Hey guys, what do you know about a 1979 Fiat Spider? I'm looking at one and it seems nice. I havn't got the slightest idea what to look for. Any constructive comments? All I seem to get when I ask around is "Fix It Again Tony" when I mention fiat. It's got 74k miles and the spedometer doesn't work, so no real idea of what the actual mileage is. He claims it's only off by 6k miles or so.

moved to Lounge
not really a "versus" type question

You spelled my name wrong in the thread title... ... ...

You spelled my name wrong in the thread title... ... ...lol:histeric: But I would say to stay clear of the Fiat. Those things are the biggest pieces of crap

Get a Triumph or an Alfa if you're looking for a toy like that.

Better still, get a Miata and you'll never have to fix it.

You'll look like a wuss, but the car will always start. :histeric:

Why even look at one when it's so much fun to laugh at people driving one.

Back in the latter half of the 70's, I had a '73 124 Spyder, silver on black, and it was a fine car - don't listen to anyone who hasn't owned one.

The Fiat 4-banger has a few good points:

1) It will rev forever - I had mine to 8K several times with no ill effects.

2) It is highly tunable - cams, carbs, pistons, headers, etc etc. I tore mine down completely when I was able to not have it as my daily driver and put in 10.5 pistons, hotter cams, headers, forged crank,Weber carb, heavier clutch plate, ANSA exhaust, etc etc. I think I beefed up nearly every moving part in engine, for not a lot of money. Sunuvagun ran like a bitch when I was finished. I never dyno'ed it, but I'd be not at all suprised if it had maybe 160 HP at the rear wheels. On a 1400 pound car, that was guite enough, thank you.

The suspension was very good - nice tight sports car springing, good steering feel, etc. The five speed trans seemed well mated to the engines operating range, as well.

The top fit perfectly, never leaked, never tore.

All the gauges worked fine - it's a trip to get in a 4-cylinder car and see a tach that goes to 10,000... lol

The engines from the early to mid 70s were best, before they added the smog pump and all the other EPA crap. The ugly rubber bumpers they added also took away from the car's nice Pininfarina looks.

The are very easy to work on (hell, I tore my engine apart completely, and LIFTED it out of the car, without a hoist), and parts are plentiful and cheap.

All in all, I kinda wish I'd kept it.

That's not nice RP64. I specifically mentioned constructive comments. I'm going to see the car in person Wednesday. Thanks Jim, that's the best answer I've gotten so far. I went on Rockauto and just flipped through prices for parts just to see and they were really cheap. I'm not mechanically inclined, so a mechanic would be doing any and all work. Now I've got to learn how to use a stick shift if all goes well.