A seller on craigslist has been popping up every now and again with all sorts of interesting vintage automobiles that are definitely in project car form. They appeared to be locked away in an abandoned shop, and based on his latest listing, that’s not entirely far from the truth. We’ve see some Citroens come up for sale in the past, but this time we have two Fiat roadsters. One is this pretty 1961 Fiat 1200 with a Nissan powerplant, and the other is a later 1981 Fiat 124. Both cars are projects, but the earlier car in particular looks quite tidy. Find the listing here on craigslist in Oregon, where the ’61 is listed for $4,500 and the ’81 is priced at $1,000.
The seller explains that he has what is called a “DMV Possessory Lien Foreclosure” on the cars, which indicates to me the shop was abandoned and he managed to snag the whole thing and all of its contents. I thought I was doing well when I stumbled upon a cache of NOS car parts at a local dealer that had closed; this is a case of stepping into it on a whole ‘nother level. Of course, it may not be that exciting of a story as the seller may have had to file this sort of paperwork anyway if the property had already been foreclosed on, even if he knew the previous owner personally. But it is curious that the last caretaker didn’t attempt to unload any of his projects if he was starting down delinquency issues.
The earlier Fiat has had its engine swapped with a Nissan drivetrain of unknown origin. The transmission was also swapped at the same time, and I’d love to know if it came out of a hot rod like the Sentra SE-R. Probably wishful thinking, but you see the roll bar and you start to wonder. The seller admits the lack of an original drivetrain does ding the value a bit, but at least it will be easier to find parts for (and potentially to work on if it has fuel injection.) The interior is complete but dusty; regardless of condition, it’s clear this car and many others in the shop have been idle for quite some time. Given its in Oregon, hopefully the chassis remains rust-free.
The later car is cheap but it also appears to be far more neglected. Given this appears to be more of a shop arrangement than a private collection, you do wonder if all of these cars came in as customer projects and were later abandoned, or simply snatched up at local auctions and estate sales and put away for a rainy day. I’d love to know the backstory on this place and what else is hiding in this shop, which the seller says is located in a small town near Corvallis, Oregon. If I were closed, I’d definitely ask if I could get a list of what else is available and make the ride out to buy a few different projects at once – and who knows what else is there for rare, obsolete parts?
Fix It Again Tony! I had a ‘74 124 Spider and it ran beautifully. When it ran. I believe everyone should own a convertible sometime in their life. And Jeff, when living in Georgia I met a young fellow who took me on a tour of a closed Chevrolet dealership. It was if they drove all the cars off the lot, locked the doors and never came back. Upstairs was where all of the parts were stored. Rows and rows and rows of boxes of parts. He told me it had closed in the 60’s and that was about 1988 or ‘89.
Wonder about titles and back taxes,the Capri in the background is probably best of the lot.
Aside from all the visible, hidden, and imagined issues with these cars, the lack of an official title keeps me distant. “No Title….No Thanks!”
Oh my goodness.
These were the cars I restored (drove awhile’n sold so as 2 have a free ride awhile) asa kid. The 1200, 1500 and 1600. Nice to see again.
When I gota junk 1200 from Goldie’s yrd (Quincy?) in E. MA it could do 60 in 1st. Cut my teeth on wrenchin 60 yrs ago~
Loved it when an alfa or lancia could B brought home to play with…
Wait see what roll bar??? I do not see a roll bar??
Back in84 I had a 74 spider 1800 that I lowered put on abarth exhaust roll bar and front spoiler it was blue with camel top and interior also Put on 15 inch rims and 60 series tires think ran great and was hoot
I bought a Lien Sale car in CA back in the 80’s from a garage. It was a Jag XK150S DHC. All I had to do was get a police officer to inspect and check the Lien papers with the car and DMV issued new pink slip. The whole process took a week.
Great information on the history Rick.
Do you have any intel on the 1200? The plate in the trunk shows a AZ origin. That’s good news if its from the Fiat.
Was this driven into the barn or towed? I’m only asking you to remember back 17+ years. Lol