Tag Archives: Middle

Tre Porte – FIAT 128 3p Belinetta

3 years after FIAT launched it’s 128 Sport Coupé model Volkswagen responded with a competitor in the form of the Scirroco which was launched several month’s before the introduction of the Volkswagen Golf / Rabbit upon which it was based.

FIAT 128 3P, Middle Barton Garage, Oxon

The Scirroco differed from the Sport Coupé having a large hatchback door in place of the Coupés more conventional small boot.

FIAT 128 3P, Middle Barton Garage, Oxon

FIAT responded to Volkswagen’s challenge in 1975 with the introduction of the tre porte FIAT 128 3p Berlinetta which replaced the Sport Coupé in the manufacturers model range.

FIAT 128 3P, Middle Barton Garage, Oxon

Where the Scirroco had four engine options from 1.1 litres / 67 cui to 1.6 litres / 97.6 cui the 3P like it’s Sport Coupé predecessor was only available with either a 1.1 litre or 67 cui or 1.3 litre / 79 cui motor.

FIAT 128 3P, Middle Barton Garage, Oxon

These were still good enough to give the 3p rest to 62.5 mph times of 15 seconds and 13.5 seconds and top speeds of 150kph / 93 mph and 160 kph / 99 mph respectively.

FIAT 128 3P, Middle Barton Garage, Oxon

Never as popular in competition as it’s lighter predecessor the 128 3p only remained in production until 1978.

FIAT 128 3P, Middle Barton Garage, Oxon

The pristine 1976 1.3 litre example seen in these photographs at a Middle Barton Garage gathering in Oxfordshire a few years was first registered in the UK on September 13th 1976.

Thanks for joining me on this “Tre Porte” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at another hill climbing special. Don’t forget to come back now !

Swiss Hill Climb Champion – Abarth Simca 2Mila Corsa #0051

Keen to promote a sporting image Simca turned to renowned Fiat tuner and racing car manufacturer Carlo Abarth to help them achieve their goal in the early 1960’s.

Abarth Simca 2Mila, Race Retro, Stoneleigh

Alongside his work producing performance tuning parts for Simca Abarth developed the 140mph Abarth Simca 1300GT based on Simca 1000 running gear in 1962 which won it’s class in the 1964 World Manufacturers’ Championship for sports cars with drivers Tom Fleming, Otto Linton, James Diaz, Pietro Laureati, Secondo Ridolfi, Hans Herrmann, Fritz Jüttner, Hans-Dieter Dechent, Denis Borel, Ernst Furtmayr, Klaus Steinmetz, Herbert Demetz and Anton Fischhaber all contributing to the manufacturers win.

Abarth Simca 2Mila, Race Retro, Stoneleigh

1964 Abarth also started racing the 2 litre / 122 cui 2Mila that was powered by a motor producing around 200hp, unfortunately the transmission could not cope with the power in the longer races and only Hans Herman recorded a class win in the 1964 World Manufacturers’ Championship for sports cars in the IV. Coppa di Citta Enna while leaving Porsche to win the 2 litre class from Alfa Romeo.

Abarth Simca 2Mila, Race Retro, Stoneleigh

In shorter non championship events and hillclimbs the 2Mila recorded at least 9 further victories and 3 additional class wins up until 1966 by which time the project had been abandoned by Abarth after Simca was merged into Chrysler Europe.

Abarth Simca 2Mila, Race Retro, Stoneleigh

The remaining known overall and class spoils for the model were divided between Eberhard Mahle, Franco Patria 6, Kurt Ahrens Jr, Jochen Rindt 2, Jody Porter and Herbert Demetz.

Abarth Simca 2Mila, Race Retro, Stoneleigh

Today’s featured chassis #0051 was bought new by Dr Hans Kuhnis who won the 1965 Swiss GT Championship with it, allegedly Dr Kuhnis had his wife harrang Abarth on the Monday after every event to ensure he had the latest parts in time for the following event.

Abarth Simca 2Mila, Race Retro, Stoneleigh

Middle Barton Garage undertook a restoration of #0051 in 2006, fitting gear ratio’s that give the car a top speed of 155mph for it’s owner.

Thanks for joining me on this “Swiss Hill Climb Champion” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Stunning Seicento – Tornado FIAT 600D GT Lotus Twin Cam

Anyone one heading east along the A412 Uxbridge Road in to Rickmansworth would be forgiven for missing Fairway Tyres located in a building set back from the road with a forecourt.

It turns out this building is called Tornado House recalling Tornado Cars Ltd which once employed up to sixty people to manufacture around 600 sports cars from 1957 to 1964 that were marked under the Typhoon, Tempest, Thunderbolt and Talisman names.

Tornado went into liquidation in 1964 it would appear just after the introduction of a hot GT version of the FIAT 600D known as the Tornado FIAT 600D GT.

Around two and a half million FIAT (Seicento) 600D’s were manufactured between 1955 and 1969, powered by a water cooled straight 4 cylinder motor giving either 21 hp or 29 hp according to size, which lent itself to easy tuning with upgrades available from the likes of Carl Abarth.

The FIAT 600D, which sold for 590,000 lire new was also manufactured in Barcelona, Spain where it was marketed as the SEAT ( pronounced c @ ) 600, Kragujevac, in what is now Serbia where it was marketed as the Zastava 750.

As of 2011 it was thought only 65 road legal Seicento’s remain in the UK.

One of the Tornado FIAT 600D GT’s was acquired by David Render in 1965, readers, of the Lotus 76 and Lotus 77 posts, may remember that David was friends with Colin Chapman of Lotus Cars who suggested and arranged for Davids Tornado FIAT 600D to be fitted ….

… with a full blown Lotus Twin Cam motor normally found in the Lotus Cortina and Lotus Elan.

With over 100 hp on tap David’s little Tornado FIAT 600D GT became a pocket rocket…

with which he estimates he won over 50 trophies in the period he owned it. David’s car is seen here at the recent Middle Barton Garages silver jubilee celebration.

Please note Tornado Cars Ltd of Rickmansworth is not to be confused with Tornado Sports Cars of Kidderminster.

Thanks for joining me on this “Stunning Seicento” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”. I hope you will join me for Americana Thursday tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Silver Jubilee – Middle Barton Garage

The self styled “Italian Shrine” Middle Barton Garage celebrated its Silver Jubilee last weekend and I joined fellow members of the Bristol Pegasus Motor Club at Delamare services on the M4 at 8:30 am last Saturday to join in the fun.

Arthur in his 2006 Mustang GT led a couple of MX5’s a Westfield and yours truly in his humble Golf Mk IV Estate along some beautiful country roads as we took an indirect route with some challenging curves towards the newly relocated Middle Barton Garage which now lies just outside Somerton in Oxfordshire.

We arrived early to find an eclectic assortment of vehicles accumulating including this 1924 Bentley fitted with a normally aspirated 4398 cc / 268 cui six cylinder motor. If I ever get to drive a vintage car of any sort this would be one I’d choose, it looked all set to go like a steam train with little in the way of refinement or creature comfort.

Among the Middle Barton Garage friends and customer cars to turn up was this FIAT 124 Spider, one of at least two I saw on the day, a Barchetta, 128 3P and 500. Being polished in the background is a turbocharged racing Abarth 500.

The Abarth Osella PA2 was built for the 1974 European 2 litre / 122 cui sports car championship, there does not seem to be much agreement on exactly how many PA2’s were built a chassis #013 was offered by Bonhams 5 years ago. The Osella PA2s running with four cylinder engines from Abarth, BMW or Ford were outclassed by the works V6 powered Alpine Renaults in 1974 the final year of the championship. This car chassis #011 is painted in the colours used by Georgian Prince in Spanish exile Jorge de Baragation who drove chassis #001 to a victory at Jarama in 1974.

Alongside the production of their Talisman sports cars Tornado Cars of Rickmansworth, not to be confused with Tornado Sports Cars of Kidderminster, offered a FIAT 600 D conversion to a more powerful spec. David Render bought the one of seen here and his friend Colin Chapman suggested and organised fitting an even more powerful Lotus Twin Cam motor to this car, with which David won more than 50 trophies in sprint and hill climb events.

The 1950 GMC 100 Pickup above is being finished off by one of Middle Barton Garages neighbours.

As I left the Silver Jubilee celebration the Ferrari California Convertible and Maserati Bora 4th from right pulled up to join in the fun.

My thanks to Tony Castle-Miller of Middle Barton Garage and Nick of the Bristol Pegasus Motor Club for organising the event.

Thanks for joining me on this “Silver Jubilee” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be taking a close look at a car driven by Queen Elizabeth II during her coronation year. Don’t forget to come back now !