1969 Fiat 850 Familiare
The car is a 1969 Fiat 850 Familiare, the car is in original condition. Only a few necessary mechanical parts have been replaced.
The 1969 Fiat 850 Familiare is fitted with an 843cc watercooled engine that is connected to a 4-speed manual transmission.
"More beauty than i could imagine"
Sincemy father bought his first Fiat 500L somewhere in 2005/2006, I wasimmediately sold, when as a 12/13 year old I was occasionally allowedto drive a little bit behind the wheel at the campsite, it wascompletely clear, and it soon became a savings goal ...
Atthat age, things are not going very fast financially and the Fiat wasput on the back of my mind, but the dream remained, and together withmy father visited the necessary meets and events.
Afew years later the study was completed, a first car and a place tolive, the Fiat virus started to play more and more. The "modern"Daily driver (1996) obviously did not satisfy what I was looking for.
Eveningson the marketplace were the result, searching for Fiat oldtimers,suddenly something completely different appeared on my screen ... AFiat 900T, just like an adolescent who also had "somethingdifferent" on his screen for the first time. see, I couldn'tbelieve my eyes! What a cool van, I was sold, and also the car ... Itwas gone before I could respond. A big disappointment, there followedmonths of searching on the marketplace for another 900T, withoutresult since there are not many of them in the Netherlands.
Viaan Italian family member i ended up on the Italian marketplace, wherethe market turned out to be a lot bigger than in the Netherlands. Butthen, you saw something nice, but then you have to go to Italy to geta car, that didn't seem like a good plan to my father. So the dreamwas on hold again, but still every day i visit the Italianmarketplace to encounter the predecessor of the 900T.
TheFiat 850T, the 850 Familiare to be precise, instead of the "modern"front with its square headlights, it had a beautiful chrome grillwith 4 cool headlights. This time I was immediately determined, thiswill be it! After more than a year of exploring the Italianmarketplace, plans were made in the summer of 2019 for the trip toItaly!
Withthe help of google translate, a number of owners of 850 Familiare'swere contacted, soon loads of photos followed, one 850 even worsethan the other or a price that was way beyond my budget, in the end 2were left that one had a chance of winning a trip to the Netherlands.
Afterarranging everything for the trip to Italy, my father and I left forViterbo where my first choice was. With my heart in my throat, I sawthe buildings (which I had already explored through street view)appear on the horizon. Once there, a whole group of people wasalready waiting. The person we had contact with, the owner's wife andson and the neighbor who was a car mechanic.
Theatmosphere was a bit grim, until my father was asked what the planswere for the car, and my father said: "It's not for me, Ialready have 2 Fiat's, it's for my son" . Then the neighbor cameand asked, "What have you got?" Then it turned out that theneighbor himself was quite a collector and had the necessary items.That paved the way for a good conversation and the atmosphere wassuddenly good, after a lot of chatting we took the stroopwafels thatwe had brought. An invitation for coffee soon followed.
WhenI accepted the coffee (esspresso) and refused the sugar and milk, Iwas stared at whether I knew how strong the coffee was. After callingthe bank whether the money was already in the account, this turnedout not to be the case. So then we were invited to admire theneighbor's collection.
With4 people in a Fiat Panda, crossing the Italian streets, we arrived atwhat seemed to be a garage. Until the door opened, the hall wasfilled to the brim with vintage cars, tube radios and car parts. ALancia Appia, Fiat 500 Giardiniera (1961), Fiat 1100 and Fiattopolino, all of the first series and in top condition. It was like asmall museum, just like our contact person's garage, which consistedof a 500D and dozens of Vespas.
Whenthe redeeming word came from the bank that the money was in theaccount, the car could be loaded on the trailer. Just a phototogether and we were ready to go. When I asked the contact person totell the woman that for the next 50 years I will take care of the carof her husband who died 10 years ago, she flew around me with tearsin her eyes because she was so happy that the car was in the righthands.
Oncearrived in the Netherlands it was time to make the car working again,after 10 years of inactivity the radiator was full of rust andrubbish. Furthermore, a number of hoses, spark plugs, fuel pumpreplaced new tires and go! After the first kilometers, a few pointsof interest came up, but what do you expect with a 50 year oldunrestored car?
Now,more than a year later, I still get a big smile on my face every timeI open the garage.