What Year and Model?

[joey]

Just got off the phone with the gentleman selling his car on ebay. He may have something worked out with other buyer. I also think he's getting (if it works out) a pretty good penny for it. He seems like a nice guy so I hope it works out for him but I also think the price he "may" get is a little unrealistic for me to consider. The search continues!

[mdrburchette]

That's good to know Mark. So if a car has 90 to 100,00 thousand miles on it and it seems to be in generally good condition, that wouldn't in itself be the deciding factor to buy or not. Correct?

I just bought an 82 X19 last month with 150,000 on the clock. Runs great and no smoke. If you've ever seen the internal components of a Fiat engine, you'd wonder if they ever would wear out. They're built for the long haul.

[joey]

WOW. 150,000 miles and still going. That's saying something even for todays cars. 100,000 miles now seems young I guess if taken care of. When my 1974 Fiat rusted out the engine had 80,000 miles on her and it was still running strong and gave me no evidence of failing. Wish I could say the same for the body. I bought her used in 76. When I got her she had some surface rust so I did some minor body work and repainted her and by 79 she was gone!

[bradartigue]

I have owned a two 1979's, two 1980's, an 81, an 83, and a 1970. Loved all of them.

I'll only say this on paint and metal - early cars had more paint and thicker metal. The late model paint jobs were cheap and thin (from the factory) and the metal prep was much worse than the early ones. Not until it seems late 1981 or 82 did things improve. The pininfarina cars (83+) seemed to have corrected these problems just before the demise of the line.

They are all wonderful cars - seek out a good, rust free body still in the original paint color (even if repainted) and you'll be happy. The mechanical bits and interior parts can all be had new or used, but the bodies are just not plentiful. Be wary of any "owner modifications."

Find a California car, they are generally rust free and worth the $ to ship over (you would other spend it in fixing the body of a northeast/midwest car).

[124cso]

I am bemused to read thru the various replies to this question, especially refering terms such as "later" & "Pininfarina built" cars. I'm supprised that there are not better informed owners out there.
ALL FIAT 124 SPIDERS WERE BUILT BY PININ. As were Alfa Romeo Spiders, Maserati, Ferarri and others. Thats why they share minor components like door handles, window gear and lights and electrics. Fiat delivered rolling floor pans ( incl all mechanicals etc) to Pinnin's plant and Pinnin sent back completed cars. Initially Fiat trimmed & fitted them out but later Pinnin did the lot, eventually taking over the whole process.

The problems with premature rust is common to most Italian cars from about 1970-75 and is due to a huge load of steel that came out of Russia at that time and was later found to be faulty in it's chemical make-up. It effected everyone who bought steel on the local italian market. This pre-disposition to rust is made worse by road salting and the fact that open cars are less weathertight and need better protection.

All cars were italian assembled and shipped complete and had a protective "grease" like film on them to protect the paint. I suspect that this caused problems as a coupe I know well, had a minor damage fixed when pretty new, using the factory tin of touch-up paint. That patch is still shiny 34 years on, but the rest of the car lost it's shine at about 10 years old.

[baltobernie]

I recently posted a Reply in "Cars Wanted" on this topic. Other sources:

http://www.hemmings.com/hsx/stories/200 ... uide1.html

http://www.mirafiori.com/faq/content/buyspid.html

I don't know if cross-posting to the "other" Fiat site will get me flamed, but I think there are merits to both communities. As a new member to both, I don't know any historical issues, but owning one of these cars would simply be impossible for me without these sources of information.

[Jim DeShon]

Joey: One thing I would consider is your state's smog regulations. Here in California, anything never than 74' has to have all the original smog crap. That makes modifications a problem. I don't know how S.C. is about that kind of thing. The early small bumper cars are also a little bit lighter. If I could find a good early car out here, I'd build a late motor for it and use carburettors. ...J.D.