The partially reassembled car. There’s still a considerable amount of work to be done. Photos by Brian Renhard, unless otherwise noted.
As the bits and pieces got done, Jeff and the owner anticipated the car being nearly ready for Pebble Beach several times. It looked as though everything would come together – that maybe, perhaps, things might all work out in a more or less timely fashion.
No – they wouldn’t. Twice, in years before 2016, the car was entered into the event. Twice it was withdrawn because it wasn’t going to be finished. Each of those withdrawals meant another entire year to wait before it could be entered and shown.
If the individual pieces couldn’t be done properly, the entire car simply couldn’t be put back together in time. Matters proceeded slowly. But in due course, everything – all the individual components – were finished and inventoried, and the process of reassembly – no easy thing since there are many potential pitfalls – could go forward.
All of the hand-fitting of all of the components had to be done before the car was painted. Nothing gets painted until all the individual parts are pre-assembled to test the fit, then they’re taken apart to be sprayed in the correct color. Before the final assembly takes place, the entire car is probably built up and disassembled several times.
The restored rear seats.
The refinished bodywork is the last thing to be done. Painted body and interior components are completed separately and carefully stored so that nothing happens to them during the drying and curing process, or while being moved during reassembly. Storage racks are taken over by the pieces that would eventually go together to form a car.
Six weeks before the show, the shop had a collection of parts. They all had to go together, final adjustments made, small details corrected, the interior fitted, cleaning and polishing done to ensure that no flaws remained.
Pebble Beach judges are particular about such things.
As previously noted, things had to go back mostly in order. The finished chassis had to be fitted with the drive train. Motor, transmission, brakes, differential, axles, bearings, brake cables and mechanisms – all had to be fitted properly and tested for correct operation.
The restored and reassembled engine bay. Note the paper and tape scratch-proofing.
Then the body had to be fitted and panels aligned for proper gaps and fit. Painstaking work, but it must be done properly because it becomes much more difficult to make adjustments after other components are installed.
The door and glass mechanisms had to be installed. That had to be done before the windshield could be fitted. Then all the pieces of the new and correct leather interior were put into place – door panels, seats and everything else. Only after that was done could the brightwork and trim be fitted to the finished bodywork.
Reassembly took the better part of a month. Evenings, weekends, family life were put on hold to get it done properly.
Two weeks before the show, the car was complete enough that the owner could come for a test drive of the car, now nearly complete.
More cleaning, badges, buffing. Newly manufactured fender skirts and wheel discs were fitted.
Brandon recalls clearly, “I don’t think I’ve ever polished so much on a car in my life.”
And then one afternoon, the team looked at it, and somewhat to everyone’s surprise, it was done. Finished. There was nothing significant left to do on the Lancia. It was ready to go to Pebble Beach.
Awaiting the trim placement, rear wheel discs and rear fender skirts.
Some reports suggest it was shipped out three days before the show, but Jeff says that it was shipped a week before, via the owner’s truck and trailer. Brian went with it. The owner’s assistant also accompanied the car en route. It arrived at the venue the Tuesday before the show.
By that time, the rest of the team had assembled to do the final preparation. All eight of them. The painter had moved to Las Vegas, but he flew out to be part of the final preparation group.
The trailer was on the field on Tuesday. On Wednesday the car was taken out of the trailer, started and tested. All the electrics were tested again – that’s something judges look at.
On Thursday the car was driven on the tour. Brandon was petrified. Everyone else on the team was completely stressed out in fear that something might go wrong.
Nothing did.
Driving to the show field on Sunday morning.
Friday and Saturday were given over to even more cleaning and polishing, ensuring that no blemishes remained from the tour. The car was ready to be judged. It was as perfect in every possible way as the team could make it.
Judging was Sunday.
The rest is Pebble Beach history. When the Lancia went across the stage as Best in Class, the team members took it pretty much in stride. But when it went across as Best of Show, they made a lot of noise. Several of them cried – it was that big a deal.
Other articles about the Best of Show winner will not mention who really restored the car or how the work was done. They will not discuss the time it took, the frustration and anxiety and stress levels involved by those who attained this level of perfection.
The rules at Pebble Beach forbid any sort of acknowledgement of anything other than the make, model and year of the car and the name of the owner. Those who did the work remain anonymous, save to the insiders in that level of the hobby.
The 1936 Lancia Astura Pinin Farina cabriolet taking Best of Show honors at Pebble Beach. Photo by Kimball Studios, courtesy of Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
They know, and they remember. That’s why the team is booked up solid for the next couple of years.
A car now in the shop is a real automotive treasure. What it is and who owns it is not yet for public exposure. When it’s ready, all will be revealed.
I can tell you that it was much modified by previous owners, often well-intended, but not well. Much of it is acceptable. A bunch of it is not. If Jeff and his team do to that one what they did with the Lancia, it will be simply astonishing when it’s unveiled. That may be in two years, perhaps three. Maybe even six.
It will take whatever time it takes, cost whatever it costs to do it, and the end result will be amazing. It will be another valued piece of automotive history available for car people to marvel at.
Jeff and his anonymous team, the “cooperative collaborative,” will take considerable pleasure in that, even as they continue to the next project. But the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction will be considerable.
Owner Richard Mattei, a first-time participant at Pebble Beach, poses with the Best of Show trophy. Photo by Kimball Studios, courtesy of Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
Because, once you’ve said “Best of Show at Pebble Beach,” there’s really not a lot left to say, is there?
from Hemmings Daily – News for the collector car enthusiast http://ift.tt/2g0v4iK
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