
The Fiat 128 began production here (Argentina) in 1971. Only the sedan and the wagons where made. It came with a 1100 cm3 engine, until about 1979, thene they produced the 128 Europa, which had some modifications, like the front grill and lights. The bumpers where also changed and the front lights where rectangular and a little bigger because they thought the round ones didnīt have enought lighting capability. The rear lights where also bigger. At the end of 1982 the put in a 1300 cm3 engine (thats the one I have) and it was optional to put a 5-speed gearbox (thats why they called it the CL5). Last was the 128 Super Europa which started around 1983. It came with bigger lights and some plastic on the bumpers. Around 1986 they put in a 1500 cm3 engine and it came with air conditioning. Something interesting is that Fiat produced a limited edition of the 128 and 128 Europa which came with racing engines, lowerd suspension, racing seats which were inflatable, and many other options. This version was called the "iava" which means "instituto Argentino de vehiculos de avanzada." The original iava had the 1100cm3 engine and then they produced the 128 Europa, called the TV1300, with the 1300cm3 engine, which is really fast. It has around 100 HP but since they are almost all modifed they can even have more. These cars cost around $6000 dollars now, and they are really hard to find; one like mine is around $3500.
Mariano Clerici mclerici@pluspetrol.com.ar