Story by Pete Vack
Photo by B.D. Dobbins.
It was noted, some time ago, that there was a disproportionate number of Fiat-based Abarth cars in the United States, sitting broken or unused in garages, driveways and because most Abarths were small enough to fit, in a large outdoor sheds common to so many backyards.
There were, it seemed, ample antique Allemanos tucked away under tarps and willow trees, sitting askance with the ground side of the rear wheels pointed inwards, relieved of the weight of the rear engine.
Not an Allemano, but a truly
rare 750GT Zagato Spider.
Found in New Jersey, as I recall.
Others often ran, the old useless 600 engines replaced by the even more numerous 600D variants which oddly enough dispensed of the large side mounted oil filter. Of course by that time, in the mid 1970s, people neither knew nor cared that the original 600 was a specially machined block with a special crankshaft and camshaft, all numbered carefully by the Austrian wizard.
Sam’s Racer
One of our more interesting dealings with an Abarth Allemano was an old SCCA car belonging to Sam Coronia, who had campaigned it at Marlboro. By the early 1980s it was no longer competitive, but one of Sam’s mechanics though otherwise.
Two hustling Allemanos undercut a Sprite at Marlboro.
B.D. Dobbins photo.
He proceeded to remove the engine, replacing it with a 903cc, and installed wide racing tires and wheels. This necessitated flaring the poor aluminum wheel wells to fit the huge tires. When Sam finally caught on to what was happening, only three fenders had been extended and he call a stop to the project.
I lost track of the car but if anyone out there has an Allemano with three flared fenders, or vestiges thereof, well, that’s the story.
Like a Volkswagen with a Headache
In other places, the coupe variant, often called the Double Bubble, but more correctly the Abarth 750 GT Zagato Derivazione, could be spotted, easily so, because the roofline was so obvious and unnatural. Like a Volkswagen with a headache, a friend smartly observed. They too, seemed to pop up in strange places, and shared much in common with the open Allemano, including the ever present chassis rust.
Mr. Swenson’s Custom Abarth
Some Abarth Zagatos were saved in strange ways. Answering a want ad placed in the Washtington Post for a “restored†Abarth 750 GT for $10,000. In the 1980s, $10,000 was an unheard of price for an Abarth. And restored? After a fashion, perhaps.
It seems that the owner, without having any knowledge of other Abarths, spent over 25 years restoring his son’s 750 Zagato, thinking that “this must be the only one left in the worldâ€. Swenson was a retired plastics engineer who put his talents to work on the Abarth. In due course, Swenson recreated the delicate rear bumpers, using plastic filled with foam. He made a new fiberglass hood, installed more comfortable seats from an MG Midget, a molded plastic headliner, and designed a new ventilation system, taking fresh air through the traditional Abarth badge in the nose. Chrome taillight and instrument surrounds were change to black enamel. This was topped off by a two tone paint job, reddish orange body with a silver top. It was, well, different.
I don’t know if Mr. Swenson sold it or if he got his asking price. But if you are the owner of an Abarth which has or had foam filled bumpers, that’s the story.
Bonnie’s Abarth 750GT hidden in the woods. It was totally original with even the headliner intact. Photo by Mary Decker Vack.
A Boy Named Bonnie
Word gets around if one is on the lookout for strange foreign cars, and sure enough, a co-worker mentioned that he had seen a strange, humped roof car some miles outside of Baltimore. With his help, we located the place which was in the woods, and sure enough, there was a black Abarth 750 GT, almost totally original and intact. Alongside, in wet cardboard boxes, were four new Abarth Campagnolo 6 inch racing wheels. In a heartbeat, from out of the dilapidated structure nearby, came a rather large woman. “If you’re interested in the car, let me go get Bonnie,†she said. Out came Bonnie, about 6 foot five, with a mean look and huge biceps. We decided to be nice and not tease him about being named Bonnie. Turns out that Bonnie was very nice, and wanted only $800 for the entire package including the wheels.
Mahlon Craft on the cover
of NewsWeek.
They didn’t fit any of his Chevs so he didn’t care much about them. I sold the wheels to Mahlon Craft, famed for his portrait as a Cro-Magnon man on the cover of Newsweek (and for his Abarth knowledge as well) and kept the 750GT for parts.
Less commonly found, at odds with common sense, were the Abarth Berlinas. For some reason, the Allemanos and Zagatos, both more expensive with special, truly hand built bodies, were more prevalent in the U.S, strange until one realized that the in the 1950s, the SCCA had great classes for 750 sports cars but none for small sedans. In fact one of the very few small sedan races in American during the fifties was a short lived series at Lime Rock. But the Allemano and Zagato Abarths were eligible for SCCA’s H production classes. The SCCA took their name, the Sports Car Club of America seriously. This does not rule out the success of Alfred Cosentino, who gained fame and fortune with a 1000 Berlina once the SCCA created a sedan class in the mid sixties.
Alfred S. Cosentino
Cosentino burst onto the scene in the early 1960s, opening up an import center named FAZA (Fiat Abarth Zagato Allemano) in Brewster, NY. From 1965 to 1969, he achieved a number of SCCA wins with a Fiat Abarth 1000 Berlina in the new D Sedan class. His business apparently prospered and he imported everything for Abarths, cars, parts, books, accessories. He was, however, like a flywheel disintegrating at 10,000 rpm—his energy and emotions went everywhere, flying here, there and everywhere, yet totally focused on Abarth.
One of Cosentino’s Abarth books.
His many books, self published, demonstrated this amazing but uncontrolled energy. There were no paragraphs, sometimes no chapters, streaming advertisements and tech tips, photos and letters from all over the world, Abarth literature galore, and peppered between this explosion of print was his own, unique, embattled and controversial words, which rarely were aligned with any adjacent photography. But the books were full of interesting bits of information, from gear ratio charts to official Abarth photos, parts breakdowns, and rare ads. It was hard to own an Abarth without owning at least several of his books.
B.D. Dobbins caught Al Cosentino as he crosses the
finish line with his FAZA Abarth.
Many considered Al Cosentino “Mr. Abarth” and he provided people all over the world with Abarth parts and cars. Al loved to talk on the phone. And talk. And talk. By the end of the conversation the customer would have forgotten what he was going to order but he had learned a great deal about Al Cosentino.
Someday someone will write about Al, for in many respects, Cosentino was Abarth in America. But that will have to be another time and another person. In the meantime, another American was building a completely different reputation for Fiat and Abarth in America. Read about in Part II of Abarth in America.
I remember an incident at Lime Rock in the early 70’s involving Al Cosentino. Seems he needed a fuel supply component for his Abarth racecar. Since he didn’t have a spare with him, he took a walk in the spectator parking lot looking for a FIAT “donor car”. He popped the engine cover, took the part and left a note that he would return the part after the race was over. Problem was, the car was owned by a doctor who got an emergency call during the race. As I recall, the stewards had a long talk with Al and suggested that he not return for the rest of the season.
Peter,
I enjoyed your articles about the little Abarths. I think the membership of our Fiat club here in Seattle would also enjoy them. May we have permission to reprint them in our monthly newsletter?
Thanks,
Bob Yetter
Vice President
Fiat Enthusiasts NW
PS-Love our eZine. Keep up the great work.
Where is Al Consentino? In the automotive book business my whole life, I came across Al on several occasions in the 1980s – “came across” doesn’t describe our meetings, he always arrived as though he had a contract out on me – with opening words like “those books you bought, will you give me a check now?” to which I would respond, “which books are those, Al?” Talk about tenacity, energy and an ability to talk. I loved listening to him. He was so funny. Al and Abarth, inseparable.
A few years ago I believe Al Consentino was living in Thousand Oaks in Southern California. I remember seeing some ads for Alfas and parts when I was looking for a GTV. Not sure if he is still there. Maybe somebody else knows.
One day I was sitting at work when my phone rang. It was Al Cosentino on the phone looking for someone other than me. Since the Fiat world isn’t a very big one I knew the guy he was looking for and gave him the phone #. I had a long conversation with him but to this day I have no idea how he got my phone # (at work no less) as I have never called, written or spoken to him before.
Abarths do pop up in weird places. A few years back a car dealer I was freinds with told me about a guy who had “one of those little Fiats you like, you know an 850” nearby. I got there expecting the usual and was pretty surprized to find an Abarth 1000 OTS sitting under a mesquite tree.
The guy knew it was an Abarth and sold it to me for $500 despite this. Some of the shiny items like the grille were missing but many of the Abarth parts were still there. It now shares space with my Alfa Guilias and Fiat Spiders, 128s, etc.
Do you know who is in the Allemano spyder #49 in the Marlboro photo? I think ,looking at the roll bar thats is a car I later owned. There is a great story about my finding it.
Cheers,
Bob
I worked for Al as his crew chief and main wrench for a season in the mid sixties. Everyone that had dealings with Al knew that he was different. I believe it was because Al was a gifted artist, not a gifted mechanic. Artsy people are in their own world, which was at odds with the dirty fingernails mechanical world. The equiptment was first class I must admit. FAZA- it was an interesting era. RP
In response to the question previously asked regarding the whereabouts of Alfred Cosentino, perhaps the following will be of interest.
I was recently organizing the book shelf in my shop when I came across my copy of Al Consentino’s FAZA Race World-Repair manual.
He had signed this copy with the comment: “California-nurse hostile-homicidal- here because it is the middle of two Gardens of the World Italia & Japan”.
It was dated 2002.
As late as a couple of years ago, he was listing Abarth/Campagnolo parts on eBay. They were the longest (verbal) listings I have ever seen, with lots of conspiracy stuff in them. He was based in the San Fernando Valley (LA, CA).
I was a customer of Al’s in 1969 when ,at an innocent age of 17, purchased a 850 sedan based OT 1600 roller from him with his promise that he would complete the car. Needless to say- the promise went unfulfilled for literally years during which I alternated from being his good friend -in fact crewing for him and Craig Fisher on the Berlina Corsa during the 1970 Trans-Am at the Bridge and Lime Rock- to persona non grata when I was trying to get my car from him including all the missing parts from it that were on his Fiat 850 production race car. It was an eye watering experience either way. Al was last scene in Thousand Oaks, CA
An interesting albeit unpleasant experience.
I met AL through the telephone and had very nice conversations during the early 2000’s. About this time last year I heard he had medical problems, which were confirmed at his web site (faza.com). On this date (12/21/08) I tried to go the Faza, but got no response. I ended up here while searching further. We may have lost him.
Regarding the Abarth 750 – Alfred Momo entered one for Denise McCluggage and Ruth Levy to drive in the Sebring 12 Hour race in 1958. Do you know the chassis number of this car, and anything of its subsequent history, please?
The ladies did not make the finish, but were classified in 45th place, I believe.
I heard a rumor that Al had passed. Not sure if it is true. I had many interesting conversations with the man. He was always cursing the world and all of its problems. My father remembers a race in Upper Marlboro Md where he borrowed a part from a Fiat in the parking lot so he could replace the broken one on his race car. Gotta love it…
It was Brewster, New York…. Not Conn. at all…..
hallo al,Alfred is still alive.Hope that he still make another book because there was many info in that otherwise was gone.Like many times happen.I still like looking to the parts and cars in our “abarth works museum”
Salve
I hope someone can help me, I need info about the 207 A boano chassis 002.
If someone know something, please help me !!
Thanks and best regards
Remo Squarcia