Wolfgang Simlinger 1969 AC

On a hot July day in 2002 I was surfing a little on the web. Actually, I was looking for an Alfa Spider, Convertible or similar, where one could enjoy the hot summer days a little. "Fiat 124 Sport" was in an advertisement, I thought it was a spider, a meeting arranged with the seller and went there.

At first I was a little disappointed: the car was pretty dusty in a garage in Währing. There were the black number plates, mounted as a current owner, turned out to be a charity. A lady had inherited the car after her death to this organization and now they tried to sell the vehicle. I sat in it, turned the ignition key, and I  was fascinated. The car started immediately, the sound was fantastic. Since no papers for the car were referred to, I could learn in peace about my future car. My neighbour, a classic car expert, said that there are only a few cars from the first series and you could buy the car for anngebotenen price. So a  short time later I was the proud owner of a Fiat Coupe 1400, year of 1969

In August 2002, it was done: I took possession of the car, 10 minutes later, Barny and I took  our first ride on the high streets in Vienna. The curves up to Kahlenberg took the car elegantly and without problems, some driving schools have been overhauled with momentum. After the car was cleaned and polished, the thing looked a bit different: the car was painted in Zugen of restoration work by the previous owner complete, the new paint applied professionally. One might think that the car was new. The interior was in excellent condition. Mechanically  I could see no problems, except that the car needed a lot of oil (but with old Fiats is often the case). The car was driven up regularly in the fall of 2002, before he emigrated in November to my neighbours in the workshop.


Restoration was announced in winter 2002. My neighbour heard some suspicious noises when driving (valves, bearings), the compression was not great on two cylinders also, it was also to stop oil consumption. So the engine was lifted out and taken apart. Oil seals, seals and some bearings were replaced, the valve clearance adjusted and cleaned the entire engine compartment. On the body, the floor board under the seats needed some welding. The noise insulation was removed and the interior were carried out minor repairs (heating switch, door panels ,....). The brakes, steering and suspension was checked, greased and adjusted.


In March 2003 the car was like as new. The engine ran perfectly, the brakes went smooth and the steering had no play. I could not wait to drive to the first days of spring through the Most district. The car was really fun, accelerated well, let himself be guided well and impressed by their excellent cornering.


In the summer of 2003 I went almost every weekend. Since the car is in St. Valentin, the trips are made mainly through the must and Upper Austria, sometimes called the Salzkammergut. The consumption in highway driving is 8-10 liters / 100 km, the oil consumption of less than 1 Liter/1000km. Because the car is well under 1000kg, allowing the 90 hp engine of the 1400 spirited driving performance. Some classic car events, I met a couple of Fiat Coupe drivers. None, however, had an AC Coupe from the first series. Also, research on the Internet revealed that this type of only very few vehicles have been preserved, few of them in really good, drivable condition.


In the summer of 2004 I took part in some exits of OMAC Steyr. The rounds went through the Alps, and the Enns valley. In the fall, however, by the Fiat was misfiring attention. In the cold condition of the car jerked heavily on some cylinders, there was no spark. The circuit breaker was replaced, and since then the car ran better but still not optimal.

Since 2004, the car is running without problems, except for minor maintenance which is needed for each vehicle, the car has never seen the workshop. In May 2008 we started a big tour: The aim of the trip was the Mille Miglia in Italy. The first day we covered the route from Vienna to Rimini. As we drove off the highway, we were a total of 14 hours in the car. The car mastered the track with no problems, only our ears were affected by the engine noise!!