04-17-2007, 08:47 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Dexter, Michigan USA
Posts: 2,258
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Abarth Chassis
 Quote:
Originally Posted by Pat Braden
Stu:
This is Peter Vack's quote from Pat's memorial article in Veloce Today. The Abarth that he's making reference to being 3,000 miles away was the Ghia bodied car out of Maryland, the other two Allemanos that we had, one coupe and one spider, Pat had and brought with him from Michigan:
"...During the Great Years of Exportation, 1985-1991, I would find a rare Alfa or Abarth on the east coast, only to learn that somehow, Braden had already been there and done that despite being 3000 miles away. He was always a bit ahead of the rest of the pack; most of us literally followed in his footsteps..."
I'll see if I can find you a page reference in the Abarth book with the picture, it will be a while before I can scan it or a picture of the car, though.... as I said it was ugly, primer grey.
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The Ghia bodied Abarth that we owned and was originally misidentified as an Alfa, and the reason Pat got the call about it, can be seen on pgs. 30 and 31 of Pat's Abarth book. The picture was taken in Flint, Michigan at his mom's house, his son, Mark, is standing next to the right-hand drive car. This is what the text reads from the book:
"What is perhaps the oldest surviving Abarth is the Ghia-bodied 205 built in 1953. Identified during the writing of this book, the car was found in a barn in Virginia and initially identified as an Alfa Romeo. The car is shown in the January 1960 issue of Road & Track next to a similiarly-bodied Simca-Abarth. Though the engine and transmission are missing and the interior gutted, the torsion-bar front suspension made it undeniably Abarth and not Alfa."
I had forgotten that the car was originally found in Virginia --- we bought it from a young guy and his wife in Gaithersburg, Maryland who had twins.
I also had forgotten that prior to Pat's move to California he also owned a double bubble in addition to the Allemano coupe and spider. That one didn't come with us and was sold.
__________________
Cheryl
(Not an authority nor SME
on anything, just PATSYF)
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