Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[warninglight]

Hi all!

I'm trying to gather some trivia and facts on Fiat in the 60s/70s, with emphasis on the 850 models and 850 sport, obviously anything Fiat based into this thread would be a useful archive to have too!

The sort of thing I'm looking for would be designers of each body style and so on, aside from Wikipedia, there seems to be very little online information, and we all know how reliable that can be!

Oh, and as thanks, have a picture of the specific car!


DSC_0015 by shuttershpeed, on Flickr
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Stephen
1964 Austin 1100
1978 Land Rover 109 Safari

[Churchill Johnson]

Looks good, i used to have the van version not i might add with the sport engine but it was good from my view at the time.

[poodge]

AFAIK,the 850 coupe and spider were both Bertone designs,the spider actually built by them.
I think the sedan was styled in-house at Fiat,but don't take that as gospel.I believe Fiat actually bought Bertone in 2009.Sad.

[bob2]

I really like the 850 spider and the sport, Italian designs are always nice.
My cousin is restoring a fiat 124, whcih his father had bought new in 1969.
Wish it was the sport or spider though but its just the normal saloon model later sold to lada.

[StoneRoad]

I remember these, very fond memories of a neat and very nippy little car.

My father had one a year (as a result of travelling an average of 50,000 miles a year as an outside contracts inspector for a specialist engineering firm) going onto the 'special' as soon as they were available in the UK.

{the replacement 127 and 127S were not as nice!}

His previous car was a 600, so a natural progression, you might say.

At the time FIAT were not all that common, and it was quite a regular event to recieve a salute from another FIAT in passing each other.

A couple of random memories.
Although the 850 was quite economical to run, father driving 1000 miles in a week was not a rare event, so you can imagine the vast quantity of coop, greenshield, and even a few pink stamps that had to be stuck into the appropriate books. At one period, I was convalescent for several weeks after a nasty bout of pnemonia, so doing that little chore kept me quite for a while (until I had finished - the taste of some was 'orrible - and could get my glass of fruit squash as a reward). Not to mention the coupons to be redeemed for glasses, soup bowls etc. (anyone else still got any....)

Something not so pleasant, but an interesting comment on the build quality.
Father was driving across the pennines, and as he descended into one valley the appalling weather turned worse, and into a blizzard. He was Ok until he had to avoid an oncoming car that was not in full control. He then rolled over, and landed back on the wheels. (as described by the lorry following him!) he got out of the car, spoke to the lorry driver - but the other car had disappeared......
When he got home, I looked at the car - scraped down the passenger side and the roof was rippled a bit, no broken glass and untouched front/rear and driver's side! - the insurance co didn't cough before doing their job, as Dad had a witness, and it was back on the road very quickly. The repaint of the roof was not quite right, they needed another go at that.
That incident made Father very careful to put his seatbelt on, it was not compulsory at the time.

sorry for the length of the post.
StoneRoad
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Saluton. mi estas fervojistino, kaj vi?
visit http://www.ipernity.com/doc/312383/album
to see what has been done! Perhaps we can do something for you?

[warninglight]

Perfect, thanks for that, I love hearing anecdotes and old stories, especially when I'm writing a feature on an older car, as a 20 year old I can hardly comment on Fiat's scarcity on UK roads in the 60s and 70s first hand
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Stephen
1964 Austin 1100
1978 Land Rover 109 Safari

[JC T ONE]

Scalextric Spain, made a version of this little nice car = TC 850
It is very rare, and gets high bidding on Fleabay (if one turns up?)
Green - Blue - Red - White, were the four colours.

And here is one

http://cgi.ebay.ie/scalextric-TC-850-fiat-abarth-coupe-boxed-EXIN-superb-/220717332336

the Blue is more expensive

Jens Christian
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http://www.eurods.eu/wp/index.html

[StoneRoad]

One other thing I remember from that era.....

FIAT drivers would acknowledge each other as they passed on the road....something to do with the relative rarity, I think.

Also, standing chatting about fuel economy and performance at motorway services was not unknown.....
_________________
Saluton. mi estas fervojistino, kaj vi?
visit http://www.ipernity.com/doc/312383/album
to see what has been done! Perhaps we can do something for you?

[Mog]

I had a blue Fiat 600 in the 1960's. I remember having the head off, the water ways in the block were full of thick rust. Big flakes, never seen so much rust in an engine. Spare parts were hard to get, had to go to Wocester about 30 miles. I regret I do not have a photo of it.
My old man worked for the Co-op all his life.

[Mog]

I had to buy a set of metric open end and ring spanners to work on it, most of them I have still got and use daily. I had to replace a number of broken head bolts, the dealer in Worcester was unable to supply.... I think I had to wait a couple of weeks, my daily was off the road, so I had to use the moped !
I found one of the missing ring spanners, about 2 years ago. I had loaned it to my mate in Coober Pedy about 1972. I noticed it in his tool box, in north western Queensland, 2,000 km. from Sydney , where I live. I had replaced it long ago, so it is still in his tool box. I hope to go up there again in Sept. so I will check it out again.

[poodge]

Although my family never owned any Fiats,there were plenty about in Holland,where I grew up in the 60's.
In particular the 600 and later the 850 were very popular.
Oddly,the later 600 models had a capacity of 767cc,but still named 600.
A neighbour had an early 600 Multipla,which was necessary ,as he had 4 kids.It had 3 rows of seats,the 2 rear ones cold be folded up,or quickly removed altogether.
The only thing that worried me was that you were the first thing to get hit in any frontal accident.
The 850 in it's various incarnations also sold very well in Holland.Yours,as you may know is a 2nd series coupe,which had an uprated 850 engine.The same engine was later fitted to the 850 sedan,which then became the 850 special.Presumably,Fiat noted the popularity of the tuned Abarth Fiats,and reasoned they could do it themselves.Of course,Fiat bought Abarth later on.
When production ceased in Italy,Seat in Spain continued building the 600 for several years,even making a 4-door version of both 600 and 850 models.
I believe they also were made in Argentina.
The small Fiats,especially the bread and butter sedans,are now quite rare because ,like most cheap cars of the day,they were ferocious rusters.

[Mog]

When I was cleaning out the back seat of the Fiat 600. I did find some empty Durex packets that the previous owner had left behind. He must have had some fond memories of that car !

[maurrosa1]

It's a second series 850 coupé: rear lights are the same of the Fiat Dino, a Ferrari car built by Fiat in those days! First series 850 coupé had single rear lights, very similar to those of Simca 1000.

I'm trying to gather some trivia and facts on Fiat in the 60s/70s, with emphasis on the 850 models and 850 sport, obviously anything Fiat based into this thread would be a useful archive to have too!

The sort of thing I'm looking for would be designers of each body style and so on, aside from Wikipedia, there seems to be very little online information, and we all know how reliable that can be!

Oh, and as thanks, have a picture of the specific car!


DSC_0015 by shuttershpeed, on Flickr[/quote]

[62rebel]

odd.... i found that a box of Trojans would fit neatly into the map pocket of my Datsun 510 (Bluebird?) estate, back in the good old days....

i do have some fond memories of that car, indeed.

i have a factory service manual for the 850 series cars, if anyone need some info. it weighs a ton and is the size of a city phone book!
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nothing is ever so far gone as to be unsalvageable. see this bolt?.....

[MVPeters]

& I have an Autobooks manual for the Fiat/Seat 850, 850S, Coupe, Special & Spyder 1964-74 if anybody can use it.

I am in the USA so postage to the UK will be steep, but a well-crumpled $20 bill should cover it.
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Mike - MVPeters at comcast.net
2002 MINI Cooper 'S'