General One of my old Stradas lulz

[Christian]

Ha - my dad who I see once a year handed me an old photo album a few weeks ago - I haven't seen these for over 20 years. I got loads but these two of a slimmer me with my Strada 60s are classic

I didn't care about the rust
I didn't address the oil leaks
I thought I was cool (WRONG!!)




Basically I bought this for £300 from some Delboy type motor dealer in Wirral in 1992 after losing my mk1 Strada in a car crash - it was needing a new exhaust - I got the exhaust done and then never cared to carry out any more mechanical stuff it needed - Oh how I have changed

This car was one of my favourite ever cars - I even put a dashboard from a 105TC into it - unfortunately I didn't reconnect the oil light and the engine seized one day on the M53 - bye bye Strada - considering my personal history with this car, out of the multitude of Fiats I've had this was one of the ones that wasn't a complete money pit - my 128 in the background was another misguiding labour of love that ended up being scrapped!

 

[bluejohn125]

Greetings from present-day Wirral!

Shame you blew the car up, but I guess you learned from it... I dont't like the X-19 wheels but the retro vinyl roof is great. I don't suppose many lads at the time went for a 5-door 60 hp Fiat at the time but it's way cooler than an Astra or Escort..

My mate brought a Mk1 60CL back from Germany in the late 80s, only 4 speeds but it would thrash along the Motorway / Autobahn all day at 6000 rpm! It was the dark red / burgundy colour, with the beige plasticky interior and weird tall round gearknob. Ho got his money's worth from it that's for sure....

 

[varesecrazy]

I had a Regata '70 on an "A" plate.., NEVER seen RUST like it..:bang:
it's the car LOTS of my "reminiscing" brings me back to..,

like the look of the 128 : - )

Charlie

 

[Christian]

Greetings from present-day Wirral!



Shame you blew the car up, but I guess you learned from it... I dont't like the X-19 wheels but the retro vinyl roof is great. I don't suppose many lads at the time went for a 5-door 60 hp Fiat at the time but it's way cooler than an Astra or Escort..



My mate brought a Mk1 60CL back from Germany in the late 80s, only 4 speeds but it would thrash along the Motorway / Autobahn all day at 6000 rpm! It was the dark red / burgundy colour, with the beige plasticky interior and weird tall round gearknob. Ho got his money's worth from it that's for sure....

Haha my mk1 Strada 85 was burgundy - it was an awful colour - my mates and I at the time sprayed it matt black with tins then put this dreadful John Player Special livery on it God it looked really awful! Then a drink driver smashed into the back of me when I was parked on double yellows outside some sweet shop in Oxton - the car was completely written off - I nearly cried it took 6 months to save for another car - that was my first car I got a photo of it somewhere in the loft and a load of others I need to get uploaded to here! I actually was looking at an '84 60S about 6 years ago on eBay but my wife wouldn't let me have one - I must admit though if the right Regata came along tomorrow I might have to consider getting divorced. Chances of a decent Regata coming along are slim to none though

I had a toy Fiat Strada AND a toy Fiat Regata when I was 8 or 9 years old my dad bought me in France - probably why I have such a soft spot for these cars. I always thought they were better looking than the Vauxhall Vivas and Escorts my dad kept buying over and over

 

[Christian]

I had a Regata '70 on an "A" plate.., NEVER seen RUST like it..:bang:

it's the car LOTS of my "reminiscing" brings me back to..,



like the look of the 128 : - )



Charlie

Hey that's brilliant - I remember one of my mates dads had a Regata as a company car in the mid to late 80s compared to British cars it was like a spaceship inside with its awesome dashboard. He really looked after it and it never rusted in the 3 years he had it. Our local Fiat dealer in Oxton Village gave 6 months bodywork warranty back then - says it all really!

I got loads of posy pics of my old 128 I'll also upload to here this week if I have time. Mine was a nightmare, absolute rust bucket with rattling exhaust, bent driveshafts and a rear suspension mounted on a mass of rust and filler - my cylinder head gasket went on it and the main Wirral Fiat 'specialist', a guy called Ray Holt (who's probably still there) rang me to tell me the head bolts were welded in and he'd have to destroy the head and put a Fiat Uno head on as a replacement. The car was never the same after that (if it could possibly have been any worse) and literally fell to bits before getting scrapped. I wonder if any of the scrap parts from my old cars are still about today??? I just used to love having cars absolutely no-one else my age had - that was Fiats basically. They were very unpopular in the early 90s lulz

 

[bluejohn125]

Love reminiscing about Fiats in the Oxton area in the early 90's! Yes I remember Firs Fiat in the village... it was converted to flats a few years ago. Then the Fiat dealer became the one on Swan Hill in Prenton (Swan Motors?)... I traded my rusting (fuel tank!) German import 1984 LHD Supermirafiori 1400TC in for a nearly-new turquoise K-reg Panda 1.0 CLX in 1992. It's now Renault Wirral.

Yes I have since used Ray Holt down on the Wallasey Dock road for occasional stuff till recently but he snuffed it having aheart attack and crashing his Seicento into a fence driving to the workshop one morning a couple of years ago! He was not a healthy looking chap, and he had a yellow MK2 Strada 130TC project that needed finishing but just got pushed in and out of the workshop every day. It'll probably surface somewhere some day!

Fiat on the Wirral now is Windsors in Heswall, together with Peugeot.

 

[s130]

Before our current Strada 130TC we also had a Strada 75CL and a Regata 70S, both in red.

We also had another great little car, an orange 127 Sport. He was called Fiilix and just to prove that in the old days there were some really good/fun people at Fiat UK then read on. Fiilix wrote to Fiat UK seeking some technical information and this is what Fiat UK replied:

-------------------------------------------
Dear Fiilix,

Thank you for your little note
It brought a metal lump to my throat
For I'm a robot and I'm in a state
'Cos I was born in 78!

Those were the days, sure you'll agree
There were lots of robots just like me
My job was great, was just like heavens
Working all day producing 1271s.

Your wish for info, isn't vain
You cannot find it - what a shame
It took a while to get, its true,
But we have found it - its here for you.

Hope this pleases your new lady
Goodbye, good driving - who loves ya baby!

Your friendly robot.

P.S. Your brother Strada sounds divine
Hope he can come up and see me sometime!!!

P.P.S. I know nostalgia's a thing of the past
But thought you'd like to see other members of the cast
So please find enclosed just from me
Some details of your family tree.

FIAT
Bakers Court, Bakers Road, Uxbridge UB8 lEG (Regd. office) Regd. No. 201514 England
-------------------------------------------

Now those WERE the days

 

[Christian]

Love reminiscing about Fiats in the Oxton area in the early 90's! Yes I remember Firs Fiat in the village... it was converted to flats a few years ago. Then the Fiat dealer became the one on Swan Hill in Prenton (Swan Motors?)... I traded my rusting (fuel tank!) German import 1984 LHD Supermirafiori 1400TC in for a nearly-new turquoise K-reg Panda 1.0 CLX in 1992. It's now Renault Wirral.

Yes I have since used Ray Holt down on the Wallasey Dock road for occasional stuff till recently but he snuffed it having aheart attack and crashing his Seicento into a fence driving to the workshop one morning a couple of years ago! He was not a healthy looking chap, and he had a yellow MK2 Strada 130TC project that needed finishing but just got pushed in and out of the workshop every day. It'll probably surface somewhere some day!

Fiat on the Wirral now is Windsors in Heswall, together with Peugeot.

Oh dear, poor Ray - the last car I took in to him was my last (and I mean, LAST) Fiat X1/9 in 2003 - it had problems with the cooling system and he basically said after two weeks faffing around that he couldn't get the parts and that was that - I wouldn't mind but he'd taken it out himself for some reason and it had broken down at the bottom of Gorsey Lane - luckily for me he'd kindly left it there for me when I collected the car from him, unfixed. He was obviously embarrased as he didn't hand me a bill. I actually lived in Aigburth back then so I sold the car where it was for literally pennies to a Fiat fanatic from Kirkdale who came over and towed it back to Liverpool. I then moved to Leeds and bought the Sedicivalvole - wow, I've never learned my lessons with these cars over the years but fortunately the more modern cars now mean you don't necessarily go from bad to worse with each subsequent Fiat haha.

Yeah, Ray had that yellow Strada Abarth when I was going to him at the age of 19 (I'm 43 now) and I knew it didn't run - it was a nice ornament if you had the space!

I'll also have to upload info on my Fiat Million Hits record/album I 'won' from Firs Fiat in Oxton way back in 1983 - me and everyone at my nearby primary school rang the competition number on Firs showroom window and me and about 200 other 7, 8 and 9 year old kids won a copy, probably about 199 more than they were hoping for. If you've never heard of it, it was an album sponsored by Fiat to raise money for the World Wildlife Fund's 'Save The Lemur' project with Ray Parker Jnr, Tina Turner and Billy Oceans million selling songs on, to name a few - it was also a great way to plug the Panda and what at the time was the recently introduced Fiat Uno which was advertised in the sleeve - Great memories. Hmm - an album with the Fiat logo on the front - you don't see them everyday :/

 

[bluejohn125]

Wirral still a hotbed of classic 80s Fiats!!!

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C707664#.Vr9qZFT_VN8.mailto

 

[Camo16]

I'll have to pay closer attention to this Wirral classic Fiat scene! My Tipo and I are just over the water!

 

[bluejohn125]

You got the Tipo then?

Must check the other thread, though you should start your own!

 

[Camo16]

Thanks - there's a couple of pics on there, but I may start a thread when I start fixing her up!