It has been mentioned briefly already, but let me elaborate on what I think is a
vastly under-rated choice.
Fiat 124 Spiders were available starting in 1969, with belt-driven DOHC engines
and 4-wheel disc brakes. Despite their (IMO undeserved) poor reputation, 124
spiders are (again IMO) half again the car of a similar year MG. The especially
good news is 1974 was one of the best years for this car, with the 1756cc engine
and the best stock carb (Weber 34 DMSA, I think) as well as the best stock
exhaust manifold. If you go back a few years to the small bumper cars, or if
your rules permit mixing and matching, you can create a cheap, beautiful,
torquey Italian sports car that will rev easily to 7000 rpm with a fresh stock
motor. Think about it - four main bearings instead of 3, DOHC instead of
pushrods, discs instead of drums, and coil-over tubular shocks instead of
levers...why even consider an MG? Parts avaibability is excellent, with major
mail-order outfits all around the country, and E-bay listings like mad.
Good older 124's can be purchased for under $3000. Pristine late model examples
of the EFI 2000 sometimes get closer to $5k. Again, E-bay is a great source for
prices, even if you don't want to buy a car there.
Ex MG owner, current proud owner of 2 fast and reliable Fiats:
Doug Narby
P.S. Has there ever been a good MGB vs Fiat 124 flame war here? Or are there so
few Fiat defenders that it would fizzle? Or perhaps the truth is so obvious that
it merits no debate? :-)
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