kitchen stuff and my clothing – in multiple trips, using a 1984 Ford Escort three-door hatch. My brother-in-law’s truck was used only to move a sofa and a full-size mattress.
Give me a hatchback – and time to enough time to make multiple trips – and I think I could move 90+ percent of the contents of just about anyone’s home. However, I’ll readily admit this is NOT the most efficient method for long-haul moves, but for less than ten miles, it gets the job done.
Buzzdog, here, here.
Had to use my Mazda P5 a couple of weeks ago to help my Mom move stuff.
Here is evidence of that move.
I had a 79 diesel Rabbit. It was bulletproof. It would not go faster then 60mph but took only $20 worth of fuel every two weeks. Those were the days. A leaking windshield destroyed the fuse panel and it got scrapped. I had the full vinyl interior as well. I’m surprised that was an upgrade.
I remember on a road trip to New Jersey to see the Grateful Dead, filling up in Plattsburgh NY for $7 and that taking us all the way down to Giants stadium and halfway back!
A 2-door 128 was not so common in its time and a real rarity nowadays! I’ve always liked the 4 round tail lights…the ad with Enzo Ferrari it’s pretty cool !
Late breaking news! 128s had rectangular tail lights.
not all of them
That Fiat-Ferrari ad is interesting.
You don’t see ads anymore that are so erudite, that draw you in with a few minutes’ worth of interesting reading. It’s all about stupid-loud slam-bam visuals now. And you kids get off my lawn.
“They were ethnically insensitive and therefore amusing.”
Ha. How well I remember the Hardy Boys’s token friend, “olive-complected Tony Napoli.” The fat-kid jokes about their BFF Chet probably led to some eating disorders among impressionable youths.
And Tony’s father (probably Guido) was characterized as “swarthy but a hard worker”. Imagine that! A spaghetti bender that worked for a living.
Actually the Rally had them, it was the “powerful” version with a 1,3 liters engine instead of the 1,1 !
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mauboi/3844366225/
Nice! I I’d totally forgotten about that version with the round lights. What car did they borrow them from? A Chevy Bel Air? Surely they didn’t tool up for them for such a small run of cars.
Never cared about this but yes, you make me notice they’re the same units used in the 850 Sport Coupe !
http://www.motorimania.it/manifestazioni/sportive/images_fiat/b_fiat_850_coupe_sport_54.jpg
From the Fiat 850 coupe
The Rally version never made it to our shores. I would have killed for the 1.3 Mountain Motor.
There’s something about the 128 that really grabs me. It was such a pioneering and pivotal design. And so delightfully styled. It’s impact in Europe was phenomenal: it was so roomy and peppy and economical, never mind fun to drive, so far ahead of the competition. It really was the final coffin nail in the VW Beetle. Which explains a lot about the Rabbit, seeing that it’s essentially a scaled-up 128 with a hatch.
I’m still kicking myself for missing the last road-worthy 128 around here a few years back, just before I started shooting cars seriously. I’m desperate to do a CC on one. Oh well.
If you write it Paul, I’m sure some of us Eurpoeans can furnish the pictures… not likely to be from Scotland sadly (not seen one here in years, wrong climate) but I’ll keep my eyes peeled all the same
Yeah, the 128 was a great, efficient, 3-box design, and could have been a latter-day Valiant if they had just held together with the same anvil-tough reliability of the Plymouth instead of being completely spent at 50k (or less) miles.
Imagine if the 128 (or Rabbit, for that matter) had been built by Toyota. It would have advanced automotive design (i.e., wholesale changeover to FWD) by at least 10 years.
Did the 128 have the front axle ahead of the transverse-mounted engine?
The axle is ahead of the center-line between front bumper and firewall, unlike the Rabbit and almost all modern FWD cars (other than the Scion iQ)
Don’t know if the engine/transaxle was mounted forward of the engine compartment centerline but, according to Wikipedia, the 128 was one of the few FWD cars of the era to have unequal length driveshafts with the gearbox and engine mounted side-by-side (the Simca 1100 being the other), the now-standard arrangement for virtually all modern FWD vehicles.
If true about the engine/transaxle being mounted further forward than other FWD cars, I wonder why it was done like that (and how it negatively impacted the vehicle in either driving dynamics or durability).
Cars like the Mini, Rabbit, and Simca 1100 get the lion’s share of accolades as the vehicles that began the efficient, practical application of transverse FWD packaging, but for my money, the 128 is the original FWD star.
Yep, and the 128 got much of its mechanical design layout from the Autobiachi that came just before it, in the 60′s.
The 128, and the Rabbit, along with the then new Civic, all heralded in the current transverse FWD layout we all know so well these days.
They all used pretty much the same, engine forward of the transaxke that sits along side it with unequal length half shafts
If the engine is forward of the front axle, it’s hard to see how every thing fits. Looks like there is almost no room for the radiator.
On the other hand, the FIAT X1/9 uses the same engine/transaxle package relocated to the back to make a mid-engine car. If the engine was behind the axle, that would make the X1/9 rear-engined instead of mid-engined, unless the whole thing was turned around 180 degrees.
You still see the occasional one around here, mostly driven by some old guy and painted in some bad green shade but the earlier (nicer) ones with steel bumpers and hubcaps have mostly disappeared
In ’76 I was able to drive and compare 3 icons, an early ’70′s 128 wagon, a ’76 rabbit, and a ’72 beetle (curved windscreen, macpherson strut suspension version). The 128 was the most fun around town. I really liked the driving position (and I am 6-2), outward visibility, and the eager little motor. The rabbit and the beetle were for longer drives, the rabbit winning hands down for that duty. I don’t recall the 128 having better switchgear etc than the rabbit, but I do remember the rabbit using up sparkplugs quicker than I thought was right.
And writing this brings back the memory that each of the cars had their individual smells. Funny how those memories really stick, and how evocative they are.
alistair
Now that you mention it, I was constantly changing plugs in the Rabbit until I discovered Denso or some other Japanese copper plug. I wish that I could have found longer lived components for the plug wires, distributor caps, and fuse panels.
Nipon Denso plugs didn’t make it too America until much later and they were as short or even shorter lived than Bosch which is why the went away and came back as Denso to avoid their poor reputation. The plug that lasted was likely NGK.
Kevin,
I too remember those days when the back pages of Car and Driver and Road and Track contained one aftermarket auto parts company after another. MG Mitten, IECO come to mind. Times indeed have changed for in their place we now have male enhancement products touting in other ways how to rev up our motors. A sign that the market has grown with the baby boomers in mind I suppose…….
That tent looks familiar…….Eureka Timberline? I bought mine in 1982 and it is still going strong although not as used as much as in those early years. Keep the road trip stories coming! They must have given you great memories of time spent together on the road. Indeed this is a big country and still worthwhile today in getting out and seeing up close.
I believe it was a Eureka Timberline. What a great design. Up and habitable in less than five minutes.
Never drove a Fiat. I was a passenger in a Fiat taxi in Naples. I was a young sailor on shore leave and I had other things on my mind besides Italian cars…..
Here in Lansing, MI., the only place to get a Fiat was at the Edsel dealer. The Edsel dealer didn’t sell L/M cars, just Edsels, and of course Fiats.
The Fiat 128 is THE car that opened my eyes automotively speaking. In 1972 I had a ’66 Mustang GT 4-speed, with the HiPo 289. Man, I loved that car. After getting married that June, My wife and I hitchhiked around Europe for 2 months, renting a 128 4-door for a week in Scotland. Blasting around those roads while shifting with the wrong hand was terrifyingly exhilarating. From then on, handling prowess trumped straight line power for my money
Love that old Rabbit you had, great year and great color. My first sports car was a 78 Scirocco bought used. I wanted one of those ever since they fuel injected them in 77. IIRC the 75 was a long stroke 1.5L, the 76/77 a square 1.6 and the 78 a short stroke 1.5. Unusual engine changes to see in such a short time. The 78 engine was buttery smooth.
I always keep my eye out for cream puff a 79/80 Scirocco 5-speed. I lost interest in the Rabbits when production shifted to Westmoreland.
Here’s my cherry 1981 Scirocco S with the 1715cc engine. A whopping 74 hp, but with less than 2000 lbs to motivate still very peppy
Damn, that’s nicest Scirocco I’ve seen since they were new. GTI wheels and a very tasteful air dam. That color goes great with the black bumpers. I forgot they upped the engine size after 78. VW was really working hard to get that car dialed in and by 80-81 it was perfect. You should keep that thing forever!
Is that a recent pic? It’s been at least a decade since I’ve seen one, let alone one in great condition, on the road in SoCal.
That pic was taken May 2011 in Buffalo, NY…No the car did originate in Buffalo. The salt would have turned into dust. The wheels are from a Mk 1 GTI. The color is Cosmos silver metallic, which is a very pale metallic blue. Looks great with the red trim on the S model
I’d have to disagree that the Scirocco was the same car except for the styling and price. True they shared a lot but the Scirocco was tuned much different and was actually fun to drive, the Rabbit not so much. I still remember the first time I drove a Scirocco and was totally blown away how good it was to drive compared to its sibling.
My Rabbit was an ’80, purchased 2nd hand in 1989. Bought it instead of scrapping the Ranger for its first major work–a head/valve rework. (Probably should have swapped out the Ranger, but that’s life.) The Rabbit was a good commuter car, though the electrics were a little bit dicey. Loved the mileage, since the truck was pretty thirsty.
(I did 4 years of remodeling a house in San Jose using a ’75 Celica for most of the grunt work. Didn’t have a hitch, so I had to get the sheetrock delivered, but I got a lot of stuff home in and on that car. The Ranger came in handy for the last stages, though.)
My favorite two-man tent is still the Sierra Designs Sphinx. Yet another 5 minute assemble, except in Great Sand Dunes in Colorado, where the winds were an issue.
I have always loved these little MK1 Rabbits, and the 128 too, though I’ve never had the opportunity to drive either of them.
My hometown church had a priest that worked at our church from the early 1950′s, until he was unceremoniously dethroned in 1976, once had a bright red 128 Familiar wagon, I think it was a ’72 as well. I remember riding in it at least once, and it had the ubiquitous black vinyl interior. I remember wanting one at the time, I was I think in the 2nd grade when he bought it new.
My best friend for a brief time in the late 80′s, had a base 2 door bright yellow 77 Rabbit with the all black vinyl interior, and hand cranked sunroof, but it was stripped, so he could not open it, but it looked great otherwise.
I got to ride in it as well, and good older friends of my parents had a white ’75 Rabbit 2 door, with the plaid upholstery that they had for quite a few years, and their daughter Betsy drove it much of the time. These same friends also had the Opal Manta coupe as well, in that bright blue, and they had the first of the baby Bimmers, the ’76 318i 2 door, all bought new in the 70′s.
I came close to checking out a used red 78 128 back in the early 80′s, but never got a chance to do so and recently, about a month or so ago, spotted a silver Strada/Ritmo on Capitol Hill here in Seattle. Not seen on on the roads driven in decades. That was a trip if you ask me. Some older guy was driving it. I think it was the 2 door hatch too.
My first car was an ’84 Rabbit 2-door, diesel with the 4-speed stick. It was an excellent student car. Great fuel mileage, but so gutless. I theorized that it couldn’t break 75 MPH if you dropped it out the back of a cargo plane. For a couple summers I ran a lawn care business out of my Rabbit. With the back seat folded forward I could fit in a gas push-mower, weed-whacker, fuel jugs, rake, and a big wooden sign I made to advertise to passers-by while I worked.
Mine suffered from a rotting hatch, which I replaced, and leaking windshield gasket, which I gooped-up before it damaged the fuse panel, blown headgasket a year before I got rid of it. It developed a no-start condition (unless tow-started) which I could not diagnose. In retrospect it was probably a failed o-ring seal in the injection pump, which allowed air in so the pump would lose prime if left sitting overnight.