Newbie in Louisiana

[folivier]

I drove a green 124 Spider while in high school, my dad's car (what was he thinking?). Had tons of fun with it. It wasn't nearly as fast as my buddies with the muscle cars of the time but if I ever got past them, usually on the outside of a curve, it was over!
This was in 1969-72 so it was a pre-1970 for sure.
I've been thinking of buying another Spider just for fun drives. Looking for a nice driver, not a project. I'm not locked into any year so I guess my first question is: are any years better than others?
BTW I'm near Baton Rouge and while I'd love to have air conditioning for those hot and humid days I don't suppose it's practical for a/c in a Spider.

[baltobernie]

For a driver, I'd recommend any of the 2-liter fuel-injected model years. Some Spiders had A/C, but there are only a handful of forum members that have it installed and working. Here's another resource: https://www.hemmings.com/blog/article/fiat-124-spider/

While hunting, restoring and driving a vintage Italian sports car has been a blast for the past ten years, I must offer this blasphemous suggestion: Unless you're able and willing to devote semi-precious money and priceless free time on maintaining an old Spider, you might want to consider an old (air conditioned) Miata.

[18Fiatsandcounting]

I'm not locked into any year so I guess my first question is: are any years better than others?

Opinions vary on this, but my preference is for the earlier years (1969 to 1972 or so) and the later years (1979 and on). My impression is that the cars in the 1973 to 1978 range just weren't build with the same quality, but that doesn't mean that there weren't exceptions of course. 1968 is unique as it was the first major production year, but it also has some design features which make it less appealing to some. The lack of a dual braking system and the torque tube drivetrain for example.

I agree with what Bernie said above, but the Fiat spiders are in my view still a ball of fun to drive, relatively uncomplicated, and parts are readily available for most things. Rust can be a major downside, so look for a car with minimal rust. The rust issues caused not only body integrity issues, but also the loss of good electrical ground connections which then causes many of the electrical components to act goofy (or simply not work).

None of my spiders had A/C, so I can't really comment on that. Seems hit or miss as far as how well the system works, from what I've heard.

Good luck!

-Bryan