I've always wanted one of these:

[thechadzone]

I can't believe I bought this, but it was so rust-free & reasonably straight... I'd seen it on Craig's List in times past, and I think someone posted here about it a while back. I took a chance, and drove the 94 miles to have a look-see. It's a '72 124 BC Coupe that has its original 1608 in it, and a so-so interior. There is no significant rust on this car that I have found so far! It's paint is bad, and in some places worse, but that's fine for now...

I came back for it on my way to the Mirafiori campout with my brother in my 850 Spider that I've recently agreed to sell to him. The ad for the Coupe said "runs great...rebuilt carburetor...". Neither were true but I was undaunted, and with an extreme amount of work by myself and my brother, it made it the hundred miles south to the event and then the two hundred miles back to Eugene, Oregon where my bro and I live. The 850 had its hitch-ups, but did reasonably well for it's first trip of more than 15 miles...

I know that I really shouldn't have taken an unknown car on a three hundred mile round trip on an interstate, but my brother and I have a decent knowledge base of cars between the two of us, and if nothing else, I have a very nice AAA membership that'd have them both towed home if need be... My brother is a freakin' genius when it comes to roadside repairs, thanks Jeff! That's him under my Coupe bringing its trans back from dead by refilling it with 20W50 at an Interstate 5 rest stop.

The Coupe is going to need a new trans, a new carb, and a host of other things that I can't wait to do to it. Suggestions from other Coupe owners are appreciated! I plan to put this one on the registry mentioned in another post.

[Redline]

Very nice! Just get it cleaned up and enjoy it for now. Even though I bought some wider alloys for mine, I'm having too much fun enjoying the period handling of mine on 185 section tires, so the chubby Cromodoras may end up an occasional use item. I myself had always wanted a '68 AC to match my own "year of manufacture". I missed out on a really nice one by about a week then "settled for" the BC and since then am really, really liking the sound of those twin Webers honking away up front. Nevertheless, I am now being sorely tempted by this beautiful survivor just 100km away:

http://www.classic-autos.ch/fiat%20124% ... neu%29.htm

[kmead]

First off, a huge Congrats on the purchase. I have had my coupe for twenty years and love it.

It will suffer the same primary ills a Spider does so going through all the same things everyone here has is in order. Chasing the tin worm is the next big issue as the coupes manage to have some different and additional areas of concern. The windshield and back light are all glued in and the stainless trims cover the built up dirt that holds water. Pressure wash into the edge of the trim from both sides to flush the dirt out regularly. The trims under the rear side windows often cover a couple of spots that develop around the rivets. There is a panel between the back window and the trunk bounded by the fenders on each side, watch the seam where it abuts the fenders. The bottom side of the rear fenders behind the rear wheelsalmost always rusts. The raised seam where the rear valance meets the bottom of the taillight panel across the back of the car (it is behind the back bumper) should be watched. The worst structural area on a coupe is the front of the sills behind the front wheels, there is a separate panel inside the wheel well that seals the sill and several other panels, the seam sealer fails and water and dirt enter the sill rusting it from the inside.

Electrically they are much the same as the Spiders so you will be chasing some grounds issues but have the advantage that the car is generally dryer than a convertible.

The early year spider transmissions fit through to the change to the 131 based transmission in the late 70s. Brakes and so on are the same.

The interior pets are hard to come by, but there are kits for the seats front and back as well as carpet. The dash is going to be a problem if it's bad. The center consoles are different from a spiders so you can't use those rperoductions and covers. Door cards Are pretty unobtainiumnas well, at least over here though in Europe the coupe was the sports model and they sold a lot of them so you can get parts.

Beyond all the gloom and doom they are great cars and ton of fun. I am most envious as that isnthe same color as my 850 sports coupe, having a matched pair would be nice.

Congrats and welcome to the forum with your new steed!

[thechadzone]

Thank you both for the thoughts and encouragement. I plan to use this board as motivation and consultation as I slowly bring this one back to some kind of driver spec. The current Fiat stable includes the 850 Spider pictured, my '69 124 Spider, and this here coupe. I think the '77 Alfa Spider is going to be sold to fund the Coupe's return to the road (yes, it did 300 miles on the freeway over the weekend, but omg, that was CRAZY).


Things done on the roadside during the trip:

Rewired funky electric fuel pump off of the left rear marker light to make it work

Brought the trans back from dead at a rest stop by refilling it with 20w50

Scavenged fuel line from defunct egr type system to replace rotting fuel lines going to/from fuel tank. Also used excess fuel line from the 850

Used a stick and electrical tape in place of the missing air-idle screw

Replaced the scavenged egr fuel line with tubing from the squeeze bulb pump that we'd used to refill the trans at the rest stop

Wired in a switch to leave the fan on all the time

One can of Fix-A-Flat

Replaced a bad battery



I'm sure there is something that I'm forgetting... This was in addition to the issues faced by the 850!

I hope this shot doesn't violate the use policy, but I couldn't resist I believe this was when I found the air idle screw for the carb to be entirely missing on the side of I-5. This was just before the cop showed up... The 400 mile round-trip took us 12 full hours each way!

[kmead]

Good job on being so resourceful. Now try and fix some of those things...

Try to get rid of the electric fuel pump, its not needed and is a potential safety hazard unless you wire it to shut off when the engine stops running or the car is no longer shiny side up. The mechanical pumps have a long life and are pretty tolerant of crap in the lines. Adding a clear glass fuel filter ahead of the pump can help if there is lots of sediment etc in the line from the tank.

Definitely replace all of the fuel line as its likely all in bad shape (aside from the metal lines that go from front to back). Replacing the line in the 850 wouldn't be a bad idea either.

Sounds like a fun trip, in a masochistic sort of way...

Glad the pic is distant and out of focus.

[rlux4]

You gotta excuse me, I'm having such a good laugh about this story. It reminds me so much of every trip we took in one of my dad's cars!
Ron

[majicwrench]

Great post. Glad to see your brother survived getting under a car with just a scissor jack--VERY SCARY!!!!!!!!
Next trip bring a jack stand along.

[bajacalal]

I like those too and I want one, you hardly ever see the coupes around here.

I had me eye on that particular car from all the way down here in San Diego. I would love throw a turbo FI engine in it, but those are so rare too... I'm glad to see it went to a good home and isn't going to get crushed.

[BEEK]

im envious, ive owned probably 25 coupes in my time, i let a 69 coupe go a few years ago, bad mistake, im also looking for a nice chassis

[thechadzone]

Thanks for the responses. I really would have been more prepared if I'd have known that the Coupe was coming on the event. The Coupe's former owners were intent on making it "run great" like the ad said, and they delayed me picking it up for days while their "mechanic" sorted it out. I got a call on our way to the event with the 850 Spider from the previous owners telling me that it was "ready". Since it was 100 miles south on I-5, and the event was 203 miles south on I-5, we made the leap. We made a list of things we are going to bring next year, and jack stands certainly made the list.

The first thing I did last February when I got the 850 Spider was change its fuel lines and go through its fuel system, so I knew that the borrowed fuel line from it was still good. Thank god I gave it liberal amounts of line! I agree that the electric fuel pump needs to go. I look forward to beating it to death with a hammer.

Since we knew that AAA would come get us & the car any time, there was much less stress which turned it into a sport of sorts. While I was lying under my car with gas trickling down my arm into a two foot diameter pool atop the asphalt, I stupidly laid my upper arm into that pool, which gave me a large road tar stain all up my arm from the fuel softened asphalt. I wore it for two days!

Thanks for the word on the early series Spider trans. I thought they'd bolt right in, but it's good to know that the later ones will not. I've had the engine out of my 124 Spider before, but it's been a while. How easy is it to remove the trans while leaving the engine in place? Can that be done? Do any of y'all have such a trans within a couple hundred miles of Eugene, Oregon? If so, I might show up with my bro in a half dead Fiat after twelve hours of effort... My brother is a mental health clinician who works for the county, and I'm a human services worker for a non-profit, so we only get to get dirty on such adventures. I loved it.

I brought my Flip Cam on the trip, and I've posted various segments of the adventure on YouTube. The one below summarizes some of our adventure, and the rest are in my videos that you can click on from the video posted below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9noEy0U1Oc

[Zippy]

Wow! Great find. I had a 72 awhile back but it was totaled in a freak snow storm. I also had a 69 coupe. I always liked the look of the 72 better than the 69. I thought it looked more modern. I liked the way the 69 handled better though. It was a real screamer. My dad refused to ride in it with me as I was a little lead footed in my youth. Needless to say I am jealous.

On another note I would like to reinforce the comment about the danger of getting under a car supported by a scissor jack. Especially a Fiat scissor jack. I was changing a flat tire on my 69 coupe and the scissor jack suddenly gave way stripping the threads right out of the nut. Fortunately the tire was still on so it was a short fall. Now whenever I use a scissor jack I put some kind of blocking or at least the spare tire underneath to cushion the fall, but I won't ever get under a car with a scissor jack.

Al

[thechadzone]

Thanks, Zippy. I also like the looks of the BC better than those of the AC, but I'd sure take either of them. As for the jacking issue, I get to blame my brother. He was the one who packed all the tools for our trip that was meant to be in his 850 Spider. I said the same thing as he pulled out the scissor jack and nothing else. When I have the space to do so, I prefer to use ramps because of their stability, but when I can't use ramps, I always use jack stands in addition to my 2 ton floor jack just for redundancy. My old man used to tell me the story of a guy he used to know who was killed by his Cutlas Supreme that fell off the jack and crushed him to death as he worked on it alone in the middle of the night. The story was gruesome, and I've never forgotten it. I really had "the fear" while under my car over the weekend.

I have zero garage of my own at this point. I'm parking my Spider, and my Coupe on the street, and I keep my Alfa in the family storage warehouse across town. I'm in the process of clearing some space in my brother's garage to aid the Coupe's return to the road. First, I plan to un-do that which was done to get the car home, then replace the fuel pump with the correct one, replace its trans, (did I mention that I went without 4th gear for most of the trip?) replace its timing belt, give it a decent carb while I save up for dual DCOEs. Before any of this, I'm going to give the whole car a thorough inspection while it's up on the ramps, looking for rust and ways to prevent rust. If any of y'all have proprietary Coupe parts like dash boards, seats, & whatever else that you're willing to part with, let me know...

[Redline]

Based on my observations over here, people are now (too late) realizing the appeal and value of the Coupes. That yellow AC I posted sold in 2 days. Spiders languish for weeks to months*, but good Coupes are now being snapped up as soon as they are listed, because they are rare. They don't pull Alfa Bertone prices (yet), but they are definitely increasing in cost to get a good one. That AC sold for 12'000 USD with no negotiation.

So the message is, get your Coupes while you can! And if you have one, look after it.


* not to imply there is anything wrong with the Spider, of course

[thechadzone]

That's good FYI, Redline. This is the most rare car I've owned so far. I'm just about to leave with the Coupe to take it over to the family warehouse space that can be quietly used for automotive purposes during weekends. I've got a quart of Ospho, which is a rust reversing agent that'll turn what little surface rust it has into iron phosphate, instead of iron oxide. I'm also going to put it up on ramps for its first thorough inspection from below. I'm going to get extremely dirty/oily due to it's amazingly leaky trans. I'm sure it's motor is less than leak free as well.

The Alfa 105 Bertone is one of my goal cars, and a post on alfabb.com said that the 124 Coupes are "at least 90% as good as the Alfa 105". I was thrilled to read that, but god knows mine ain't there yet!

[dinosabella]

You got yourself a beautiful car, I have seen that model used in old Italian films. If it were mine, (because of it rarity) I would keep it bone stock and original. It is also in a very popular shade of blue that was pretty common in Italy in the 70, my grandfather had a 127 in that color.

Here is a scene from a French movie that features a little chase between a Fiat 124 coupe and a Lamborghini Miura

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KubrBXnMwk

Enjoy it!