by Mike –
Les Burd, a friend of mine, has just finished a seven year restoration of what is the best Abarth that I have ever seen.
1965 Abarth Simca 2000
It is a 1965 Abarth Simca 2000 Long Nose. There were only about six of these made and this one is in spectacular condition. These cars were raced in hill climb competition with some success.
Les Burd restores Italian engines, he sometimes works at Epifani’s, the famous classic Italian car restorer, and is a judge at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Les has done 99% of the work himself on this special Abarth.
Les Burd And His Abarth
2-Liter Abarth Engine
The engine, a Type 236 placed in the rear, is an inline 4-cylinder with two Weber carburetors producing 202 hp. The top speed is 270 km/h (168 MPH)!
Because the engine is an inline 4-cylinder the headers converge into one big exhaust pipe going out the back on the left side.
The nose piece is made of fiberglass and the rest of the body is aluminum resulting is a dry weight of only 690 kg (1521 pounds).
Beautiful Steering Wheel
The Driver’s View
Six Speed Transmission
I was surprised to see a 6-speed transmission but with a top speed of 168 MPH it is needed.
The View Of Most Competitors
Below is a 1-liter Abarth engine that Les has restored for a client.
All photos by Mike Gulett.
Read about a Fiat Abarth Zagato 750 Record Monza Bialbero.
Wonderful car. About as esoteric as they come. I used to sell Simca 1000 transmisisons to Al Cosentino who periodically ate up his 2L trannies with the extra torque and French made Simca gears. Not certain if that the problem was solved going to the 6 speed conversion.
Here in the USA little ls known about Abarth other than what journalists have written. They are truly amazing designs and when you consider what they are built on (Abarth 2L =Simca 1000 chassis) it’s rather impressive. Pretty “impressive” in a corner at 10/10ths, too.
The six speed was developed by ABARTH in 1963 . In this car it came as an option according to the period factory literature. It used the SIMCA 1000 main casting and added a large aluminum housing in the nose to house 2 more gearsets.
All the simca gears were discarded in favor of special ABARTH non syncro dog engagement style gears to maximize thickness and ultimate strength . The change mechanism is sequential as was the racing practice in the day. The Ring and pinion and associated bearings lived a hard life with all that horsepower so these cars were not used for long distance endurance events . They excelled at hillclimbs where they were world champions .
I think Cosentino’s old 2L Stradale car is still equipped with its original 4 speed .box.
Hello from Quebec, Canada
I am an Abarth owner and I am looking to reach as many Abarth owners as possible to provide information on the Lime Rock Historic Festival (CT) to be held Labor Day week-end. We are having a major Abarth and OSCA gathering and would like to email you the info, hoping you can attend. PLease reply to: omnitrad@axion.ca. I also invite you to visit my website (above). I was provided your name by Scott Marshall.
Best regards
Alain
450-770-2560
Hi Les
Please contact me. I have an Abarth sign you may want. Regards, Gary Booker GB Spares LLC
Gary what Abarth sign do you have? My email is simcaboy@mac.com
Cheers Simon
How appropriate this was bumped a few days ago. I had Les in the passenger seat of another Abarth Simca 2000 just last night. This one also has a 6-speed transmission. What a crazy little car! Absolutely nothing subtle about them. If your intent is to “fly under the radar”, don’t try it in one of these little beasts…
Dale