Should I buy this Fiat 124?

The article in the GRM got me thinking and then I found this

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Fiat-Other-convertible-1973-FIAT-124-SPYDER-1-CALIFORNIA-OWNER-FOR-39-YEARS-ORIGINAL-AND-UNMOLESTED-/280910335127?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item41678f8c97#ht_834wt_1165

It did not sell but I talked to the owner and he is firm on the price. It might be a little on the high end but he claims no deferred maintenance and no rust its a drive anywhere car.

It's local enough for me I am thinking of going up to look at it if my motorcycle sells and I can get the wife to ok the purchase

I really like that its pre 75 so smog exempt in california and he's the original owner

http://1973fiat124cabriolet.shutterfly.com/pictures/8

more pics

All that appears to need is Panasports and a bumper delete. If it really is as good as it looks I might be tempted to splurge.

If you did do a bumper delete those small chrome bumpers are apparently pretty valuable. What panasport options are there besides the Rota RB's?

I see some small imperfections in various body panels in the bigger pics but looks like they were touched up, possibly a tiny hint of some surface rust or discoloration around them but structurally it looks quite good.

Owner says he is ready to change the fluids as he is planning a cruise to san fran up the 1 in it.

He's not the original owner according to the listing, he bought it from the original owner.

Worth taking a trip and a look if you really want a 124.

Closest to a worry to me is the staining on the sill, passenger side. Not quite the right location for dreaded Fiat rust, and doesn't actually appear to be rust.

Ah you are right I misread that. Yeah i am not sure what that is either on the shutterfly are some more close up pics of some various small dings etc that look touched up

No reason to delete those bumpers. Just ditch the overriders and roll. I like the early bumpers on these. It is the later impact bumpers that ruin the design.

Yeah I like those bumpers. I kind of like the stock wheels even although I think Panasports would look awesome. Silly question maybe but would these be lap belt only?

Yea, looks like lousy touchup work, worthy of me .

The reserve price is chump change compared to a newish car price. If I really wanted the car, I'd go looking with money in my pocket, and be ready to pay his reserve. You're talking only a few hundred dollars of haggle.

Do it! Nice color, nice condition, price seems perfectly reasonable to me. I'd convert it to Abarth bumper blocks myself - really lets you see the subtleties of the front end styling.

Rather nice looking. I like the 100+ alloy wheels myself. Interesting that one of the tail lights is just taped back together.

This car is a weirdo transitional one. It was built in '73 but has most of the details of being a '74. VIN is a CS, so I would have thought it would be an 1800. It's got '74 rubber block mounted bumpers (very hard to find). The rear overriders are mounted upside down and the rubber blocks are painted body color, so it's a repaint (I also see a tape line/overspray on the door tag). It's got a 1600 emblem on the left which doesn't match the 1800 style "124 Sport" emblem on the right, which is something I don't recall seeing. . The broken taillamp may be a real bugger to find as some of those had two piece lens taillamps instead of 3 piece and they are odd and rare. Body side moldings are hideous dealer add-ons. The driver's door shell may be cracked at the hinges. There is no "notorious spare well rust" on 124s. The most important thing to look for is the front shock towers where the upper control arm mounts; they will rust and flake apart there. It's fixable, but a PITA. Other spots to look are inner fenders behind the front wheels, front fender bottoms, rocker panels (the outer skins come off and are purely cosmetic), floorpan seams from leaky tops and rear control arm body mounts. Being a CA car it should be solid, but at least some of that car has seen a spray gun. The only had lap belts back then.

I think I would want a rollbar and if its lap belt only some sort of small safety upgrade. There is a good shop in Upland california that sells a lot of parts for them too. Its the guy that runs the fiatspider.com forums shop

For some reason in my mind (what little there is of it) that car needs to be red or black. The green just does not do it for me.

In reply to dean1484:

Maybe you need to adjust the color on whatever you are using to view it, because it's yellow.

In reply to Jaynen:

Mark Allison is the man you're talking about at Allison Automotive, he's real nice guy, I ended up converting my radiator over to an all-aluminum 3 core with a modern electric fan and relay, very nice, fits well, looks stock...

Yeah Mark seems like he has a lot of knowledge and a lot of cool parts for sale.

SlickDizzy wrote: Do it! Nice color, nice condition, price seems perfectly reasonable to me. I'd convert it to Abarth bumper blocks myself - really lets you see the subtleties of the front end styling.

Well if you went for the Abarth look I happen to know where there's a set of those wheels ;)

Looks like the motorcycle is selling tomorrow. A little less than I had hoped but with a recent bonus it puts me within negotiating range (with the wife not the seller lol)

Not sure if I would want to go true Abarth or just do some of my own mods.

Is anyone picking up on anything that should make me run in the other direction or hope something better comes along?

Whats the best way to check the shock tower rust, from the wheel well, under the car looking into the engine bay or from above?

bravenrace wrote: In reply to dean1484: Maybe you need to adjust the color on whatever you are using to view it, because it's yellow.

Maybe you need to adjust your eyes, I've looked at it on three computers now and it looks key lime green to me?

Jaynen wrote: Whats the best way to check the shock tower rust, from the wheel well, under the car looking into the engine bay or from above?

If you see no signs of rust from all three angles, you're fine. As far as I know, the 124''s tend to rust pretty obviously.

Picture 36 in the shutterfly is the one that looks like there could be a crack in the door

Picture 40 in the upper leftish is that rust on the edge of the windscreen?

Picture 55 under the insulation which seems to be on the inside of the hood?

Those are the only images that potentially give me pause. If none of those look like anything to keep from looking at it then I would check out underneath the car for more serious structural issues.

I can't seem to find anything locally around that price that is better looking or runs for that matter

I am on my phone (no power to turn on the computer) so I can't look at the pics. Hood, trunk. Sills, rear quarter panels behind the rear wheels, cowl in front of the windshield, and the gas filler door are the only body parts that unbolt. The rest is welded on.

To get the best looks at what you are worried about.. you need to pul the front wheels and check where the spring and shock meet the body. While you are there, check the panel between the wheel well and the fender towards the door. These cars used a small panel to keep the gunk and water out and whel the body seam stuffs fals out or shrinks, it becomes a water/rust trap that extends down into the inner front sills.

In the rear, run your fingers/eyes up under the arch.pininfarina just folded the metal over and it too traps water/gunk/rust.

Under the car, check where the four trailing arms connect to the floor.

Living at the shore, I have seen these cars rot out ther floors at the trailing arm mounts, under the drivers and passengers feet (wear and leaking heater cores), and the top of the trunk where it arcs across the body. I have also seen them rust under the cowl in front of the windshield. It comes up with half a dozen screws (like the outer sills) but nobody ever opens them up to pull the rotted leaves out

One man's "zero rust" is another mans rust bucket.

The car has been painted, so something lurks under the paint.

If you can live with the color and the existing bodywork for 5 years, then I really don't see this going wrong. It would be cheap motoring even if you tossed it in the bin at that point. You know it will have some residual value even as a parts car, so how can you go wrong.

If for any reason you should have to get into body and paint before you can drive, then forget it, you woul dbe in for a world of financial hurt.

That is a good perspective NOHOME. I definitely would prefer to not be thinking about body work for at least a couple years and preferably only then because I wanted to really restore it

And thank's mad_machine I will make note of those things if I go look at it.

I'm going to have to paint my hood black when I redo the race car.

I noticed a dent on the hood in the photos.

I've had the latch fail on the race car sending the whole hood flipping forward. May have happened on the yellow car.