I am looking to get into the vintage Fiat market and have come across a 1971 Fiat 850 coupe. VIN number 100G1669027. The car looks original but has a full vinyl roof. Has anyone seen an 850 coupe with this option? The speedometer is also in mph, is there a way to use the VIN to see if this was an American market car? Thanks in advance
General 850 Coupe question
- Thread starter rogo88
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General 850 Coupe question
Hello,
Looks like this one has vinyl roof, or at least something that looks like vinyl:
There is also a 850 Spider which looks like vinyl, but this one has already been restored:
pl.wikipedia.org
And the 850 Racer Berlinetta, too:
en.wikipedia.org
Looks like this one has vinyl roof, or at least something that looks like vinyl:
There is also a 850 Spider which looks like vinyl, but this one has already been restored:
Fiat 850 – Wikipedia, wolna encyklopedia
And the 850 Racer Berlinetta, too:
Fiat 850 - Wikipedia
The English Wikipedia explains the coding in the 'overview' section. In fact 100G reffers to a standard sedan (same body as the one which appears on the wikipedia links thumbnails). I doubt if it had vinyl roof as option, as it was used in more luxurious models. Could in theory be the 'Special' model, but apparently, according to Wikipedia, those had 100GB in the engine code (and probably also the VIN).
I've also read that the 850 Spider had a fabric roof as standard, so if this one shown on the Polish wikipedia is made from vinyl, it had to be made later.
I had both vinyl and fabric roofs on my cabrios (other than Fiats). Both solutions have cons and pros. But the 25 years old vinyl roof was so delicate that it could crack all over every second. I can't even imagine more that 50 years old vinyl roof, unless kept in a garage, away from the sun... When thinking on restoring it I spoke to several companies that were producing cabrio roofs and none of them had the possibility to make the roof from vinyl, everyone was using fabric instead. If properly taken care of, those are more resistant to UV and heat.
I also know that in the US vinyl roofs were very popular in the 70's and 80's
So it's hard to say, unless someone who knows the 850's history better can confirm.
I've also read that the 850 Spider had a fabric roof as standard, so if this one shown on the Polish wikipedia is made from vinyl, it had to be made later.
I had both vinyl and fabric roofs on my cabrios (other than Fiats). Both solutions have cons and pros. But the 25 years old vinyl roof was so delicate that it could crack all over every second. I can't even imagine more that 50 years old vinyl roof, unless kept in a garage, away from the sun... When thinking on restoring it I spoke to several companies that were producing cabrio roofs and none of them had the possibility to make the roof from vinyl, everyone was using fabric instead. If properly taken care of, those are more resistant to UV and heat.
I also know that in the US vinyl roofs were very popular in the 70's and 80's
So it's hard to say, unless someone who knows the 850's history better can confirm.
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Many ‘options’ from dealers included vinyl roofs and also vinyl was retrofitted, either for looks or to hide something nasty.
I don’t remember it being a ‘factory’ option for the UK market, but I can’t check as my dealer sales book is in storage somewhere
I don’t remember it being a ‘factory’ option for the UK market, but I can’t check as my dealer sales book is in storage somewhere
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Hi all.
The saloon often doesn't have a roof lining on the inside so you should be able to see the roof condition from inside.
Tim
The saloon often doesn't have a roof lining on the inside so you should be able to see the roof condition from inside.
Tim
I've never seen a vinyl exterior roof on an 850 Sedan/Berlina except on one car that was blue with a tan roof, that was a US car on an 850 Facebook page and I thought at the time it was a homemade affair. If you are looking at an 850 Special the interior of these had a full roof lining. As for mph, my clock has both mph and kmph so God only knows. I think the us version had an extra indicator repeater on the rear wing as well as a square one on the front wing along with the same again built into the front bumper.
