At first glance, this 1972 Fiat 850 Sport Spider has the right ingredients: a tiny Italian convertible, 4-speed manual, and classic red paint. But once you dig into the details from the eBay listing, this one starts looking less like a fun weekend revival and more like a serious project. Bidding does start at $300 with no reserve, though. Thanks go to Barn Finds reader Curvette for the tip!
The listing mentions that the engine runs but has low compression, which is never a good thing. Best case, you’re looking at a top-end refresh. Worst case, it’s going to need a full rebuild. On a car that doesn’t carry much market value to begin with, engine work alone can exceed what the finished car is worth.
Then there’s the rust. The seller acknowledges corrosion, and the photos suggest it’s bad. On an 850 Spider, rust in the floors, rockers, and structural areas can be catastrophic — and structural repairs on a small unibody convertible are neither cheap nor simple.
The interior does look surprisingly nice but this one will require significant metal work and mechanical attention before it’ll be safe to drive again. Even if you do the labor yourself, you’re likely to end up upside down financially.
That doesn’t mean it’s worthless. As a parts car, a learning project, or a hobbyist’s long-term build, it could make sense at the right price. But as a practical restoration candidate, the numbers probably don’t add up. It’s better that someone does something with it rather than it going to the crusher though.
Would you tackle this rusty Fiat project — or push it back into the barn?
Beautiful pattern car and it’s so complete and unmolested. Wow, somebody might be tempted to take their time, take lots of pictures and bag and tag everything and have a great start before killing the tin worms. A lot of what’s usually wrong with lots of projects don’t apply to this one.
The $300 opening bid in a no reserve auction tells us all we need to know about this car’s restoration potential.
Or just that the seller is being realistic. Sounds like they got taken when they bought it but at least they are being honest and not trying to hide the issues.
These are some of the best looking cars on the planet. They have always been prone to rust along with every other Italian car of the era. Pretty heavy on this one. Not to sure on how to call this one.
In the era, there was a factory recall and a repair kit for the upper inner A arm support bolts that were attached to sheet metal that rusted so severely that the upper A arm was essentially a “Flying “A” disaster. Of course, it can be repaired, yet a bit of work! Once that area is addressed, and if in need, then the remaining frame/ body pan structure has most likely already seen its day. So, as nice a shell as it is, a parts car. OR Maybe it HAD that repair that was common practice. A deeper dive into inspection is in order. These are great and FUN cars. I own OTAS #75 that was based upon this frame and running gear. I opted for a Coil-over front suspension that is available from Abarth suppliers in Europe.
Almost bought an OTAS race car. Checked it out at an autocross. Kept hearing funny noise when shutting the driver’s door. Turned to be a pile of rust as the door’s inner structure was dissolving. Really wanted that car.
Located in: Conshohocken, Pennsylvania,
I own 3 of these 67 covered headlamps, 70 and 73. They are great fun to drive and get endless thumbs up and smiles wherever you go. That particular car needs floors and X member and rocker panels for starters, and truthfully could be a really nice project for someone. Lots of good parts on it and suspect the people following are thinking that thought
Beyond restoration and parts only. I have a 1973 which has been restored long before the rust worm found its way into the car. The all-important X member under the car is rusted through. More than likely the mount for the front transversal spring is also rusted out and the only thing holding the front end in place is the upper A frame mounting and the shock absorber. Doesn’t show the battery box but guaranteed the bottom of that is gone as well. Years ago I had another 850 Spider and the front end basically fell out of it (rust worm got it). Definitely good for parts though. The pans required for proper engine cooling are missing as well.
This car has a lot of potential but the rust, especially on the underside is not for the faint of heart. I think it will go for a reasonable price. I would buy it myself if I didn’t have 3 classic MOPAR’s all in sheet metal hell at this time. I hope someone will bring this car back to its former glory. This would be a fun little car.
Fiat, I would run away from this one. Our family had several different models of Fiats, when they ran they were cool, however trying to fix one, especially with all these issues is money pit territory.
FIAT had a recall on 850’s and 124’s for rust perforation. If it had perforation on certain areas FIAT bought them back. I worked on these back on the 70’s and they bought back many of them. This one would have met the buy back/scrap purchase. I would stay away from this one.
Hard to comprehend the issues with rust on these Italian cars, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, etc….the fact that Fiat/Alfa perhaps went to the low cost provider for steel in the bodies, resulting in this debacle in ensuing years. The company struggled financially for years, resulting in some of these issues with quality and build.. Sad for such beautiful architecture in many of these models…
It was a dark and stormy night, really, when I looked at one of these cars for sale on a lawn.
The floor seemed solid: The standing water inside was level with the sills.
The motor was easy to view because the belts and hoses and other small bits were absent.
As I considered this, the owner observed “This car will be really valuable to whoever fixes it up.”.
And I thought “It will be valuable to that guy. It really will”.
“But that guy won’t be me.”.
My dad was a Fiat mechanic in the 1960’s-1070’s. These weren’t very good cars to start with even when new. Beautiful design, but smaller than you might think. I was only around a couple of these, but even back when, they had lots of Italian speaking gremlins. Dad much favored the 124 series coupes, sedans and convertibles.
Ah, the FIAT 850. The bane of many a young college man. “It’s a cheap sports car!” Luckily, the campus bus route was nearby.