Restoration

Resurrecting cars with one foot in the grave is considered foolhardy by many. It relates back to that fool and his money thing, I suppose. Collectors shun this practice as it isn't profitable. Should profit be the only yardstick, there are many other marques that hold higher esteem in the vintage car world and would attract deep pocket buyers. No argument from me on that point. Especially true in the FIAT 850 line of automobiles. In my estimation top dollar for any 850 would be hard pressed at $5000. I still find great satisfaction in the process of putting them back on the road. Something only a car person could possibly understand. I digress and will add only this, driving something you have built can not be compared to many things in life.

Prepping for paint can be time consuming and tedious. Not my favorite part of the job. The photo above left is typical of the general condition this car was in. Both rocker panels, hinge support panels and "a" pillars were rusted. These replacement pieces were fabricated from the roof panel of a 124 sedan. In the intervening span of time I have located a manufacturer of these pieces and have posted it to the links section on the home page of this site. The photo above right is of rust repair to the "A" pillar and welded body seam.

The photos above are of a clean and primered shell. All panel seams and some stainless trim mounting holes welded and dressed. Corners to the engine cover and trunk lid have been welded and ground with small radius giving it more of a coach built look. Still a long way to go!

Paint application, color sanding and initial polishing seemed to have taken forever. In truth it has taken over 2 years to reach this point. The new headliner is in and most exterior trim installed. ninety percent of the exterior trim in the above photos came from new old stock. Only those who own these cars can really appreciate the implication of NOS parts as it relates to 850's.

I would be the first to admit that the outward appearance of ones FIAT is a matter of pride. However, if one would like the new sled to drive as well as it looks, then one must do to the invisible parts of the car what one has accomplished with the visible. Refurbishing drive train components, replacing worn suspension parts and upgrading these to 21st century driving conditions are all necessary evils. To this end a brief outline of what has been done to date.

All suspension bushing and steering parts have been replaced. A set of NOS red Konis installed. The braking system was completely replaced with X1/9 master cylinder and front calipers. Scorpion rear calipers with stainless flex lines and drilled rotors on all four corners. Sway bars were fabricated using 15 mm bar stock. After inspecting the transaxle internals it was decided all was well. A 4:33 to 1 final drive was installed along with new seals and gaskets. The engine, in my opinion needed a little more poop. To this end we have two options. One is to use a late GBC block with a 74 mm crankshaft, or option two, use a 1050 cc engine out of the Abarth A112. I like the idea of having a spin on oil filter and modern oiling system. I don't, however like the water pump arrangement. Whichever engine I decide to use will receive a big valve cylinder head via Scuderia Topolino and 36 DCD carburetor. Spark will be generated by a Crane XR 3000. This unit is optically triggered through a stock Marelli distributor. Not the best, but better than the breaker point system installed 36 years ago..