Despite sitting out in the snow in the Boulder, Colorado area, this 1973 Fiat 124 Special Sedan appears to be a very solid and nice-looking car, cosmetically. I believe this color is called Fiat Yellow, but hopefully, a Fiat expert in the Barn Finds family of readers can nail this color. It’s a great one, back when almost all vehicle makers actually used colors rather than tones. Thanks to Zappenduster for the tip!
Fiat offered the 124 in a two-door coupe, a four-door sedan, and a very cool two-door wagon, along with a four-door station wagon. It also came in a version known as the 124 Special, as with this car. There was even an unusual variation of that, the 124 SpecialT (not Special-K) with a little bigger engine for more oomph in traffic. These are unibody (unitized construction) cars and have four-wheel disc brakes, a very nice touch. The seller doesn’t give much info about this car other than it has good glass, good tires, it’s in good condition, and there are a few dings.
When I first saw this car sitting outside surrounded by melting snow, I thought, oh man, what a waste. But after looking at the photos and zooming in on them, I don’t see any rust really anywhere. It appears to be in amazing condition, body-wise, it just looks scary. Another thing is that Colorado (along with most areas) is a major rodent region, and storing vehicles outside – or even inside sometimes – leads to mice, rats, and other critters taking up residence and using things for food or bedding, chewing interiors, wiring, etc. This one appears to have been spared that, but we don’t know for sure.
Unless you have a magic touch and can somehow find a perfect used padded dash, using a company like JustDashes is your best bet for fixing what appears to be the only flaw that I can see in this car. The carpets are as dirty as politics so I’d probably change those, too. Fiat made the 124 from 1966 through 1974 and my first car was almost a regular Fiat 124 (not a Special) in this exact color and with four doors. My dad thought that maybe having a seven-year-old Fiat in a city that didn’t have a Fiat dealership probably wasn’t the best idea. Bummer.
The engine compartment is the only area showing surface rust that I can see. This is Fiat’s 1,438-cc OHV inline-four with 67 horsepower and 78 lb-ft of torque when new. It sends power through a four-speed manual to the rear wheels and the seller doesn’t say how or if it runs, but we have to assume it does since they say the car is in good condition. It’s posted here on craigslist in Coal Creek Canyon, Colorado and they’re asking $3,000. Here is the original listing. Are any of you willing to take a chance on this solid-looking 124 Special?
The 124 is rear wheel drive.
Gaaaaa! Thanks for catching that gaff, Larry.
arent these ladas?
No,
Ladas are Fiat`s 124…
YES. Italy sold the tooling of the 124 to Russia decades ago. If there ever WERE built in safety tech in these boxes, Russia had it removed when they started production of the LADA. Slam the front door & the windshield pops out! Killed more Russians so far than a nuclear bomb could. Just watch YouTube videos for proof; there are literally thousands online.
There were also diesel Ladas. Ladas seem to be still common in backwaters such as Turkmenistan. My parents had a 1970 Fiat 124 that was fun to drive but always needed work(!). I’m sure it cost less than $3K out the door.
Lada built a lot of spares that fit in other Fiat. My X1-9 benefited with a locking gas tank top and an excellent wooden steering wheel
I once had a half-Lada! One of the guys in the local Fiat club, a Russian by birth, rescued old 124s and brought them back to life using Lada parts as they were more available (and, I assume, cheaper). The car I bought ran OK, but the not strictly necessary items had not been replaced–the speedometer would give me a glance of a somewhat accurate speed every now and then, so I had to be careful around town! It was this color, but dull, and with more MARlittle oopses! I forgot to ask for the best parts back before I gave it to the club president to part out–the radio-tape cassette player-CD player and espresso maker that I added!
Lada’s were based on the 124 but made of much thicker steel and very durable. They had drum rear brakes and could be worked on from the top – no hoist needed.
I had one and paid twenty five dollars for it. That was the going rate for a case of beer at the time.
It was rough and a bit crude but had a great heater and was good on fuel. I drove it for four years and only stopped driving it because I got a newer car.
They were the source of ridicule, but Lada’s were tough reliable and easy to maintain.
They used 20-50 and a lot of people put 10-30 in and then claimed they burned oil.
Well when you don’t read the owners manual I guess……
I dunno, were there really 2-door 124 other than the Coupe and Spider variants?
About the Fiat and Lada connection, it’s interesting how the Italian brio got completely missing when the cars got re-engineered for the realities of life in Russia.
This one looks pretty neat but in reality I think it is one of those unfortunate cases where it’s difficult to tell what to do with it? It’s not preserved enough to be a collector’s item, not attractive enough to justify putting time and money into making it nicer, and as a daily driver you need to have a lot of interest in the stile points to justify driving this instead of something that is more modern, safer and easier to keep running. So I am not sure about what to really do with it?
I had an auto shop and, because the local FIAT dealer had no interest in servicing them, I serviced many! The 124 was a neat little car, usually with the push-rod engine but the twin cam engines, up to the 2 Liter version should drop right in. There was also a larger 2 or 4 door sedan and a neat wagon called the BRAVA or 131 with more space, a 5-speed transmission and various twin cam engines. ABARTH also produced a version with a 16 valve twin cam engine (which I have never seen and doubt was imported). The BRAVAS did very well in Eurupean rallying.
The 131/Brava was the 124’s replacement
@Beyfron; there were no 2 door 124 sedan coupés from Fiat, though a couple of carrozerias built one-offs. In Spain some later SEAT works rally cars were 2 doors by virtue of welding shut the rear doors.
In Europe the 124 Special T would have a Lampredi twin cam motor. With factory 4 wheel disca it would be a good rally car, different to a Lotus Cortina.
These cars wete never plebtiful and rusted badly, so few survive. This should be saved and I’d start by sourcing a Fiat twin cam motor to build a sleeper.
I thought that Scotty had it wrong writing that there were 2 door Sedans but I could have been the one who was wrong… About sleepers, I put an 1800 twin cam from a -74 Sport Coupe and the 5-speed from a 125 Special into a very nice one owner -67 1500 Berlina. One of my all time favorite cars!
After I sold my 72′ Gremlin X I bought a 2 door – 73′ Fiat Sport Coupe.
1600 cc engine,stick shift,electric fan on the radiator, 2 barrel down draft carb,4 wheel disk brakes and fuel pump in the trunk.Manuel choke and throttle.Sold it at 30 k miles and bought a 72′ Nova.
I love this one. These are the kinds of cars I love to see on BF. If this were closer, I’d be checking it out.
Scotty… I live your story about your dad stopping you from getting one. My dad did the same with me with an RX-3!
These are a curiosity for me. Never drove one but remember them from auto shows and the Fiat dealer in Lansing Michigan. Have read that their handling more than makes up for the acceleration.
Yes what to do with it? Funny in my 20’s my buddy had one, always broke something and yes his windshield popped out too. But we were young then and just buying another car was simple. I looked at this car and said ‘maybe’ but my better sense came back around.
nother in a long line of Mom’s kid-mo-biles (practice, school, game, scouts) along w/Renault dolphen, simca 1000, (no Vedub Bug as to the 2 dor), Ren 16, all till we got our own. @ that point she moved to the 850 spyder, this one in spider livery, lancia beta coupe, etc.
No problems (esp window) and this was w/both elementary & hiskol kids (tear stuff up, no?)
My buddy had one of these in the same colour back in high school. He used to pull out the manual choke when cruising on the highway, to use as a primitive cruise control.
Probably not the choke, a lot of these Fiats had a “ hand throttle “ that you could pull out. A little to just get a higher idle, or a lot to use as a cruise control. But one had to remember to push it back in if one needed to downshift going up steep grades!
This car appears to be in good, rust free, condition, however, the new owner had better not park it in a garage where there is a water faucet nearby as the moment it stops, parked within about six feet of the faucet, it will start to rust and before your next meal it won’t be driveable! Just joking but believe me, it will rust very quickly if not cared for.
A buddy of mine had one of these. You could hear it rusting in the school parking lot. I think he paid $75 for it. Rode in it a couple of times, and remember that it sounded like the engine was inside the car with us. Buzzy as hell. My Pinto seemed like a luxury car, compared to that 124.