Michael Frostick

[simonandjuliet]

As part of my research into the Cabrio I have been in contact with a variety of sources (including Pininfarina) but no joy as yet ...... indeed PF do not seem to have a historical department and said that they definitely could not help.

Does anyone know Michael Frostick or how to contact him ? 

As you know he has written 2 beautifully illustrated books about PF. I have them but not pictures of my car

[peteracs]

Hi Simon

As one avenue you could try the publishers?

Peter

[nthomas1]

Simon - do you have the Antoine Prunet book "Pininfarina - Art and Industry 1930-2000"?
I have a copy and could have a look at it if you want to post a picture of your car.

[simonandjuliet]

Good idea re publisher, it was published in 1977 by Dalton Watson Ltd, so we will see if they are still around

I don't have the "Prunet" book, so here is a photo of the car before she was dismantled, many years ago !

[nthomas1]

I looked through the Prunet book and there's just one picture showing a car similar to yours.  The caption for the picture reads:  "In 1938, Mr. Coal, of General Motors, met Pinin Farina and toured the factory".  There are two small pictures next to the caption.  One shows the rear end of what looks like a standard Aprilia saloon, and the second is the picture shown below.

[simonandjuliet]

Thanks very much for that, the Cabrios look very similar to mine - is the book worth buying or could you do a high res photo of the photo so I can study it in more detail ?

The one bottom right even has a similar bumper ......

The major difference with mine and all the others is the rear boot - mine hinges from the bottom and the 1/4 bumpers fold under

[simonandjuliet]

No joy with the publishers yet .....

A period advert bought from Italy this week ..... v similar front

[nthomas1]

I'll send a high res image to your e-mail address Simon.  The original picture is only about 12 by 8 centimetres so you're not going to see much more detail, but I'll send it anyway.  The Prunet book is one of my favourite automotive books.  It contains a wealth of pictures on Lancia and Alfa Romeo that I've not seen published elsewhere - but I would not be surprised if many are already known to LMC members. There are a few copies listed for £35 and less on Amazon and Ebay as well as the usual ludicrously expensive versions (does anybody ever buy these?).  I'd say the book is a bargain at £35.

Here are two more pictures from the book, captioned as being from 1948.  The first shows a special bodied Aprilia, and includes one of my cycling heroes Gino Bartali.  The second shows a special bodied Aprilia that is quoted as having been a forerunner to the Aurelia.  That was new to me.

[mikeC]

It might be worth your while posting on coachbuilt.com - there seems to be a wealth of knowledge there.This response was posted following a picture of a car very similar to yours:

Lancia commissioned to Pinin Farina the trasformabile production. PF introduced also the Lusso model, the car you posted. The Lusso model was on the official sales catalogue.
In this case we see a first level: different grill (bigger), leather upholstery and different tail from the standard model. Customers could have also 4 headlights, different bumpers, different dashboard, metallic paint and a second option for the grill and for the tail.

http://www.coachbuild.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2005

[GG]

Good idea re publisher, it was published in 1977 by Dalton Watson Ltd, so we will see if they are still around

Dalton Watson (the company) was bought by Glyn Morris over 10 years ago; he resides in a suburb north of Chicago, and seen occasionally. Will drop him a note to see if he has the Frostick files.

[simonandjuliet]

Thanks for that, I will be very interested to see if they have anything. It is great to see some of the photos people are unearthing !

[simonandjuliet]

Mike, I have joined the coachbuild group, thanks for the suggestion