RobertM
Member
Hello all, I purchased a 1971 Fiat 500L on the opposite side of the country (United States) and I'm trying to figure out the best way to get it home. I had an east coast road trip planned (where the car is located) prior to buying it so I'm trying to figure out what my best course of action is. I can ship or trailer the car back with me, or for what I believe will be a significant cost savings, and way more fun, I could attempt to drive it back home.
Per google maps my route, avoiding highways, will be around 4,354 miles and a extremely optimistic 84 hours (I'm expecting well over 100hrs of drive time). If I decide to drive I plan on carrying some spare parts with me I've read through a few other posts and seen that ignition condensers and the flexible joint drives are good things to carry. I'll probably also do an oil change as well as fresh spark plugs and wires upon picking up the car. Are there any other parts that would be smart to carry in the car? Additionally, will it hurt these cars to sit flat out for extended periods of time, or should I try to keep the car around 50mph? I get the impression that the throttle in these cars is on the floor majority of the time.
As for the route, I will not be heading directly home, I am going to start near Philadelphia, drive down to Washington DC, spend some time in Shenandoah national park before heading down to southern Florida, then returning to Utah from there. I'm a little concerned about driving over the mountains but I expect that it's possible but will be very slow. This trip will take roughly 3 weeks, and I will be stopping at various family members houses along the way so I will have space to repair the car as required so long as parts are available.
A little back story on me personally. I frequently drive very long distances to climb mountains / or visit national parks so I'm no stranger to driving long distances, I typically average around 50,000 miles a year with only 10,000 of that being normal commuting miles. I also last year drove a 1960 Mini from Miami to Kansas City (around 2,200 miles total, unfortunately from there the car had to be trailered home due to a failed Spicer Joint that I was not able to find / replace quick enough to get home in time) in the middle of summer, so I'm no stranger to the suffering that driving an old car like this can bring, though I had a great time, the Mini made around 3x the power as this little fiat will so it also made things a little easier.
So this is the part where I ask, is this a terrible plan? Should I be smart and trailer it / ship it from the onset? What's the smallest size trailer we can comfortably get one of these cars on? Is this the greatest idea you've ever heard and it sounds like the most fun you could have in a 500?
Per google maps my route, avoiding highways, will be around 4,354 miles and a extremely optimistic 84 hours (I'm expecting well over 100hrs of drive time). If I decide to drive I plan on carrying some spare parts with me I've read through a few other posts and seen that ignition condensers and the flexible joint drives are good things to carry. I'll probably also do an oil change as well as fresh spark plugs and wires upon picking up the car. Are there any other parts that would be smart to carry in the car? Additionally, will it hurt these cars to sit flat out for extended periods of time, or should I try to keep the car around 50mph? I get the impression that the throttle in these cars is on the floor majority of the time.
As for the route, I will not be heading directly home, I am going to start near Philadelphia, drive down to Washington DC, spend some time in Shenandoah national park before heading down to southern Florida, then returning to Utah from there. I'm a little concerned about driving over the mountains but I expect that it's possible but will be very slow. This trip will take roughly 3 weeks, and I will be stopping at various family members houses along the way so I will have space to repair the car as required so long as parts are available.
A little back story on me personally. I frequently drive very long distances to climb mountains / or visit national parks so I'm no stranger to driving long distances, I typically average around 50,000 miles a year with only 10,000 of that being normal commuting miles. I also last year drove a 1960 Mini from Miami to Kansas City (around 2,200 miles total, unfortunately from there the car had to be trailered home due to a failed Spicer Joint that I was not able to find / replace quick enough to get home in time) in the middle of summer, so I'm no stranger to the suffering that driving an old car like this can bring, though I had a great time, the Mini made around 3x the power as this little fiat will so it also made things a little easier.
So this is the part where I ask, is this a terrible plan? Should I be smart and trailer it / ship it from the onset? What's the smallest size trailer we can comfortably get one of these cars on? Is this the greatest idea you've ever heard and it sounds like the most fun you could have in a 500?