Editor’s note: In the mid 1980s, while working under Chris Herwig as an AT&T National Account Engineering Manager for GE and Dupont, I was also writing for several major car magazines, and my stories were accompanied by photos taken by my wife Mary. We also had a lot of cars, mostly Alfas, but more than a few Fiats. We in fact did sell a Fiat Spider to Chris, and there were a few problems, which led us to write this bit of mostly fictional humor for our monthly column in “Car Collector and Car Classics” magazine. Note that in the photo Chris is holding a rather large pipe wrench. He was a very good sport about it all. Chris recently celebrated his 75th birthday, which brought this article to light once again. Happy birthday, boss!
buying a fiat
Mrs. Hansberry’s Fiat
Story and photos by Ean McDowell
“1965 Fiat Sedan, unable to get spare parts, is unroadworthy, so cannot be sold. I would give it to anyone who is interested in restoring old bodies. Has done approximately 40,000 miles. White in colour and quite dusty as it has been sitting in a carport for several years; Mrs Lorna Hansberry, Landt Hostel.”
The faded notice was in frail handwriting taken down from a noticeboard long ago. It was said the car was given away four times but no-one ever collected it and sadly Mrs Hansberry passed away in late 2009. [Read more…] about Mrs. Hansberry’s Fiat