SportBikeMike

Theres one of these for sale locally with only 15,600 miles in excellent condition. A guy in his 70s has it and is selling because he can no longer drive it because of his bad back and age. I've drove the car and its a blast....handles like a go-kart....definitely the most fun you can have with 75 hp!

He's asking $5K. I've thought about picking it up just for something different......but I know NOTHING about Fiats (actually its a Bertone). I've done some research.....and of course there are horror stories out there about the reliability. You see the phrase "Fix It Again Tony" alot. Then again you hear stories of them being driven 150,000 miles with no major problems.

Anyone have any personal experience with these cars? I just want a better idea of what I'd be getting into if I decided to buy it.

Some pics:

WanganDevilZ

Holy damn that is show quality.

Cleaner than hell dude!

NismoPick

w00t! My buddy picked up a Triumph TR8 (similar car) a few years ago from a trade. It was a blast to drive, but he actually had a hard time getting rid of it... and parts availability is pretty much limited to ebay. It's an awesome style car, but few actually want one as a dd, so you have to pitch it to the enthusiasts, who will always try to low ball you.

So my long story short: awesome keeper, not a great bet for fix & flipping.

SportBikeMike

Thanks for the input folks.

There is a little bit of surface rust, especially on the engine cover, but not bad. The interior is like new.

Nismo, I'm not sure what my plans would be for this car.....probably a occasional daily driver/ weekend toy like the Zs. (does get 35 mpg). One of my concerns is maintenance....I like to do my own, and that engine space looks pretty cramped (especially compared to a Datsun) and I couldn't even locate the spark plugs....I tried to follow the wires but they lead somewhere down and out of sight!

The car does have its charm and quirks though.....the tachometer goes backwards.....it goes from right to left instead of left to right! I was like . The more I revved the engine the lower the revs got!

He told me the other day that several people had looked at the car though.....so might be gone for all I know.

Just called O'Reillys and they said they don't carry the parts for the old Fiats. So Nismo is right....Ebay it is!

SportBikeMike

The one I'm looking at might be slightly overpriced too. Heres one on Ebay with about the same mileage but overall nicer, especially the engine bay. This has to be one of the nicest X1/9s on the planet....and his highest bid so far is $4,300.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/86-Be...item3a6893b23b

85300zx

It is a nice car in its own right. For 5 grand you have a couple of other choices. That is by far the nicest Fiat Bertone I have ever seen.

SportBikeMike

Amazingly, I think its actually still available too. He still has the ad in the paper anyway. Might have to go and take another look.

JSM

Growing up my neighbor had one. He was constantly bugging my dad for help. The points in his would continually go out. In 86 he traded it for in a Mustang GT.

I remember the day he traded it. I thought he towed it close to the dealership, filed the points and traded it. He was quite happy he said to dump it.

Regardless, that is a clean car and is very cool.

SportBikeMike

That must have been one of the earlier carburated cars with the 1.3. This one I looked at is a later one with the fuel injection and the 1.5 engine. Supposedly overall quality went up when Bertone took over the manufacturing in the early 80s. They had better rust protection and better overall reliability.

85300zx

If you do, everybody always lowers theirs price.

snwbrderphat540

you should just buy a go kart, prob be faster.

SportBikeMike

Ended up buying this beast a couple months ago. Man, its FUN! Not fast from a stoplight but comes into her own in the twisties!

85300zx

I don't get on here much anymore. I thought I would see whats new. I knew you would buy it! Congrats! I'm sure that when you saw it, you knew you were going to buy it. That's how I felt when I first saw my 1993 Corvette.

SportBikeMike

I was definitely interested in the car, right from the start.....but I had all these reservations because I've never dealt with a Fiat before. Then I saw all the horror stories on the internetz.....but came to the conclusion that the problems people had all came from a lack of maintenance. Any car is going to be a POS if not properly maintained. Still took me 3 months to get up the nerve to buy it though!

Anyway, this car has definitely been maintained.....the prior owner even gave me the contact info. on his mechanic whos an expert on these cars. So far, 1000 miles.....and smooth sailing!

snwbrderphat540

its soooooo ugly though. lol. shoulda taken that money and mad the Z faster.

SportBikeMike

Dude, beauty is in the eye of the beholder! Looks like a baby Ferrari to me.

BTW, I'm currently getting a 280ZX turbo motor swapped into my 240Z (not the motor from the 280ZX.....this is a different one I found on craigslist....that car is too nice to be a donor). Plus a 5-speed transmission.

That original motor has either 150,000 or 250,000 miles on it and was feeling a little tired.....plus I'm tired of dealing with carburetors. It was time!

PredatorZ

Its a very nice car, almost belongs in a Fiat museum, it must handle like a go cart, its so tiny it cant be to heavy. Fully agree on the taking care of your car, to many don't and it shows.

SportBikeMike

Yeah the handling is unbelievable.....perfect balance. I never slow down for curves!

Could almost be in a Fiat museum....I'm almost reluctant to drive it sometimes, especially with all the idiot drivers in this town. There is some surface rust though, that don't show up in the pics, on the rear spoiler and on the engine cover. Interior is near perfect.