Solved - MJW #008 - Frabat-Abarth 1967

Allemano · September 23, 2010, 01:15:01 PM

AMS?

faksta · September 23, 2010, 01:23:27 PM

Is it the only car known by this name? If not, was this make active before this car?

woodinsight · September 23, 2010, 01:27:52 PM

Allemano - Not AMS

Faksta - It is the only car known by this make.
The car was based on a make that had already been well established before this one-off was built.
Another small clue - the name is a contraction of the constructor's first name and surname.

woodinsight · September 23, 2010, 02:17:08 PM

and another smaller image of the car (apologies to Allemano for the revealing of the true image!)
I have another image of the car that I'll post if there is still difficulty with the identification.

faksta · September 23, 2010, 02:23:30 PM

That other make you mentioned - is it De Sanctis (for the chassis)?

woodinsight · September 23, 2010, 02:44:45 PM

Not De Sanctis- far more known than that....

faksta · September 23, 2010, 02:45:21 PM

De Tomaso? (Italian at all?)

Paul Jaray · September 23, 2010, 02:47:01 PM

Is there a Gilco chassis?

woodinsight · September 23, 2010, 02:50:29 PM

Not Gilco
The car that this is based on has already been mentioned.
The question now is who created it and the name he used for the car.

Allemano · September 23, 2010, 02:52:53 PM

Quote from: woodinsight on September 23, 2010, 02:17:08 PM
(apologies to Allemano for the revealing of the true image!)

Allemano · September 23, 2010, 02:53:56 PM

related to Osella?

woodinsight · September 23, 2010, 02:55:43 PM

Allemano - I was referring to your earlier comment about optical illusions!

woodinsight · September 23, 2010, 02:59:52 PM

It is very Italian and was constructed in Firenze in 1967.
No more clues now - I'm being too generous tonight!

woodinsight · October 08, 2010, 04:55:28 PM

This has stalled somewhat after the last replies, so new clues are needed -
It appeared at the Salone di Torino del 1967 as a vetture da competitzione.
More clues to follow in time......

Carnut · October 08, 2010, 06:50:18 PM

Quote from: woodinsight on September 23, 2010, 02:50:29 PM
The car that this is based on has already been mentioned.

In another puzzle?

woodinsight · October 08, 2010, 11:39:36 PM

Big clue Carnut - Engine and what the car was based on are the same.......

woodinsight · October 09, 2010, 01:52:34 PM

Another view at Pista del Sole di Firenze when the car was new

SeaLion · October 11, 2010, 06:19:36 PM

Quote from: woodinsight on September 23, 2010, 12:15:35 PMSo - engine is not Alfa Romeo but yes it is Abarth.
The engine of 1300cc was designed and built by Abarth.

Quote from: woodinsight on October 08, 2010, 11:39:36 PM
Big clue Carnut - Engine and what the car was based on are the same.......

Sum-up so far:
It is a small italian one-off from Firenze, built in 1967 and showed at the Torino car show the same year. Based on an Abarth 1300, but the puzzle car is not an Abarth.

Hmm, I'm still searching.

woodinsight · October 12, 2010, 12:22:44 AM

SeaLion, that's correct so far.
The car was shown at Torino in 1967 in the competition car section of the show.
The name of the car is a contraction of the builder's first and second names - so it is xxxxxx-Abarth.

It was intended to compete with the car in the late 1960s but there were severe problems with the transmission and there wasn't enough resources available at the time to solve the problem.
The car apparently exists today, albeit in a sorry state with a large part of the mechanicals missing.

faksta · October 12, 2010, 03:11:50 AM

Two puzzles don't let me sleep these days - this one and Djetset's #216 FJ car (well, if we don't take into account Djetset's #182 which kept half of the board sleepless for several weeks and now is a bit forgotten).

woodinsight · October 12, 2010, 03:36:36 AM

That's true Djetset's 216 is a real mystery to me too. No doubt the answer will be revealed in due course.

I also hope that this one can be solved as well.
My source material is in Italian and I'm having to translate sentences at a time. It's a two-page article with quite a lot of background info.
I guess this car is difficult to identify as it never appeared in competition (it was intended to enter the car for the Mugello 500km in 1969) and probably disappeared from view after the project was abandoned. Apparently it was sold and has changed hands several times over the years.
I do have some other names associated with the design/build of the car that I'll post as an additional clue shortly.

ps - and it's not an "April Fools Joke" as my MJW 044 has turned out to be!

faksta · October 12, 2010, 04:03:52 AM

An exact race was too much of a hint

Is it Fra.Bat?

It doesn't look that bad today after all... http://img39.imageshack.us/g/img0737agx.jpg/ Even though the puzzle picture makes it look times better.

Allemano · October 12, 2010, 04:31:03 AM

WOW!

woodinsight · October 12, 2010, 05:03:04 AM

Congratulations!

Whew - I hate puzzles disappearing into the dreaded BH.

It is indeed the Fra.Bat-Abarth built by Franco Battista at Firenze in 1967 and based on a Simca-Abarth 1300cc.

The photos you found are excellent - I was expecting to find it a complete wreck today!

Allemano · October 12, 2010, 05:10:24 AM

Great car!

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Solved - MJW #008 - Frabat-Abarth 1967