Itsy Bitsy Through the Years
On Dec 27 2018, I got a text message from what was then called Alfa Romeo Fiat of Ft Worth. They knew we were looking to buy a Fiat 124 Spider. With the end of the month and year coming up, they were ready to move inventory. The text made us an offer on a new Spider. It was quite specific and was an extremely good offer. It even threw in the $60 totally fake-for-profit "dealer fee"...lol.
I told Jennifer "Go jump in the van - we're buying a 124" and off we went.
It took some haggling because they tried to wiggle out of their offer. In the end, we ended up getting Itsy for about $2,300 less than their orginal offer because they tried to play with numbers and rip us off, got caught, and when they changed the numbers back, they screwed up and ended up ripping themselves off - but that is an entire other story.
So, Itsy Bitsy began her life with us with 35 miles on her odometer, several of which we had put on her during our test drive.
We went to our first Fiat event that spring, a combined weekend event put on by 2 Fiat clubs in Texas. That got us hooked on the car club thing. We joined Fiat Club America - DFW Chapter and started doing their monthly events, as well as regional events around Texas.
Her first mod was a stubby. Many more followed. Lowering springs, sequential side markers, turbo blanket, piping in the doors, front mount intercooler - a steady mix of performance and aethetic mods.
I got a stage 1 tune from Tork Motorsports, then several months later, won a stage 2 tune from Eurocompulsion in a raffle at a Fiat event on Twisted Sisters. Somewhere along the way, we started going to car shows.
New wheels andhigh performance summer tires followed and then coilovers, a front splitter, spoiler and side skirts. Atmospheric blowoff valve, valve actuator, oil catch can, complete stereo overhaul, wind deflector to reduce cabin noise and air, custom stripes, Wilwood front big brakes, and more.
I had an Ashiko weighted shift knob engraved with my spider design to match my emblems on the front and rear decks, wheel hubs and steering wheel. But, browsing the internet I stumbled upon a shift knob with a real spider inside. It wasn't weighted but my throw was already so short, a weighted knob wasn't really providng any significant advantage on the track, so I bit and got it. It is a perfect knob for a car called a 124 Spider! It can get a crazy amount of attention at car shows.
This year Itsy got some rally driving lights. Overall, Itsy over 40 mods on her now. We didn't get to go to many car shows last year, but Itsy is over 40 awards now and counting. Not bad for a daily driver with a light track bent!
We will be driving her to Wisconsin this summer for Fiat Club America's annual Fiat Freakout. We've been to Freakouts in Lancaster, PA (21), The Woodlands, TX (22), and Greenvile, SC (24), so this will be our 4th Freakout.
Two years after we bought Itsy, I became the President of the FCA - DFW Chapter. And last year, I became a member of FCA's national Board of Directors. It greatly restricts how often we get to come play with the NTX gang because we have a nasty habit of always having events on the same days.
Here are some pics to show how Itsy has progressed over her 6 years in our family. In those 6 years, our family has progressed, as well. In 2020, Jennifer bought another 124 Spider - an Abarth 124 called "Saxy". Several months ago, our daughter, Abi, who still lives with us while she goes through nursing school, bought a 124 Spider she calls "Sorrisi" ("smiles" in Italian) for her 21st birthday.
The best thing about Itsy, so far, has been, despite a fair amount of what I can only describe as driving abuse, she has only needed routine scheduled maintenance (knock on wood).
6.5 years later, Itsy has 80,200 fun filled, smile filled miles on her. Definitely the most fun car I have ever owned. That says a lot as I have had fully self-customized vans, multiple Mustangs, Jeeps, etc over the years.
Pic1: Itsy, the day after we bought her.
Pic 2: Her first mod - the Stubby.
Pic 3: Rocking her new spider emblem on North Padre Island.
Pic 4: Jennifer driving Itsy on the first leg of the Twisted Sisters in 2020.
Pic 5: Sporting new wheels, lowering springs, and a grille emblem.
Pic 6: Hood and deck stripes. (Many other mods have been added in the engine bay by now.)
Pic 7: Side stripes added.
Pic 8: Rear spoiler and side skirts.
Pic 9: On the track at Eagles Canyon. If you've never done a track day - do one! Itsy has also been on Cresson, MSR Houston, and COTA, as well as Twisted Sisters multiple times and Tail of the Dragon.
Pic 10: Rally driving lights.
It's neat to see the evolution of the car; the Italian racing stripes really transformed the look - bright and bold!
