Fiat 128 — It Looked Ordinary... Then the World Copied It
20K views · Aug 15, 2026 · Autos & Vehicles
Comments · 121
@ImissSaganCarl · 1 month ago
Finally, finally. Someone finally did a video on this revolutionary car. It boggles my mind that this car does not get the attention it deserves. My father had two of them and I know every inch of the car. I was beside him and every type of maintenance work he did on the car, both mechanical and body repair. We went on vacation with it. When I see it, my mind floods with nostalgic memories.
16
@tomvespestad6764 · 1 month ago (edited)
My parents bought a brand new green Fiat 128 in 1974. I was five years old, it was summer, in my native Norway. The sun was shining, sparkling in the paint. I remember the smell of it. Great memories😊
4
@brianfarrelly7151 · 1 month ago
I owned a pristine 1972 green four door 128 in the mid 70’s and drove it for several years, totally unaware of its true background. It replaced a Fiat 124 and for young people in Ireland, Fiat was an affordable brand. It undertook a 4 week tour of France in 1974 without any issues - in those days, we serviced our own cars and this was an easy one to work on. Thanks for your video.
14
@ivantuma7969 · 21 hours ago
After I got my first job - I bought my dad's '76 128 1.3L Sedan in the US - he had just bought a new small pickup and didn't need it. It looked just like the car in the famous CHIPS chase scene. I had it repainted (Matador Red). It was the first time I really felt connected to a vehicle. I loved flinging it around - often taking it up to redline in its all-too-short 4th gear :D I told my friend - this car really deserves a 5 speed. On snowy days, I would take the air cleaner off so I could hear the intake sounds of that smooth little engine while I whipped it around in the snow of the empty mall parking lot where I worked. It made me fall in love with Italian cars. Unfortunately, after two years of my aggressive use of the clutch - I broke the clutch fork in the bell housing - and didn't have the money to fix it, or the space to do it myself. So I sold it to someone who did for a few hundred bucks. Later I owned two 850 Sport Spiders (older tech - but still loads of fun in a beautiful Bertone design). It's hard to get into anything Italian in the US right now - I definitely want to upgrade to an Alpha or Masi with rear or AWD (eventually).
@Slowbiker1957 · 1 month ago
The most underated can ofbits time better than a golf
4
@afzaalkhan.m · 1 month ago
Fiat. Legendry. Models. We had Fiat 125 and later a 131. Loved them
4
@Robert-e4q8g · 1 month ago
I bought a new 128 in the early 1970s. Brilliant design! Wonderful car! Loved it!
3
@bluenose4298 · 1 month ago
I like FIAT- cars from 70's as well as the Lancia of that time. You had to be very creative to lock yourself out ;I loved the fact when you kill the ignition the switch off.lots of little things that makes the <br>easier. I never owned a FIAT, but I have driven 125, 130,Zastava 101 and Lancia beta delta and gamma. It is still my favorite era of cars.
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@nrudnjanin · 1 month ago
My first car was red 1978 Zastava 101 Mediteran, 3-door version of Fiat 128 hatchback followed by yellow 1982 Zastava 101 Comfort 5-door hatcback. Had such fun driving them...
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@ianhollands1641 · 1 month ago
We had one . A total disaster that failed it's first MOT due to rust! The front brake discs wore away quicker than the brake pads. The engine so close to the wheel arch that we couln't change the fan belt. Long gone but never forgotten.
2
@rundheersingbheenick3695 · 1 month ago
The first new car I ever bought as a newly-arrived 25-year old in Vienna, Austria, in the summer of 1970 was a machine- green 2-door Fiat 128, following up on a mid-60's Hillman Minx which my Dad had bought for me two years earlier.<br><br>It gave excellent service; doing up to 140 mph with a tiny engine.<br><br>The first problem I encountered was a snapping clutch belt well after I'd brought the car home to Mauritius with me. My local mechanic fixed that. He was flummoxed by the next issue: the rubber timing belt had begun to play up.<br>The mechanic admitted he was licked, towed the car to the Fiat concessionaire and saved the car from seized pistons and valves without knowing it.<br>I sold it eventually to a Prof at the University who had a losing argument with a heavy tar-boiler at some roadside works...and it was curtains for the poor little 128.<br>Some years later, walking with a friend in Mayfair, I came across the newly-launched Fiat Mirafiori. i walked in and bought it--it became the first Fiat 131 imported into Mauritius in 1976.
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@johnmoncrieff3034 · 2 weeks ago
I first encountered this car when my my MIL could not fit into my own car, so I had to hire one! We were on a weekend trip around the country & needed a 4 door which had sufficient boot room for three adults and two small children's overnight luggage, & seating to match! I was not expecting any real performance with that load, but it completely changed when we got onto the open road! That 1100 cc all alloy engine (similar to the one in the Hillman IMP) that would willingly rev to over 7000 rpm with a surprising amount of torque. A few years later I bought one that had been in an accident and I rebuilt it with a few minor mods to boost its performance even further, Its original suspension and setup were untouched as they were so good. A friend was so insistant on buying it he offered me a figure I could not refuse! It allowed me to buy a MK2 Jaguar 3.4 If I am not mistaken that engine & gearbox was used in the later Lancia Delta base model! That in my opinion is the best handeling small hatchback ever produced (2 wheel drive), It handeled so well that none of the GT models from Ford, Vauxhall, VW or Rover could keep up with it on the "B" roads in Scotland!
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