Motoring Discussion > Old cars overseas Miscellaneous
Thread Author: legacylad Replies: 14

 Old cars overseas - legacylad
I’m not talking about Cuba territory, just the old daily drivers I see regularly in Spain.

Today I parked up in Llíber, the Jalon valley if you’re interested, a 6 mile walk/limp with a pal before the heat of the day. Parked next to a Seat 127 Especial 5 door hatch.yes. 5 door.. A gold metallic, probably not the original paintwork, badly peeling lacquer, but as is the case with these things, tiny next to my C3. It was gone when I returned ...I’ve happy memories of the 127. Circa 1975 myself and friends, in four cars, drove from Bradford to St Trop for a summer holiday. One of them was a Fiat 127..3 door hatch. I don’t remember a 5 door Fiat 127, but my memory ain’t what it was.

Splashing out on expensive €4.99 Lidl Alborino from Lidl hasn’t helped matters...we normally set a €4 limit on our wine purchases. Profligate Thursday.
 Old cars overseas - Slightlyfatdirector
Years ago I had a red 3 door saloon 127 (odd it wasn't a hatchback, although it looked like it would be) and it was a great if very basic car. I remember that the washers for the front screen were operated by pressing a rubber button on the dash and the water for this was in what looked like a hot water bottle under the bonnet hung from two hooks. No motor there..

No radio as standard either. Loved that car though...

A few years later in a case of bangernomics I bought another one. This time in green. Cost me £100 and ran it for a year before getting £25 for it at the scrap yard. Proper budget motoring!

We were on a Greek island in June and I was astonished to see a white one parked off road next to a shed. Could not tell if it was road worthy, but brought back some happy memories....
 Old cars overseas - Robin O'Reliant
>> Years ago I had a red 3 door saloon 127 (odd it wasn't a hatchback,
>> although it looked like it would be) and it was a great if very basic
>> car. I remember that the washers for the front screen were operated by pressing a
>> rubber button on the dash and the water for this was in what looked like
>> a hot water bottle under the bonnet hung from two hooks. No motor there..
>>
>>
>>

When washers first became mandatory for all cars (Whether already fitted or not) that was the standard upgrade kit. I remember helping a mate fit one to a Mk1 Cortina.

I had a few cars with manual pump washers, back then only the more expensive ones came with electric units. The first car I travelled in with an electric pump was a funeral car when the old man popped his clogs in '77. I thought it was ever so posh.
Last edited by: Robin O'Reliant on Sat 1 Oct 22 at 17:06
 Old cars overseas - Zero
Lots of my early cars had a rubber bulb on the floor with a switch ring round it, Mash your foot on it to squirt stuff feebly on the screen and operate the wipers.
 Old cars overseas - henry k
I updated my 1600E to a dual system plus a control unit.
So with the electric system had the option of a four jet system
With the control system I could adjust the timing between wipes or washes or both.
Just one of several rare or very rare non performance enhancements I made to the 1600E.
It was rare to begin with as from new it had seats from a two door 1600E
It was a challenge to keep it going but I had loads of problems to sort all its life.
 Old cars overseas - BiggerBadderDave
I like the Fiat 127, purely because Mrs Brooks had one. She was my teacher in '77. I had a major crush on her. I've no idea how I managed it but I found her number and I used to call her. I was 10.

A bit of googling tells she's still lives in the same town and still with the same husband. I doubt she has the same Fiat though... She'll be 70 now (and I still would).
 Old cars overseas - Zero
My fav Fiat of the times was the 128 3p
 Old cars overseas - legacylad
Blimey....I’d totally forgotten I once owned a bright yellow 128 estate. It was a boxy shaped 3 door. Engine 1200cc ?

Back in the day I used my holidays following rallies...Scottish in June, Mintex in February (?), Manx International Tarmac in September. Then the Lombard RAC in November.

Pretty sure one year 3 of us used the 128 to follow most of them, grabbing a few hours sleep in the car or a tent. Great memories from several decades ago.
 Old cars overseas - legacylad
Similar era, my gf at the time often used her mother’s Opel Kadett Coupe...in my eye they were both smoking hot in the looks department.

My gf never found out.
 Old cars overseas - bathtub tom
>> Lots of my early cars had a rubber bulb on the floor with a switch
>> ring round it, Mash your foot on it to squirt stuff feebly on the screen
>> and operate the wipers.

Ford?
 Old cars overseas - Zero

>> Ford?

Yer
 Old cars overseas - bathtub tom
>>back then only the more expensive ones came with electric units.

I had an A35 in the late sixties with electric washer. Smiths unit IIRC, had a great big rectangular, glass jar water container that looked like a sweet jar.
 Old cars overseas - bathtub tom
>>Years ago I had a red 3 door saloon 127 (odd it wasn't a hatchback, although it looked like it >>would be)

Are you sure it was a 127? I recall seeing a 127 lookalike based on the 850, complete with rear engine, but obviously no hatch.
 Old cars overseas - Boxsterboy
Early 127s didn’t have a hatch - like early Peugeot 104s ( of which I had one - great car) even though they looked like they should have.
 Old cars overseas - Slightlyfatdirector
Yep, the boot was hinged below the glass rear window, but still looked like a hatchback. I think that the later green one had a conventional hatch hinged above the glass screen.
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