FIAT/Abarth 124 Spider
Discussion
Confession Time: a while earlier in the year that's about to expire, I added an Abarth 124 Spider to the collection*. Having been aware for sometime that forecourt prices for new ones seemed remarkably below the manufacturer's current 'list price', and never having owned a convertible before (but never, ever been able to get to 'like' the MX5, despite a few test drives down the dealers and all those rave reviews in magazines) it seemed like the right time to strike, to stop lurking.
Not an impulsive decision, then, but my quest really began after seeing a red and black one at rest locally. It very much reminded me of how my Italian car odyssey had first begun, all those years ago. The emotional impact of sighting my first - a rosso corsa Lancia Delta HF Turbo, since you ask. Yes, those Italians do seem to have the ability to mix the most amazing reds: suppose it all goes back to the Renaissance?
Anyway - there it is: told you. It's a bargain, lots of fun and goes like a scalded mongoose - about a third off 'list' and only 800 miles on the clock. Manual box, rear-wheel drive, with a slippy diff and Bilsteins. Just like my old RS Escort and Sunbeam forest rally cars had, back in the day.
Yes, it's basically an MX5, only with longer, wider bodywork added front and back, a FIAT/Alfa engine, Bilsteins, a Sport mode, that diff. and a fun exhaust added. Oh, and a (uniquely-Italian) 'COSTA BRAVA 1974' red. So - fortunately - it doesn't look much like one, despite sharing the same brilliant folding roof (3 seconds to close) and ergonomic interior. People keep asking - "Qu'est que c'est?' (Well, they did in France).
What's more, when I first began to take notice of these cars, only this summer (being slow on the uptake) I didn't even realise at first that they are a turbo - shows how effectively some of those clever FIAT/Abarth PR marketing people must have done their job in the UK, if someone with my background hadn't even grasped this elementary fact.
So there it is. I've always enjoyed turbo cars, and the Italians have a unique skill at creating small capacity performance cars. Put both together and I've been delighted. I'm amazed they're not more popular over here, more discussed, but with only 1,000 manual versions present in the UK and the production line now ceased, guess that's a self-fulfilling outcome.
Great noise, quite fast enough for British roads without getting jailed; well-equipped, lovely to look at and fun to drive (also very red) my wife adores it; and it makes a perfectly practical long-distance tourer. (Britanny this summer). In fact, as the nearest thing I've ever come across to a brand-new classic straight-out-of-the-box, it almost makes my real ones (*105 Bertone 2000GTV and Fulvia 1.3S, since you ask) at minor risk of redundancy, but let's not go there.....
Anyway, there's still a few fairly-new 124 Abarths still on the market, although mainly they're the auto version (twice as many of those were imported as the manuals, you see) but owners say their flappy paddles recover them some responsiveness for the keen driver, and don't those F1 guys use something similar?
So there you go - just saying.
Not an impulsive decision, then, but my quest really began after seeing a red and black one at rest locally. It very much reminded me of how my Italian car odyssey had first begun, all those years ago. The emotional impact of sighting my first - a rosso corsa Lancia Delta HF Turbo, since you ask. Yes, those Italians do seem to have the ability to mix the most amazing reds: suppose it all goes back to the Renaissance?
Anyway - there it is: told you. It's a bargain, lots of fun and goes like a scalded mongoose - about a third off 'list' and only 800 miles on the clock. Manual box, rear-wheel drive, with a slippy diff and Bilsteins. Just like my old RS Escort and Sunbeam forest rally cars had, back in the day.
Yes, it's basically an MX5, only with longer, wider bodywork added front and back, a FIAT/Alfa engine, Bilsteins, a Sport mode, that diff. and a fun exhaust added. Oh, and a (uniquely-Italian) 'COSTA BRAVA 1974' red. So - fortunately - it doesn't look much like one, despite sharing the same brilliant folding roof (3 seconds to close) and ergonomic interior. People keep asking - "Qu'est que c'est?' (Well, they did in France).
What's more, when I first began to take notice of these cars, only this summer (being slow on the uptake) I didn't even realise at first that they are a turbo - shows how effectively some of those clever FIAT/Abarth PR marketing people must have done their job in the UK, if someone with my background hadn't even grasped this elementary fact.
So there it is. I've always enjoyed turbo cars, and the Italians have a unique skill at creating small capacity performance cars. Put both together and I've been delighted. I'm amazed they're not more popular over here, more discussed, but with only 1,000 manual versions present in the UK and the production line now ceased, guess that's a self-fulfilling outcome.
Great noise, quite fast enough for British roads without getting jailed; well-equipped, lovely to look at and fun to drive (also very red) my wife adores it; and it makes a perfectly practical long-distance tourer. (Britanny this summer). In fact, as the nearest thing I've ever come across to a brand-new classic straight-out-of-the-box, it almost makes my real ones (*105 Bertone 2000GTV and Fulvia 1.3S, since you ask) at minor risk of redundancy, but let's not go there.....
Anyway, there's still a few fairly-new 124 Abarths still on the market, although mainly they're the auto version (twice as many of those were imported as the manuals, you see) but owners say their flappy paddles recover them some responsiveness for the keen driver, and don't those F1 guys use something similar?
So there you go - just saying.
Thanks for these remarks and sage advice, Trevor, they're helpful to others and absolutely spot-on.
Don't forget I've owned a '73 Lancia Fulvia for 25 years, and a '71 Bertone coupe for 15, so know what works, if you want to keep a car like this a long time.
So I went out looking for a 'Brand new' manual Abarth (even if old stock) and found one with 800 miles on the clock, which inspected on a ramp before purchase. It was spotless on top and underneath, and having purchased in high Summer, it went straight home and spent a week in the garage on stands with the wheels off while I black engine-enamelled every inch and pumped waxoil diluted with new engine oil into every cavity.
This is essential as these cars are barely 'finished-off' underneath, and would probably only last 1 lease term, so I saw several low mileage, fairly new cars which, exactly as you say, looked like they'd been in the sea.
Mine has a warranty and I will not hesitate to rely on it for those well-know faults to which you rightly refer. Some are shared with MX5s (like hood rubbing) and some are peculiar to the 124. However, all new cars have latent faults to which prone, even BMWs, and this will be no exception. But thanks for your wise advice anyway, and like you I drive it to enjoy.
Don't forget I've owned a '73 Lancia Fulvia for 25 years, and a '71 Bertone coupe for 15, so know what works, if you want to keep a car like this a long time.
So I went out looking for a 'Brand new' manual Abarth (even if old stock) and found one with 800 miles on the clock, which inspected on a ramp before purchase. It was spotless on top and underneath, and having purchased in high Summer, it went straight home and spent a week in the garage on stands with the wheels off while I black engine-enamelled every inch and pumped waxoil diluted with new engine oil into every cavity.
This is essential as these cars are barely 'finished-off' underneath, and would probably only last 1 lease term, so I saw several low mileage, fairly new cars which, exactly as you say, looked like they'd been in the sea.
Mine has a warranty and I will not hesitate to rely on it for those well-know faults to which you rightly refer. Some are shared with MX5s (like hood rubbing) and some are peculiar to the 124. However, all new cars have latent faults to which prone, even BMWs, and this will be no exception. But thanks for your wise advice anyway, and like you I drive it to enjoy.
Yes, I certainly plan on 'chipping' mine, too, once the warranty period's safely over, so FIAT Abarth can't jib at any of my modifications as a pretext to avoid liability.
That'll be a few years yet, but installing 205 bhp could easily match the power output of one of the few other cars I've bought brand-new - a 2003 Subaru Impreza WRX 4WD, it was. (The Scooby also one of the few cars I've owned where - if you really threw it about - you could feel quite car-sick just as a driver, never mind as passenger, so there's another nostalgic experience to look forward to again... ..)
Anyway, back to Trevor's helpful and accurate list of potential defects on a 124 spider, and allowing for the fact I've seen plenty of feedback from modern 124 owners who've clocked up very respectable mileages without any of these known faults ever occurring, let's take them one by one:
No, the roof on mine doesn't rub, although it's common enough and they say Mazda dealers are particularly adept at fixing them if they do; while water pump trouble usually seems to be associated with the long periods of inactivity typical of unsold stock (my '73 Fulvia often has to have its own replaced, always after too long spent without starting during its annual winter storage).
But, yes, the valve on my Abarth's 'Monza Record' exhaust had indeed stuck (see above: re 'inactivity') but 5 minutes lying down behind it with some molegrips, a wire brush, and a tube of copper slip sorted that easily enough and saved everyone a trip to the main dealers; while that alarm thingy hasn't happened to me, either (or not yet, touch wood).
However, Trevor's point about the rear bushes is very important indeed, not to mention expensive; so that's something well worth looking out for, whether as an owner or potential purchaser. When I spent a week underneath mine this summer; painting, wax oiling and undersealing everything; I was certainly struck by how complicated the arrangements for holding its back end off the floor are.
They would clearly be complex and expensive to repair if damaged or worn, because everything else attaches to this central rear subframe or cross-member which, as well as being a mud/water/salt and rust-trap, could - I imagine - be a real pig to replace. (Especially if the fixing bolts had rusted into place - although mine, at least, will not). And presumably, as is common with modern bushed components, you can't replace just the bushes but it has to be the whole blooming mullarkey. Hence the escalating cost.
Anyway, thanks at least to Trevor and this thread, perhaps forewarned is forearmed.
That'll be a few years yet, but installing 205 bhp could easily match the power output of one of the few other cars I've bought brand-new - a 2003 Subaru Impreza WRX 4WD, it was. (The Scooby also one of the few cars I've owned where - if you really threw it about - you could feel quite car-sick just as a driver, never mind as passenger, so there's another nostalgic experience to look forward to again... ..)
Anyway, back to Trevor's helpful and accurate list of potential defects on a 124 spider, and allowing for the fact I've seen plenty of feedback from modern 124 owners who've clocked up very respectable mileages without any of these known faults ever occurring, let's take them one by one:
No, the roof on mine doesn't rub, although it's common enough and they say Mazda dealers are particularly adept at fixing them if they do; while water pump trouble usually seems to be associated with the long periods of inactivity typical of unsold stock (my '73 Fulvia often has to have its own replaced, always after too long spent without starting during its annual winter storage).
But, yes, the valve on my Abarth's 'Monza Record' exhaust had indeed stuck (see above: re 'inactivity') but 5 minutes lying down behind it with some molegrips, a wire brush, and a tube of copper slip sorted that easily enough and saved everyone a trip to the main dealers; while that alarm thingy hasn't happened to me, either (or not yet, touch wood).
However, Trevor's point about the rear bushes is very important indeed, not to mention expensive; so that's something well worth looking out for, whether as an owner or potential purchaser. When I spent a week underneath mine this summer; painting, wax oiling and undersealing everything; I was certainly struck by how complicated the arrangements for holding its back end off the floor are.
They would clearly be complex and expensive to repair if damaged or worn, because everything else attaches to this central rear subframe or cross-member which, as well as being a mud/water/salt and rust-trap, could - I imagine - be a real pig to replace. (Especially if the fixing bolts had rusted into place - although mine, at least, will not). And presumably, as is common with modern bushed components, you can't replace just the bushes but it has to be the whole blooming mullarkey. Hence the escalating cost.
Anyway, thanks at least to Trevor and this thread, perhaps forewarned is forearmed.
Edited by CostaBrava1974 on Sunday 15th December 14:47
Sincere thanks to Motorsport3 for kind words of approbation.
And thanks too, to Mound Dawg for his welcome words of reassurance. Yes, I told you these are reliable cars! Every FIAT I've ever had has been; from that Broom yellow 1995 turbo Coupe we had in the 90s for main family car (kids in the back) to my wife's ten year-owned Grande Punto.
While of those two red beauties seen at rest in the Principality, it seems pretty obvious to me which one you'd want to be sitting in, on those wonderful, winding Welsh lanes.
So, no, I wouldn't have chosen the bigger barge either!
And thanks too, to Mound Dawg for his welcome words of reassurance. Yes, I told you these are reliable cars! Every FIAT I've ever had has been; from that Broom yellow 1995 turbo Coupe we had in the 90s for main family car (kids in the back) to my wife's ten year-owned Grande Punto.
While of those two red beauties seen at rest in the Principality, it seems pretty obvious to me which one you'd want to be sitting in, on those wonderful, winding Welsh lanes.
So, no, I wouldn't have chosen the bigger barge either!
Edited by CostaBrava1974 on Wednesday 18th December 10:39
Yes, I've seen this online discussion before, but extracting its text provides a useful lift from the FB World Government site, whose ever-onward scrolling nature means helpful technical information like this very soon disappears without trace.
Happily, it's now captured here in a more-accessible reference source, so thanks for doing that. And at least the symptoms of it are pretty obvious for anyone to detect, so remedial action can be taken sooner rather than later. There's none to report here (yet, touch wood) though I do drive her rather hard.....
Any other 124 Spider owners with words of practical wisdom to share?
Happily, it's now captured here in a more-accessible reference source, so thanks for doing that. And at least the symptoms of it are pretty obvious for anyone to detect, so remedial action can be taken sooner rather than later. There's none to report here (yet, touch wood) though I do drive her rather hard.....
Any other 124 Spider owners with words of practical wisdom to share?
That cross-linking parts referencer you've just posted is a valuable info' source for making a rare car like the various 124s into a viable long-term keeper, now we know we can tap into the limitless sea that is the MX5 spares market.
Only leaving us with the 124's bespoke bodywork and lighting gear as a wee-bit trickier to source.
And I know you can't realistically compare the 170-brake 124 Abarth with a carbon-fibre tubbed, 250-brake 4C, but I should declare an interest here: we went to the original 2014 Alfa 4C launch (at Mangoletsi, in Cheshire) and I've since test driven both coupe and convertible versions. Personally, I liked the coupe version most, but they're all great cars, those 4Cs, once the tramlining is cured with an easy £400 mod, anyroad.
However, they're also a flappy-paddles car and, since I'm an unreconstructed '70s rallyman, unreasonably disliked that - and the extra cost, of course! - which both put me off. (Same as the new Alpine). Because even the very cheapest, higher mileage, rusty running gear, second-hand Alfa 4Cs will currently be asking c.£15k more than the very best, all-as-new 124 Abarths, hence my summer choice. We all have to cut our cloth, and of course I know we're hardly comparing like with like here, either....
Only leaving us with the 124's bespoke bodywork and lighting gear as a wee-bit trickier to source.
And I know you can't realistically compare the 170-brake 124 Abarth with a carbon-fibre tubbed, 250-brake 4C, but I should declare an interest here: we went to the original 2014 Alfa 4C launch (at Mangoletsi, in Cheshire) and I've since test driven both coupe and convertible versions. Personally, I liked the coupe version most, but they're all great cars, those 4Cs, once the tramlining is cured with an easy £400 mod, anyroad.
However, they're also a flappy-paddles car and, since I'm an unreconstructed '70s rallyman, unreasonably disliked that - and the extra cost, of course! - which both put me off. (Same as the new Alpine). Because even the very cheapest, higher mileage, rusty running gear, second-hand Alfa 4Cs will currently be asking c.£15k more than the very best, all-as-new 124 Abarths, hence my summer choice. We all have to cut our cloth, and of course I know we're hardly comparing like with like here, either....
Edited by CostaBrava1974 on Thursday 19th December 17:07
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