1979 Fiat Brava (131) racecar



After I moved to Stillwater, Oklahoma (in the middle of the USA), I got to know several people who raced on road racing circuits and asphalt ovals. This planted the bug in me to build my own racecar. I had a '79 Brava that I bought for $200 (this was around 1994) which ran fairly well, so I decided to strip it and race it. I gutted the interior and with the help of my friends, Will and Mark, I installed a rollcage. The other modifications to the car were:
  • Stripped interior
  • VW GTI Seat
  • 5-point racing harness
  • Aftermarket rollbar with custom made front hoop
  • 124 Spider front springs cut one coil
  • KYB struts
  • Rear springs cut 2 coils
  • 1756 TC intake manifold
  • Weber 34DMSA carburator (from '74 124 Spider)
  • 13x5.5" Fiat 'Iron Cross' alloy wheels
  • 4.1:1 rear diff from a '78 Fiat 131 (original was 3.58:1)
  • Various brands of used autocross 'race' tires

    I only ran the car once, in Altus, OK. We used Mark's van and trailer (I had neither) for the 3 hour tow. The car did not run for long, as rust from the gas tank plugged up the fuel lines :-(
    The outing made me realize that I did not have the resources to campaign a racecar, so I sold it to Mark. He and a friend drove the car several times the next year both on ovals and at Hallett motor racing circuit, a 10 turn road racing course. The car did very well on the ovals, but ran out of brakes at Hallett. A few months later Mark was at an asphalt oval race when the car met a concrete wall at a high rate of speed. Mark was not hurt, but the car was totalled.
    Here are some pics (click to enlarge) of the car when I first built it:

    The left pic is of me going for a drive, the second is of my brother Balu:

    This is a picture of Will and Mark displaying their winnings after an asphalt oval race in Wichita Falls, TX:

    These are pics of the car after I sold it to Mark, and he put a much needed airdam on it:

    And the car after the wreck:


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