1979 Fiat 124 Spider *Sold £4,500*

Description

• Stored for many years
• USA Car
• 2.0 litre DOHC engine
• £2,000 recently spent
• Will need some TLC

Perfect for some summer fun. It’s red. It’s stylish. It’s an Italian drop-top. Is there any more to say?

The Fiat 124 Sport Spider, was designed by Pininfarina. The timeless design has two doors, a convertible roof and a peppy engine driving the rear wheels. Oh, drop dead gorgeous looks too.

Bidders – Please do read the full description – fully. This very useable classic Fiat has plenty of charm but it is not without its faults.

History

Interestingly, the US market greedily gobbled-up 85% of these models, this one is one of those cars The Fiat was one of two imported into the UK from the USA, around 2015 it is believed, by a husband and wife. Sadly, after many years, the relationship dissolved and as part of the settlement they each kept one of the Fiat 124’s.

Our vendor picked one of the two cars up from the husband. The paperwork that came with it from the USA has been lost. But we do know;

• At some point this Fiat 124 Spider has had restoration work
• Shortly after the cars were imported they went into dry storage
• They remained there, almost unused, for many years
• Our vendor spent over two thousand pounds going over the Fiat once he bought it
• It is understood there are only about 1,500 of these in the UK
• MoT records show;
  • Mileage Dec 2021 – 67,516
  • Mileage July 2017 – 67, 509
  • Mileage November 2015 – 67,424
  • Mileage June  2015 – 67,406

The eagle eyed amongst you may notice the very low mileage over this period, the vendor has advised that the odometer is in fact faulty, so this mileage cannot be relied upon. It’s not known when this fault occurred.

Outside

Our vendor has been crushingly honest about the this very useable and equally honest Fiat 124 Spider.

The overall appearance looks good. The red coachwork looks bright and straight – from fifty paces!

Get up close and you’ll see the various aged related marks and deterioration.  There are also what is described to us areas of ‘micro blistering’. Our vendor assumes they are as a result of the car cover it has remained under whilst in storage.

The roof is a good colour and suits the car, albeit a little weathered and care worn.

As you can see, the 124 has been shorn of it’s ‘orrible over-sized American bumpers. And various mods have been done to compensate. The cleaner Pininfarina lines look better without those bumpers. But if they are your thing, our vendor has kept them and they come with the car.

The chrome work, minimal as it is, looks okay. The shut lines on doors, bonnet and boot look sound. It sits very nicely on those black and silver rims and definitely looks a picture.

The best bit has to be the view over the bonnet from inside. Those beautiful twin power-bulges with black grille vents look smashing. The Italians do know how to make a car!

Inside

The interior follows the same theme as the outside. All in reasonably good condition. It is complete and original but would benefit from a spruce up.

To be fair, we are probably are being a little harsh. The interior is probably better than we describe it. And our vendor is at pains to stress to us, that the images do not do the whole car justice.

We cannot see anything in the interior that couldn’t be improved with some elbow grease.

The dash is complete and undamaged. The three spoke steering is in situ still.

The seats again, look original. No-one has messed about and put crass after-market seats in it. The classic Fiat 124 Spider convertible is all as it was and much better for it. But it just looks a bit care-worn. Don’t we all after 40+ years!

The door cards are complete and in good condition, as is the carpet.

You could drive it like this and enjoy it. Many classic enthusiasts very much enjoy that mature look in a classic car rather than one that has had an overdose of botox injections and ends up looking, well..all wrong! We tend to agree. If you want a new car, don’t buy an old one!

Engine and Mechanicals

The 2.0 DOHC engine is a joy. The overall performance, sound and feel of the classic 2.0-ltr DOHC engine convertible in the Fiat 124 has a character all of its own. It just wants to go, all the time. It loves to rev and when you get it singing through the gears it is great fun.

We do need to talk about the gears though.

The classic 124 is fitted with a lovely five speed box, but fourth doesn’t want to join the party! Our vendor just lives with it. Bombing about in third is great fun, and now he just avoids fourth if he needs it by instinctively by-passing it straight to fifth. The muscle memory has formed to an extent, he told us, chuckling, “ when I drive my work van or my other classics I pretty much by-pass fourth on them too!”

We are advised, the nature of the Italian 2.0-ltr DOHC engine, means it copes well without that recalcitrant fourth gear. The new owner will probably want to fix it, in time, but we’re told that it honestly drives fine like this.

Our vendor, Graham has spent money on;

• Four new tyres
• Modifying the fuel pump
• Updating the ignition to a more fuss free electronic version
• And a few other bits and bobs which he is happy to chat about with anyone
• He thinks it all adds up to about £2,000 recently spent
• There are two keys with it too.

Additional information from our vendor

Graham told us;

“I have a couple of classics cars, including an MG. When the unexpected opportunity to grab one of these Fiat 124 convertibles came up, it was an itch I’ve been want to scratch for a while.

I knew it wasn’t a mint car in terms of looks. But very presentable. I do a few shows with it and get lots of good comments.

The money I spent on it was with my regular classic car mechanic who does all my work. I told him to make sure it was safe and reliable. He did. It has an MOT.

Honestly, it drives lovely. It is a great, very useable two seat open top Italian sports car. I was going to get the fourth gear sorted, but just haven’t had time and I don’t get time to drive my other classics. I’ve scratched that itch. It is time for it to go to a new owner who’ll enjoy as I have.

Any inspection is welcome. It looks much better, in the wild, than in pictures

Today (15th Aug) I have noticed a small oil leak on the drive  – the level in the engine is fine” So this will also need a check over .

To sum up

A good original LHD classic Italian sports car that needs some TLC to take it to the next level. From the conversation we’ve had with Graham, we don’t think it will take long to turn it into a very good LHD Italian sports car.

There is nothing not to like about this endearing, charming, honest classic. Apart from the sulky fourth gear! It is ready to use now. The mileage since arriving in the UK has been minimal. .

These models are the most sought after ones now. Due to their relative rarity, the value is only going one way. This one is priced to sell. And sell it will.

And if the new owner is prepared to spend a few weekends and little bit of money, enjoying and improving it as they go, this is money in the bank.

Vehicle Location: Chatham, Kent ME4 – it’s the responsibility of the winning bidder to make collection / transportation arrangements directly with the vendor.

Have a question about this Fiat 124 Spider? Please contact the Evoke team at auction@evoke-classics.com and we will speak to the vendor on your behalf.

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