1971 Fiat 850 Sport Spider from North America - Comments

Needs a lot of work and maintenance, do not think to drive this car in the mountains or if it is too hot, all 850 will overheat.

Only Fiat will install a radiator with the motor in the back, I'm thinking to set up a radiator in the front like the X1/9.

With today's traffic, this car is too slow

Still, this is a good Italian car and it will turn heads when I drive it, or I take it to the Italian car shows.

It handles like a race car (but without the speed).

I ran an 850 Sport Spider in the 70's. I have never driven a car with more under steer; this car desperately wanted to go backwards. Being 20 at the time, this meant several nose bleeds for the Fiat. The last hurrah for the car for me was in 76 when the generator casting failed and the generator fell off the engine. I now own 2 Lotus Europa S2's.

I also had two 850 Spyders in the early 70's, both bought new. Living in Canada, the biggest problem I had was when the temp was like -20 or so, the transmission oil was so thick you couldn't move the stick until the oil had warmed up. Fiat Canada actually had transmission warmers for sale.

The heater was phenomenal and had to be as I drove it throughout winter and there was no real seal between the wide windows and the top.

Summer driving was fine, too. Temps in Canada can easily get to 90 F and I drove my car from Canada to Mexico City and Acapulco and back through the desert from LA to Vegas (Death Valley rings a bell?). I remember passing a few cars steaming on the side of the road, but the Fiat just went fine, never once getting too hot.

I sold them not because they were not satisfactory, but because I went traveling for a year or two in Europe (almost bought a Europa, too - with the high performance twin cam- from the factory - total cost would have been $5,800 delivered to Canada)

Twenty years or so ago, I bought another 71 Spyder and drove it a bit, but didn't want to spend money on it (top replacement, etc.) as I traveled overseas two to three months every winter. So it sat in a garage for 10-12 years when I had to move and I gave it to a friend and it now sits in his garage for the past 5 years. I can get it back anytime if I want it as he has not had time to work on it. My problem is that I don't do the mechanical thing and have to pay for everything. I do have the urge!

That's a little long for this story, but I felt inspired to look up 850 Spyder on the net. Great Fun Car!

In the mid 70's I owned a 1970 850 spider. I bought it in great condition and drove it hard for two years. It never gave me any problems. Power was low, 90 mph downhill with a tailwind, however it would take any curvy road at practically any speed you could pull out of it. I only ever spun it out one time. It floated OK too I found out by accident on a flooded road in South Carolina. Floated right through and never choked down. This was also my first car, bought by me at 16 years old. I loved it and traded it for a 1971 SS Camaro. Big mistake, I still miss my Fiat.

Our Blue 1971 Fiat 850 Sport Spider was the first vehicle my wife and I purchased after our marriage. Bought new in early 1972, it was our fun car, and my Summer go to work vehicle of choice. I took it on business trips around the state, and never got stuck due to mechanical problems for many thousands of miles.

As our family grew, many other vehicles came and went, but we still have the 850. It is in good running order, thanks to all of its winters spent in the garage (we live in Minnesota), and the recent ministrations of the guys at F&D Motor Works.

Our 850 Spider spent a fair number of years in disuse while our two sons passed from driving age teenagers to college graduates living on their own - Insurance was just too expensive, though neither of them really had much interest in sports cars. In the spring of 2000, a friend helped me get the engine running (by rebuilding the carb.), whereupon I discovered the brakes were practically non-existent! That was when I located F&D, a small shop specializing in sports cars, with an emphasis on things Italian. A complete brake system rebuild, followed by an engine overhaul when it dropped a valve during a test drive, followed by more fuel system work... and then an enjoyable summer of leisurely cruising the local parkways.

The next Spring I had the top replaced, as the rear window finally gave out (this was the second top in 33 years!), and some wheel bearings replaced. More good Summer enjoyment.

In 2004 I retired, so I could enjoy more afternoons riding in the 850 with my wife... and F&D continues to work wonders whenever something goes amiss... though parts are getting hard to find. Last Fall F&D got the heater working again for the first time in decades, and this Spring the steering gear was replaced/rebuilt.

At the moment we have about 68,000 miles on the car, which I have registered as a Collector Car for license and insurance purposes - limiting me to about 700-800 miles per year... so we won't be pushing that number up too quickly!