How did my Spider get here?

[Tcamp]

We have been researching our 1973 124 Spider built in the Lingotto factory in Turin, Italy. Where would it have been shipped from and where would it have been shipped to in the U.S.?? We bought it from the original owner and we live in British Columbia, Canada. Also on the cars ID tag under the hood, there is a number following "per Ricambi" 1850802. Would anyone know what this is and possibly help us with the journey our car made?
Thanks!

Todd.

[18Fiatsandcounting]

I'm no expert, but here's a couple thoughts:

Fiat-Roosevelt Motors Inc. was the importer of Fiats into the US, at least in the early years, although I don't know if this was also true for imports into Canada. That's why you'll see a lot of things labeled "Roosevelt Motors" including packaging on spare parts, the radio dial faceplate, sales brochures, etc. I think FRM was in New Jersey, right outside of New York City.

"Per Ricambi" means "For Spare Parts". If you look closely, the vehicle ID tag should say "No. per ricambi" and then right below this, "No. for spares". It's just Fiat's way of ordering spare parts for each car. To get exactly the right part, the dealer or service shop would need the engine number, body number, and the "number for spare parts." To the right of this number are the same phrases in French and German.

-Bryan

[davidbruce]

Todd, did the original owner purchase the car in the US? There were several dealers in BC back then. When I bought my 1973 in the early 2000''s it came with the original dealer wallet from a dealer in Victoria. If I had to guess, I would say cars destined for western Canada were probably trucked from Turin to Genoa and then freightered to the port of Vancouver. Perhaps someone on the forum knows who the Canadian importer was.

[18Fiatsandcounting]

More than you ever wanted to know, but I was curious why "number" is abbreviated No. It comes from the Latin "numero", and the abbreviation symbol is №

With this new awesome knowledge, I can now sleep easier.

-Bryan

[Tcamp]

Thanks for the reply guys.

We added our car to the Spider registry and Ralf replied with info on how to go about obtaining a certificate of origin. Whether or not it includes info on how our car got here - I guess we will find out when we receive it. Nevertheless, quite a journey our little car made! If it landed in the port of Vancouver that means it probably went through the Panama Canal? The car speedometer is in miles, not sure if that makes a difference.

Todd.

p.s. One thing that that I know for sure is that it was meant to be.