Lot Ended
Description
1968 Fiat 500F
Original RHD UK market
car; only 52,500 miles from new; few owners; freshly restored;
a lovely example of this charismatic little Italian
runabout
The successor to the legendary pre-war Topolino, the Nuova
500 was Fiat’s most famous people’s car. Nippy and frugal with wonderfully
direct steering, it was powered by a rear-mounted 18bhp 499cc engine that drove
the rear wheels and could launch it to 60mph in as many seconds before it ran
out of steam. A four-speed gearbox with a floor-mounted gear lever was precise
and fun to use and the car featured all-round independent suspension.
Beautifully engineered and surprisingly pleasant to drive,
they were a masterpiece of design packaging, shaming most modern cars with their
efficient use of space and elegant simplicity. Gordon Murray, the designer of
the immortal McLaren F1, owned one for many years and remains a big fan to this
day.
As the original service book confirms, this lovely Fiat
500F was supplied new by Spur Garage of Wimbledon to first owner J Andron of
Beulah Hill on 15th January 1968. Notes in the book record five services up to
December 1976 by which time it had covered 25,122 miles.
An old V5 shows that it was still owned by Jack Andron in
1993 when ownership transferred to the Williams, a married couple who kept it
for the next 17 years. After getting a new gearbox and differential fitted in
1994 at 41,000 miles, Mrs Williams used the car to go to work at a film studio
near Fulham and once got done for speeding – quite an achievement in a Fiat 500!
In 2010 they sold it to lady in Monmouth who kept it
garaged, had the top-end of the engine overhauled and used it only lightly
before selling it to our vendor in 2016 by which point it had covered some
52,000 miles. Over the next couple of years he thoroughly restored the car to
the wonderful condition you see today. Bills on file show that almost £1,500 was
spent on new parts alone including: bumpers; front and rear lights; indicators;
door hinges; window rubbers and weather strips; sunroof; exhaust; a full
interior retrim plus much else besides. The bodywork was also restored and the
car was treated to a glass-out repaint in the original dark blue.
The car has still only covered 52,500 miles, as warranted
by no fewer than 32 old MOTs stretching right back to 1972 and a good amount of
service history from new. Affectionately known as ‘Jack’ (in honour of its first
owner), this adorable little Fiat retains all its original handbooks and is in
sparkling condition throughout, starting promptly and running beautifully as we
moved it around for these photos.
For more information contact James on 07970 309907 or
email [email protected]