Thirty-Five Years, 120,000 miles, and Still Running Strong

[DUCeditor]

I've owned my `77 now for 24 years. And apart for two years when I had her off the road as I searched out a skilled mechanic in what was then my new home state, she has run so reliably I have come to almost take it for granted.

This past Sunday my dear one and I took her out for a several hour back road spin and it struck me that she is now reading 120,000 miles. (Well, the odometer actually reads "20,000" but my mind adds the missing digit)

This on a car that still draws stares and comments wherever we take her. On Sunday a woman in a jeep pulled up next to her while I was filling her tank and offered to trade vehicles. "I wish it was me that was driving that" she told my wife, "It is the perfect day for it."

And indeed it was. Mid-seventies, sunny, perfect! As was the Spider.

By way of comparison I have two friends with Miatas with similar miles on them (albeit, much fewer years). Both have required far more service than my Fiat. So much so in fact that one friend got sick of the costs and sold his and the other is soldiering on with a whining rear end and other problems.

I bet none of the above meets the stereotype.

Run Fiat, run!



-don

[4uall]

The smile says it all

[azruss]

such a rookie at 120k. the car is just getting into mid-life stride. I retired my 70 Spider at 295k miles. mechanics were still good, it just died of rust....at least by west coast standards. Many parts from the car have migrated into my 80 retro spider, (tranny, rear end, springs, shocks, gages, horns, hood, grill, heater) so its legacy lives one. Old spiders dont die, they just spread like seedings to imrpove the health of live ones.

[DUCeditor]

such a rookie at 120k. the car is just getting into mid-life stride. I retired my 70 Spider at 295k miles.

Wow! Wow! Wow!

-don

[wikkid]

Great story - keep on rolling! Beautiful car, also. Did you remove the front spoiler under the bumper, or did it not have one?

[HersheyPAGreg]

Long may you run.

[RRoller123]

Drive long and prosper.

[DUCeditor]

Did you remove the front spoiler under the bumper, or did it not have one?

No, never to my knowledge had one. I do not think they came on `77 124s.

-don

[courtenay]

Not sure I'm going to live long enough to see my Spider through 120K miles! It's only got 40K on it now, and I've been adding about $1000 a year for the past 3 years. Do the math - nope, I'm not going to live that long...

[spidernut]

I agree...great story! These cars are just outright fun to own. Sure they have to be maintained a bit more than newer cars, but if driven and maintained correctly they're great vehicles. Yours is living proof of that!

[DUCeditor]

I should add that as pretty as mine is, and as many show trophies as she has taken, she is a runner, not a show car. (If any show requires an inspection under the hood we come home trophy-less) I don't overly fuss over her. I wash her on occasion and wax her maybe once a season. Yet still people swoon and shout. "Hey mister! Nice car!."

My basic point is that its the car -- the basic, classic and absolutely gorgeous design -- that grabs people's attention.

Oh, and the sound. Not loud, but beautiful. Musical.



-Don

[Exit98]

Not sure I'm going to live long enough to see my Spider through 120K miles! It's only got 40K on it now, and I've been adding about $1000 a year for the past 3 years. Do the math - nope, I'm not going to live that long...

Bruce,

You're just not driving it enough. I got mine Feb. 2010, 30 months ago with about 42K on the odometer. Sunday 50,000 rolled over. Course last winter was so mild down here we hardly stopped driving them.

Anyway I guess my point is (and I suspect we're about the same age) drive it while you can, and as often as you can, cuz you know, sooner, or hopefully, later, the day's gonna come that .........

[courtenay]

You're right, Doug, of course. My problem is that I've been away for most of the summer. I left town on July 12 and am still away. Fortunately, the travel has all been for pleasure and I have been enjoying the use of my other toys - boat and 5th wheel trailer. Hopefully, we'll get some good old indian summer weather this fall and I'll pack on the miles!!

[DUCeditor]

There is an old expression - "Add life to your years, not years to your life." I have come to view my motorized 'toys' the same way. My Ducatis now only get a thousand or two a year on them, the Fiat not too much more. But they are all good miles. -Miles spent joyfully. Miles ridden and driven on beautiful two-lane country roads that follow rolling brooks and climb to elevated pastures.

Some judge their use of a vehicle by the speedometer, others by the readings on the odometer. I do it by how my vehicles make me feel. Call it the "smilometer."

-don

[courtenay]

Well said, Don! I don't regret not driving my Fiat much when I'm on the golf course, fishing, sitting on the beach on the Oregon Coast (this past weekend) or even cutting my grass. As you have so aptly captured it, i do all of these things with a big smile on my face - because I can!!