8/15/2003: Introduction
This site will document the restoration of my 1966 FIAT 1500 Cabriolet.
This car belonged to my father from the early 80s until his death in
1993. Since the late 80s, it’s been sitting in a barn, rusting.
Like every site of this type, I guess I need to answer the “why are
you even trying to fix this rustbucket?!” question.
This car was always a project; something my dad planned to get back to
“some day”. Well, he never got a chance, but I plan to take a stab at it.
I know up front that I could find a complete car in better shape than
this one for less than it will cost to fix this up. But,
sentimentality being what it is, I would like to stick with this one
if I can.
I will do my best to be objective though. If I find that the car is a
total mess, I will junk it rather than waste effort on it.
Since these cars aren’t especially valuable, I know that even in the best case,
i’ll spend way more on this thing than it could ever be worth. But still, I
think it will be an interesting project for me to attempt. Hobbies don’t need
to turn a profit :)
On August 17th, 2003, I finally brought the car to my house, about 35
miles from the barn it’s been living in for the last 20 years.
6/10/2006 20:02:44
Josh,
I am happy to see my brother's old project continues to move along in your hands. I remember that car. Greg always had a thing for off-beat cars: I remember his Fiat 600, probably one of the worst cars ever to make it to the U.S., although Renault was a competitor in those days, and indeed the Morris Minor, of all things, he was running when he and your mother lived down on Eagleville Road when they were attending UConn.
Of course this phenomenon may run in the family: my first car, when I was attending UConn, was a SAAB 96, the 2 cycle three cylinder version. I drove it to Nova Scotia a couple of times, and in the end it threw a rod on the hill in Haddam Neck.
But there is another possibly genetic connection: our Uncle Art, the oldest of the generation that includes your grandfather, was a natural mechanic, who thought nothing of ripping apart engines and rebuilding them, and it was Greg who inherited that gift. In enjoying your project now, you are onto something that goes back three generations.
So, I am ejoying your reports, particularly as they make me remember Greg, who was a man of whom I don't think anyone ever had an unkind word to say. He was a strong and gentle person, as I remember him from the time he was a child and throughout his life, and I miss him terribly to this day, as I know you and your bother and mother do.
Doug
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