[ Owning a 124 Spider]
Gary Pass,
Berkshire Gary bought his very late 1985 Pininfarina Spider Europa in May 2016 after a trip to long-time 124 specialist DTR European Sports Cars. ‘I had a Barchetta before, which DTR did a cambelt on. While there I started looking at these. They were a lot of money but I thought it may prove an investment after the new model came out. Paul offered me this one to drive away for one price or with fresh paint, seats and hood for a lot more. I decided to spend the money up front and have a really nice car. I also had Euro-spec springs fitted because it had US ones and rode too high for my liking, and the wheels look like the originals but have one less spoke and are 15in rather than 14in. They’re thought to have been on the car since it was new, or close to.
‘I’m only the third owner, and both previous ones were Swiss, the second bringing it to the UK with him 15 years ago. DTR looked after it for him but he didn’t use it much – it’s still only done 123,000km, which is about 76,000 miles. I’ve done around 3000 of those since buying it – I drive whenever I can without getting it wet! My son is a mechanic but all we’ve done so far is carry out an oil change and some basic checks. Get a good one of these they can be surprisingly affordable to run.’
Ari Kyrtatas,
Montreal Ari picked up his 1979 Spider nine years ago. It had been restored between 2002-04 and painted Ferrari Rosso Corsa but no other history came with it. ‘Living in the rust belt capital of Canada, keeping the body protected is of most importance. The car is kept in a climatecontrolled environment year-round. After the floorpans – they are still the original panels with no patches – were stripped and coated with POR-15 rustproofing paint, the rest of the car was treated with a gel-like rustproof coating. It has remained corrosion-free since.
‘It’s simpler to find parts now than it was one or even two decades ago because of all the remanufactured parts now available, and these cars are durable and reliable. They are also very capable devourers of miles. I’ll soon be driving it to this year’s Fiat Freakout in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which is 800 miles away. With that in mind the propshaft has recently been fitted with a new rubber doughnut and universal joints and balanced. It’s perfectly smooth and quiet at high speeds now.
‘My Spider looks period-correct but has been fitted with Vogtland progressive lowering springs and ‘street’ grade polyurethane bushes on the suspension control arms. It rides and handles really well. Once you get them up to standard they are very cheap cars to run.’
Steve Ferrari,
California Steve bought his ‘72 Spider from the original owner in 2000. ‘At the time the car had only 42,000 miles on it and still wore its original tyres complete with inner tubes. The seller told me, “Change the timing belt, water pump and tensioner every three years, even if you never drive it. Don’t cheat any of the maintenance tasks and the car won’t let you down.” And in 17 years I’ve only had one breakdown – when an ignition rotor cracked. It was the one component I’d never changed because it was stuck and I didn’t want to risk breaking anything prying it off. So he was right. Finding the Mirafiori forum proved to be the best thing for keeping the car on the road. I’m not a mechanic but with the forum’s help I’ve rebuilt brakes, changed a head gasket and installed electronic ignition. Luckily most parts are still available new.’