Welcome to Project Car Hell, where you choose your eternity by selecting the project that's the coolest... and the most hellish! Since Fiat and Chrysler are now henchmen, PCH must honor their alliance!
Outside of North America, it was known as the Fiat 131, but to us it will always be the legendary Brava. What a fine project car a Brava would make, with its rear-wheel-drive layout and Italian soul, but you just can't find one these days. We'll have to settle for yet another 124 Spider, looks like… but wait! This 1979 Fiat Brava (go here if the ad disappears) is for sale, and the price is a lire-pinching $1,200! The seller says "Runs great, motor/trans tight," and it's been lowered and has a Spider rear axle swap. Were those modifications done with safety and reliability in mind? You'll find out!
When you're talking Fiat-Chrysler deals, the conversation is going to turn to the Chrysler TC By Maserati sooner or later; after all, Fiat owns Maserati now, and Chrysler owned a piece of Maserati during the Iacocca Era. We've seen the TC in the Hell Garage before, and for good reason: K-car underpinnings, Maserati branding, and turbocharging make for endless nightmares fun in the garage. In our search for just the right TC, we've found our Truth In Advertising Award winner for January, with this 1989 Chrysler TC by Maserati (go here if the ad disappears). With lines such as "I am looking forward to failing at selling it so I can go back to the owner and humbly request permission to have it crushed into little satisfying bits," you know you've got a motivated seller here. Most folks trying to sell a TC assume that the Maserati emblems mean that the car is worth 10 grand, minimum, and it takes them about 19 months of the car sitting at that price before they realize that there's something wrong with people and take it off the market. That means it's really tough to find one for just a grand, but: motivated seller in this case. It doesn't run. There are dents. The interior is sub-nice. But so what? Maserati!