1984 Fiat Spyder from North America - Comments

When driving the car home for the first time, the fan belt broke and the car overheated. The engine apparently survived, intact.

AC system was broken when I bought the car - the hoses were disconnected (manufacturer fault or previous owner??).

Right power window fitfully opened and closed with much noise.

RUST, RUST, RUST! I don't know how they got away with it, but Fiats are the rustiest cars I've ever seen.

Heater temperature control broken and very, very expensive to fix.

Top seals badly.

I bought this car during an early mid life crisis. Dumped my Neon for this convertible. It was actually marketed under the "Bertone" name.

While fun to drive, it was an odd car. The AC, even though it came with the car, looked like an aftermarket addition. The steering was not rack and pinion, but worm and roller - made for a "different" steering feel that was not so bad. The heater controls were truly archaic.

Overall, I only had the car for about six months. Fairly reliable for its age and condition when I bought it though.

I much preferred my Fiat X 1/9 - a better overall car in my opinion.

Hello.

I am from Holland and I agree with you that the X 1/9 is a better car. The Fiat Spider is also OK, though, remember that it is an older design like the Alfa Spider.

However, you are correct that the AC was an aftermarket fitment. They were never factory-installed, but some dealers carried out the conversions.

The problem is, that they sometimes forgot to adapt the cooling system likewise... therefore your car may have had the problem with overheating.

Wishing you better luck with the next car.

Turbo spyder-i bought it not running ,sitting on flats, poorly stored for over a year. got it running easily enough, but of course, it overheated with the ac on. it turned out to be cheaper tohave a rad built for the car than to buy oem-problem solved. top seals poorly, but damn!what a fun ride!turbo seals are about shot so oil consumption is increasing, but I'm thinking of taking it down for partial restoration this winter.archaic, awkward at times;i love this car!

Hey

I currently live in Boston, Mass and I own a standard Fiat spider 1981. The car was fully repaired and repainted. The car works great, it doesn't rust either (might be because of the new paint coat). Since I've owned the car in (1999) to now (2006) it's worked great (few minor repairs because of age).

Although your review of the 1984 Fiat Spider was excellent, I have two corrections. The first one regards the term "Spyder". The correct spelling is "Spider", like the arachnid. The second criticism regards the company that marketed the Spider after 1982 was Pininfarina. Bertone marketed the X1/9 from 1982 to 1988, and that concludes my criticism.

I have a 1984 fiat bertone x1/9 with 8000 miles on it.

The car is in perfect shape and runs like a charm.

I will new get rid of this car for anything.