I had a '69 FIAT 124 Wagon, and Dad had the 850 Spider. He eventually sold
the 850 and bought my 124 when I bought a new VW Scirroco. That was in '75
and it was already rusty by then (I bought it 4 years old, and repainted
it.) It sat in the barnyard and rusted away in just a couple of years. The
Russian steel that FIAT used was notorious for rust.
Check everyplace! Sills, hinges, behind every seam. Jeesh, there's no where
that won't be rusty! However, it was a reliable little car, and needed very
little upkeep. I only did the minimum maintenance and it ran fine for me and
later for Dad. No torque at all. I don't know if the wagons were geared
differently than the converts, but the spread between 3rd and 4th was huge.
We'd get in hills in southern Ohio, and wind out third, and bog fourth,
downshift and start over, ad infinitum.
Oddly, in a book cleaning frenzy, I just got rid of the 124 service manual
at Avon library's book sale this spring or else you could have had it. (yes,
29 years after I got rid of the car. I thought I might get another
someday...)
About ten years ago I was on a business trip in Hungary, and was surprised
to see practically brand new 124 sedans and wagons, albeit with a different
name on them. Seems FIAT sold all the tooling to the USSR, and they were
pumping out new old FIATs with new bad Russian steel. Maybe the parts from
them are interchangeable. Who knows what's available on eBay!
Good luck. Better yet, talk him out of it...
Steve
--
Steve Avon, Ohio
1958 MGA 1500 Red/Black
NAMGAR #5987 BuckAyes Ohio Chapter
LoCo Brits
MGA@MorrisGarage.com
http://www.MorrisGarage.com
On 11/29/04 9:30 PM, "James Nazarian" <jhn3@uakron.edu> wrote:
> One of my friends is looking for a Fiat 124. Does anyone have any
> experience with them? He is looking for answers to the basic questions
> people ask when buying their first vintage car. What are the trouble points
> to look for? Rust, mechanicals, etc. How hard are parts to come by? Who
> sells them?
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