Fix It Again Tony

It was the middle of 1972 when my new wife and I decided we should buy a new car before my enlistment in the Air Force was up. A year earlier, we had driven her 1965 Plymouth Fury to Laredo, Texas, where I was stationed. It made the trip with no issues, but I wasn’t sure it was up for the trip back to Massachusetts. Just like every other car that has spent most of its life in New England, body rot from road salt was taking a toll. The engine was leaking oil, and the transmission slammed instead of sliding into gear. We needed a new ride to bring us home.

Located just outside the base’s main gate was a Honda motorcycle dealer that had just taken on a new line of vehicles called Fiat. The model that caught my eye was the 124 Spider, a sleekly designed two-seater convertible sports car. I was quickly reminded that a two-seater was hardly practical for a new couple with plans to grow our family. Besides, I already owned a 1957 TR3 that I was restoring.

However, the Fiat line offered another model, the 124 Special, that seemed to check all the boxes. To take care of family requirements, it offered four doors, a back seat and a somewhat spacious trunk, not like the one in the Fury, but big for a compact import. For me, it offered a four-speed stick shift and a peppy four-cylinder engine. Best of all, I could afford the payments.

With only nine months left in my enlistment, we decided she should head north and find a place for us to live while I finished out my enlistment in Laredo. I would drive the Triumph north once my tour was complete. I took a week’s leave, loaded everything we owned in the car, plus a small U-Haul. It was time for our first road trip with the Fiat. The car performed fine as long as we didn’t try to go over 60 mph. The little engine just couldn’t work any harder. While traveling through Virginia, the state police used us as a speed monitor. The state speed limit at the time was 60. Every time someone passed us, the police would pull them over. It was humorous and annoying at the same time.

Once back in Mass, it didn’t take long to discover that the Triumph was not a winter car, which meant the Fiat was our primary mode of transportation. One would think that a car that was designed and built in a part of the world that experiences a wide range of weather could handle moisture. That was not the case!

If there was light rain or snow, the car had no issues. Steady rain or heavy snow caused my Fiat to stall out, never to restart until the sun came out. To keep the engine running, I had to make sure the RPM’s never fell below 3000. As soon as the revs dropped, the car would stall. I tried covering the distributor in plastic, spraying the wires with silicone, changing the distributor cap; nothing ever fixed the problem. If it rained, we stayed home.

Have you ever stepped on the brake pedal and it went straight to the floor while the car kept going? I have! I’m a car guy and take pride in keeping my vehicles in top shape. There was no reason that I could see for the right front brake cylinder to blow out all at once, but it did. Fortunately, I had enough distance between me and the stoplight to bring my little deva to a stop with the emergency brake. For the next twenty miles, the little lever between the seats was my best friend. A short time later, I traded the Fiat in for a Buick Regal.

A couple of years ago, my wife and I were on a motor coach tour through Italy. One night I was talking with the tour guide about all the Fiats I saw on the road. She asked me if I knew what Fiat stood for, to which I replied, “Moving forward or something similar to that.” She laughed and said, “No, it means Fix It Again, Tony.”