Car number three was a Fiat 127 'Palio' (named after the famous Italian horse race) its colour was the standard metallic beige or gold colour and cost all of £2000 most of which came from a loan, this car was far superior to anything I had owned before and was just great. Being a special edition it came with alloy wheels, a full length sunroof and luxurious interior. The handling of the Mk2 127 was better than the earlier version apart from the fact that the same skinny tyres (135/80x13's) were fitted these were replaced by me for 155/70x13's a size offered as an option on the 127 Sport, this improved not only the handling but the ride too.

The copious list of standard extras were soon joined by some other bits and pieces of my own including Cibie Oscar spotlamps (which gave staggering main beam performance), a Corbeau Euro GT Recliner seat and a Pioneer stereo with suitable speaker system (door and rear pod-mounted) with home grown Tandy 200 watt amplification system(comprising two 100 watt amps cobbled together). Another addition which gives away the age in which all this took place was the 'FM' CB system (about as useful as a chocolate fireguard). Another mod added by me was the Kamei front spoiler which curtailed the car's tendency to lift its nose at speed and made the car look a little different. This car as with most Fiats (ancient and modern) ran perfectly and never let me down once, the only parts that were replaced while I owned the car were the clutch which gave up at the usual 60,000 mile mark, the head gasket failed and was replaced, also the shocks expired and were swapped for Koni's which transformed the handling still further.

I had some of the most motoring fun I have ever had in this car as at the time I owned this vehicle many of my friends had 127's too and if any of these cars still existed today I would most probably buy one (space and unleaded fuel allowing). Another friend of mine who is also a collector of 127's bought this very car from someone in Oxford some 8 years after I had owned it, by then it was virtually worn out and very rusty, he sold it on at Witney motor auctions 6 months later, that was at least 12 years ago so it is fairly safe to say this car does not exist any more.... sad but true.

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