1974 Fiat 124 Sports Coupe review from Australia and New Zealand

Very little actually. I bought the car from an enthusiast who had owned it for 11 years, but not driven it much in recent times. I replaced the cam belt ($17 part), the fan belt and fluids. As it turned out both of these belts definitely needed replacing.

The only issue has been the handbrake which will not work on really steep hills and apparently cannot be fixed. As a result I always leave it in gear on inclines.

A "rorty", taut and mischievous sports coupe that has character in buckets and still manages to lift its skirts and run with the modern cars.

The standard 1750 twin cam engine is fine, but responds really well to some modification. I have added twin Dellorto twin throat carbs, a polished 125T inlet manifold and K&N free flow filters, then had it dyno-tuned.

This resulted in an increase in performance from 85hp at the back wheel to 106hp (approximately 140 at the crank). And while this car is never to equal the contemporary sports cars, it makes it very nippy to drive and has a wonderful "raspberry" exhaust note. The brakes are superb, the handling excellent and the five speed box superb. And a decent sized back seat too!

If you are looking for one the over-riding requirement is rust - or the lack of it. Search long and hard for the most rust free example you can find, then grab it.