When I first saw a submission from reader Jim S for a Fiat 850, I thought it was going to be another run of the mill 850 Spider. While the Spider is a fun little car, it isn’t all uncommon. I went ahead and looked and what I found was a ’67 850 Coupe. There aren’t many of these Coupes left here in the States. This one was found in a barn, where it had been parked for the past 40 years. It can now be found here on eBay with a $1,295 starting bid.
Rust and late ’60s Italian cars have never gotten along well and this Fiat is no different. It has already been partially disassembled, which is why it was left in the barn for 40 years. Apparently, in ’72 the drivetrain developed a problem, so the owner parked it in their barn and pulled the engine out. They found another motor for it, but never got around to installing it. The seller claims the transmission shifts into gear and that one of the engines is the original.
The 850 engine is rather simple and shouldn’t be all that difficult to rebuild, as long as one of these two blocks isn’t seized. The seller believes the problem wasn’t with the motor, but the clutch. If it were that simple of a problem I doubt the owner would have gone to the trouble of buying another motor. Whether it was the engine or clutch doesn’t make much of a difference since the car has been sitting for 40 years now.
The interior is one of the few areas of the car that isn’t going to need a lot of attention. It appears that everything is still there and for the most part, in good shape. There are a few seams pulling apart in the seats and everything needs a good cleaning.
While this one is in rough shape, it wouldn’t be impossible to restore. Given how few are remaining, it would be sad to see it parted out and crushed. What do you think? Save it or push it back into the barn?
This is a keeper and would be fun to play with on the weekends and during the summer
Well, my first observation is that it is an old uncared for Fiat, and therefore by definition rusty. It’s hard to tell how bad it is, though the view of the underside is ominous. The engine bay looks decent, however, so I say it’s salvageable if somebody is willing to do a lot of cutting, shaping, welding and swearing. It would take a very dedicated and patient man.
Will cost multiples of the car’s market value to fix all that rust.
Parts car, I’m afraid.
I see one of these and my legs start to hurt. A friend in high school had one which featured a nearly-dead battery. So to start it, he sat inside while I pushed it around (and around and around!) the block… Ugh.
Really, I should get my head examined ’cause I’d love to get it just for the memories!!
~ either way i would hate to see it crushed. the 850 Fiat was never among my favorite cars but nonetheless they’re still worthy and deserve respect. put on some blinders and this auction could be your start on an obsession. if it were a 124 coupe the bidding might be furious.
I sold one of these, complete, running- less the brakes for $350 only 15 years ago.
Would have liked to have kept is as a project too.
Oh well. Mine had less rust too.
RUST!
I have three of these and can tell anyone who buys it that the interior is the hard part to get. The rest of the parts, including the sheet metal isn’t that hard to find. The front hood is the hardest part to get and it’s there. Will help anyone who buys it with parts from my two parts cars.
The UNCRACKED dash on this one is 100x rarer than the car itself! =)
I know exactly where this car came from! In fact, I looked at it last summer and thought long and hard about taking it off the owner’s hands, only because I always loved the 850 Coupe. (Un)Fortunately, I walked away from it only because I no longer have space to store/rebuild it. The wife was elated!
Hope it finds a good home with someone willing to put the time, effort, and money into bringing it back to life.
The seller ended the auction early.
I bought a new Fiat 850 Sports Coupe in 1967. I LOVED THAT CAR………….. I’ve had a few really nice cars in my lifetime, but I’ll always have a soft spot for that red 850 coupe. Great memories.
Cover it back up and leave it there forever. No news here folks.