Description
THE APPEAL
In its early days, the Pininfarina-designed 124 Spider offered a superb balance of spirited performance, characterful handling, and signature Italian styling. It then didn’t take long for tuning house Abarth to breath on the 124 where it would go on to see considerable success in rallying.
The 124 Spider continues to receive high praise for its engaging driving characteristics, with many opting to race the Italian Cabriolet. Amongst these passionate motorsport enthusiasts is a previous owner, who began the car’s motorsport transformation after importing the rust-free car from the sunshine states of USA. After seeing notable racing success with that owner, the vehicle was then treated to its share of TV screen time, receiving even more upgrades to suit the track.
Now, under current ownership the vehicle stands as arguably one of the finer-prepared Italian racers in today’s market, presenting a fantastic opportunity for any motoring enthusiast looking to compete on track/ rally or simply to enjoy the performance of this fantastic sounding Lampredi twin cam tribute to the Abarth 124 Spider. It almost has a dual personality; in “road” trim with classic seats on adjustable runners and the roof down it is perfect for touring the continent (as on a recent 1000mile round trip to Le Mans) or bolt in the custom-built roll-cage and bucket seats (takes about 45mins) and you are ready to go racing!
HIGHLIGHTS
• Fantastic build sheet, with plenty of high-performance upgrades
• Race and historic rally ready, with supporting HSCC documents and Motorsport passport as well as being fully road legal with current MOT
• Equally at home on continental trips or local shows with the roof down
• Extensive (removable) race safety equipment inc bucket seats and rollcage
• Full interior and exterior respray in classic Abarth colours
• Previous competition success
THE HISTORY AND PAPERWORK
• 2 former keepers noted
• Extensive previous restoration/ preparation
• Included within the paperwork:
• V5C document
• Motorsport UK vehicle passport
• HSCC documentation for competition participation
• Correspondence from Fiat confirming the vehicle’s heritage
• Ready for race or rally use in race trim
THE INTERIOR
• Multi-point removable custom roll cage
• Weld-in seat rail mounts that fit both road or race seats
• Sparco Rev bucket seats
• Willans 4-point harnesses
• Plumbed-in extinguisher system
• Handheld fire extinguisher
• Bespoke dashboard, and custom aluminium centre console
• Smiths digital gauges
• New door cards
• Fantastic condition
THE EXTERIOR
• Never welded
• Stripped to a bare shell, and painted both inside and outside
• Rosso Corsa paintwork
• Fully stone-chipped
• New mohair soft top
• Features new headlights, tail lights, and side lights
• 13' by 6' Cromodora alloy wheels, with Toyo Proxes tyres
THE MECHANICS
• Fully race tuned 1608cc competition engine, built by the highly regarded Italian Twin Cam specialist Ellegi Motori
• 2x Twin Downdraft Weber IDF40 carbs (just serviced)
• Electronic ignition
• 4-branch manifold, paired with a custom stainless steel exhaust
• Rebuilt Abarth close ratio 5 speed gearbox, Abarth “winged” sump
• Competition paddle clutch, with a lightened flywheel
• LSD rear differential, with new 4:4 CWP and bearings
• Aluminium radiator, electric fan & silicone coolant hoses
• Oil cooler with braided pipes
• New Odyssey lightweight race battery
• New Lightweight high-power alternator (Denso internals)
• High torque starter motor
• Plastic lightweight fuel cell, with a Facet fuel pump (plus track fuel can)
• Leda adjustable shocks, with Eibach springs
• Adjustable rose jointed control arms and anti-roll bar
• Rose jointed radius arm bushes
• New brake calipers, with EBC drilled & grooved brake discs and pads
• Replacement Handbrake Lever
• Dash adjustable pedal box (NO servo)
• Braided brake lines
• New Windscreen wiper mechanism and motor
As the above list suggests, great attention to detail and considerable expense have been paid to ensure this 124 performs at the top of its game. The star of the drivetrain is, of course, the fully tuned 1608cc competition engine hiding under the bonnet. The powerplant is accompanied by a rebuilt Abarth close ratio gearbox, a competition paddle clutch, lightened flywheel, and a recently rebuilt LSD with a new 4:4 CWP and new bearings and seals. The twin Weber carbs have also received attention being rebuilt with new accelerator diaphragms, float needles and seals
Buyers will be pleased to know that in addition to boasting a fantastic spec list, this Fiat 124 is said to perform exactly as it should, with no known faults whatsoever and having done a 1000mile shakedown to Le Mans (June 2024), and attended numerous car shows and hill climbs. This is a fully road legal car and is sold with new MOT (even though tax and MOT exempt)Fiat 124 Spider BS 1972 TNB 637J Abarth Tribute
Works in current ownership.
During 2024, TNB637J has taken part in numerous car shows and Hill climb events and we decided to take her on a trip to Le Mans for the 2024 24hr event which is a 1, 000mile round trip. To make this a little more comfortable we swapped out the bucket seats for classic sports car seats and removed the roll cage (takes about an hour to do both tasks) to allow for roof down enjoyment! Full wheel alignment was carried out along with a strip down, clean and service of the twin Weber IDF40 carbs fitted with new accelerator diaphragms and needle valves.
She performed well on both UK and French roads proving this car has great appeal for touring as well as competition and easily kept up with the modern traffic on the French Toll roads in the summer (without any overheating issues usually expected with 50 year old classics!) and the more exciting open country roads, and even the lack of power steering, servo brakes or any form of in car entertainment just added to the enjoyment with the roof down!
The signwriting shown in some photos has now been professionally removed leaving the faultless gleaming Rosso red paintwork to really shine on all corners. At the same time the numberplates were swapped for period correct black and silvers which suit the early 70’s era perfectly.
Overall, these small changes have all added up to prove that this road legal classic rally tribute to the Abarth 124 Spider is just as usable as a weekend show car, continental cruiser or out and out road-rally/ track racer on the classic scene with the full HSCC and Motorsport UK passport documentation.
Since Merlin Grace Classic Cars acquired TNB637J (the 3rd Fiat 124 Spider through the doors) in 2023, the car has been gone right through by our specialist and a few improvements have been made to the car in terms of reliability and usability.
• Handbrake lever mechanism replaced (pawl/ rachet wear is a common fault on these cars) and cable adjusted
• Windscreen wiper mechanism replaced with NoS
• Windscreen wiper motor replaced with new upgraded type
• Washer jets refurbished/ adjusted, washer motor replaced with new
• Electrical system thoroughly checked and serviced including all new fuses and cleaned fuse box contacts
• New light weight racing battery fitted (spare with car)
• Lightweight racing alternator rebuilt with new Denso internal parts
According to official correspondence with Fiat’s homologation department, this Fiat 124 BS Spider was originally built in Fiat’s Rivalta plant in May 1971. A previous keeper decided this mighty Italian cabriolet was destined for the chequered flag after being imported from USA in around 2015 and transformed the car into a top performance track car. The full race spec 1608cc competition engine was built by the highly respected Italian Twin Cam specialist Ellegi Motori and is an incredible high revving piece of Italian engineering designed by ex-Ferrari engineer Aurelio Lampredi.
After considerable racing success, the track-prepared Fiat was then featured on an episode of “Salvage Hunters Classic Cars”, in which it underwent a further transformation This included a top quality respray both inside and out, plus full stone chip treatment underneath and the installation of a new custom cage and safety components, adding up to a full cosmetic makeover.
The latest spec multi-point custom roll cage, which was professionally installed by Custom Cages themselves. This highly regarded team was also responsible for installing the latest spec weld-in seat rails, upon which directly sit Sparo Rev bucket seats when in race trim, or the adjustable rails for the classic road seats.
The Sparco seats are in fantastic condition and holding you in place are Williams 4-point harnesses, complete with Hans device compatibility. Rounding out the safety components within the cabin is a hand-held fire extinguisher and an onboard fully plumbed-in extinguisher system, with both internal and external trigger points.
The Abarth inspired bespoke dashboard, which comes fitted with a new dash top, is adorned with classic style electronic Smiths digital gauges set in race style turned aluminium panels. There is also a custom built one piece aluminium centre console, and a removable 3-spoke OMP Racing steering wheel.
It should also be noted that the sign writing shown on the vehicle in some photos has now been professionally removed and the numberplates replaced with period correct black and silvers.
