DDK - Die Deutschen Klassiker

As it's (understandably) a little bit quiet on the forum at the moment (& out on the roads it's the complete opposite - mayhem !), I thought I'd start a thread on my recent (non-Porsche) acquisition – a Fiat Abarth …

Unfortunately it's not one of the highly-coveted Zagato-bodied models – values for those have long since moved out of my price range – but one of the more 'common' production model-based variants.

To be more specific (& give it the full title) it's a 1963 Fiat Abarth 850 TC Nurburgring replica*.

In the 50's &'60's there was a multitude of tuning firms (including Giannini, Siata, etc) offering modified parts for Fiats but it was Abarth who became the most successful - producing a series of continually-evolving models – one series based on the Fiat 500 & another on the Fiat 600 … & it is the latter that my car is based on.

Abarth (along with many other Italian manufacturers) was notoriously poor at keeping & maintaining Factory records for their cars so it has become increasingly difficult to distinguish between:

- genuine Abarth Factory-built cars
- Dealer-supplied Fiats fitted with Abarth 'Derivazione' kits
- std Fiat 600 models later fitted with a selection of genuine/repro Abarth parts

The only real way of determining the authenticity (or otherwise) of a particular car - & consequently the value – is by tracing its ownership/history.

There is no such problem with my car since I know that it was converted from a std Fiat 600D later in its life.

*As is the case with cars like the 1973 2.7 Carrera RS, there are replicas & there are 'replicas' …

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I remember watching the little Fiat Abarths with their iconic propped-open engine lids battling it out with Mini Coopers & Imps at Brands Hatch 'back in the day' & it's an image that's always stuck in my mind.

Consequently they've always been one of the 'fun' cars I've had on my 'must try some day' list & I've kept an eye on cars for sale/prices over the years.

I first became aware of this particular car when it was auctioned by Bonhams soon after importation from Italy ~ 10 years ago where it attracted little interest & was snapped up by a dealer.

It then re-appeared on the dealer's website a few years later with a description copied 'ad verbatum' from the earlier Bonhams (inaccurate/incorrect) sales 'blurb'.

The dealer concerned has a very 'laid back' approach to selling cars – almost as if he doesn't really want to let them go !

Thus the little Abarth received sparse publicity over the years & stayed very much 'below the radar' - to my advantage.

The recent sale of one of my cars had left a vacuum which needed to be filled so I visited the seller over in Essex & a deal was done …

A few pictures of the car 'as bought':

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Luckily for me the dealer knew very little about the car & hadn't bothered (or didn't know how) to check out the extent of Abarth parts utilised in its build.

In the same way that some people slap a ducktail & some flares on an otherwise fairly standard 911 & call it an 'RS replica', many of the Fiat Abarths that are offered for sale utilise any relatively rust-free 600 they can find (including later Zustava, Seat, etc derivatives) & invariably install a similar-looking but more powerful 1050cc engine from a '70's/80's Autobianchi A112 – with no attempt to use period-correct/year-appropriate donor parts.

So one of the essential features of this particular car for me is that it is based on the correct 1963 'suicide door' Fiat 600 as the Abarth 850 TC Nurburgring models were only built during the '62-'64 period.

When I originally went to look at the car at the dealer's I only made a cursory check of the engine bay & other parts so when the car was delivered I had the opportunity to carry out a more detailed inspection …

I was pleased to find that the many period-correct parts used in the car's build included:

Abarth block & steel billet crank
2-piece Abarth alloy sump
Abarth exhaust system inc manifold
Abarth dynamo pulley, oil filler cap & dip stick
Original magnesium Campagnolo 5 1/2 x 13” wheels
Correct front-mounted radiator & associated plumbing
'Reverse eye' Abarth transverse front leaf spring
Original Abarth hinged rear no plate holder
All correct Abarth badging

- plus many other features such as front disc brakes, 'parallelogram' wipers, engine lid props, front air intake, Abarth alloy gear knob, etc.

There were a couple of areas that (for me) would need addressing :

The Personal wood steering wheel, although a model often fitted 'back in the day', was not the wheel an 850 TC Nurburgring would have been supplied with when new so that would have to go – luckily I just happened to have the correct black plastic version in my stash of steering wheels …

The other main aspect needing attention was the gauge cluster – 850 TC's had an instrument binnacle housing a speedo, rev counter & triple gauge &, although my car had a version of these, they were far from correct-looking.

So, my plans for the car during the winter are to check everything over & replace any incorrect parts (including steering wheel & gauges), add a more supportive 'period' bucket seat for the driver, source/fit some suitable seatbelts/harnesses,etc & generally prepare the car for some eagerly-awaited driving in the early Spring - during the time (~ 8 years!) that the dealer had the car it has only been driven approx 200 kms …

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Love it

Will enjoy reading about your ownership

Jealous? Moi? Never...

Great stuff Andy, no doubt hilarious fun at 30mph.

Keep the story coming.

Great car, I have a 500 being restored to Abarth spec' at the moment. I've had three before - 45mph feels like 150 !

Love your car.

This car belongs to my oncology professor who treated me last year



He has a Lancia Auriella as well. Great guy.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Apologies, don't want to hi jack your thread, but thought you may be interested.

Steve

No problem Steve ...

Will watch with interest. Looks very nice.

Looks like a lot of fun.

Small world. I was in the pub last night talking to a mate. He is currently doing some work on your last Italian, the baby blue Giulietta for Mr Speedlux. Am sorely tempted by the Fulvia HF 1600.

Thanks for positive comments.

Jonny - the Giulietta for sale at Mr Speedlux is not mine - vaguely similar but I still have mine.

Lightweight_911 wrote:Thanks for positive comments.

Jonny - the Giulietta for sale at Mr Speedlux is not mine - vaguely similar but I still have mine.

Oops. Well they looked identical through the beer goggles.

Looking forward to an update on this thread. Always fancied the mad little Scorpion.
You don't need mega BHP to have fun !