5k: Sport Compact: 1976 Fiat 128 2-Door Wagon

The Fiat 128 was engineered by Dante Giacosa and is considered by many to be the grandpappy of today's front-wheel-drive sedans.  Plenty of other OEMs had dabbled in front wheel drive - like Saab's wacky engine backwards on top of trans, Citroen's engine mounted behind trans, and Mini's engine/trans shared sump. But the Fiat 128 was arguably the first major production car to use a transverse front-engine front-drive mounted just above and ahead of the unequal length front axles layout that just about every economy car uses today.  Boring you say, maybe..? You might also complain about eating that PB&J sandwich that your wife makes you every day at 12:01pm, but if you had a chance to relive the experience of enjoying that first PB&J...wouldn't it be fun?  Find this 1976 Fiat 128 2-Door Wagon currently bidding for $1,823 on ebay, located in Auburn, CA with 1 day to go.  Tip from Christopher M.

 The Fiat 128 was built in Italian factories (and then later around the world) starting in 1969 and continuing all the way through 1985 with over 3 million cars leaving the assembly lines.  Licensed versions of the 128 were built in Eastern Europe and the Third World all the way through 2001.  The 128 mechanical bits were used for the Fiat X1/9 and Moretti 128 and Enzo Ferrari was rumored to use a 128 as his personal daily driver. 

This 3 door 128 is one of the cooler variants (Moretti notwithstanding) and looks nice on the inside, but has a few rust issues on the skin.  The seller says that the 1.3 liter 65 horsepower inline-4 runs okay, but not great.  

 See a better use of thin gauge Italian metal?  tips@dailyturismo.com