Italy’s Strangest Rally Car - Fiat 124 Abarth Stradale
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- Опубліковано 5 лип 2024
- Designed primarily for California.. doesn't sound like a good candidate for a rally car. Fiat had a fair amount of rally success with cars like the 131.. but for a while they also did quite well with a car seemingly unsuited for Rally. Today I drive a faithful recreation of a legendary Fiat 124 Abarth Stradale!
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Great to see Fiat getting the respect they deserve. They have a wonderful history that has gotten lost in the chaos of modern times. Great driving video. Thanks.
Well put - it upsets me to see where FIAT have ended up now, following the great innovations in car design they introduced through the 1950s to the late 1990s.
Fiat deserves no respect for its low quality cars especially old ones with tons of rust. They are the absolute worst.
@@YKXZWX Rust in old cars?...So no respect for AlfaRomeo, Ford, Renault, Citroen and many others.
Hi there I owned an original Abarth spider back in the 80s/90s. I loved that car but with the Rose jointed rear suspension it was a maintenance nightmare. Huge fun though...
Incidentally, the original didnt have a glove locker merely an open glove box. I wish I'd kept it,worth à fortune now😢..
Before that I owned one of I think only 8 RHD Fiat 124 Spiders. Also wonderful...wonder what happened to that...?
Fiat has such a heritage! Lovely little cars. This abarth 124 is perfect for thrashing those curvy B roads. What a glorious sound! What a joy!
Am I alone in wishing Jack could do a 35 minute video of these cars and road test?
A deeper dive into the featured car and more ads for revenue is a fair exchange for the sort of quality vlogs jack gives us
You are wrong Brian!
The sound of that Abarth exhaust is true music to any auto enthusiast's ears !
Met the owner of this 124 at AutoItalia at Prescott in May and had a run up the hill. Very nice car complimented my Fulvia Rallye nicely.
Woooooooah man, what a company!!!
Fulvia HF, 124 Abarth and Alfa GTA 105
🙏🙏🇮🇹🇮🇹
Nice to see ( and hear!) the Fiat.
Interesting how you and Harry Metcalfe use the same roads for testing.
Is that true? Or just an assumption based on the fact that all rural UK B-roads look the same? Is Harry also in The Cotswolds?
It breaks my heart to see this nice update. I had bought a very crunchy 124 Spider 2000 in the USA and wanted to restore it. The car seemed cursed from day one: 100 yards from my doorstep a trucker totalled it. I bought the remains and started restoring it. I sourced many parts from the pre 73 version, fixed rust and bangs and painted it blue like the original 124 Abarth. When it was more or less fixed with new suspension and bodywork finished, the engine started acting up. It turned out that the oil pickup was full of sludge and the engine was in need of a rebuild.
It seems that in America an oilchange and maintenance is regarded an unneccesary luxury. Now I have a car with a sick engine.
From the information I have gleaned over the years, I get the same 'vibe" from regular US motorists - that car maintenance is an optional extra.
Check 'customer states' videos. I have heard of a lot of car abuse in Poland in the 90s, but I've never seen any car abused as badly as cars presented on this channel. Regular cars that seem to have never received any maintenance untill they refused to go.
For that engine size, replacing the 40 Webers with 44s and keeping the same (or similar) size of choke would ultimately give better drivability without any performance loss (once everything is set up correctly).
Spent a long time working with with experts who pointed out that the venturi was more pronounced enabling the carburetor to work more efficiently over a greater range of conditions without maximum flow loss.
(These experts had 1000's of hours of dyno and rolling road experience - but I guess someone out there will shoot down this advice :)
Hola, tienes razón, de hecho, el Ritmo Abarth 130tc (de 2 litros, 84x90mm) tiene un par de Weber dobles horizontales de 40mm. En mi país, desde principios de los 90 los Fiat Uno 1.6 (sohc 8v como el 1.4 pero de 86.4x67.4mm en vez de 80.4mm de diámetro del 1.4, tal como el turbo ie) traían carburador Weber TLDE 32 34 con venturis principales de 21 y 24 mm y 89cv a 5800 rpm. Saludos desde Buenos Aires Argentina !
You seem to know your stuff. Could you advice me, do you think it's possible the 2 liter Lampredi's twin cam in 2 valves per cylinder version rebuilt all around for perfomance, could reach 170 horsepower with two Weber IDF48? I'm asking because I came accross some some 1970s specificiations mentioning such engine with compression ratio of 10.58 and 170 horsepower at 7100rpms, but everyone tuning those engines I came across so far claim that the carburettors would be too big and there's no chance of 8v version going over 150 horsepower.
💚🤍❤One of my favourite cars. But you did not mention genius. Auerilio Lampredi who designed so many glorious engines. He really took his name to heart. Aural sensations or AMSR as it can be described. My favourite of all your videos so far 💚🤍❤
This car is great i know the owner he put so much effort in it!! Its maybe one of the best
The engine/exhaust sound of the 124 Abarth Stradale is very reminiscent of the racing car Il Tempo Gigante in the stop-motion-animated film The Pinchcliffe Grand Prix from 1975 by the Norwegian film director and writer Ivo Caprino (his father was Italian). The film had a great influence at the time and people like Niki Lauda and Christian Von Koenigsegg were inspired. In the English version of the film, the main narrator is Murray Walker who provided television commentary of live Formula One for almost a lifetime :)
Ooh thanks for that. I see Mario Caprino (son?) has it hosted on his own UA-cam channel. Will check it out after work....
@@ad_fletch Grandson.
I had one about 15 years ago, but it required too much work for me to be able to keep it.
It was awesome the few times I managed to get it going. (I had a std 124 by the way ;)
Greetings from the Netherlands
PS: I am 1.72 meters tall so the fit Inside was quite nice for my length....
Looks great sounds great what a blast !
Amazing how much fun car be had with light weight and 115hp! It also looks great.
I used to have a 124 spider between 1997 and 2019 . I really love the design with its curves and edges. and I always got positive attention from passersby,
What I did not like so much was the reliability. First problem was corrosion,. it was a permanent struggle. I have to admit that I used it as an every day car beside my old Mini Cooper ,and not just for a few nice days in summer. Other problems were the brake blocks, that often did not fully detach from the brake disks. And the gearbox often broke down within these 22 years. the only thing that never required a repair or refurbish was the engine . the 2 litre engine is almost indestructible an worked fine even after 200.000 miles . the biggest problem with maintaining an old 124 spider is to get spare parts of acceptable quality . I replaced all of the suspension parts and they were totally corroded again after 3 years.
When I compare it to my 1974 innocent Mini Cooper ( which I still have) I have to say that even the mini is a lot more reliable and much easier to maintain,. Spare parts for the mini are easier to get, of better quality and cheaper. the mini has better roadholding, better steering and with a tuned engine the mini even accelerates better with much less fuel consumption.
still I sometimes miss my old 124 spider
I’m a year into my first classic car restoration (a ‘72) and these videos inspire me. Thanks for giving the 124 Spider some love!
The front suspension had reinforced wishbones and added longitudinal links. Engine was not the 124/131 block, but a completely different Type 282 engine with 16V and a narrower cyl head and a gear driven cam. Revved incredibly great! 1585cc.
Used also in the Fiat Abarth X1/9 used in the Giro d' Italia.
The 16V was actually 1.8 - later enlargened to 2.0 and used in 131 Abarth Rally, as 2.1 with supercharger in Lancia 037 and lastly: as 1.8 but with turbo & supercharger in Delta S4.
Legendary Fiat Abarth engine!!
Sorry the std 124 block was used,special crank and rods, extensive deburring and was 1756cc,only 12 16v engines were used at the end of the 75 season and they were special 16v heads bolted to the 124 block.The 1585 is a much later engine and never ever used on a 124 Stradale.I should know,I own one.
Normal 124 Abarth (road car) hadn't the 16 valves...but (different from the sportspider) the rear suspensions indipendent, self-block differential...
@@pereldh5741 In the Delta S4 it is not the same Lampredi engine but an engine made from scratch by Abarth to withstand the very high supercharging pressures, all in light materials. 😉
@@CiociariaStorica Yes, and the 037 is not The Same as in the 131, like the 131 engine was not The Same as the one in the 124. What I meant is they were all related, by which you’d see a lot of dimensions are in common between the 037 and the S4 engine.
(Of course, designing something completely different would be as silly as reinventing the wheel. The S4 engine is a design based on the 037, same engine family.)
I've always loved these. I like the proportions on this so much. They just look sooo right.
Excellent video of an extremely interesting car.
Great car. In the '70's a friend bought a new 124 Sport Coupe and it made my '64 Sprite seem so old fashion.I loved his mustard yellow Fiat!
Had a crush on those since the '70s. Rally version as well. GREAT recreation!!!
Good video Jack. I think cars like this one, the Ford Escort RS200 and the Renault Clio Williams are very underrated in terms of the driving pleasure they can give in real world conditions; everyone seems to fantasise about Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Aston Martins etc. Fair enough but you're never going to get near exploiting their performance to the full on Britain's roads.
Really Gnarly. Shorter Wheelbase, brilliant.
When I was an apprentice electrician some 39 years ago now, my tutor at college drove me to pick up some special tools from my boss`s house for a project we had to do ( MICC/Pyro cable for any old sparkies watching ). He was an Irish amateur rally driver and we went in his 124 Coupe, pouring rain and down very narrow country lanes at breakneck speed, an experience I still remember to this day, it was epic 👍
By the way Jack, when you had your 964, we shared a Garage at Oulton Park RS day, the day you lost your tail light on the track, lol, we were in my blue 987S Boxster and my mate Mark was in his orange 987 Cayman S, a great track day in sunny Cheshire😊
Thank you Jack! This Abarth Stradale _tribute_ has such a lovely growly sound with those Webers. I had a 1974 124 Spider back about 1979, drove it through several severe Midwest winters with deep snow and never got stuck. Now there's a 2019 ND2 GTS in my garage with plenty of mods and _that_ is _my_ tribute vehicle. Save the manuals!
SO TRUE, save the manuals!!!
🙏🙏💚🤍❤️
I kind of remember those when they were rallying. That was when rallies were on British TV on a Sunday afternoon, such joy! This car looks to be fun and a good recreation and sounding great for a little car. Great review Jack but please don't pick a fight with a tractor, it won't end well! 🙃👍👍
What a cool car......I'd love to own one😃 great job jack as always buddy 👌
Thanks Jack, special car. brings back memories of the 1970's. Great years, I could see then and hear and and go all night then and now it takes me all night. Sigh. Hangovers were a one day problem. I had a lot of Fiats during that period including a 124S AC.
Just worked out how to comment @no.27. I am a child of the 60s and really enjoy your channel. My father had an addiction to cars and I grew up with everything from an ecurie ecosse jaguar xk120 to an Ro 80 and everything in between. Keep the content going please.
There is just something about a four pot twin cam with dual choke carbs in a light car that ticks all the boxes, be it a Ford or a Lotus or an Alfa or in this case a Fiat 124. (I've had a 124 Sport Coupe) The look on your face says it all; current cars with 500+bhp and all that weight are just not the fun these cars are. I think the Italians did it best for cars that were everyday to them. Great video Jack.
Great review Jack.. I've always loved that model 124.. I nearly bought one, as a youngster, in the early '80s; ex Jolly Club, Colloti gearbox etc.. but at £6000 ono was out of my price range... (by 50%!!) A classic Fiat any enthusiast could be proud of. Thanks Jack.
Love it, love, it love it! My last 124 was white, like this one, and due to the terrible Pennsylvania winters, I found and bought a used hardtop like the one in the video, but, as you noted, stock, with the glass back window. I drove out to buy it. The guy who sold it didn't even know how to put it on and I wasn't sure, either. I mean, it was obvious where it generally went, right? How it actually stayed on wasn't clear. So I plopped it on the car and clamped it down. I thought. A mile or so after leaving, in the middle of a rainy street at night, it caught a bit of a gust, detached, sailed up and away, turning a full somersault over the car and landing in the street behind me...unharmed. Only the front edge took a bit of a scuff. Ran it for years after that. Love those cars.
Arbarth are Italian nutters tuning wise. Not a bad thing to be. Their current 500 is quite desireable.
Fun car! Drove one for years as a daily. So easy to place in corners. Very forgiving car and excellent for learning to drive properly. Lovely video.
What a beastie.
What a lovely beastie.
One used to see black-bonneted 124 spiders in the UK, back in the day, shorn of their bumpers and with funky driving lights. Most were recreations, but some were probably the real thing.
The 124 Spider (whichever model) was a lovely piece of work by Tjaarda. The aesthetic call-back to the Innocenti 950 is clear in places.
The motor and drivetrain made this an obvious choice as a rally car. The shorter wheelbase just makes it even clearer.
All 124 spiders and coupés were fitted with engines that were only a few DNA cells from the stuff that did its work in the 037 and the Integrale and elsewhere.
This is engine royalty.
A nice review and drive.
A very lovely topic.
Hi BanjoLuke, one question for you.. do you have any relations with Banja Luka, in Bosna&Hercegovina maybe?
@@dusankocisevic6823 Ја сам Енглез; али Бања Лука је град који сам једном познавао. "Banjo Luke" је измишљени каобој који свира бенџо.
@@BanjoLuke1 Genijalno..! Video sam tvoje komentare više puta pa rekoh sebi, da proverim.. a moja sestra od strica je sada Velšanka. Pozdrav iz BGD🍺🍺
@@dusankocisevic6823 Поздрав и теби из Енглеске. 1991/2 год. живео сам у Београду, у малом стану на Хилендарској па касније на Булевару Револуције. На жалост нисам могао остати, због политичке ситуације.
I had a huge pleasure to see a red one this summer, in Marostica (northern Italy), parked on town square. We were sitting in a bar just across it, and after a while HELL came to small peacefull town. Guy fired it up, what a noise, my God (a wet road, what else to ask)
🙏🙏🇮🇹🇮🇹🌶️🌶️
This car is as Italian as it can get. In a good way!
Absolutely Bloody Lovely and something you will never ever get from a Modern car ❤
If it drives only half of how good it sounds, I guess it cannot but be great 🙂 !
I wholeheartedly agree with John Ireland and now you should do another video on the 500 Abarth too😊
Saw one just few days ago !
Love it. great video. Thanks jack.
Always loved these. Didn't Markku Allen drive for Fiat at the time. Like someone has explained in the comments this became the engine in the works Fiat 131s etc. A, pretty strategic development by Abarth/Fiat. A lot like the Coswort/ Ford relationship in rallying.. It's a car that's never received the credit it deserves. As a matter of interest you could do a series on the evolution of this engine and it's various applications. The works 131 Mirafiore would be hugely interesting for one..
So glad you enjoyed the Lampredi ! Go go Fiat
Cool video on the vintage 124 Fiat. I own a modified 2018 124 Fiat Spider and I absolutely love it!
That is blimmin' lovely. My idea of a proper, perfect car.
I had a mk2 (twin headlight) coupe in the mid 90s. I saw it one afternoon at a Fiat / Alfa dealership where I used to buy most of my cars back then. At the time the 124 wasn't worth a huge amount despite having been fully restored and they agreed to a swap with a few hundred pounds to me for my Uno Turbo. Result
Another great watch thank you Jack.
A really poignant one for me - my first 1/24 Burago model was an Abarth 124!
Probably about 45 years ago…
Love seeing a man having fun while sitting down. Great vlog.
Yes! Love the spider!
Very nicely done jack... 🤟cheers❤🇮🇳
My sister and one of her BFs in the early '80s had a couple 124 Spiders. Her '72 was a beater with a heater, but it just kept going! His '78 (I think) was quite a nice car.
I am subscribed and I LOVE all your videos. How you get your hands on such beauties as the current one , heaven only knows. The 124 Coupe has a special place in my heart. I loved my Champagne colured one to the extent that I welded up the windscreen surround when it rotted so badly the windscreen fell out! headlining and dashboard removal just as a starter and i only had oxy-acetylene gear in those days ..... boy did that Fiat pasta seam sealer burn in a noxious fashion. Please continue to entertain for a long time and hope you get that Pantera.
Thank you 🙏! Pantera coming soon I hope!!
Many thanks for making this video Jack, really enjoyed watching the footage accompanied by the lovely soundtrack. And thanks to everyone who's positively commented about our car, loved reading all of these.
Yes the 124 a great Car, especially the Abarth. Yes FIAT have a great history and looking at a few comments below a couple of people might be a bit jealous of the History...
Good morning jack
I've just rented one of these in the canaries. . . A joy to drive and what a glorious racket they make when you open her up !
Not the most practical thing to own, but you know that when you buy one .
I always thought the Abarths were wider than the standard convertibles.And from what I have heard that the roof was a fabric produced in India painted with a varnish to make it more stable. I might be wrong though.
Get yourself a St Christopher my friend. - Keep yourself safe on the rainy roads... They're only a couple of quid on eBay.. 👍👍 Beautiful car!!
Well done again Jack. Very enjoyable
Cool car. I owned a 1969 Sport Coupe, I miss it, Now looking for a SPYDER to mod.
The car in the video has the Spanish made downdraft Webers. I would look for a set of the Italian made units.
Excellent video. Subscribed
I seem to remember when lancia betas turned out to be competive on some stages to the stratos development was shunned somewhat. maybe its folklore but maybe an interesting story for the much maligned beta.
Coupe Fiat 124 Sport is still, IMO, one of the prettiest cars ever made. I'd still have one, if I could ever find one I could afford that hasn't rusted to dust here in Oz.
Cars like the Alfettas, FIAT 124 variants, Escorts, 205 pugs etc are really underrated in the classic car world. They are DRIVER's cars as contrasted with the iconic STYLE cars like the Ferraris, LAmbos etc. That giggle when you drive these cars is everything.
Was on holiday in LA 1990 and saw a '79 1.8 advertised for $1500...never seen one in UK so went to just have a look...turns out was 1 owner from new who had sadly passed in a bike crash...Metallic bronze over tan with cream hood zero rust 35k miles...so I bought it from his parents with my holiday money amex traveller's cheques then drove to docks at long beach and shipped her to UK.Enjoyed for a few years..brilliant car.Sold for GBP 6K..stupid me..wonder if still surviving?
If I wanted to build a fake Abarth, I would start to search for the indipendent rear suspension.
Anything without will end as a rip-off.
Never had this fancy version but a 1971 124 BC or as it spells out B Coupe that was privately imported to Sweden. Only real difference on that to a sold new in Sweden was the twin Weber 40 Dfi's so it had 110hp where the Swedish version had a single Weber and 90hp. Also had a Uno Turbo at the same time. Was a hard decision every day which to choose! Both really fun to drive 🙂
What a sound! One you'll never get tired of, little pocket rocket!
Little beautiful butterfly,but can sting as an angry scorpion. Light,short wheel base,no frills,just the essential: and a reliable and brilliant engine. For me every car should be like this. Is there any car like this,now? No,they claim that many suvs are sport cars,even if they are as big as a cathedral and heavy as a tombstone. This is a sport car.
It's called a Miata. I've had many spiders, some very well built and fleet. I also own a 1,6 Miata with a supercharger making about 170 HP. All great cars, the Miata having superb balance. A new ND would be quite a good follow up to a 124
@@danieldudley9125 Yes,I totally agree with you.I had a Fiat 124 Spider,the recent model based on the Miata but with the Fiat turbo 1400 engine,also offered as Abarth,remembering the original 124 Abarth. I really felt in love with that light little spider,with a fantastic Mazda gearbox. I just wanted to say that with the exception of the Miata or MX5,there is no choice,there is not an Alfa,or an Opel (or Vauxhall),a Peugeot or a little Bmw as an alternative. And after all,the old spiders like the 124,or the Alfa 1600/2000 had also a big boot,instead the modern spiders are sometimes bigger and with a tiny little boot....
Great video!
You love Tom Tijarda ❤
The X1/9 was also an Abarth rally prototipo around the same time. Now drive a new Abarth 124 spider.
Love your comments on the cars you look at. I am especially interested in MGs, and would like you to review an early MGF. Thanks.
I always thought these Fiat Spyder’s were such great looking cars. That one sounds awesome!
I like the black fiberglass parts against the white. Looks great!
Lovely little car!
Hey Jack, How about a drive pass Quarwood, the former home of John Entwistle? How was the VW Scirocco received in the UK, 70's-80's models?
More fun than a Ferarri.
Well it wasnt made to be huge in California, it just happened to fit that market well.
Cool, I always wondered why they didn’t use the Coupe, never realized the shortened floorpan, so obvious when you think about it!
Its short rally carrier wasn’t all in vain as both the 16V engine (enlargened to 1995cc) & rear independent rear axle went on to the 131 Abarth Rally. This very car is as you point out a replica with live axle, you could never buy an Abarth with it.
I think the 124 Abarth is really interesting in that way, as the first car in a long row of rally success with the 16V Abarth engine, which was used in 131, 037 and finally the Delta S4!
I had one of these growing up.. actually my dad did.. I just “borrowed” the keys every time he was traveling for business.. 😂😂
Thank you for the detailed review and drive of this 124. I always preferred the handling of my 124s over my Alfa Spiders. I've owned multiples of each, and every generation. While both are very similar. Head to head, the Alfas seemed to be a "cruiser" when compared to the 124s shorter handling. The MGBs & Triumphs were "antiques" in comparison to the 124 & Alfa. It didn't take much to increase the performance of the 124 either. I look forward to your attention to the 124 on other videos.
Love it
In the 1990s I, as a longtime Alfa owner, was looking at 124s and noting that the engine bays were quite wide. I thought that one of these might make a good home for the Oldsmobile 215 aluminum V8 I had on hand. It never went beyond that though.
A classic British sports car - small light chassis, running gear from far more mundane vehicles - but made in Italy!
Great video and historical footage. May you please consider reviewing a Ford Escort Mexico (Mark 1), Datsun Violet or a Mini Clubman 1275 GT?
Fiat didn't intend the fibreglass parts to be left in black primer!
The 1975 European Rally Championship was extremely succesful achievement because World Rally Championship didn't exist yet, and whichever crew won European Championship they were de facto World Champions. The independent rear shows how advanced this car was for the time, since Ford Escort Mk. II RS 1800 that was very succesful as late as 1981 still had solid axle and leaf springs.
Fabulous rally car . Of course, any rally car is only as good as the basic model can allow it to be. The 124 , as of the 131 which followed, gave the rally project in each case, an excellent starting point. Obviously , much modified, but you’ve still got to have a good frame to start. Fiat had it droves. Nice video
At 16 I was taught to double clutch on my dad’s 75. 124 spider
hi Jack ,do you take the same roads as Harrys Garage?.they seem so alike but i not sure?.love your chanel .keep it up buddy. valentino.x
Not a rally car. Not a race car! But I have one of these that someone welded the doors shut, put steel tonneau cover over where the back seats used to be. And it has the windshield of a 1954 Starcraft ski boat. Silly little machine. Makes way more noise than power. It *sings* at the top of 2nd gear and all through 3rd.
I missed the “hello I’m jack!!”intro haha
The Cotswolds must be a haven for youtubers
Hi Jack . Could you review some old triumphs before they put away for winter. TR range and sptifire/GT6. Like to hear your take.
4:40 "if you're going to go rallying, having independent rear suspension is important"? - You need to do your research, the most successful 'production based' rally 2WD cars in history are solid rear axle, the Ford Escort and the Opel Manta. The Chevette and Talbots were up there as well.
Original had an independent rear suspension and limited slip. Thats a huge difference.
Once Italian cars were great😢...Greetings from Italy😊
lovely
That is a proper car!
Re using the open top and stiffness, I assume full roll cages were mandated for international competition back then, this would have stiffened the chassis considerable.
I had a mk3 124 Sport Coupe in the early 80’s. It was a fine car to drive but rusted itself to bits in 9 years