1963 FIAT 600 D

The car we are pleased to offer is a dark grey Fiat 600D, first registered in Messina, Italy in February 1964, chassis n. 1433969 and still on its original plates.

Being a mark I 600 "D", the first details that catch our attention are the suicide doors that still feature external hinges and the 36 louvers on the rear trunk, up from the 30 usually found on the earlier models: a solution necessary to keep the uprated engine, which saw a bump to 767cc and 29hp, from overheating.

This car's exterior is very pretty. The dark grey paintjob shows no major defects, except for some minor orange peel on the finish and a few signs of chipping. The front Fiat ornament and the two side trims are partially oxidized but since they are made of aluminium it should be easy to polish them back to a mirror finish. The driver's side door trim doesn't align perfectly with the one on the front wing but then again, it should be an easy fix.

The fiat emblem on the front trunk is faded, however the chrome on both bumpers is almost as shiny as the day it left the factory, with only some barely noticeable rust spots currently poking their way through the amazing finish. The ingenuous plastic bumper guards are barely scratched on the surface, a welcome sign that they work as intended in preventing parking damage!

The front headlights are well preserved and with a nice patina, with only some minor yellowing of the glass to detract from an otherwise amazing appearance. The front indicators, which were recently replaced, look as good as new and the same can be said about the side repeaters, with their bright orange offering a nice contrast to the dark grey body colour. The taillights are intact and look the part on such a beautiful car.

The windshield and rear glass gasket are in excellent state, just like the window trims and mouldings on the side windows.

On the inside this car's as beautiful as it is on the outside and the red with white accents upholstery elegantly complements the body colour. Both the front seats and the rear bench are upholstered in red faux leather with some white upper accents and pipe stitching. They are in great condition, save from some black pitting on some parts of the pipe stitching. The seats are also well padded and as comfortable as one should expect from an early 60s economy car. The red door cards are in equally good condition and almost void of defects: even their pockets show no signs of wear or abuse. The rear passengers' handles, bolted to the B pillars, are in surprisingly good shape despite their age and we're pretty sure that a thorough cleaning would make them look even better.

The dashboard, which is almost entirely preserved, shows some yellowing on the speedometer, water and fuel level gauges' bakelite casing and the two spoke steering wheels' bakelite cover is cracked in multiple places but it is still functional. The aftermarket gear knob is well worn and should be replaced. The ashtray and the rest of dashboard switches are preserved and not restored; therefore they show some signs of ageing, however all the usually fragile lever switches function properly and are still intact.

The sunvisors are slightly worn and the preserved headliner, which shows no real signs of wear, may look out of place in such a beautifully upholstered car. The pedal box is fully functional, however the anti-slip rubber pads on the clutch and brake pedals are worn. The rubber floor mats, which cover the car's floor and front wheel well areas, are in good condition save from some minor wear marks. We'd also like to point out that there's some left-over wiring hanging near the steering column, we think this may be a left-over from an audio system that was probably removed during this car's restoration.

This 600 D's undercarriage is almost rust-free and the floorplans appear to have been replaced. The front suspension and steering systems, which work as intended, could probably benefit from a thorough inspection of their ball joints since their dust covers appear cracked. The front of the car was also excessively coated in anti-rust paint while the same coating appears to have been perfectly applied to the rest of the underbody.

The 4-cylinder, water cooled 767cc and 29hp engine appears dry enough on the outside, however the spark plug wires need to be replaced given how worn they are. The hoses and belt, which look fairly new, and the heat exchanger don't seem to need any maintenance instead. The fuel tank and spare tire, located in the front trunk, are in good condition, however the fuel cap is partially rusted and replacing it would greatly improve the appearance of an otherwise well kept, and clean trunk.

This 600d is sold with its original steel wheels which only show some minor signs of kerb rash. The Fiat hubcaps, on the other hand, are dented and may need to be replaced.

The car we are presenting was first registered in Messina on February 8th, 1963, chassis n. 1433969 and still has its original number plates. This 600d's title is a duplicate from 1985, just like its "foglio complementare" since the original booklet was probably lost or too worn.

As we tried to point out, this car's shell and interior have been restored to a fairly high standard and most of its ancillaries were preserved rather than replaced or restored. Despite the near mint paintjob, the patina that transpires from the preserved components really tells a story and gives the car a nice character, as is to be expected from any 60 years old lady!

Rust free Fiat 600 which are also in good condition are hard to find nowadays and this car really seems to fit the bill, capably walking the line between full restoration and preserved work of industrial design. Being a Mark I 600d prospective buyers will surely appreciate the combination of externally hinged suicide doors and better refined 767cc, 29hp engine.

The paintjob looks solid, just like the interior and, unfortunately for some, we are confident that this car will make both the seller and the buyer very happy!

Price estimate for this Fiat 600 D: € 7.000 - € 9.000

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located in the province of Catania, Italy. To arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below or try our “Frequently Asked Questions”.