1969 Fiat 850 Fastback Coupe

The Fiat 850 was squarely aimed at a youthful market.  The sales brochure for the maker in '69 included a page featuring the coupe parked on the beach with a young surfer couple resting on the sand nearby.  The following year, the entire brochure is replete with Partridge Family style models, guitars and all, to demonstrate that Fiat was no stodgy brand, man.  If you want to be hip, the Fiat 850 was the way to go.  

For consignment, a fully restored 1969 Fiat 850 that the consignor found quite by chance in a Penny Saver magazine.  For the benefit of today's youth, that was our Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist back in the day.  After restoration, it was featured by another prominent magazine publisher, Hemmings, where the incredible story of its restoration and features are outlined. 

Exterior
While it was available in several colors, Fiat routinely used a green 850 in ads and dealer documentation.  The car here is bathed in English Green, a stunning choice that offsets the chrome pieces, marker lights, and taillights beautifully.  All of the chrome and metal exterior pieces are in excellent condition and it's immediately obvious this is going to make an incredible show car for someone. The sporty tail lights consist of two equally sized round lenses, a pattern Americans have come to love in their Corvette.  The profile of the car is decidedly European and compact, and fits the post-traditional desires of the era's youth.  13-inch steelies with hubcaps carry the little load.  We were hard pressed to find any flaws on the exterior and did not document any.  

Interior
The consignor states the interior is original and wow does it look good!  Nicely fitted saddle colored door panels have crisp lines and the panels including a lower map pocket.  The tall bucket seats are immaculate and have tuck and roll style inserts.  The back bench repeats the pattern and was the feature used by Fiat to tell buyers to “bring your friends!”.  The two spoke steering wheel is sporty in design and we note some chipped paint here. no foul.  The simple dash uses wood-like inlays between gauges and in a midline ribbon. Basic, European toggle switches control various features on the car and the padded dash topper contrasts the wood with a glossy black texture.  The floor mounted shifter in the center console is appropriate for an economy car and the hand brake is polished to a shine.  The light brown loop style carpet shows some wear not only by the gas pedal where the foot would rub but also on the passenger side.  The stitched cloth headliner is in great shape and the frunk, the front trunk, is so clean you could store your picnic basket in there without worry.  There is a spare tire neatly tucked inside it.  

Drivetrain
At the time, the 903cc inline 4 cylinder was a touted improvement over the Fiat 600 which maxed out at 843cc.  And since everything is relative, the 58 horsepower of the 903 was an increase over earlier cars.  The original engine is in place having been rebuilt and sits in show quality goodness in the rear of the car where it is water cooled.  A 1-barrel carburetor feeds the 903cc's which gets rowed through a 4-speed manual transmission, also original.  The car is equipped with disc brakes up front and drum brakes in the rear and we can't leave out the 4.875 ratioed rear axle. 

Undercarriage
Since most of the hardware is in the back, the underside consists mostly of a panel covering anything that's running the length of the car.  On the suspension and other exposed parts, we see minor surface rust, but nothing serious.  Some residual oil on the transmission but no noticeable dripping.  The front suspension has transverse leaf springs and the rear has independent, semi-trailing arms with coil springs.  

Drive-Ability
Mustering all the youthful energy I could to experience the car as it was meant to be driven, we carefully sat in the nearly pristine seats and started 850 up and rolled onto our test loop.  We knew we were not winning any races with this car, but it's had enough pep to feel like a feasible mode of transportation.  It moved well and came up to speed in fine fashion.  The ride on the little wheels was fine, if not a bit bumpy on road imperfections, but not unbearably unstable or anything close.  The fastback provided plenty of visibility and the brakes worked well.  Molto bene! 

“My blood runs cold, my memory has just been sold, my angel is a centerfold, angel is a centerfold!”.  This little Italian was prominently featured in a Hemmings article and deservedly so.  It's a great little car in amazing, restored condition that's going to make the next owner very happy.  It's been garaged for 50 years and is now looking for a nuova casa to occupy. 

Classic Auto Mall is home to more than 1,000 classic and collectible vehicles for sale via consignment in a climate controlled 336,000-square foot showroom (that's more than 8 acres!). The largest single location consignment dealer of classic and collectible vehicles in the country is located in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, just 1-hour west of Philadelphia off Exit 298 of the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. For more information visit www.classicautomall.com or call us at (888) 227-0914. Contact us anytime for more information or to come see the vehicle in person.

With so many great cars, you know we have a lot to talk about, and we do that each week on the Classic Auto Mall Podcast with host Stewart Howden. Stewart discusses new inventory as well as trends in consignments and car prices, while interviewing celebrities and automotive professionals about amazing cars and their history. Tune in each week to the Classic Auto Mall Podcast wherever you enjoy listening. You can also watch on YouTube!