Welcome back to Shitbox Showdown! We’ve got another odd couple today, two cars that I just thought were interesting but don’t have any common theme connecting them. Before we get to those, let’s see which of yesterday’s choices is the better beater:
The Honda wins. Of course it does. But I’ll point out that, if you were in Idaho, even if both cars were there, the Sable is probably the better choice, because – and yes, it still makes a difference in a lot of parts of the country – it isn’t a “foreign car.”
Southern California is not one of those places. The Golden State embraced imports early on, and while there’s no shortage of American iron on the streets, imports you never see anywhere else also pop up regularly. And they’re nothing special; they’re so common that they’re just cars. And since it never rains in southern California, they don’t rust. So let’s take a look at an American sedan and an Italian roadster, both available in the Los Angeles area.
1978 Chevrolet Nova – $3,500
Engine/drivetrain: 305 cubic inch overhead valve V8, three-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Tarzana, CA
Odometer reading: 86,000 miles
Runs/drives? Runs great, the ad says
I have a huge soft spot for the second-generation Chevy Nova. I know it’s squarely in the height of the malaise era, I know the flabby small-block V8 is a shadow of its former self, and I know the build quality is on par with a three-year-old putting together a car out of Duplo blocks. I don’t care. I owned a ’78 Nova, during my run of crappy beaters back in Minnesota: a blue two-door Concours with a peeling landau vinyl top, but a rock-solid 305/Turbo 350 combo under the hood. But this one is way cooler, despite having two more doors. What’s so cool about a white Nova sedan, you ask?
Behold the glory of what I believe is likely a “Tijuana interior.” It was common, once upon a time, to take your car across the border to Tijuana, where numerous upholstery shops would redo your seats and headliner for a fraction of what it would cost you here in the States. This plain white fleet-spec sedan started out with a blue-gray interior, judging by the door panels, but has been treated to this wonderful dramatic red and black vinyl, along with a bright scarlet headliner.
Someone even painted the dash to match. It’s too bad they didn’t do the door panels as well, but maybe that wasn’t in the budget. The seller raves about how well this car runs, adding that it just passed a smog test and has fresh registration, and that the air conditioner works. Good thing, otherwise you’d stick to those vinyl seats.
Outside, it’s straight and clean, and those ’80s three-spoke aftermarket wheels are just the icing on the cake. It’s not perfect, but it’s good enough, and if it runs as well as they say, it would make a fun cruiser. Or, hell, daily driver. I mean, why not?
1971 Fiat 850 Spider – $2,350
Engine/drivetrain: 903 cc overhead valve inline 4, four-speed manual, RWD
Location: Monrovia, CA
Odometer reading: unknown
Runs/drives? Nope, but it’s not far off
One of the fun things about this gig is the opportunity to research. Often I just have to quickly check some facts about a car, to make sure I have displacements and transmissions and whatnot right, but sometimes I get sucked down a rabbit hole and come out with some cool new knowledge. In this case, I’m familiar enough with the car; I’ve been a fan of the Fiat 850 in Coupe and Spider form since I was a kid, but I never knew why it was called a Spider. As it turns out, it’s yet another automotive term borrowed from horse-drawn carriages: a “spider phaeton” was a small lightweight carriage meant for having fun and showing off. When the carriages became horseless, the “spider” term stuck around, especially among Italian automakers. And a Fiat 850 Spider isn’t good for much except having fun and showing off.
The 850 features a teeny-tiny four cylinder, longitudinally mounted behind the rear axle. It’s water-cooled; the radiator sits off to the side and louvers in the rear deck give it airflow. This one does not run, I believe; the car is from an estate sale, and it sounds like the owner was mid-restoration when they passed away. The shiny red paint is new, as are the tires. Everything is present and accounted for in the engine compartment, and it’s a simple engine; it probably wouldn’t take much to get it going again.
Inside, unfortunately, things aren’t so rosy. The interior is a disassembled dusty mess, the instrument panel is out of the car, and these seats could definitely use a trip to Tijuana. But the good news is that it’s rust-free, almost unheard-of for an 850 these days, and it comes with a removable hardtop. Yeah, it’s a project, but it looks like a good start.
Unfortunately, it sounds like they didn’t find the title among the deceased owner’s papers. It happens. The seller has a bill of sale, and I imagine some paperwork from a probate court saying they’re allowed to sell the car, and that should be enough to satisfy the DMV and get a new title. After that, you can start to give this little Spider a second life.
I had a theme planned for today, but it has been a hectic evening around here, and I didn’t have much time to shop. So we’ll save the theme for tomorrow. In the meantime, will it be a Chevy with a snazzy interior, or a Fiat that needs one?
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
Good god I hate that Nova, but if an actual shop gave up on the Fiat, then I don’t wanna touch it.
In the interest of not buying someone else’s project, the Nova wins this. It is assembled and the interior is in much better condition.
Yesterday’s Honda was probably built in Ohio, but I get that there are probably plenty of people in Idaho who don’t now where Ohio is, so I guess that qualifies it as a “foreign car”.
a 1978 Nova was one of my first cars…i’ll take that lol
I’d rather take a non running Fiat than that running 4-door Nova. I don’t even like Fiats. That should tell you everything you need to know.
Running, driving, pimptastic interior AND working AC?!? Nova, all day, every day, and twice on Sunday!
For that price, por qué ne los dos?
I’ve already done the conditional title process for an old Fiat, so that’s no problem. I’d adopt the sweet lil arachnid
That’s either a pre-68 Fiat Spider or the front has been backdated. Finding one with the flat headlights rather than the later frogeye look is pretty darn rare. I love those little things, and that would be my choice. I’d have to have a good look at the chassis codes to verify what’s up, though.
It has been back-dated. It mentions it in the ad. Sorry I didn’t mention it here.
I had a ’71 Spyder in orange over black, and I learned about oversteer the hard way.
I’d love a second act with this beauty, but that Nova is tugging at something within.
Bowtie for me today.
No title is a hard pass. I was totally ready to vote Fiat right up until that point.
Not a problem at the California DMV, at least for an old car, a bill of sale and you swear you’re not lying and you should be good. Weird how non standard this sort of stuff is.
Or cross over to AZ and no problem
In Tennessee, if the car is over 30 years old or worth less than $3,000, all you have to do is sign a document that says you own it and states who you bought it from and they will give you a title.
They’re like that on marriage licenses for young girls, too.
My state doesn’t require a title over 10 years old. Or use the Vermont Loophole.
Fiat 850. I wear a lot of cargo shorts with big pockets and I could slip the 850 in one of those for safekeeping until I got it running.
Did you read the Wrench Wednesday article?
Fiat with a ‘busa engine would be a riot. I will take the Nova.
Another fine choice, although lots of modification will be required to handle the power output and remain driveable. The “suspension” on the 850 Spyder is laughable at best.
The Fiat is partially disassembled, encased in years worth of dust, and has no title. It is highly optimistic to assume this will be an easy project.
The Nova is rust free, runs good enough pass CA emissions testing, and has a nice (if somewhat unusual) interior. Malaise-era cars aren’t the most desirable, but this one is an easy choice.
Reread the spider is rust free not the Nogo.
The ad for the Nova says it is rust free. Pictures also show no rust.
A basket-case disassembled parts car or a tacky GM sedan from their worst decade (actually, one of several decades)… no thank you to either one.
Both will find a buyer, and they will enjoy what they buy, but most of us wouldn’t want the headaches that both will bring.
The wonderfully tacky interior of the Nova won me over. It will also be far, far cheaper than the Fiat to finish restoring and then keep running. If the anemic 305 goes belly up you can easily find a better engine that will bolt right in because GM is the Taco Bell of auto manufacturers.
That Nova is running and driving and as they say will “run poorly longer than most others will run at all”. It wouldn’t take a lot to make that a really nice cruiser. BUT, as the previous owner of a small, unreliable, bad idea convertible (79 Midget), I can’t pass up the Fiat.
I will never understand why a seller who could not find the title or never got one always thinks it is so easy to obtain one. if that is true, then go obtain one before attempting to sell it. Still for parting out for profit, I suppose the Spider is the better deal here. the Nova has a lot going for it on paper and then you see it in real life and have to just say no. Interior is clean but ruined by color choice. Wheels are hideous, they really were brand new as well, and it has 4 door. says it has a v8, but since it is not shown under the hood, I would bet it is the LG3 305. wonderfully smog choked 145HP in most of the US, most likely much less in Cali where “special” emissions rules further messed up things.
“I would bet it is the LG3 305. wonderfully smog choked 145HP in most of the US, most likely much less in Cali where “special” emissions rules further messed up things.”
As someone who spent the first 10 years of life in LAs lead lined smog bowl I am grateful for the “special” emissions rules you are so scornful of.
Why is that? you were too young to remember anything, you no longer live there, so do you have any idea if it helped anything? A well maintained pre-74 nova with a spread bore 4 barrel got better average gas mileage and was arguably cleaner on the environment due to lack of load on the engine when doing basic driving and idling.
Yeah, being too young to appreciate the ability to breathe. Read back your response and understand that it is the exact reason why pro-pollution propaganda is so destructive.
The nova is it is together and not someone else’s project.
Exactly. It’s going to cost more than $1200 to get the Fiat back up and running.
Fiat, for totally impractical reasons. Neat little cars, and I think this one could be sorted out if there’s no rust.
In both cases, interior work would be a “must.” Never liked those TJ retrims. Or, with a few exceptions, and red interiors.
Also essential would be engine work. Both would need to be built to within an inch of their lives. Or, in the Chevy’s case, replaced with something that churned out some real power., which is not the worst job in the world.
Either would do, but it’s the Fiat because the little beasts are so darn cute.
I saw one of them at the Pioneer village in Nebraska, but the engine was swapped with Rotary of some sort. not sure if that was for more power, less weight or perhaps more reliability. I can’t say that I would think even an Italian 4 cylinder could be less reliable than the Flying Dorito motors, but I guess maybe?
The Fiat’s just too weird, and good luck finding everything you need. The Nova has parts available for a ham sandwich on every street corner. But yeah, most of that interior needs to go.
The Fiat 850 at $2,350, even a non-running project, is either a good deal, or a nightmare. It all depends on what’s underneath, and if the all-important words rust-free are really true.
Nothing rusts like an old Fiat. Back in the 70’s, when those things were less than a decade old, a friend bought one. I drove with him to take it home. When we arrived, he put the top down for the first time. When we opened both doors, it literally folded in half, into a V-shape. The middle of the car hit the ground. It was so cheap he didn’t bother to look underneath. When we then did, we discovered most of what was once metal had returned to Mother Earth as rust. Even just a few years old, it was beyond salvation.
Look very closely underneath, bring an ice pick and a magnet.
The lack of title is another red flag. A bill of sale alone without a title probably won’t impress the bureaucrats at motor vehicles in most states. Seems like a good idea to first check how far a ‘letter’ from probate court will get you as well before forking over any cash.
Don’t ignore the fact that it could be both a good deal AND a nightmare.
Wow, and here, after mentioning the Mercury Zephyr (Fairmont) yesterday which was my mom’s first car, we have the Nova, my dad’s first car.
Similar to my mom’s hatred for the Fairmont, my dad does not look fondly back on Nova ownership. He owned it during the gas crisis, so like any American iron of this era it was a miserable experience to keep fuel in it. He had remarked that at least it didn’t look like a Fairmont.
Like anything else from this time it was disposable, and I’m pretty sure he replaced it with… a Hyundai Excel.
Rough start for my dad there. I’d take the Nova, if only to drive it to my parent’s house for my dad to yell “NO!” at it like Michael Scott would yell at Toby after he reappeared.
No! No! God no!!!!
I get the appeal of the Chevy, and would normally go for the runner, but that little Fiat will be beautiful when completed. Assuming the bodywork was done correctly, the rest of the project is something I feel I could tackle. It’s not a huge gamble.
That Fiat would make a wonderful EV conversion. A 72V system could have it performing like stock, and would be dirt cheap to implement.
The Nova just needs some paint and some time at the hot rod shop. I’ll take a runner any day over someone’s half built project.
Amen brother! Nice budget LS transplant (5speed stick or 6speed auto, your choice) and you have a fine driver.
I cannot stand that interior, but I’d much rather replace seats and headliner than figure out what the h*ck is going on inside that Fiat while also navigating the whole “lost title” nonsense — so it’s the Nova. Wonder if a first-generation Seville interior would fit …