For Sale: Good-hearted ’74 Berlina in San Francisco

[tomu]

1974 Berlina – would make a great project car, or use as a driver. I bought her in 2007 as a project car but have not been able to do the things I thought I would do…

It has something over 200,000 miles, but still gets around – readily does 70 mph, gets better than 25 mpg. Give her a good home, and the first $1200 offer (firm) gets to drive her home.

Exterior – painted gold several years before I bought it (a good color, actually!) – it was originally beige.
Interior – black, in decent shape.
Tires – Pirelli P4 with just under 4000 miles on them – I put them on when I bought the car in 2007.
Mechanical – 5-speed manual transmission, Spica carb.

I have fairly complete maintenance records since 1982. Apparently a Northern California car all its life. Most recently serviced by Glenn Olivera in Berkeley (until 2007) and at Imported Motor Service on 14th Street in San Francisco.

“Issues”:
Usual rust, but not excessive (I’ve driven it in the rain only twice, and have kept it garaged since 2007). Comes with a car cover, if you need it.
Compression – ouch. Latest is 110/120/100/90. Still, she starts every time.
Needs work on shocks/suspension – possibly worn pitman arm, could use new tie rod ends.
Fuel pressure light is on all the time, but actual pressure was fine when checked. Same with oil pressure gauge – it reads low, but actual pressure was fine when checked. Fuel gauge is highly inaccurate.
Funky-looking bumpers.
Electrical – the windshield wipers started operating at random a few months ago, so I disconnected the interior wiring. Will need to be reconnected (though the hydraulic wiper pump works just fine).
Dashboard – cracked, just like pretty much every Berlina ever made, at some point…

Basically -- she'd make a good platform for your next project, or you could fix the suspension and drive her as is for a while.

Please call or text with questions or to schedule a visit. I’m in San Francisco Mission District.

Tom @ 415-596-7505 / tluster99@gmail.com

[tomu]

Thanks, all, for your interest. The Berlina is sold.

[Andrew]

Wow, congrats. I looked at this car a couple of times in the past for people. Did it stay local?
Andrew

[tomu]

Andrew, I'll PM you later to update the register.

Tom

[dkhoe]

Sold in under 2 hours... that's gotta be some kind of record!

[Andrew]

Hey man, it's a Berlina. Everyone wants one.
Andrew

[rloewy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew Hey man, it's a Berlina. Everyone wants one. Andrew

[Andrew]

You might not say that if you saw it in person (though of course color is a matter of taste). It's really bright, and not the highest quality work.
Car went to a good home, keeping other Berlinas company.
Andrew

[Mr ganz]

what a deal,i think beige-color is a great period look,hope new buyer puts car back in original condition

[tomu]

As the seller, perhaps I should weigh in... I think it's a great color for a Berlina. This was a 20-30 footer, but a well-done paint job in this tone would look really sharp -- I thought of it as kind of a California poppy sort of look. I had hoped to lose the bumpers or switch to chrome, but c'est la vie. The new owner has done some good things with Berlinas, so I'm hoping this one gets good treatment, too.

BTW, I sold it about one hour after I posted. Apparently, you gotta be quick to get a Berlina these days...