Insegnarmi: Fiat 124 Spider

Long story short, after I crashed my motorcycle the Air Force brought unto me a huge asspain that's just now getting cleared up, and won't be totally cleared up until 2015... Consequently, I'm selling off my motorcycles to gain a period of "introspection" to decide if I miss them enough to deal with a repeat of said asspain, or worse.

How is that relevant to the Fiat Spider? Well a small convertible is the perfect cure for cageitis. It was pointed out here recently that $4000 would buy one a most beautiful Fiat 124, and since then I've certainly developed quite an attraction to them. I know the Alfa is more desirable, but frankly I think the Fiat looks better, and they are certainly cheaper. I'm looking for a nice little runabout I can drive to work with the top down when it's sunny.

I've joined the Fiat Spider forum, but they require a moderator to approve your membership, and it's been about two days. In the mean time, I've found this and sold a motorcycle. The interior does in fact need work, the dash is cracked, and the center console will need to be replaced. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I also found this. Is it really possible that only $1500 separates the two, or is someone hitting the pipe? And if so, which one?

The $4250 one definitely sounds a lot more legit. There are a lot of question marks surrounding the first one. $1250 is a small premium to pay for a non-idiot P.O.

The first one seems slightly high, but both prices dont seem that weird.

I would stay away from the 75. It has some questionable mods. I know he claims it is rust free.. but the sills are painted black.. a good sign that has been repaired (outer sills some off with some screws) but the car was repainted.. The trunk lock is painted over.

the 2.0 (a 1995 CC engine, not a 1955) with a single Weber 32adfa is not a powerful engine. It will produce around 80ish HP while the injected 80 has around 100. (same engine)

The 75 has the better rear axle.. but I am not sure it is worth it. I would look hard at the injected car. Check the rear wheel arches, the front fenders between the wheel well and door where it meets the sill, rear suspension pickups, and the shock towers for rust. If they are all good, it is not a bad deal.

With the 80.. check the pockets the convertable top folds down into. They are basically a funnel for the rain. There is a drain that the bottom that sends the water into the sills. (a bad idea by pinninfarina) but without them, the water will pool on the floor.

Have you found my Introduction to Fiat 124 Spiders on the web yet? If not, it may help you decide what you want and explain the differences of the various years. I've never been on FiatSpider.com. I use Mirafiori as the go-to source for anything Fiat. The forum software is ancient but the participants are top-notch. I'd suggest trying to find a car via someone on there or www.flu.org. You'll find the best cars are typically owned by the guys who are not casual owners.

The carb'd 2.0 can be made into a decent car by installing a carb and intake from a 75-78 1800. It's not terribly difficult. But in stock form, I agree, they aren't terrific and are saddled with a lot of emissions garbage.

What's up with the 4x4 ride height on the '75? I personally don't like the trim black out, hood mod and removed bumpers on that car either. But I guess that's all personal preference.

I'd probably look for a later car, or even a Pininfarina and retrofit some earlier small chrome bumpers.

If it were my money I would taking a trip to look at that '80. The wheels are horrible, but that is easily fixed. Unlike my X1/9 you can buy almost every part to replace the interior on a spider brand new.

A few parts suppliers: www.midwest-bayless.com (mostly used or NOS) www.vickauto.com www.international-auto.com

This board is awesome. David, I did not find your well-written intro, but I'm certainly reading it now.

I got more pictures of the 80. It's a little rougher than the Craigslist ad shows, though I did find brand-new fiberglass replacement consoles for $75, which is nice.

I sent an email with questions compiled from all the help here. While I'm now pretty sure his asking price can be dropped down quite a bit, the car is certainly coming across as a 10 footer, which is fine.

Cracked dashes and consoles are not the thing to worry about with Fiats... it's rust and accident damage. The '75 kinda scares me because I don't know what's been done, what's been done correctly, and what's been half-assed. It may all be legit, but when it comes to car purchases, I don't trust anyone... one man's "correctly" is another man's "WTF!?!?!!!".

With regard to the '80, if it hasn't been molested, manipulated, etc., it's worth more to me because I know that I'm getting exactly what I can see, and when I fix it, I will know how well the work is done. JMHO.

hmmm.. the 80 is looking less and less a good deal. I do not like that the engine compartment is black. Fiat's have body coloured engine compartments.. so this was repainted to ferrari red.

The blacked out trim on the 75 can be replaced with chromed parts... and those hidious truck turnsignals can be redone to look better.

While I think the 75 has some questionable mods.. it is on the FLU website and obviously somebody loved it

If the 75 is on a forum, maybe the poster has a build thread for it, or has posted questions that might reveal more info. You might try searching their old posts...

You do realize that $4k will buy a beautiful example of "the answer", right? ;)

peter wrote: If the 75 is on a forum, maybe the poster has a build thread for it, or has posted questions that might reveal more info. You might try searching their old posts... You do realize that $4k will buy a beautiful example of "the answer", right? ;)

Yeah I Google him pretty heavily. A ton of Fiat stuff, go figure.

Interestingly, they both have black engine bays, so both were a respray at some point.

While I like Miati, they don't have that "drive your classic to work" sort of experience.

Osterkraut wrote: While I like Miati, they don't have that "drive your classic to work" sort of experience.

Yes, but you can drive them to work and know you are going to make it home :) I have owned many Fiats, Alfas and LBCs and while they are all a hoot once I went Miata I never looked back. Fiats are great if you want a car to tinker with, Miata's are great if you want a car to drive.

That being said I have to agree with the other poster, the 80 while ratty has less that I have to question how it was done, the 75 looks like a cheap attempt at a restoration which makes me question everything about it.

JThw8 wrote: Yes, but you can drive them to work and know you are going to make it home :) I have owned many Fiats, Alfas and LBCs and while they are all a hoot once I went Miata I never looked back. Fiats are great if you want a car to tinker with, Miata's are great if you want a car to drive.

I think between a Fiat, an RX-7, and the Disastro, I can find ONE car to get me the 10 minutes to work! I'll sacrifice some reliability for some cool (obviously, see back to the RX-7).

Bah, just heard back from the 75 guy. Sold.

There were plenty of these cars made and they come up for sale frequently. Keep looking and educating yourself about them. It's not good to be in a hurry with these sorts of cars. Sooner or later the right one will appear and you will know it.

-chris r.

I never found the spider to be unreliable. Just make sure you do the required maintance (these are not honda civics) and make sure the electrical grounds are in good shape.. and you should be good to go.

Anybody know if the batch of bad balljoints finally dried up?

I guess it's because we are getting closer to summer, but in my area there are currently 4 or 5 of these cars for sale of various vintages. However, it appears the Fiat name is not as popular as the (Mazda)Miata name, as these cars aren't selling here. One dealer actually had a nice early '80s Spider with only 79,000 miles for about $7,800. It's fallen in price to $5,900 in the 3 weeks it's been for sale. Another small used car dealership has a '72 for sale for $4,300. And then the others fall into the middle of these 2 in years and price.

One dimwit is trying to sell a mid '70s on CL. The poor car has been re-painted from faded red to "fly" yellow...and poorly. The engine compartment is still largely red.

that is the problem with these cars. For so long they were dirt cheap that anybody could afford to buy them.. and even though parts are not expensive, they still cost more to maintain than a honda or toyota.. so they wound up with a number of questionable "mods" as owners tried to keep them running

integraguy wrote: I guess it's because we are getting closer to summer, but in my area there are currently 4 or 5 of these cars for sale of various vintages. However, it appears the Fiat name is not as popular as the (Mazda)Miata name, as these cars aren't selling here. One dealer actually had a nice early '80s Spider with only 79,000 miles for about $7,800. It's fallen in price to $5,900 in the 3 weeks it's been for sale. Another small used car dealership has a '72 for sale for $4,300. And then the others fall into the middle of these 2 in years and price. One dimwit is trying to sell a mid '70s on CL. The poor car has been re-painted from faded red to "fly" yellow...and poorly. The engine compartment is still largely red.

Unfortunately the rust monster makes a lot of cars that are common in Florida thin on the ground here... I didn't realize how much rust affects our hobby until I had to deal with it first hand. Oh why did I ever move?

80 turned out to have a lot more rust than at first glance, and the owner would not budge on the price. Onward to a nice looking orange 71, and a beautiful red 79. While the red is the color I'd prefer, if I could get $1500 off the price of the 71 I'd be there tomorrow (pending forthcoming pictures), what with the small bumpers and less emissions crap.

Thanks to you guys, sellers I call are a bit overwhelmed with really exacting questions, it's excellent.

I would take the 71 over the 79. The 79 and carbed 80 have to be the worst 124 spiders to have

A dealer here in Jacksonville with a small used car lot has a '72 in red, like that orange '71...they are asking about $5K for it. No idea how many miles, tho.

mad_machine wrote: I would take the 71 over the 79. The 79 and carbed 80 have to be the worst 124 spiders to have

Yeah the 71 owner seems willing to come down in price (and doesn't remember when the timing belt was done, horray negotiating point!) Like the car, like the color, it's close, this weekend I might have a Fiat.

That '71 looks pretty nice. The early small bumper cars are the ones to have, IMO. They are the ones that will be 'collectible' and they offer a more 'pure' driving experience with the lower stance, lower weight, unstrangled engine, etc. The '71 will have the 1608 engine which is, in my opinion, the best of the bunch.

ddavidv wrote: That '71 looks pretty nice. The early small bumper cars are the ones to have, IMO. They are the ones that will be 'collectible' and they offer a more 'pure' driving experience with the lower stance, lower weight, unstrangled engine, etc. The '71 will have the 1608 engine which is, in my opinion, the best of the bunch.

I agree. The '71 is the one I'd go for, unless it has serious rust issues. But even that didn't stop me from buying my X.

Not sure if you guys saw this...but I figured it was appropriate. Seems like Fiat's may be in a higher demand soon.

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2012/03/31/5-collectible-cars-for-under-5-grand/