one of the things people are afraid of when they are interested in buying a 130 coupe or berlina is the problem of finding parts. This website is mainly focussed on helping you out here and finding the right sources to solve the problem.
The saloon version has headlights with a standard of 14.5 centimeter and so it is relatively easy to find an alternative as these were used in so many more cars from that time. But as classic cars get more and more popular, so does the market for spares and aftermarket spares of course. Superformance in England mentioned in the list of links offeres a complete set of Carello Jodium headlights. These are the same for both 130 saloon as the Dino model which you’ll find in their listing. you can also find these headlights at Ebay but as the offers change from time to time, it useless to mention a link here.
The coupe is a bit different story, these were specially designed for the coupe and you won’t find them in any other (production) car. Only a one off Rolls Royce by Frua used them and also some city busses in Italy were equipped with them. There are two different series of these headlights, the first being the most complicated and desirable. it has two big reflectors and in addition one small round one fitted inside. the glasses and the housing of the glass are the same for both. A later headlight unit was far less complicated and housed two reflectors of the FIAT 126/127 etc. model.Word was it had a better beam but in reality the first unit was so expensive to produce that the factory decided to cut these costs and go with a “cheaper version” of course when you restore a coupe it is important to get the version that belongs to the car. From halfway 1974 up the second version is used. careful when you want to buy a 130 coupe. Many times one unit was swapped at a certain moment and the car has both versions which doesn’t look real nice.
if you can restore the headlights yourself I’m more than happy to advise how to proceed. There is no need to actually get the glass out of its frame as the risk of breaking the glass is high! once you have the reflectors out you can send these to der refektorklinik in Germany. They do an excellent job and when you get them back they will be better then when they left the factory. A good advise, if you decide to go ahead with this operation, restore the both headlight, not just one as you will see a terrible difference in brightness afterwards. And while you’re at it you can also have the small bits and parts galvanized of course. be careful here, not all parts can withstand the acid used in the galvanizing process!! call or WhatsApp me when you have doubts, no problem.
Probably the most desirable FIAT 130 coupe around, “la Maremma” introduced in 1974 as prototype by Pininfarina to boost sales of the 130 line. Along with it’s sister prototype Opera they were presented to complete the 130 program and replace the 4 door berlina version. The Maremma was the extra addition to attrack potential buyers to the Italian marque.
the proposed FIAT 130 family to succeed and replace the 130 berlina model
So the myths around the 130 model are plenty and the Maremma is no exception here. some claim no less then 3 or even 4 Maremma ’s were produced and base this statement on various number plates seen on the car. we’ll try to explain as I talk to the people very close to the Maremma who just know the story first hand, or maybe it’s better said second hand…
When the maremma was proposed by Pininfarina in 1974, the world had a huge economical problem due to the oil crisis. Everything got more expensive and the 130 model which already suffered from low sales was under fire. It was to expensive and to thirsty to begin with. So the proposed two new models Maremma and Opera to save the 130 line were declined by FIAT. They both became “one off’s” and were plated to be used in traffic.
So when the car was first plated April 4th 1975, it became the license number A6-43979 which is what called in Italy a temporary plate for use in traffic. September 24th 1978 the car was replated with a combination beginning with TO-M (Torino) the third letter was changed every 100.000 cars registered. And finally the Maremma got it’s Venice plates VE after the car was given by Agnelli to a close lady friend who still owns the car today. You notice I don’t show the complete license and surely will not reveal the current owner’s data as this is specifically asked not to do so. any questions about that will be answered with no, sorry..
Anyway, the hunt for this “holy grail as you wish carried on for many years and all this time the general public, including 130 clubs had no clue where the car was. The awnser was quite simple, it was given by Agnelli to a lady friend, back in the late seventies and never left again. Once discovered by change again articles start to pop up in magazines and 130 fans wondering if it would be for sale, but lets be honest. If you have this unique coupe and don’t need to sell for the money, why should you? A nice gesture by the family was made to lend the car for exposition purposes, that was really cool to see the car “live” It was also shown again during the exebition Le Auto dell’Avvocato
So before going to this show, the prototype had to go to the bodyshop to have herself a new coat of paint. Little scratches and bumps were straightened and all was painted in it’s glorious golden colour again. During this process many detailled pictures were taken and it became clear how the maremma was actually build which for the sheetmetal and classic car restorers among us is most interesting of course. So with the permission of the family I present you these pictures of the process. Please note that I will and cannot show the license plate in any of the pictures as it would be a violation of the privacy of the owner. ALSO DO NOT COPY AND USE ANY OF THESE PICTURES WITHOUT ASKING ME!!
the famous interior is a combination of Scottisch cloth and beige Alcantara
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Fiat 130 Maremma
the famous interior of the Maremma was hand made of course. the combi they came up with was Scottish cloth with light beige alcantara, a perfect match!
The year was 1998. The trip was one of many that time, on our way to our favorite part supplier, Autodem with whom we developed a warm relationship. Apart of parts more than one 130 coupe or saloon found it’s way to the Netherlands to join the growing club of enthusiasts. Funny detail was that even friends who actually did like cars but not specifically the FIAT 130 came home as new owner of this flagship..
At one of these occasions we found a saloon 2800 in amaranth mettalizato, a special colour which is not used much but very nice with all chrome that the car has. This car immediately caught my eye as it was a manual shifted Berlina 2800, very rare indeed as the 2800 was standard delivered with autotrans. The owner of it past away and his family parked the car at a local dealer of occasions hoping to sell it quick. unfortunately this lasted a lot longer and didn’t do the car good. Lucky enough a Dutch enthusiast bought the car after our visit and plans could be made to get it home.
When the 2800 arrived in the Netherlands it went to it’s new owner, a good friend from Maastricht. He had his own idea about the colour the car should get and so we started to restore and paint the car in a very fresh (Lancia) red metallic. Different, but certainly not bad at all. The quality of the pictures is a bit bad but made in the nineties!
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years past and at the end I could buy the car back. That was the moment to restore it again, but this time for myself. I could decide what colour (combination) I should use. My dream combi always has been to create a Berlina in darkblue with a red leather interior. I think I fully succeeded.
This beautiful coupe with Spanish registration had been standing for years like so many other coupes. Story of this car is really very nice and unique. My dear friend Jose-manuel from Oviedo knows the car since his youth. He saw this car passing in his neighborhood when walking there. At a certain point he lost track of the coupe. Together with me and another 130 owner who lived nearby a search was needed and succesfully completed in 2015! we found the coupe in a very good spot, in a garage. Story was that both head gaskets were burned during a trip to the south of Spain. owner left the car at this garage to be repaired and he initially did start the repair but left the work after a while probably because he could not find the parts needed. So it was a restoration project and who better then myself could buy this coupe?
the story continues and Jose-manuel asked me to sell the aubergine coupe to him. of course this was no problam as he knows the car so much better than I do and knows the complete history. So a happy end to this story as this car now has the right owner who will take care of it 100%!
this car was bought and added to my personal collection in 2016
restoration completed 2021
Registration number: YR-12-SL Year of construction: 1977 Chassis no .: fiat130BC * 0004455 *
Registration / Description
This 130 coupe is a very well-known appearance within the Dutch club, founded in the nineties.
With chassis number fiat130BC * 0004455 *, the car is one of the very last to be rolled off the production line and at the Duth traffic agency is the coupe with the highest registered chassis number to date. The date of first admission / registration in Italy where the car comes from was June 30, 1977. In the Netherlands, the car was registered on November 8, 1990 with the national road traffic service. Until now, the car has had 3 Dutch owners in addition to the first owner in Italy, all of whom are known to the 130 club.
The nineties
After this coupe was brought to the Netherlands by an Amsterdam dealer in 1990, it was offered through the well-known sales channels after being approved by the Dutch RDW.
Pure enthusiast Peter from Amsterdam immediately noticed the car and bought it immediately without hesitation. he became the first Dutch owner of the “YR” as this coupe is affectionately known within the small 130-club. Peter drove the YR with great pleasure for a number of years, until his desire to be able to “shift manually ” in such a car grew and the search for a manual version was started. A new owner was sought for the YR and found shortly afterwards. Pieter from Nijmegen became the happy new (second) Dutch owner and started the car with great enthusiasm. Whether it is due to lack of time in the following years or the distribution of attention over several cars in his collection is not entirely known, but the YR past it’s time the nineties and zero’s as we popularly call it now more in the garage than seen on the public road. every disadvantage has its advantage and because it was a dark garage, that fortunately had no bad influence on the beautiful interior.
Pieter often also called on Alex van der Laan, who restores 130’s as a daily job, but since many 130 owners find their way to Alex, a nice waiting list had arisen.
The car was eventually sold to Alex on April 5, 2016. He thus became the number 3 owner of the car.
Relocation and Restoration
In 2018 there was a major move towards the sun in Spain. Business activities in the Netherlands were discontinued and the reasonably large private collection of cars was taken along. Finally time to work on my own cars !!!
The YR was high on the list, it has always been a very healthy basis to make a super coupe again and the choice to invest a lot of time and also the necessary money was therefore not difficult. The restoration has been going on for about a year now and the well-known finishing touches are currently being done.
The car itself
It might be easier to list what has not (yet) been done to this coupe. As a lover of these cars, but also a perfectionist who is actually never satisfied because things can always be better, making new lists is always in mind. All works fine, currently I’m driving and testing the car to make sure it continues to drive well. Remember this is a car of 43 years old, intensive checks and tests are therefor helpful
Being realistic is also important and with a car like this there are always wishes left and you just have to make choices to stay within the cost price.
Technically this coupe is good, very good. Furthermore, everything that is important to these cars has been carried out. New timing belt, water pump, brakes, exhaust, wheel bearings, restored headlights, restored rear lights (NOS chrome frames) etc., etc. I leave the anti rust coating of the bottom AFTER the car is sold because now it can be inspected “as is” healthy and not welded.
The odometer readings of the car are also always neatly registered. That is not difficult because when Peter bought the car the counter was at 75,000 km. Peter has always kept the readings neatly and was extremely surprised that when I bought it in 2016, the car drove so little with the 90,000 score.
The car actually still has that position, I have not driven it all this time because I wanted to tackle everything first. And time flies meanwhile… ..
Sale
But why sell now that the car is just ready? The answer is quite simple to explain. I still have another 130 coupe and that one has an original Spanish registration. Besides that, I own two 130 sedans and a few other classics. The choice to sell the YR is therefore not difficult. The car will be delivered with a valid Dutch MOT and in case it will be delivered outside the Netherlands with the necessary export papers, also transport can be arranged. Many coupes are offered for various prices on the internet. I invite interested parties to please check a few coupes more before coming to see this one to be able to compare.
In case of serious interest, the car can be viewed here at my place. Candidate buyers are then picked up from Alicante airport (with a 130!) An extensive test drive along the coast roads of the Costa Blanca can be made together.
Transport can be arranged by me if desired, but you can also pick it up and drive it home!
The price of the car is € 17.500,- including MOT inspection, excluding transport.
