Pick of the Day: 1977 Fiat 124 Spider

I am writing this Pick of the Day from the Greenwich Concours where I have the honor of judging this weekend. A few hours ago, at the welcome party sponsored by Hagerty, a chat commenced with some friends about the lack of affordable cars for first time and younger collectors.

I disagreed, stating that while some used entry level collector cars have gotten quite expensive, like the BMW 2002 and the Porsche 912E, there are some cars that are truly special collector cars and affordable. A spirited debate ensued, and I told them that my next ClassicCars.com Pick of the Day would be one of these cars.

The car I found tonight, with not much searching, is a model I have owned twice, and feel is one of the most underrated Italian cars available; the Fiat 124 Spider. Now I am sure you have probably heard the “Fix It Again Tony” moniker applied to these cars, but my personal experience is that a Fiat 124 is a fun car. A good one can also be reliable (I drove a 1968 model from Chicago to Monterey 12 years ago), and in many is a better car than its main competition; the 105 Series Alfa Romeo Spider. The Fiat 124 Spider offers superior ergonomics, equal performance, and if you learn more about their design, courtesy of Pininfarina, equal pedigree to the 105 Series Alfa Romeo Spider.

The one I chose for the Pick of the Day is this 1977 Fiat 124 Spider finished in white paint with a red interior. (Click the link to view the listing)

The Stratford, Connecticut dealer offering this car states it was previously sold five years ago and the owner only drove it a 1,000 miles. The odometer currently reads 44k miles, which is said to be documented.

They add that the car has excellent floors and body, very clean white paint, and a beautiful red interior. All claims are backed up with extensive photos of the car in the ad.  

In addition, a past owner installed a nice set of racing headers and a bigger 32mm Weber carb, resulting in a 1977 Fiat 124 that performs better than when it was stock. An additional and desirable option on this specific car are the Cromodora alloy wheels, called Dino alloys by Fiat nerds like me. It also has an ANSA exhaust which makes the twin cam inline-4 engine, which was designed by former Ferrari engine designer Aurelio Lampredi, sound even better than stock. I told you these cars had a serious pedigree.

This is another one of those cars I almost did not post to The Journal as a Pick of the Day because I love these cars and miss my last one. The fact that the car is located around 25 min away from the Greenwich Concours also makes me want to go and check it out tomorrow afternoon and buy it.

Sadly, if I were to do that my wife would likely have all of my belongings on the front porch on my return from the concours and a Fiat 124 is a little small to live in, so my loss is your gain.

The asking price for this nice Fiat 124 Spider is what I would almost call a steal at only $14,900. If you are interested I would contact the seller thru the ad as soon as possible, as this car truly represents a perfect entry level collector car.