1936 Fiat Balilla 508 4M Spyder

1936 Fiat Balilla 508 Spyder Description

Up for sale is a 1936 Fiat Balilla 4m Spyder or also known as a roadster/cabriolet. This car, chassis #103739 is 1 of less than 12 known to exist in the world according to the very knowledgeable and helpful people at the Fiat Balilla RegistryinTorino Italy.

Fiat manufactured over 80,000 of these cars in various versions back in the day, 2 door, 4 door, trucks, Cabriolet, Torpedo and Spyder Sport for racing. They were manufactured by Fiat in Italy and licensedto also be built in Poland and France. Of the 80,000+ vehicles manufactured, less than 900 have survived World War 2. According to the Balilla registry of the Italian manufactured cars, they only know of 47, 1936 Balilla 508 vehicles in various forms and of those, only 4 are 4M Spyders and this one is the only one in the USA. According to Miss Valentina Alghisi, chief of registration from the 1000 Miglia, that this car, because of its rarity and verified Italian Heritage would be high on the acceptance list to run the prestigious Italian Mille Miglia.

This particular car was purchased new in a stunning Royal blue body (the originalcolor is still intact and covered with blackpaint) with black fenders and a tan interior bya Dr. Vittorio LoTito from a small town by the name of Noto on the south east coast of Sicily. He moved his family and practice to Ethiopia when the threat of war was eminent. From there he moved to New York City sometime in the 70’s and took the car with him. He drove the car for many years and finally sold it to a fellow by the name of Ronald Thompson from Maryland and who later moved to Texas. The car was driven in Texas until 1979 when it blew a head gasket.Mr. Thompsondecided to put the car in covered storage onTuesday May 8th1979as the slip of paper found under the seat states. The car sat untouched until I purchased it.Although the car has been repainted sometime in the late 1940’s from Royal Blue to black, most appears to be in original condition and the past owner claims to have made no alterations from when he bought from the original owner.

Iremoved the cylinder head, surfaced it,manufactured the head gasket,I then cleaned out the fuel tank and rebuilt the Weber carburetor, installed new points, plugs, wires and cap, changed the oil, installed a new battery and some fresh fuel and it started right up! The oil pressure was 45 psi and as I brought it up to operating temperature it did not overheat! Next I rebuilt the brake master cylinder, slave cylinders and installed new hoses, so now the car has brakes! Next was a test drive, clutch works fine and all 4 speeds and reverse also works fine. The car now runs and drives although I would not take it on the freeway but it runs well around town. The car was painted black sometime in the early 1950’s (? The second owner bought it that way); I believe the original color was royal blue with black fenders and a tan interior. The top may be original, hard to say. The only options the car has is the windshield wiper and under seat “climate control” which is nothing more than a heater core with a 2” hot air pipe going to the inside cabin of the car! Better than nothing. There is no rust bubbles or perforationson the car, even the exhaust system is in good condition. The 5 tires/tubes were replaced, some of the chrome was replated in the 1960’s but that is it, and most everything is original. If you want additional photos let me know what you are looking for and I will supply, contact me throughEBay messages or look me up at catzauto dot com. I have researched this car to great depths and can find little information, recent photographs or sales history of any sort. The cars that I did find some information on were coupes and sedans from Polish or French manufacture, which are different. This car is a significant part of Italian history and would be a perfect candidate for running the prestigious Italian Mille Miglia. This is a truly magnificent barn find that was sparingly worked on to get it running and is in unrestored condition. This car comes with a clean Maryland title from 1979. I had put this car up for auction in May of 2013 and it bid up to $30,800.00. It did not meet my reserve and honestly it was such a rare car I did not have the heart to sell her. Since that time I have had it in many car shows like the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix, The ItalianCortile"Focus on Fiat" where it was center arena, and Glenmore Gathering where it was proudly shown and enjoyed by all. Sadly I have not had it out in the past 3 years and must now "thin out my herd" and once again offer it for sale. My goal was to mechanically restore it and leave the rest alone then drive it in the Mille Migliabut maybe someone else can realise mydream. THIS CAR IS BEING AUCTIONED WITH NO RESERVE!

Ciao Bella!

World Wide shipping easily arranged at the end of the auction. Seller reserves the right to cancel any and all bids. Also, for those that would like to view the car before bidding, feel free to email me with your contact information, and I will be more than happy to show it to you in person, or if you like, you can send an independent mechanic to inspect it before the end of the auction. Bid victoriously on this once in a lifetime find. You certainly will not see another for quite some time!

Cheers

Tom Z.