Designed by Bertone: 1968 Fiat 850 Spider
The Fiat 850 Spider was a budget-minded sports car built in Italy between 1965 and 1973. It was a variant of the 850 Coupe and had its flowing lines developed by Carrozzeria Bertone of Turin. A large number of them were exported to the U.S., including this nice example from 1968. The seller describes it as being in fair condition, though the photos suggest better, and it will need a bit of tinkering. Located in Los Angeles, California, this blue roadster is available here on craigslist for $5,900. Another great tip from BF Rocco B.!
Priced below that of the MG Midget and Triumph Spitfire, the 850 Spider saw a production of more than 100,000 copies during its lifetime. Unfortunately, for being priced so low, most were ridden hard and then discarded, so the surviving population today has dwindled dramatically. U.S. editions (at first) got a 50 cubic inch inline-4 that was mounted longitudinally in the back, capable of about 52 hp. This enabled the design of the car to focus on available space for passengers and their stuff.
We’re told that this Bertone is a survivor in its original condition. Which include the paint and engine which has accumulated 80,000 miles. It does present well in the photos, suggesting you will not need to spend time working on the body. But it does have a few things that will require attention. Like the brakes that need bleeding and replacing the window in the original soft top. Californians will appreciate that it needs no smog check, and the registration is current into 2024. It looks like a complete sports car that just needs a new home and some TLC.
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Comments
Probably one of the best looking sports cars ever made. I’ve driven one and was surprised how quick it was with the small engine. Handling on a stock car was average but the race versions were closer to go-karts in the handling department. Very nice car here.
a fav of mine. One of the “post – momie bus” (renault dauphine, 10, 16, simca 1000, fiat 128) dad ‘treated’ my mother to after we got our own. She did 124/spyders, these, beta coup, etc.
I remember her late winter / early spring jaunt out ona plant hunt (transplant to our place). Went local mt. top scoot. Lill car was so light it got ‘hi centered’ on that dirt rd. Underbody hi on the center ridge, wheels so light unable to break thru the ice to traction below, we wondered Y she wuz so ate to tee that afternoon. She hada hike all the way home. By the time dad’n I got up there w/a rope it was gettin dark. We hooked up the bumper and started dragin. Our 4 legs, 350 lbs were enuff, as we ran back to look for ‘under damage’, drag again “Nuttin, keep adragin.” No damage seen on lift, blessings on rear wheel motors. A robins egg blue like this one, a red and green followed as that built purchaser’s confidence…
Fun to just reach ur hand over head if rain felt, and jerk it up/over. When I drove, a teen buddy could sit/lie back there & 450 lb of dead weight/live meat were easily hauled by the less than 1K cc.
We got the miata, wish there were more like this today (Karman Ghia, Thing,
X 1 / 9, 850, S600/800, etc).
It would be better if you wrote in English, rather than ghetto.Klingon !!
I like the way chrlsful writes. Very unique, just as I’m sure the person behind the keyboard is.
At least he doesn’t endlessly shout, “LS swap!!!”…
Hmmm… if you understood him enough to complain about it, you must be Klingon … and using ‘ghetto’ as a slur means that …
YOU HAVE NO HONOR!
#:)
With these cars, Fiat had finally perfected rust as these cars would rust upon exposure to sunlight, clean air, smoggy air, even human breath would start the process, as would exposure to and application of paint and even oil! And that is why they are so rare today. Fiats of this era were the only cars where the Feds had a recall of the entire cars because of rust. This was about 1982 or so. I worked for a Fiat aka Bertone aka Pinninfarina dealer at the time.
A fellow in my high school in 1978 had his Fiat X/19 stripped to bare metal and had a show car multiple coat lacquer paint job applied. It cost $1,200 in 1978 dollars!!! Within 6 months the rust was already showing through again.
I had a 1980 X1/9 and i did rust proofing underneath the car myself. After doing several journeys throughout Europe summer & winter (snow & salt) the only thing that created a minor problem was 1 (driver side) of the 2 little holes provided by the factory at the floor (in the case you leave the car without roof and much rain happens). The rust was affecting an area 2X2 inches & i fixed it with anti-rust compound and a several layers of (kitchen) aluminum foil with bond. The blue color outside never rusted (400 thousand km) but i had to make 3 shades of blue for small chips. The whiter shade i applied to the top, the darker (close to the original at the bottom below the doors)
It would be better if you wrote in English, rather than ghetto.Klingon !!
It would be better (and less confusing) if you didn’t hit the “post comment” key twice
Enough with the “ghetto” comments. Try coming up with some new material.
That’s the funniest comment I’ve ever read on this site.
This is a beautiful car. I’m no Fiat expert but have always liked them. I was looking at the engine specs… Now just stop and think about it for a moment…. 50 cubic inches and 52 horsepower. Thats just over 1 hp per cubic inch…. Thats very impressive. Not too many cars could claim that, even in the mid to late 60s. It may not sound like much, but to get that kind of horsepower out of that size engine took some real thought and engineering. I’d love to have the opportunity to take one for a test drive one day. It looks like a blast.
That little motor has a, shocking for the time, redline of seven thousand RPM. And you’ll use most/all of it with regularity as that is the only way to drive one of these. I owned my first one in HS in the 70s. Currently three sit in the garage. I have had more beautiful women approach me while out driving one of these than any other car I’ve ever owned.
If it were within a days drive I would be really tempted, ad is gone now. Pretty car, stock looking but not so perfect you would be scared to drive it. That is very much how I like my old cars.
Post has been deleted- oh well!
Has there ever been a Fiat that didn’t need just a couple of things
Fiat. Fix it again Tony. Had one of these. Most disposable car I ever owned.
Had loads of Fiats and very little trouble.
And there it is….the boring typical acronym. Owned a 1982 Fiat 2000 for 32 years….never ever ever needed Tony. If you can’t work on one of these cars, you can’t do basic home repairs.
I prefer FIAT: “Fling It Around Turns”
My brother had a 71 back in the day. We would remove the rear metal boot cover so we could sit 2 more people back there on the little luggage area. It was fun as your head was higher than the windshield. It ran like a top but stalled at every stop sign, so he learned to clutch start it on cue as long as he was still moving a little. We went to the dealer to look at the new Fiats one evening. Just as we were leaving the clutch cable broke. Instead of trying to get home with no clutch he traded it in on a new Fiat 128. Fun little car too.
The Fiat Bertone X 1/9 has no clutch cable. It’s all hydraulic, one spring to the pedal, one in the gearbox end. Needs bleeding every 5 years max. Later in life i was bringing the car to the maintenance-repair shop, and once i ordered fluid change in the clutch but the guy responsible forgot to do it among the maintenance list. In Sunday i took the car for a ride by the sea, i was about 25 kms from home when i felt that the clutch increasingly was unable to change gears. Wisely i abandoned my Sunday ride plans and i turned back. Indeed the situation worsened, i was left with 5th in the motorway but the worst was in the traffic lights, the engine will shut down because neutral could not be engaged. Somehow i could engage 1st gear, turn the starter on (as if it was electric!) until the next traffic light and so on. Eventually i managed to reach the maintenance shop & park it for repair on Monday. Miraculously for so many gear changes without clutch the gearbox was not destroyed, just the clutch fluids were replaced.
I had a 71 lime green. That little car revved to the moon. What a fun experience. No it didn’t rust away, I wrecked it when someone didn’t notice my little a fiat barreling down the road at a blistering 35 mph. Totaled it out. I immediately went and ordered me a new X1/9 Fiat which I still own and enjoy. To all of those how make the statements like most unreliable cars that they have never owned. You only get out what you put into a car. Best bang for the buck I’ve ever owned.
In Europe it was sold in Ferrari dealerships as the baby Ferrari (with Fiat price)!
I bought a ‘71 when it was about a year old. Here’s the thing about the car: It requires a lot of maintenance. If you follow the schedule, it will break a lot less. But most people didn’t perform the frequent maintenance…and then whined about “fix it again Tony.”
Just one example: The 850’s engine didn’t gave an oil filter. But it did have a centrifugal oil cleaner. It had to be cleaned out when you changed the oil. How many people did that?
A couple more comments: The 850 Spider is really small. It makes a Miata look large. Well, at least bigger. But the space behind the seats will absolutely spoil you. Most sports cars have none. The trunk space is ridiculous too. I don’t know what the cubes are, but there’s a ton of room.
It’s slow. There’s really only so much you can do with 50-55 horsepower. Zero-to-60 is 20 seconds. On the other hand, the 850 Spider will claw its way to 7000 rpm in fourth gear, which puts the speedometer needle pointing at 70 mph.
One thing you should understand about the 850 Spider is that for the working stiff of 1970, the car was aspirational.
Speaking of 7000 rpm, that’s a pushrod engine. And instead of intake ports on the side of the head, the little two-stage Weber carburetor sets over a contoured plenum. Remove the carb and look inside. You can see the valve stems.
The exhaust on ghe 850 Spider was all one piece. Four little pipes bend down and meet at one collector. That bends into a tin can. There’s another pipe leading out of the tin can. There are no baffles or anything else. But when the tin can on mine rusted away, I pulled off the remaining bit of Itslian steel and ran a straight pipe for several years. It wasn’t that loud putzing around town, but revved to 5000-6000-7000 rpm? What a ride.
Just about everything was faster than a Fiat 850 Spider. So what? Who’s racing?
I always loved the look of them, but never got to even sit in one much less drive it. I did get to sit in an X1/9 though and was dismayed to find out my feet were too wide for the pedals – impossible to push just one pedal, at least with my 3E wide shoes on.
I was born too late for these ….how I wish they had been abundant when I was a high schooler looking for a car to fix up and drive …..I really don’t remember seeing any in my town while running around as a young adult. I always say I shoulda been born about 15 years earlier …lol