*Update 5-15-2022: An image of the engine has been included, my error for initially missing it. JO
To me, all things Fiat usually means a tiny car of questionable reliability so you can imagine my surprise when I stumbled across this 1935 Fiat Ardita 2500. Who knew of such a vehicle? I’m certain some of you did but it was a news flash for me. That being the case, I’m probably not the best one to attempt coverage but never one to shrink from a challenge, I say, “Damn the torpedos, full speed ahead”! This unusual sedan is located in Prescott, Arizona, and is available, here on craigslist for $3,500. Thanks to T.J. for this most interesting discovery!
Offered between 1934 and 1936, the Ardita 2500 was offered in two different four-door body styles on a chassis of 124″. This four-door saloon lacks a B-pillar, is equipped with reverse-opening rear doors, and has room for seven passengers. It is a longer wheelbase version of the Ardita and Ardita 2000 and is actually a rare bird as only about 1,000 were assembled.
The story on this car is a bit peculiar as it is said to have been parked in Pennsylvania back in the ’70s or ’80s and then moved to Oregon where is sat some more (that’s a long way to travel just to do some more sittin’). The current seller acquired it recently, ostensibly as a resale. The seller states, “It needs everything, top to bottom. In and out. I do not think it has been washed in decades and decades. And I am going to leave it that way. It is mostly complete. I know it is missing front bumper, driveshaft, running boards and I imagine other stuff“. OK, well at least the listing is not an oversell. I will admit to some alarm in learning of the missing components along with the statement, “The rust looks manageable” thrown in for good measure. Essentially the entire car is rust, at least from a surface perspective, and it is claimed that the “frame should clean up“. There is one cool feature observed, however, and that’s the C-pillar semaphore turn signal or at least the slot where it once resided.
There are several images of the engine and it appears to be a long, untouched 52 HP, 2.5-liter, in-line six-cylinder engine working through a four-speed manual transmission and driving the rear wheels. It is stated as being “stuck” and the seller says that he doesn’t want to force it. That might be a challenge!
The interior’s condition, at first glimpse, belies that of the exterior and actually looks to be in reasonable condition, at least as far as the upholstery goes. That assessment turns south once you reach the instrument panel and notice that almost everything is missing. More images of the interior bring about the reality that the entire environment is not as “reasonable” as first thought and is going to need a complete redo.
Finally, the seller adds that he has, “… A 1976 Pennsylvania title. Which has the VIN number as 62700580. The VIN tag shows it to be 52700580. Though the 5 could easily be mistaken for a 6…Should be an easy fix at your DMV” Yeah? Don’t bet on it. These matters vary from state to state along with the competency exhibited by the individual DMV representative. I once had a Toyota Camry that was registered in Florida and when I went to sell it found out that somehow, some chowderhead at DMV transferred the title to an unknown in Iowa. Florida did zero to remedy the problem, one that they caused, but the Iowa DMV lady went above and beyond the call to resolve the problem. I actually wrote the Governor of Iowa a letter and recommended that he give that DMV representative a letter of commendation, and a raise. Anyway, this one is pretty shaky guys and gals. It’s a rarity, no doubt, but then there are probably some pretty good and obvious reasons why this Fiat has been sitting as it does, for as long as it has, wouldn’t you agree?
Like the author, I certainly would never think this is a Fiat. I’ve always noticed, old European cars weren’t much different than ours. It stands to reason, Fiat would have their rendition of a “full classic”, just scaled down some. It’s an unusual find for this here country, has a snowballs chance in Hades of being restored to original, unless you know a guy named “Tony” in da’ biz,(old Italian car biz, what did you think?), and has “resto-mod” all over it, but not too many “Big” Fiats in that group. Cool find.
Wow, with all the doors open, this has to be the most accessible vehicle ever.
How do you sit in the rear seat with the jump seats open?
Don’t be fooled by the perspective of the photo. The jump seats leave a leg’s depth behind them, though they must be tilted up to enable ingress/egress to the rear ones.
junk
That silly term “resto-mod”, seemingly recent in the auto hobby, has taken on a life of its own and is an impossibility in terms. If something has been modified, it can’t be thought of as “restored”.
There’s a huge FIAT club in homeland Italy that is bound to be helpful..
Wow. I thought only Lancia made a pillar-less 4-door sedan.
Good luck with the sale.
I don´t buy into the “Fiats are trouble” story. The company has made some great cars, but not all of them are right for US motoring conditions and expectations.
There was a nice Castagna version of this, also 4 door with suicide rear doors, but a bit less upright.
However, this one is best left as it is, maybe even left well alone.
I agree, millions of Europeans can’t be wrong.
Seller says it needs everything, you think?
Agree with Martin H, adding only that getting the engine built and running along with the rest of the drive train including brakes would make for a hellava time machine to trundle around in. Oh of course check the wood which is probably present for this year and the condition of same. Huge factor!
To quote Dale Gribble,Fix It Again Tony.
Fiats were indeed not always tiny tinnies. That came in response to two horrible and devastating wars. Before WW1, Fiats were often grand and large. Did you know, they even had a US factory then? Near me, in Poughkeepsie, NY (remember, in1910, New York State held more than 10% of the whole US population, and WAY more of its total money). The cars built there were large and luxurious (“The Master Car”) and very expensive – the cheapest one was over $4,000 (more than $100K in current $), and competed with Pierce-Arrow, Packard, and Peerless. We recently had a 1913 American Fiat on display at the Saratoga Auto Museum, as part of a display of LUXURY cars through the years! Here’s a pretty good summary article on the American-built Fiats, with some pix: https://www.hagerty.com/media/automotive-history/when-fiat-built-cars-in-america/
This article describes the particular Fiat I mentioned above:
https://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/03/at-rhinebeck-car-show-a-vintage-fiat-thats-no-expatriat/
Too bad we don’t get to see the engine!
Geoff C, really? I count 4 engine photos.
My mistake Geoff, there is an image now included. Thx!
JO
I agree with Lou that contacting the FIAT Club in Italy might be the wisest thing to do at this point, either for the seller or prospective buyers. One wants to know about parts availability, shops that are competent in restoring these cars, and how much one in nice shape is worth. Then deciding about restoration, or possibly selling the car in Italy, becomes a simpler and more straight-forward matter. This model is certainly MUCH bigger than a Topolino from the same era!
This is probably the worst time in modern history to try to sell a car back to Europe. While there will be plenty of people in Italy who would like this car, the shipping costs from the west coast of America to Italy will be in excess of $10,000 to $15,000, as it must be shipped in a 20′ shipping container.
Shipping costs have gone from about $2,000 2 years ago, to the higher figures I just quoted. If the seller can wait a couple of years for the shipping costs to return to ‘normal’, he will have a far greater chance to sell the car.
I don’t think that engine is originally from an Ardita. My info was they were all 4 cylinder cars. I suspect this engine is from a later Fiat. You can see a photo of an Ardita here: https://fiat-ardita.de/it/fiat-518-l-ardita-oldtimer-dell-anno-1934-e-in-vendita-investimento/
Right you are. And note that the road wheel (sidemounts excepted) are wires, when Arditas were always artillery style. Those wires look very much like American types (contemporary Buick or some such)
The Ardita 2000s were four-cylinder. The 2500, considerably rarer, is powered by a six.
JO
JO,
Thanks for the correction, the knowledge base of Barn Finds is incredibly vast!
This model was also known as a 527, not a 518
The term “suicide doors” related to pushing a car to start it, and the car leaping forward.
I always heard it was because of the high chance of accidental opening while going forward, especially in a corner, and lacking seatbelts; the associated risk of falling right out. Front hinged doors may come unlatched, but will not be pulled fully open by the wind.
John, you are correct. I had one of my Austin Princess limousines these had a Vanden Plas wood and aluminum body. They had rear hinged rear doors. One of the doors opened at high speed when the car went over a bad bump in a construction zone on I-495, the DC beltway. The door swung open and was ripped off the body, fortunately it was the right rear and I was in the right lane, so the door simply slid down the shoulder. I backed up and stuffed the remains into the limo, and it became a parts car for the other Princess limousines I owned.
Bill, I’m very glad you had no unbelted passenger there at the time!
FWIW, when I built my 32 Buick speedster, I fitted it with suicide doors, to enable getting my big feet in; but also with secondary deadbolt latches. I never drive it without those engaged!
John,
In the mid 1980s I started a vintage limo service, and 5 of my 9 vehicles were Vanden Plas Princess limousines and Rolls-Royce limousines, all 5 had suicide rear doors. All were equipped with the French built Hydramatic transmission. So I installed an electrical solenoid operated dead bolt in each center post, and using some limit switches and a switch on the Hydramatic shift lever, I designed the system to actuate the solenoid to lock the rear doors whenever the transmission was in drive position, and unlock when in neutral.
I’m glad I went to the effort, because over the many rentals we did, I was amazed at the number of people who, when riding in the jump seats, would turn sideways and lean against the door as they talked to friends in the back seat!
The 3 Princess limousines had 2 red “Open Door” lights on the dashboard. The lights would glow brightly if the corresponding left or right door was not 100% closed. I found it interesting that the much more expensive Rolls-Royce Hooper and James Young limousines did not have such safety lights.