Comments: 1-15, 16-30, 31-45, 46-60, 61-69
I had a red 1967 Spider when I was in university (71) and it rusted out, both the floor and parts of the front uni-body structure that the steering gear was attached to!!! Until then, though, I loved it.
Last April I bought a French Blue 1972 spider - a return to my youth perhaps. It had been in storage for some 14 years and needed a lot of minor work when I got it, but things are improving. Body and frame work has been done before I bought it, but now it's winter I have had to put it away for a while (to avoid winter salt) and spend my time on rebuilding carb, distributor, seats for next summer. I am really looking forward to getting back on the road.
For the gentleman who had trouble keeping it on the road: read the manual! It is too bad it bit you, but that is exactly the behavior you should expect if you get the tire pressures wrong. The book says 20psi on the front and 26psi in the back to allow for the unusual weight distribution. If you try to drive it with 24psi front and rear you will very probably end up in a ditch. As someone previously commented, it is not bump-steer. Just unbalanced tire pressures.
This has been an interesting thread to read. I've been searching out my next commuter car option for maximum fuel efficiency and fun, and the 850 is currently at the top of my list. The gentleman who posted on 11/20/2007 said parts were easy to find. If he or anyone else can post some current suppliers, I'd appreciate it. I previously had a 74 MGB which I loved, but it only got 20 mpg - I'm looking for 40+, and don't mind sacrificing power. Anyway, MG has a great supplier source in Moss Motors - something like that for the 850 would be great to find. Anyway, I've enjoyed reading your reminiscences of the 850.
I had a British racing green 1969 Fiat 850 Spider when I was going to college up in Wisconsin back in the late seventies. My father begged me not to buy this car. I bought it for 900.00 from a friend who obviously didn’t understand the concept of car maintenance. After a few minor repairs, radial tires and a decent radio I was all set. At least I thought I would be. I agree with most about the fun handling. As previously noted, this car shined when on those winding country roads. You could lose the rear, but only after cranking a lot of Gs. In fact, in the winter, it was so fun to do “donuts” in nothing more than an average intersection. The drawback from the low driving stature was realized when, at some intersections I had to routinely exit the car to check for oncoming traffic due to theose local snow piles. This car had a roll bar installed, and I really liked the “snug”, leather interior, but had to get fuzzy seat covers to take the edge off the short rides during those cold winter mornings. Rust was a problem inside and out. On one important trip, my accelerator gradually came loose from the floor and forced me to “McGiver: the engine and use the clutch to make it to my Sister’s wedding rehearsal. You should have seen the look on my Dad’s face when he heard me pull up to the parking lot with those high revs. That engine, although underpowered, had it’s moments. I had to give this baby up, when after a move I found I had towed it improperly. Someone in Muncie, Indiana got a nice little ride. I have never had so much fun in a car, when it ran!
I'm glad I found this page since I loved to drive my 850. I still have the gear shift knob. I got an '68 light blue 850 while in college. It held tight corners like it owned them and had great acceleration when it was well tuned. Mileage was above 40 mpg pretty much all the time on open highways, even if I was not drafting 18 wheelers (I hope my kids never find this).
It was great looking and women liked driving in it. I remember driving in Roanoke Rapids with three cousins who were all blond cheerleaders... everyone was very jealous. And my own girlfriend and I enjoyed being in it, particularly since it was actually very roomy inside.
It was well designed, but the quality and materials were poor. Thin vinyl seats. Rocker panels and body started rusting from the insides. Constantly had to set the points, replaced the rubber hose between the tank and the filler cap, the clutch cable, and belts. This is when I found out that FIAT really meant fix it again, Tony.
But I'd love to build cars with a similar design, but with good materials, new electronics, and better craftsmanship. Perhaps an electronic version similar to the Tesla?
"...cars with a similar design, but with good materials, new electronics, and better craftsmanship."???
You mean, like a Porsche Boxster or Toyota MR2 Spyder?
I've owned two, both '71's, one red, one white back in the early 70's - so they were both pretty new. Fun little cars to drive. I bought the red one to give to my brother for his 16th b'day, for $1000. I got it a few weeks before as if it were mine - let him borrow it and he got hit and run off the road totaling the car. With the insurance money, he bought a new Capri. I shortly found the white one and kept it for a few years, rarely putting the top up. I especially liked the way the top folded underneath for a clean look. Never had any problems with it. Not a lot of power, but did what I wanted it to do, for a just-for-fun car. I now have a '97 Miata (for fun); a great car too.
My first car was an 850 Spyder, 1969 I believe. Yes, it was very popular to look at, no it was definitely not built well. Definitely not made for good old Ohio road salt anyway. On mine, you must have had the top up to open or close the doors, otherwise the body sag would jam them shut. The factory rubber floor mats were attached through holes in the floorboard, these probably started leaking within two years of being new. When the side window mechanism stopped working, I wasn't surprised to see a mixture of flimsy plastic pulleys and aircraft cable type mechanism, the poor design was beyond reason. But, I would still love to have one again, the girls loved it!
I bought a 67 (I think) in 1976, at the end of my junior year of high school, for $300.00. It didn't run and the body needed a little work. We got it running the day we bought it with points, plugs etc. My dad and I worked on it for about 6 months and it looked great when we were done.
It was slow, but to this day my friends remember it as a fast car. The only problem I remember with the power was stopping at a stoplight that was on a hill. People behind me would get a little frustrated.
I had no problems with leaking top, or the heater. But I did have some sort of electrical problem that would leave me stranded every once in awhile.
I sold it in 1980 when I needed money for school for $1600. I was sure happy to read everyone's comments here.
I had a blue 1969 850 that I bought new and drove for 4 years while in school in Buffalo, N.Y. Only a 20 year old would take this car to Buffalo, and as could have been expected, its 1500 pounds were absolutely terrible in the snow; holding the road was not in in the owner's manual. However I never actually got stuck in the snow or ice since pushing it out of trouble was a snap. The car was tremendously underpowered. Passing a truck on the NY State Thruway took an eternity, and it never felt comfortable driving next to a 16 wheeler at the level of its wheels while very very slowly passing the truck. To climb any sort of hill on a highway I had to get up a major head of steam before trying. Italian cars are not made for NY winters, and when I finally sold it before moving back to New York City, the undercarriage had rusted out so that I could touch the road with my feet. <b> However, let me conclude by stating that my Fiat 850 Spyder was tremendously fun to drive, and I loved it!! A glutton for punishment, I bought a 124 Spyder in 1974. </b>
I had a blue 1969 850 that I bought new and drove for 4 years while in school in Buffalo, N.Y. Only a 20 year old would take this car to Buffalo, and as could have been expected, its 1500 pounds were absolutely terrible in the snow; holding the road was not in in the owner's manual. However I never actually got stuck in the snow or ice since pushing it out of trouble was a snap. The car was tremendously underpowered. Passing a truck on the NY State Thruway took an eternity, and it never felt comfortable driving next to a 18 wheeler at the level of its wheels while very very slowly passing the truck. To climb any sort of hill on a highway I had to get up a major head of steam before trying. Italian cars are not made for NY winters, and when I finally sold it before moving back to New York City, the undercarriage had rusted out so that I could touch the road with my feet. <b> However, let me conclude by stating that my Fiat 850 Spyder was tremendously fun to drive, and I loved it!! A glutton for punishment, I bought a 124 Spyder in 1974. </b>
As a college student, I bought a 68 Spider in August of 1970. I made me into a mechanic in a few short months. The engine for 1968 in the US was dropped to 817cc (49.93 cubic inches) to get under the smog rules. Anything under 50 cubes was a lawnmower engine to the EPA. I learned to carry a full ignition system and a rocker cover gasket along with my tools. Tuneups happened every time I bought gas - look at the tail pipe and adjust the mixture, then the idle. If it is rough, find the time soon to readjust the valves and timing. The car handled like a dream, I just wished for more power. The steering was very neutral and light. My Fiat lived in a perpetual 4 wheel drift. The back end would chase you around every corner. Once I learned to tune the car, I consistently got 43+ miles per gallon, even at 85 MPH. The engine would rev to heaven (it is still the only car that I have ever owned that could pull past it's red-line in top gear). Several times, I shifted it down to third gear and pinned the tachometer at 8000 rpm. My biggest problem was with the generator brushes glazing, so the battery would not charge. I would love to have a joint effort between Honda (or Toyota) and Fiat to bring back this fun little car. I don't miss the mechanical work, but it sure was fun.
My dad bought me a 1972 Fiat 850 Spider as my first car in 1975. He paid $500 for it. I was a junior in high school in Germany. I had such a great time with that car, The girls in school loved riding in it with the top down. I think I managed to squeeze three girls in it one time. But alas, nine months after getting the car I was stopped at a stop sign and a drunk plowed into the back of the car and totaled it. I would love to get another one but I think my wife would kill me. Don't' think I want to give my Porsche up for an old Fiat!
I bought a 1972 850 two years ago. I drive it only in the summer, as Maine winter roads and cars of this type are incompatible, to say the least {can you say road salt and ice?).
I am Italian and I can assure you that when it comes to Fiats, Italians invented rust. So if you want your baby to last, drive it only in the summer.
The car gets many looks as there are so few of them left.
I love the way it handles, and the fuel economy is fantastic at 47mpg.
My car has two annoying habits: one is that the idle has a life of its own, in which it idles perfectly for weeks and then disappears, which is vexing and slightly dangerous in stop and go traffic, since one is obliged to work three pedals with only two feet in order to prevent the car from stalling.
The other problem is difficult restarting of the warm or hot engine (which also comes and goes) I often sit at the gas pump for several minutes after fueling because the engine turns over but does not start. I have experimented with different fuel pumps, electronic ignition, hotter plugs, and different fuel filtering arrangements all to no avail.
Ah well, the lady is fickle and temperamental, but also beautiful and I adore her.
What a great trip down memory lane!
We bought my wife a used canary-yellow 850 Spyder as her college graduation gift. I don't remember the cost or the year but I sure remember the fun we had in that beautifully designed but flakely engineered little car.
The Rube Goldberg window mechanism was a hoot. Repairs took some scrap aircraft cable and connectors and about an hour. A broken door lock required drilling a hole in the pot metal casting and epoxying in a nail to replace the broken pin (Fiat's offered solution was replacing BOTH door locks AND the glove-box lock). The only other serious mechanical difficulty in the 3-4 years of ownership was a blown head gasket.
What finally did us in was the RUST. When the passenger seat fell through the chassis, and the birds started building nests in the rocker panels, and my consulting mechanic said the whole steering mechanism, wheels and all, would soon fall off, and I inherited a Porche...
It was my wife's favorite FUN vehicle but her new red PT Cruiser convertible is challenging those memories. 40+ MPG at 1980 prices was a whale of a lot better than 19MPG now, IMHO.
I bought a brand new 1972 Orange 850 Fiat Spider off the showroom floor for $2700 American! I loved this car! It came with Michelin Radials and stock headers! I lived in the snow belt in Northern Ohio... the top never leaked. In the two years I had it I had to replaced the heating control (twice), the fuel pump (twice), the battery and the brakes, that's it! It could really go, I raced and BEAT a Porsche 915 and an Opal GT!!! It is the "Classic Inexpensive Sports Car"