66GT
8th May 2010, 08:56 AM
Many years ago...like the summer and fall of '69 I worked for my first job after High School as an assistant to the only mechanic at a Citroen dealership - Shamrock Motors in Mt. Kisco NY - owned by a wild Irishmen, Patrick Shields. At the time I was driving my first Lancia, a '59 Aurelia B24 Roadster that I purchased for $250.00!! I literally drove the door off that car when during an autocross event the drivers side door flew open and literally off the hinges!! Back to the B52 - A Citroen customer, seeing my B24 parked outside commented that he had seen a Lancia in a wrecking yard in Brewster NY that it didn't look like my roadster but was a convertible and had the name Aurelia on it. I could hardly contain my curiosity and within 30 minutes after close of shop that day I was pulling up at the front gate of this small wrecking yard off RT 6 in Brewster. It only took a few heart pounding minutes before seeing for the first time this never b4 seen Aurelia Cabriolet. I immediately snapped some photos...put a $20.00 deposit on the car and headed for home to tell my dad, a multiple Aurelia/Flaminia/Flavia owner, what I had found...not really knowing what I had found. According to the wrecking yard owner the car had been towed from Greenwich Village in lower Manhattan, where it had been in an underground parking garage in a building that had burned. The car apparently had only received some water damage but had now been abandoned in this yard for several years with no contact from the prior owner. Needless to say he was happy to find some "fool" willing to pay $400.00 for it!! We had the car trailered to our home in Croton-on-Hudson that weekend and there it sat for at least six years. In '75 I moved to Ohio and some time after that my dad decided to sell it. Now the mystery begins. I guess first it would be important to note that this was no ordinary Aurelia but as rumor had it one of two built by Vignale for the '52 Paris Auto Show as a representation of their custom coachwork and in fact the car was designed by Michelotti and had a sister car, a closed 2-door coupe. Since my dad passed away at 97 several years ago and I had never asked him who bought the car, nor have I ever seen any reference to it in any Lancia periodical, on any website, not even in an exhaustive search on the web of Vignale cars...I have always been baffled as to where it ended up and what condition it might be in today. Several years ago after purchasing my Flaminia GT I was having a conversation with Walt Spak and he gave me the only clue I have to work with and this is where you all may help...He said the fellow who bought the car was Trevor Hewitt, a Jamaican and a Soccer Player...back then maybe even for the NY Cosmos...and that he had the car towed to a warehouse in Brooklyn...end of story as I can trace it! I would love to know that the car still lived or if the car has been abandoned in another warehouse and I could buy it for another $400 or even $4000 I would in a heart beat!! Interestingly enough photos have surfaced of the sister car at a concours in Europe and all this might help lead to my(ex) Cabriolets whereabouts. Now there is no prize money involved in helping to uncover this car but the winner will surely have a chapter dedicated to his/her efforts. I've posted a few (all) of the photos I took the day I discovered the car literally buried under tarps, tires and even an old hood that was resting on top of the convertible top frame...hope all enjoy this Barn (Junk Yard) Find story!! Photos at the following link - http://www.myvrl.com/photo/album/show?id=1465153%3AAlbum%3A173206&xg_source=activity