1952 Siata Daina

Societá Italiana Auto Trasformazioni Accessori (Siata) was founded by Giorgio Ambrosini in Italy in 1926, initially serving as a tuning firm specializing in the modification of FIATs. One of the company's earliest products was a pushrod-operated overhead-valve cylinder head which, when applied to the Fiat 514, nearly doubled the power output. Their talents improved numerous components, including engines, transmission, and adjustable shock absorbers. They introduced its first production car in 1949, again using components sourced from FIAT, this time from the Topolino. By this point in history, the company had been renamed SIATA Auto Spa and the name of their vehicle was the Amica cabriolet. During the 1950s and on into the 1960s, SIATA would utilize US-built engines including those from Crosley, Ford, and Chrysler in addition to FIAT's home-grown motors.

The Siata Amica was produced through 1952 and was powered by a Fiat 500cc engine tuned to produce 22 horsepower with an optional 750cc unit which boosted output to 25 horsepower. Body styles included a coupe and a two-seater convertible (spider). Two specially modified Amica's were built and known as the Fiat Siata 500 Pescara, equipped with a modified 500 cc engine producing 40 horsepower and backed by a five-speed manual gearbox. One example won the 1948 Italian Road Racing Championship. Currently, only one of the two Pescara's are known to exist.

Siata's first successful model was the Daina series which employed a Siata-built box-section chassis and modified Fiat 1400 driveline and suspension. The engine received a special Siata cylinder head and intake manifold with dual Weber carburetors helping to boost output to 65 bhp. Several displacement sizes were available including a 1.4-liter, 1.5-liter, or 1.8-liter, all of which were sourced from Fiat.

They performed admirably in the 1,500cc racing class of 1952 in Europe, as well in SCCA competition in the United States. Between 1951 and 1958, approximately 50 (as many as 100) examples are believed to have been built, with most being built before 1953. The production totals include around 20 examples of the Daina Sport coupes. The Gran Sport was a cabriolet version with a steel body and most having an aluminum hood designed by Stabilimenti Farina. Three Gran Sports received an all-aluminum body.

by Dan Vaughan

Coupe by Gilco
Chassis number: MI 0139154 MI
Engine number: SL0215

This Fiat-Siata 1500 Coupe Speciale by Gilco is a custom-built competition example that originally competed in the Mille Miglia in both 1954 and 1955. The car was commissioned by Milanese racing driver Ovidio Capelli, who had taken over Scuderia Ambrosiana from Count Johnny Lurani in 1949. Capelli, who had close ties with Fiat, had commissioned numerous special cars, including the very first Zagato-bodied 8V.

This car appears to have been sourced from a donor 1951 Fiat 1400. The original Fiat engine, number 024073, was either tuned by Siata or tuner Carlo Abarth, but the car was certainly badged as a Siata. The car was first registered in Milan in March 1954, probably as a Fiat 1400. The frame was built in 1952 by Gilberto Colombo.

The car was purchased late in 1954 by Roberto Montali. He entered the Fiat-Siata in the 1954 Mille Miglia, as #346, with co-driver Bontempi Morici, and in 1955, as #545, with co-driver Esildo Morici and driving in the Sports 1.5 category.

American G.I. Al Maggiacomo acquired the car while visiting Milan in 1956. After driving it around Europe for several years, he brought it stateside and drove it until 1963. Maggiacomo's brother eventually replaced the original Fiat engine and transmission with one from a Triumph TR3, modifying the engine mounts and dashboard to do so.

The car passed through several owners before coming into the care of Vermont collector Dave DuBrul. DuBrul located two genuine Siata 1400 engines, one mildly modified and the other a full-bore race motor. In 1984, he passed the Siata on to its current owner and avid enthusiast.

The car has been restored back to its original condition. The frame is nearly entirely original, although new motor mounts were fabricated to return the chassis to its original configuration. The aluminum body is mostly original, with only the dashboard center, rocker panels, and part of the floor replaced. Period-correct Jaeger and Fiat gauges and switchgear were also installed to keep with authenticity.

During the restoration, the milder of the two available Siata engines was fully rebuilt and balanced. It was given a special 1500 racing crankshaft and lightened flywheel from the race engine. There are two DCO3 40-millimeter Weber carburetors on alloy intake manifolds and a split exhaust header. In the current tune, the car produces an estimated 90 horsepower and displaces 1669 cubic centimeters. There is a Fiat 1400 gearbox and rear axle. The car currently is running a Vertex magneto and tach drive, along with a period-correct Fiat distributor, coil, and tachometer.

The original paint color is not known. The car has been re-sprayed in a two-tone silver and blue, which was matched to paint samples found during the body restoration. Inside, there is a pair of 1950 Fiat 1100 seats covered in red leather. The remainder of the interior is red vinyl and features a tan cloth headliner and rubber floormats. The car rides on 14-inch steel wheels with alloy rims.

by Dan Vaughan

Sport Coupe by Farina

The Italian company Siata was founded in 1926 in Turin, Italy. In the 1950s, they built Daina Sport Coupes and Gran Sport Spiders using Fiat 1400 components and custom coachwork.

This Daina Sport Coupe, the last built of less than ten with coupe bodies, was designed by Boano and built by Stabilimenti Farina.

This particular Siata competed in the Retro Mille Miglia in 1996 and 2000 and was purchased in late 2000 in Northern Italy its current owner.

Coupe by Gilco
Chassis number: MI 0139154 MI
Engine number: SL0215

According to the 'Certifcato d Origine,' the basis for this car was an earlier Fiat 1400. The first owner was Gilberto Colombo, whose company, Gilco, manufactured tubing and chassis. Gilco was a well-known manufacturer that provided tubular racing chassis to Maserati and Ferrari. According to an expert, this is the first race car designed and built entirely by Gilco. They built this one for Ovidio Capelli, Milanese racing driver. He was a Fiat Dealer, a race driver and head of Scuderia Ambrosiana at that time.

The new owner was Roberto Montali of Oucona, Italy, and it ran in the Mille Miglia. The car saw action in both the 1954 and 1955 events. In 1956, a United States soldier, Alfred Maggiocomo, bought the car and shipped it stateside. His brother, Jocko, installed a TR3 engine at his shop, in Poughkeepsie, New York. The car was raced and eventually scrapped, once in New York and again in Vermont. It was acquired by Dave Dubrul, and eventually found its current owner in 1985.

The current owner restored the car with much help from Jack Brown. The required historical information provided by John de Boer. The restoration was completed in time to be shown at the 2010 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance.

After passing through several owners, the car was purchased by the current owners in 2014. Following a run in the modern-day Mille Miglia in 2017, the car was restored.

Cabriolet by Farina
Chassis number: SL 0168
Engine number: SL 0168

SIATA (Societa Italiana Auto Trasformazioni Accessori) , founded in 1926 in Turin, Italy by Giorgio Ambrosini, began life as a tuning firm specializing in the modifications of Fiats. By 1949, the company (renamed to SIATA Auto Spa) introduced its first production car, utilizing FIAT components. During the 1950s and into the 1960s, a variety of United States engines (including Crosley, Ford, and Chrysler V8s) were used in addition to FIAT motors.

The early 1950s SIATA Daina vehicles were based on the Fiat 1400 and built in both Cabriolet and Coupe forms. Most of the coupes Cabriolets were bodied by Stabilimenti Farina and the Coupes by Bertone. Later cars were given the designation 'SL' (Scatolato Lamiera – literally: sheet metal box).

Powering the Daina was the Fiat 1400 overhead valve engine, modified by SIATA with a special cylinder head, pistons and twin-carburetor inlet manifold. An optional 1500cc powerplant was also available.

At the inaugural Sebring 12 Hours race of 1952, a Daina Convertible driven by Dick Irish and bob Ferbus won its class and finished 3rd overall.

This SIATA Daina cabriolet was given a restoration in the mid-2000s. It wears an aluminum body finished in light green metallic with a beige leather interior. Since the restoration, the car has traveled around 2,500 kilometers.

In 2012, the car was offered for sale at the Monaco sale presented by Bonhams. The car was estimated to sell for €115,000 - 145,000 but bidding failed to satisfy the vehicle's reserve. It would leave the auction unsold.

by Dan Vaughan

Cabriolet
Chassis number: SL 0255 B

Societa Italiana Auto Trasformazione Accessori (SIATA) of Turin was founded in 1926. They established a relationship with FIAT; after the war, they began tuning Fiat 500s with performance accessories. By 1950, they were producing small automobiles with custom coachwork under their own name. Their Daina model, with its steel box-section frame, was a two-passenger vehicle available as either a Coupe or Cabriolet. It had the steering, drivetrain, and suspension of the Fiat 1400 along with its overhead-valve engine.

At the Geneva Auto Show in 1952, Siata introduced the Gran Sport which featured steel coachwork by Stabilimenti Farina with an aluminum hood. Unfortunately, Stabilimenti Farina closed its doors the following year, which meant production of the coupe, convertible, and Gran Sport also came to an end. Production was then sent to Bertone, who built their own version of the coupe, called the Sport.

This known history of this particular example begins in Ventura County, California where it lived until the 1990s, when the car moved to Flagstaff, Arizona. While in California, several owners installed American V-8 engines. The original powerplant was lost to time. Around 2001, it was acquired by an individual from Kansas, who kept it for a short time before selling it to a Florida resident, who retained it until early 2008, when it was acquired by the current owner.

A four-year rotisserie restoration soon began, with the goal of achieving 100 percent originality. A period-correct Fiat 1400 motor and gearbox were sourced and fitted with a Siata intake manifold with brass Weber carburetors. The car was finished in Neptune Blue with the interior upholstered in a combination of tan leather seats, a black leatherette dashboard and door trim, and black rubber floor mats.

by Dan Vaughan

The Siata Daina was produced from 1950 through 1958 in both Coupe and Convertible body styles. Power was from a Fiat 1400 pushrod engine that was tuned by Siata and mated to a floor shift five-speed gearbox (the fifth gear was overdrive). The sports model was finished with a four-speed gearbox. Many of the convertibles were given coachwork by Stabilimente Farina while most coupes were bodied by Bertone.

by Dan Vaughan