1972 FIAT 850

For sale is my 1972 Fiat 850 Spider. I love this thing to bits, but unfortunately the impending purchase of my first home (a property of a very similar age to this 850 - but with worse wiring) means that the time has come to reluctantly sell

For those unfamiliar with the 850 Spider, it was the baby of Fiat’s three-strong sports car range of the late 1960s and early 1970s, sitting below the 124 and Dino Spiders. Its Bertone shape set it apart from the Fiat-designed 850 Berlina and Pininfarina-styled 850 Coupe, but underneath they all use the same water-cooled 903cc four-cylinder petrol engine mounted at the back. That 903cc is 60cc up on pre-facelift Spiders; these had the fared-in lights at the front, which were ditched in a facelift because, while they were pretty, they were also pretty useless.

As for this car, it was imported from Italy roughly 10 years ago, at which point it sat in a collector’s car cave for a few years until I bought it in 2020. It has covered a little over 89,000 kilometers - that’s roughly 55,000 miles. I’ve used it sparingly in that time, and saved the drives for sunny days, keeping it in a garage when not in use.

Good bits:

- Let’s kick off by just gawping at the thing. In a time when Italian designers were consistently knocking it out of the park, the 850 Spider has to go down as one of the prettiest cars of its era (and by extension, any era)

- Amazing rarity in the UK. Howmanyleft states that 17 are currently taxed (free historic tax, by the way) and a further 13 are on SORN. I’ve only ever seen one other on the road since I’ve owned mine

- One of the first things I had done to the car was have the underside coated in stone chip paint. As such, it’s impressively solid for a 1970s classic

- During my ownership, an Abarth-style 4-2-1 exhaust system with twin tips, made by PBS Sport in Germany, has been fitted. I can’t confirm whether it has liberated any more power from a car that offered up just 51bhp when new, or if the feeling that it now goes faster is just down to the placebo effect. What can’t be debated is that It sounds absolutely brilliant; loud, crisp and properly rorty.

- It drives really sweetly. The ride is surprisingly smooth, which is helped in no small part to setting the recently fitted adjustable Avo rear dampers to their softest level - something I decided to do as it hasn’t caused any harm to body control. It does squat down nicely on the rear axle if you give it some beans out of a tight corner, so it’s fair to say that traction levels certainly have torque levels more than covered. I suspect fitting the adjustable Spax front shocks, which I’ll include in the sale, would add a little more precision from the front.

- Saying that, this is a car which is all about carrying momentum, made possible by its light weight - roughly 725kg - and tiny dimensions - about the same length as a Citroen Saxo and very nearly Kei car narrow. The latter is worth bearing in mind if you live in a city like London, given that it’s also ULEZ exempt, it’d make for a very eye-catching town car

- The gearshift is brilliant. The gearing of the four-speed ‘box is very close - even the longest fourth ratio is revving at 4,500rpm-ish at around 60mph - but that’s just all the more reason to play with one of the shortest, most positive and mechanical shifts I’ve ever experienced

- The interior is in decent condition for the age. The cabin has been lifted by a gorgeous, genuine Abarth steering wheel. I’d be happy to include the original wheel in the sale too, though it’s one of the more ugly plastic types fitted to late 850s, rather than one of the handsome wood-rimmed items of earlier cars

There has been a figurative heap of work carried out while I’ve owned the car - including:

2022: Refurbed water pump - Repaired and resealed thermostat housing - New gearbox mount - Stripped and cleaned front/rear brakes and new brake fluid - Drained and flushed fuel tank - Greased king pins - New indicator stalk and steering column bearings

2023: New clutch - A full set of Blockley tyres - New stub axles - New inner CV boots

2024: PBS Sport exhaust system - New old stock fuel pump - New tail light seals and O/S tail light lens (fun fact: the 850 Spider shares its tail lights with the Lamborghini Miura) - Avo adjustable rear dampers

2025: Refurbed Alternator and new belt - Overhauled ignition system, including new leads, spark plugs, points, distributor cap, condenser, ignition coil etc

…And that’s just the stuff I can remember.

Also included in the sale:

Original mats of an achingly 1970s orange and black stripey type. They’re not mint, but in decent condition considering their age - I removed the bumper overriders and rear bumper bar (I think it looks cleaner and prettier that way), but these are still available for those who would rather revert to original spec - Brand new and unused tailored outdoor car cover - Those aforementioned adjustable front dampers - A new can of oil, plus sump plug

Less good bits:

- Once everything has been running up to temperature - after 30 minutes or so - the engine seems to suffer some running issues, including an urge to stall at low revs. I suspect the carb is at fault

- The indicator in the passenger side tail light works when it feels like it (which isn’t very often) and the brake light on that side is also dim. I suspect a dodgy earth that I haven't found yet

- A brake imbalance at the rear causes the car to pull to the left under moderate/hard braking

- General body work: at some point in the car’s life, it has been resprayed from the car’s original yellow to its current red. The quality is okay from a few paces, but blemishes can be found on closer inspection

- While I can provide plenty of detailed paperwork during my ownership, there’s little history prior to that

In short, I feel like a couple of small mechanical tweaks could make this a really usable everyday classic.

Most of all, if you’re looking for a car that makes you and other people smile, then look no further. I’ve never driven another car which attracts such overwhelmingly positive attention.

If you’re interested, or have any specific image requests of the car which aren’t included in the gallery, then I’d love to hear from you.