SECRET SENNNAAA! The Crazy Kanuck knocked it out of the park! :D

[RallyDarkstrike]

I checked the mail earlier today and found a nondescript yellow envelope addressed to one 'RallyDarkstrike' from one 'The Crazy Kanuck'....this could only mean one thing!

MY SECRET SENNA GIFT ARRIVED! WAHOO!

So, I opened it to reveal.....err....this

Clearly this is from the well-cultured crowd that is Oppo, for certain!

Yup....well-cultured! See! Top Hat!

@The-Crazy-Kanuck 's handwritten note was on the paper and also included an epic Juke self-portrait!

The Juke was without it's famous painters' tape racing stripes though....I always forget how many massive speed 'holes' are in that lower front bumper...but that lack of painter's tape was OK because the package was surprisingly well-constructed from the stuff and two pieces of cardboard, so things were still on-brand!

I peeled back the 'open here' tape and slid out my treat to find this! An epic little brochure for the FIAT 850 sedan! Now, I like the 850 Spider convertible as much as the next guy, but I've always loved the sortof honest, boxy styling of the 'sedan' even more!

It may be small, but when I say epic, I mean it, this brochure is complicated, haha! Here's the first page....which folds out to show how the trunk opens with some basic info on the car!

To get to the next page, you shut that fold-out and flip over to this picture of a pretty blue 850 with white-wall tires and oh-so-shiny hubcaps...and both sides here fold out to show the interior!

I love how 'front-hinged doors' are listed as a feature

If you fold those back in and flip the page, you find the details for the rear of the car and the tech. specs.....love that engine cutaway!

"Printed in Italy"! A little research shows this brochure is from around 1965-'66, so not long after the 850 first entered production in '64!

And on the back, we unsurprisingly find the shapely rear of the 850!

I'm super happy! Definitely going into my brochure collection....which amazingly has almost no FIAT stuff at all!

Thanks so much @The-Crazy-Kanuck !

[Shop-Teacher]

@rallydarkstrike That is very you.

[The Crazy Kanuck Going 2 Wheels]

It finally got out there. It only took almost 3 weeks to ship. I saw it on Kijiji near Toronto & knew it was you. The top hat came by accident, I put big line on the head & said "top hat he gets." The cupboard envelope I made for the brochure to go in was so it would not bend & damage the brochure during shipping.

[RallyDarkstrike]

@shop-teacher said in SECRET SENNNAAA! The Crazy Kanuck knocked it out of the park! :

@rallydarkstrike That is very you.

It definitely is!

[RallyDarkstrike]

@the-crazy-kanuck I know, took forever....yay for Canada Post...

Kudos and major thanks sir, it's awesome! Good job on the protective envelope construction

[The Crazy Kanuck Going 2 Wheels]

@rallydarkstrike Shipping was $2. Being a small package, it was cheap to ship.

[Chariotoflove]

@rallydarkstrike
So neat. The ones that have thought put into them are the best.

[jminer]

@RallyDarkstrike @The-Crazy-Kanuck that is so very cool!

[The Crazy Kanuck Going 2 Wheels]

@jminer I went on the local online used classified & put "Fiat" in the search bar, filter price low to high. This came up. When I picked it up the guy selling it had lots of them & told me lots of people are buying the old brochures for gifts. I spent more time on drawing the dick butt, then finding the the brochure.

[i86hotdogs]

@rallydarkstrike OOOOH a fancy Dickbutt!!

[Vondon302]

@rallydarkstrike That might be the coolest brochure I've ever seen.

[RallyDarkstrike]

@the-crazy-kanuck Coolness! Canada Post is never cheap...

[RallyDarkstrike]

@chariotoflove For sure!

[RallyDarkstrike]

@the-crazy-kanuck Hahaha, glad I'm easy to find for...?

I do appreciate his line-turned-top-hat

[RallyDarkstrike]

@i86hotdogs I know, right!!!!???

[RallyDarkstrike]

@vondon302 I got thoroughly confused when I first opened it as it was actually folded incorrectly....took me a minute to figure out how it's supposed to go, haha!

[onlytwowheels]

@rallydarkstrike
That brochure makes me want an 850.

What is wrong with me???

[WhoIsTheLeader]

@rallydarkstrike This guy gets you. That is a seriously good gift. I've always liked the 850. It's got such good proportions. I wanted to see the engine cutaway without the glare but couldn't find it. I did find these though:

[RallyDarkstrike]

@onlytwowheels said in SECRET SENNNAAA! The Crazy Kanuck knocked it out of the park! :

@rallydarkstrike
That brochure makes me want an 850.

What is wrong with me???

Not one thing! I would love one! I just love that they are so different to modern cars....small, light, rear-engined, front trunk!

[RallyDarkstrike]

@whoistheleader That top cutaway of yours is the 850 sedan, like my brochure....the middle is the 850 Sport (which was the Coupe) and the bottom is the 850 Spider convertible!

Sedan:

Coupe (later ones came with these built-in fogs):

Spider:

As for the cutaway from the brochure, is this better?

Junkyard Digs has a great series of getting an old 850 Spider running again - definitely worth a watch!

[WhoIsTheLeader]

@rallydarkstrike Much better. It's amazing to look at the mechanical intricacies portrayed in such an interesting way. I especially like the suspension and driveshaft details. I wish it showed how the transmission connected.

I was just covering all the bases. There isn't a bad one among them, but I think I like the coupe better than the sedan. And I would definitely not turn down an 850 Spider. I actually have seen an 850 Sport but never the other body styles.

[RallyDarkstrike]

@whoistheleader That one you saw has a rare hardtop!

[WhoIsTheLeader]

@rallydarkstrike Sadly that's the only photo of the top I have. To be honest, I think the proportions on them are a little awkward with the hardtop.

It seems many of these had vinyl roofs like the one I saw.

[RallyDarkstrike]

Yeah, I agree, the hardtop is what I would want for the 850 Spider, but they do look a bit odd!