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  Dec. 15, 2008 8:08 p.m. jmareda None

  Anybody out there with a 1972 Fiat? Just purchased one in mint condition and love it.

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  Dec. 15, 2008 8:26 p.m. Tim Baxter Online Editor

  There are definitely other Fiat owners on here.

  http://classicmotorsports.net/reader-rides/car/fiat/

  What kind of Fiat? X1/9? Spyder?

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  Dec. 15, 2008 10:13 p.m. KaptKaos Reader

  72 X1/9???

  Spyder??!?!?!

  I am tempted to bludgeon you about the head and neck with a large fish.
  

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhJQp-q1Y1s

  /dang embed doesn't work =(

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  Dec. 16, 2008 6:39 a.m. Brett Melancon New Reader

  Actually, there were a very limited number of 1972 X1/9s. They were only sold in Italy though and not many are known to still exist. Brett

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  Dec. 16, 2008 6:51 a.m. Tim Baxter Online Editor

  Yes, yes, let the fish-bludgeoning commence.

  I somehow got it in my head X production started in '71, and those Spider Ys are just sneaky, you know.

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  Dec. 16, 2008 10:16 a.m. rconlon Reader

  Lots of Fiat enthusiasts but few enough to feel exclusive. Where are you and we can set you up locally? Go to the clubs section of CMS and you will get connected.

  Cheers Ron

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  Dec. 26, 2008 11:00 p.m. B02S4 Reader

  I once had a 72 124 Spider, sold it in 78, still miss it. However, from my perspective Marelli made Lucas look like The Sun King...

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  Dec. 27, 2008 6:57 a.m. ddavidv SuperDork

  The equivelency of Brit and Ital cars is pretty eerie.

  Rust: yep, both got that covered in spades.

  Electrics: Marelli vs Lucas. It's a cage match.

  Oil leaks: dead even.

  Where things start to part ways is in the performance area. Italians have always been able to get more power out of the same or lesser displacement, and quite reliably. I don't know that they are better engineers or just better funded, as the Brits always seemed to be in dire need of a cash influx for every car they designed. When allowed to flex their brains, though, they did come up with some clever designs (my Mini constantly amazes).

  "Having fun is my revenge on mortality"--Dustin Hoffman

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  Dec. 27, 2008 9:57 a.m. Coupefan New Reader

  In reply to ddavidv:

  I've always liked the coachbuilder aspect. Even some of the more common, pseudo-mass produced cars may have been breathed on by Pininfarina, Bertone, or others. Makes for great bragging rights, "I own a coachbuilt car."

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  Dec. 27, 2008 5:04 p.m. Leo Basile New Reader

  I think if the Brits werent mired by the incompetent management,the engines would have been on par with the rest of the world (Germany and Italy). If you look at the engines that almost made it...The MG twin-cam and the Triumph Sabina engines are perfect examples of this. The Cosworth/Ford BD series is a great example of British engineering.
  

  Its hard to imagine trying to sell a pre WWII engine in the late 60s/early 70s.

  Leo

  "Simplicate the design and add lightness" Kelly Johnson on the SR-71

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  Dec. 28, 2008 7:00 a.m. ddavidv SuperDork

  No substitute for Italian penned bodywork, that's for sure. Many Italian and German cars of the period were drawn by design houses (TR6=Michellotti being just one). The Fiat factory did okay on their own, though, with the 850 and 124 sport coupes.

  The Brits didn't make bad engines by any means, but they didn't keep pace with the rest of Europe. Cast iron pushrod lumps were generally dependable (though they seemed to be scared to death of adding a proper number of main bearings). The A series in my Mini is a fine little lump...for something from the 1950s. Can't compete with even a pushrod Fiat 850 engine of the 1960s though.

  "Having fun is my revenge on mortality"--Dustin Hoffman

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  Dec. 28, 2008 7:35 p.m. bmw327 New Reader

  The Brits were and still are pretty good at taking good engines and drivetrains from others and building good cars around them. Bristol comes to mind here. They did a pretty nice job if improving on the BMW 328 6 in the post war years. These days a Bristol engine is a fairly hot setup for a pre-ww2 BMW. Also, the DOHC 6 in the XK120 was a pretty neat piece for the money in 1948.

  Still, I think the humble Fiat SOHC 128 engine is a work of art. They don't put out an awful lot of power but they spin like mad and sound like they're having such fun. It's my second favorite engine in the cars that I've owned. The first is the BMW M30 in it's final iteration (M30B35), which is just a fantastic piece in all aspects except perhaps weight.

  Christopher

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