1969 Fiat 850 Coupe 903

Summary:

Great fun and a unique car

Faults:

When living in the 29 Palms (California) desert, the engine overheated to the extreme. Drove the car home smoking badly and WAY overheated. On tear-down, there was no cracking, scoring or any other damage to the block or bearings, just a warped head. This is an aluminum head on iron block. It seems the combination of Castrol 20-40 GTX motor oil with STP additive saved the motor.

Another time, I lost a cylinder at an autocross event and drove the 100 or so miles home on three cylinders. That time, on tear-down, the only damage was a SLIGHTLY scored cylinder wall, which honed out nicely. But the rings had disintegrated and the piston was beat to death. Still have the piston as a trophy.

Only recurrent problem was the points in the distributor would migrate and cause the engine to run poorly, and eventually not at all. Seemed to be a product of insecure mounting with screws into a cast aluminum distributor housing.

General Comments:

As with all the Fiat 850's, this car is a blast to drive. Very unique being a coupe (everybody's into the spider convertibles). My dream Fiat is the 850 micro van which was never sold in the U.S.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 1st June, 2003

12th Jan 2007, 06:28

That's a great story, I have many Fiats and I recently purchased a 850 what I believe is called a Familiar, it is a van, not a 600 multipla, it is a 850. Is this what you are talking about and does it have any value? I am considering restoring it because it has a good floor, what do you think? John from US- PA State.

25th Apr 2008, 20:31

69 Fiat 850 Sport Coupe was my first car. Purchased for $450 in 1974. Unfortunately, it was the worst vehicle ever manufactured. Incredible amount of rust developed. Wouldn't start below 60 degrees. Only way to start it was by popping the clutch. Fortunately, my girlfriend lived at the bottom of a hill. Even the seat brackets broke. And who could forget the centrifugal oil filter? Was a blast to drive when it ran. It did teach me a fair amount of mechanic skills though. Actually had the motor out of it. Bought an Opel Manta in 77. Started the first morning I owned it at 10 below. Best car I ever owned.

1968 Fiat 850 Spyder Convertible 850cc

Summary:

Not a classic

Faults:

This car had no power, even on flat roads at sea level. 850cc is not enough. The cheapest Harley road bike has 883cc's. Imagine trying to safely keep up with traffic on the freeway with an 850cc car.

This Fiat suffered from "bump steering" -- the same thing that killed the Corvair. The rear suspension was designed to rotate inward rather than longitudinally. When you hit a bump, the rear end suspension geometry would the direction that the car was going and could result in an accident from loss of control. A car with this type of defect would result in $billion$ dollar law suits today. If you got into an accident in or with one of these today, you might still be able to sue Fiat, or the parent corporation GM. Fortunately, there are almost none of these things on the road today.

This car is NOT a classic, but a shameful piece of garbage that should have stayed in Europe.

I could barely keep this car on the road because of the wacky rear suspension and the fact that most of the weight was on the rear wheels, leaving the front wheels barely touching the pavement. The rear end would swing out at the slightest provocation. I took a smooth corner at 30 mph one day an spun out over the side of steep bank. Trees caught the car and saved me.

General Comments:

This was the second car I owned in my life (1970) and my last Fiat. It is no wonder that they are in bad shape today. The smartest thing that Fiat ever did was to rope (a dope) GM into a buyout of the failing car company before 2004.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 21st October, 2002

6th Aug 2003, 23:23

Either the person writing this road test was the victim of a poorly maintained vehicle or is not an amateur of small European sport car. I had the pleasure of owning an 850 Spider that I purchased brand new in Europe in 1967/68. My recollection was that of a superb little machine, very fast and very exciting when driven aggressively on some of the little back road of France. On the highway, the little beast would, flat out keep up with the DS19. I remember a trip from Limoges to Paris when through the long straight-aways of Sologne I was following a friend Citroen DS 19 with my speedometer stuck at 160km/h (100MPH)for a little over 40 or 50 milles . Not bad for an underpowered machine! On tight curve the car handling was very clean and the excellent braking system made weight transfer a pleasure. For a young person on a tight budget it was a dream machine. I wish I still had that little car!

View 73 more comments

1971 Fiat 850 Sport Spider 903cc Gas

Summary:

A low cost, quirky Italian classic

Faults:

Car needed a lot of maintenance when I received it. Gearbox synchro needed replacing, belts, oil seals, carboretta rebuild, brake rebuild, gaskets, heater valve.

General Comments:

This was a fun and relatively easy restoration project for a beginner. The car is now reliable and fun to drive at weekends so long as you stay on top of the small maintenance needs.

It's quite nimble, small and light and handles quite well.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 11th April, 2002

1973 Fiat 850 Spider 903cc

Faults:

Clutch (twice), brakes, carburettor, heater valve, pretty much the whole electrical system

General Comments:

Definitely not a daily driver, however - great fun to drive when everything is in operating order.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 1st March, 1998