Author Topic: 68 Fiat Abarth 1300 Coupe  (Read 98273 times)

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Offline Pantdino

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Re: 68 Fiat Abarth 1300 Coupe
« Reply #15 on: March 21, 2007, 04:11:40 am »
Looks like a beautiful car, Eric!  Those are my favorite wheels for that car--the deep-dish steel ones.

Jim

Offline evannice

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Re: 68 Fiat Abarth 1300 Coupe
« Reply #16 on: March 27, 2007, 07:59:24 am »
Hi gang,

Well the car is in my garage in San Diego now, and tonight I had a chance to look around and take some photos to share.  It has a dead battery and sediment in the fuel system and a brake fluid leak so I have some sorting to do.

But it clearly is the real deal.  ID plate says 3937 OM at the top, 0132481 in the middle, and 0791411 at the bottom.  Stamped into the sheet metal below the ID plate is 100 GC 0132481.  Engine block stamped numbers are 124 with a small capital A  000 (indicates correct as original 1197 block), then 0157856.

I'll post a few photos and then follow up with more description.

Eric

Offline evannice

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Re: 68 Fiat Abarth 1300 Coupe
« Reply #17 on: March 27, 2007, 08:03:20 am »
ID plate photo did not come through, I'll try again here.

Weber 32 DCOF looks correct, no air cleaner, just velocity stacks and screen.  Starter and generator look correct.  Someone has rigged an electric fuel pump to feed into and through the mechanical pump still in place, presumably gutted.  Coolant header tank looks right.  Exhaust looks right.

Offline evannice

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Re: 68 Fiat Abarth 1300 Coupe
« Reply #18 on: March 27, 2007, 08:07:46 am »
Dash gauge cluster, steering wheel and shifter knob all look right and are in great shape.  There is a mish mosh of switches and lights to the driver's left that look wrong to me, what do y'all think?  The dash wood and emblems to the right side look wrong to me as well.  The footwells have the big wide plastic covers to make room for the larger wheels and wheel wells.  There is brake fluid dripping out of a hose connector below the reservoir on the driver's left shoe area.

Offline evannice

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Re: 68 Fiat Abarth 1300 Coupe
« Reply #19 on: March 27, 2007, 08:09:51 am »
More interior shots.  Back seats were included sitting on top of the carpeted lift-out shelf.  Not bad, just sunburned.

Offline evannice

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Re: 68 Fiat Abarth 1300 Coupe
« Reply #20 on: March 27, 2007, 08:13:45 am »
Correct black plastic covers under the front hood trunk area.  C pillar emblem not correct.  I love the Fergat 5.5" wide wheels with the teardrop vent holes.  Front tires are 175/70-13 (same diameter as stock 155/80-13) but rears are 165/70-13.  Is this on purpose?

Offline evannice

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Re: 68 Fiat Abarth 1300 Coupe
« Reply #21 on: March 27, 2007, 08:21:04 am »
There were many boxes of spare parts and literature, including what appears to be correspondence with the Abarth register from the very beginning.  Register number 021 in the windshield.

Very straight and solid and rust-free car, shame about the Earl Scheib red paint job over that lovely white original color with side stripes.  I'll be sorting it out in the next few weeks.  After I get it running and driving I'm sure more issues wil reveal themselves.  If it turns out to be mechanically wonderful, then I will think about returning it to the original white color.

JS and anyone else in the Southern California area, you are welcome to come poke around the car and check out the really cool piles of period literature.  Just shoot me an email.

Eric

Offline viotti600

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Re: 68 Fiat Abarth 1300 Coupe
« Reply #22 on: March 27, 2007, 09:12:55 am »
ID plate photo did not come through, I'll try again here.

Weber 32 DCOF looks correct, no air cleaner, just velocity stacks and screen.  Starter and generator look correct.  Someone has rigged an electric fuel pump to feed into and through the mechanical pump still in place, presumably gutted.  Coolant header tank looks right.  Exhaust looks right.

If you prefer an aircleaner vs. the stacks, the Fiat 1100R & early 124 Sedan (& maybe some 1200/1400 Cabrio's?) used this same carb and had a nice round/oval steel air filter housing (with removeable lid) that mounts vertically & should fit right in there. You may also consider adding a heat shield between the exhaust manifold & the intake manifold (especially if running with stacks only).

That wiring mess near the fuel pump looks scary (wince).  Header tank & exhaust...mmmmm...dreamy. =)

-Jeff.
Jeff Stich
Norco, CA, USA

Offline viotti600

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Re: 68 Fiat Abarth 1300 Coupe
« Reply #23 on: March 27, 2007, 09:27:35 am »
Dash gauge cluster, steering wheel and shifter knob all look right and are in great shape.  There is a mish mosh of switches and lights to the driver's left that look wrong to me, what do y'all think?  The dash wood and emblems to the right side look wrong to me as well.  The footwells have the big wide plastic covers to make room for the larger wheels and wheel wells.  There is brake fluid dripping out of a hose connector below the reservoir on the driver's left shoe area.

 Yup, looks good here. The dashboard wood inserts have been replaced on your car (originally thin wood veneer with thin metal frame/surround). Those switches & lights are all wrong, should have the standard 3-rocker switch unit as on all Fiat 850 Coupes, with maybe one Fiat 600-style dash light just above/to the right of it (I might be able to provide you with all of these needed parts, as I have an extra dash lovingly extracted from a wrecked 1300/124 Coupe - I'll check storage to get photos soyou can see what you SHOULD have there).

I don't recall that dash emblem being there...hmmm? The footwells & plastic covers are standard Fiat 850 Coupe (the wheels obviously are NOT - haha). Dripping brake fluid indicates a need for a new hose or plastic fluid reservoir (pretty sure I have a reservoir for you).

-Jeff.
Jeff Stich
Norco, CA, USA

Offline viotti600

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Re: 68 Fiat Abarth 1300 Coupe
« Reply #24 on: March 27, 2007, 09:30:57 am »
More interior shots.  Back seats were included sitting on top of the carpeted lift-out shelf.  Not bad, just sunburned.

Nice! The back seat looks to be in good shape, just needs recovering. Most Coupes get that sunburned area over time. ;)

The shift knob is aftermarket (I've got 2 of the same as yours).

-Jeff.
Jeff Stich
Norco, CA, USA

Offline viotti600

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Re: 68 Fiat Abarth 1300 Coupe
« Reply #25 on: March 27, 2007, 09:37:46 am »
Correct black plastic covers under the front hood trunk area.  C pillar emblem not correct.  I love the Fergat 5.5" wide wheels with the teardrop vent holes.  Front tires are 175/70-13 (same diameter as stock 155/80-13) but rears are 165/70-13.  Is this on purpose?

Front trunk looks nice & tidy, including the leather tire-restraining strap (see Gil, THAT'S where it goes!). Wheels are sweet...the hubcaps are usually missing on many cars. Score!

Yes, that emblem is incorrect for the car, especially not on the side of the car! (it's for the front of a different car). Want to sell/trade it? (I'm in need of that one). I have restored 1300/124 front emblem, and/or 2 unrestored ones. (nudge, nudge)  ;)

-Jeff.
Jeff Stich
Norco, CA, USA

Offline zippyfiat

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Re: 68 Fiat Abarth 1300 Coupe
« Reply #26 on: March 27, 2007, 03:59:55 pm »
Your car looks to be pretty nice!  I'd say that you have made a great find and purchase.  The paint job doesn't sound impressive and it looks like they coated anything that needed freshening up.  Are you thinking of returning the car to it's original condition?  You are lucky to have most of the original special parts, like the hubcaps for example.  I'd kill to find a set of them....

Someone told me that the original air filter housing were a real PITA and that many owners simply removed them.  It was something about the filters were difficult to access or to find replacements?

Have you had time yet to check the body out?  How is it as far as rust goes?

J.S. -   I thought that the leather strap you sent me was simply an Abarth accessory for tying up bundles of the alloy coolant pipes!  :)  Seeing Eric's photos just made me realize that I only have 4 of the original Abarth steel wheels.

Gil

Offline evannice

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Re: 68 Fiat Abarth 1300 Coupe
« Reply #27 on: March 28, 2007, 03:25:54 am »
Hi Gil, I don't see any rust or uneven rockers or anything, but I know that nasty surprises are often discovered at stripdown time.  I'll probably go back to the white paint with stripes, but I want to sort it out and drive it around first.  Tell me about your car and post some photos!

Hi Jeff,  I look forward to shopping at your 1324 restoration headquarters.  Holy cow, you must have a bunch of cool stuff stashed!  Definitely interested in an air cleaner and a correct dash layout.  I'll probably take out the electric fuel pump stuff.  You are welcome to the badges.  I'll look around a bit more and send you a want list.  I'll inventory the spares and send you that list too.

Eric

Offline viotti600

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Re: 68 Fiat Abarth 1300 Coupe
« Reply #28 on: March 28, 2007, 09:11:50 am »
Seeing Eric's photos just made me realize that I only have 4 of the original Abarth steel wheels.

Gil

Gil,
 I was talking with a friend of mine recently, & he casually mentioned that he has a set of 4 (or 5?) of these wheels that he's thinking of selling. If there are 5, I can probably get you a single wheel for your car. They wouldn't be dirt-cheap necessarily, but fairly priced. I'd have to ask him about the hubcaps - not sure if he has them. I probably won't be in touch with him until next Monday/Tuesday, though.

-Jeff.
Jeff Stich
Norco, CA, USA

Offline viotti600

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Re: 68 Fiat Abarth 1300 Coupe
« Reply #29 on: March 28, 2007, 09:44:21 am »
Hi Jeff,  I look forward to shopping at your 1324 restoration headquarters.  Holy cow, you must have a bunch of cool stuff stashed!  Definitely interested in an air cleaner and a correct dash layout.  I'll probably take out the electric fuel pump stuff.  You are welcome to the badges.  I'll look around a bit more and send you a want list.  I'll inventory the spares and send you that list too.

 "1324 RHQ" - haha. Hardly! I used to have lots of neat stuff stashed, less so now that I've pared down the number of vehicles/projects that I own - I've come to realize that there are only so many cars I can "save" & only so much time/$$ that I have to do it with. I've slowly cleared out a lot of the "neat, but non-essential-to-my-own-cars" stuff, and am now trying to re-focus my time/$$ towards the cars I have that I want to complete. Got some cool & rather rare stuff for sale on eBay yesterday, & will likely add more tomorrow. Gotta sell that stuff & buy the parts that my cars need, instead! =)

 You were asking about 1300/124 Coupes in So. Cal.... there are 2 other complete cars in the L.A./O.C. area, & I know of one more that is basically only a rolling chassis/body with the rust-repair/bodywork nearly complete, just needing paint (engine/trans & all interior/exterior trim are were lost - long story). The 2 complete cars are owned by 2 very private individuals who have asked that I keep their names/etc. confidential. One car is a very nice running example, the other needs restoration (barn find). Both cars are white with red interior & have the wide steel wheels like yours.

Ok, I've probably said too much already! LOL

Cheers,
 -JS.
Jeff Stich
Norco, CA, USA

 

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