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ITALY-FIAT-AUTO
Italian architect restores ageing Fiats thanks to Internet
ROME, April 11, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – At 23, Giovanna Parascandolo is less than
half the age of the Fiat 500 she has just completely restored, thanks simply
to books and what she calls “1990s-style” Internet forums.
“I picked up the passion by chance,” the Italian architect told AFP,
recounting how she got into a friend’s Fiat 500 and fell in love “with the
minimalist dashboard, the buttons, the switches”.
The classic Fiat 500 is today much sought after, and Parascandolo sold her
motorbike to buy a decrepit 1967 model for 2,000 euros ($2,250).
“It was completely rusted, didn’t start, didn’t brake,” she said in the
vast warehouse where she has installed “Nanna’s Garage” and now works on her
second Fiat 500.
“I took the motor to my bedroom… and when I had a moment I took it apart
and restored it,” she said.
She spent a year on Internet forums and reading books about how to restore
the car. She only asked a retired professional for help with the bodywork.
“Cutting up the rusted parts, welding… without someone to teach me, I
couldn’t do it,” she said.
She now plans to become a bodywork apprentice to learn the necessary skills
for her second car.
“I love taking them apart, understanding them, restoring them,”
Parascandolo says.
“The Fiat 500 was my first love, the perfect car to learn on, the height of
simplicity but I do want to move onto bigger, more expensive cars.”
BSS/AFP/MSY/0956 hrs