Posts Tagged ‘124’

Almost there – Italian Fiat Spider and Alfa Berlina Projects

June 14, 2010

Since I’ve been writing fewer posts, I seem to have cut back to featuring my favorites. Looks like they’re mostly Italian cars that are affordable enough, yet modern enough in spec to be used as daily drivers. And I’ve mentioned it before, but they almost all seem to use the same formula – rear wheel drive, twincam fours, 5-speed manual transmissions. Mostly I also try to feature cars that are running, but recently I’ve spotted a couple that I still think are worth mentioning in quickie format.

The first one is a Fiat Spider. All Fiat Spiders get cool points in my book, even though they’re still fairly common in northern California, but I’m a bigger fan of the early models (AS and BS) with their delicate chrome bumpers, hubcaps, and (sometimes) flat hoods. They have a much more delicate look about them that is probably closest to how Tjaarda intended them to be. And since they were often kept as second cars, you can still find them in pretty decent shape for short money. That brings us to our first example, a 1972 spider in Campbell, CA (near San Jose) for $1606.

1972 Fiat Spider

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Rally-Style Project – 1973 Fiat 124 coupe

May 28, 2010

I’ve written about Fiat 124 coupes before, so no doubt I’ve already gone off about how these cars are a great lesser-known alternative to an Alfa Romeo GTV or BMW 2002. Think about it – 4 seats, spacious trunk, 5-speed transmission, and a twincam alloy head four-cylinder. So why are there so few around? Well, nearly every car sold in the 1970s was prone to rust, but some more than others… and the 124 coupe was one of those. As a closed car, they were subject to hard daily use, unlike their spider brothers.

Like the once-popular Ford Capri, these are now pretty hard to find. But they do pop up every so often in west coast classifieds. In fact, an AC coupe needing restoration has been listed for several months by a classic car dealer in the Pacific Northwest for a rather high price. Most cars on the market are much more reasonable, though, and today’s car is one of those, listed for $1850 in Burlingame, CA.

1973 Fiat 124 coupe left

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Boano-Designed: 1969 Fiat 124 Sport Coupe

September 25, 2009

These were quite popular on the roads back in the 1970s and 1980s, to the point that I remember seeing them as a child, and yet today they’ve virtually disappeared from the roads. Why these, with about 280,000 built, would survive less than their spider equivalents is not too clear. You might suspect that a coupe lends itself better to being an all season car, and would therefore die sooner, but other cars such as Alfa GTVs, BMW 2002s, and Datsun 510s (all period competitors) have much better survival rates. And yet, this is an appealing competitor, with an attractive design, nice tall greenhouse, and a very competitive drivetrain setup.

Anyway, let’s move on to our subject – a 1969 coupe, which makes this an AC-style car. These were the earliest style of 124 coupe, with the hood dipping low between the headlights at the end of each fender. Many consider this to be the most attractive, with the later BC and CC coupes becoming less and less appealing. Additionally, the earlier cars are lighter, and should be reasonably quick even with the less-powerful 90hp 1438cc engine. This particular car is listed in Hacienda Heights, CA for the low, low price of $500!

1969 Fiat 124 Coupe front

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