• Rotisserie restoration
• A fortune spent

• Family owned for 25 years

• 90bhp engine

• Extremely well presented

Austrian born Carlo Abarth began manufacturing performance exhaust systems in the 1950’s for Fiat’s and other European makes. This evolved into manufacturing or modifying cars or body shells, which were often supplied as a partially completed car by Fiat. This is where the Fiat/Abarth connection was made, and resulted in many class victories in the motorsport world. 

The Fiat 850 Coupe was launched in 1965, and it wasn't long before Abarth breathed their magic on it, to become the OT 1000 Coupe. Based on the standard 850 Coupe, which produced 47 bhp, Abarth replaced the engine for the more powerful Tipo 202, which produced 65 bhp at 6,200 rpm and gave a top speed of 100 mph. This power gain from the small 982 cc engine made the car much more competitive, which it proved out on track. 

The seller has recreated a modified version of the OT 1000. He has gone into great detail to make it just right, and added further improvements in just the right places. 

This 1969 Fiat has been with the same family for over 25 years, and the modifications and restoration have been carried out over the past 10 years. It has been built with a no expense spared approach, which has ensured that everything on the car has been executed as well as you would expect. 

The highly tuned and modified Fiat Coupe has been built as a tribute to Carlo Abarth, the King of small cars. 

The V5 is present and shows 6 previous keepers, and out of the 6 keepers one is the seller, one was his wife and one was his daughter. 

There is the original driver’s handbook and plenty of photographs and invoices for parts and work carried out, which documents the restoration and build process.

The seller will be putting a new MOT on the 850 ready for its new owner.

Inside the Fiat 850, as you open the door, you are faced with some Corbeau ‘Classic’ bucket front seats, which have been finished in black vinyl. These are in excellent condition, with no obvious signs of any wear. Holding you in place is a set of 3” wide harnesses, which are attached to the FIA six point roll cage. The rear seat is again in excellent order, but not really usable because of the roll cage. 

Sitting in the driver’s seat, facing you is the leather steering wheel made by Personal, and it has an Abarth centre badge. The dashboard is in good condition with the original instruments in good order and working as they should. The odometer has a reading of 16,364 miles. There is a Longacre wide angle rear view mirror fitted, for a clearer look at what you've just overtaken.

Across the dash are the starter button and manual override switch for the electric fans, and helping you keep an eye on the car’s vital statistics are three Veglia gauges showing oil pressure, oil temperature and voltmeter. There is also the fuel pump switch complete with low oil pressure cut out & switched override for starting. Further to the left is an FIA battery isolation switch, fitted should a situation arise that you need to quickly shut the car down, (or to stop any battery drain whilst it’s tucked away in the garage).

The carpet has been replaced with black and red to the sides, and mats fitted to further protect it. The pedals have been fitted with some Sparco pedal extensions. The Boot area, (front), holds the spare wheel and large aluminum fuel cell, which comes with an Aston Martin fuel filler. 

  

The Fiat has been given an extensive restoration, which has seen the car stripped and repaired on a rotisserie, ensuring that nothing has been left untouched. With the floor pan now in good order, the 850 has been fitted with new wings, doors, front shroud, sills and box sections. 

There has also been some box section strengthening to the floor pan, with particular attention to where the FIA spec roll cage mounts. The engine cover has had louvers stamped in to aid cooling, and also has some stays to hold open the boot.

With all this work carried out, the fit and finish of the panels has been executed very well, and everything looks to align as it should. The rear engine mount has been modified to enable the removal of the back panel, which makes working on the car much easier.  

Finished in Rosso Corsa, (paint code 322), the car was painted within the last 10 years, and clearly it’s not had a great deal of use as the car is still very fresh looking, with just some slight swirl marks that could easily be removed with a machine polish. There is also a Webasto roof fitted which is in excellent condition. 

After the car was repainted, the lights, bumpers, door handles, mirrors and locks were all replaced, and are therefore still in excellent condition, with no splits to the light lenses and no tarnishing to the chrome. At the same time, the window and door rubbers were replaced. Helping you to see where you are going, the seller has fitted HID headlights for more modern lighting. The front grille is the very rare OT 1300 series II, with the Abarth inset badge. 

The wheels are Chromadora 5½ J x 13" on the front, 6J x 13" to the rear, and are in excellent condition. These are fitted with Toyo RoadPro 175x60x13 and 205x60x13 tyres, which have a good amount of tread remaining. Steel valves with Abarth valve caps and Abarth centre caps finish off the wheels.

Powering the 850 is an Abarth 1050cc 70 Bhp, Type A112A2000 engine, which is now producing around 90 bhp. The engine has been built to a big spec, with Scuderia Topolino SLR 270 fast road cam and followers. The cylinder head has been ported and polished for improved gas flow. 

The fueling is taken care of by a 2 barrel 40DCNF Weber carburettor, that has been jetted to suit the engine, and supplying the Weber is a Facet electric fuel pump. Once the fuel is there, it needs a good spark to give the bang, and this has been achieved by using the 850 distributor fitted with a Pertronix electronic ignition module. 

Other things on the engine are a Mocal oil cooler, a lightweight alternator and a high torque starter motor. Helping it breathe is a K & N air filter, and a custom made OMP stainless steel exhaust system, which had been wrapped with heat wrap in the necessary places. Keeping the engine cool is a front mounted alloy radiator with twin electric fans, and god forbid things get too hot, there is the Firetrace fire extinguisher system fitted in the bay. 

As you would expect from the rest of the build, the suspension has been upgraded with lowered springs and Spax adjustable shock absorbers, with the mounting points reinforced. Urethane bushes have been fitted to the modified wishbones and Abarth rear camber compensator. The suspension components have then been powder coated to protect them, which are all still in excellent condition. 

The engine fires up straight away and runs as it should, with no untoward noises coming from engine or transmission. The gear change is short and precise, thanks to the Abarth short throw shifter, and the Abarth type driveline movement bar.

Bringing the Fiat 850 to a stop are a set of Wilwood four pot calipers to the front, and Fiat X19 calipers on the rear. The calipers wrap themselves around drilled and grooved discs to the front and rear. The Goodrich stainless steel brake hoses ensure there is no flexing, and the car is reported to come to a halt quickly, as you would imagine with such a well-specced brake setup.   

A chance to own a restored Italian classic with a twist. As a build tribute to Abarth, the seller has created a stunning vehicle ready for use on a classic rally, or just a fun car to own. 

The revvy 1050 cc engine has been greatly improved, and now pushing out 90 bhp, certainly makes it a much more fun car to own and drive. Who will be the next owner for this restored 25 year family owned Italian classic?