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This rare Iso Rivolta GT has SOLD and is on its way to The Netherlands from Arizona USA!
Congratulations to both the seller and the buyer.
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by Mike –
In 1962 Iso Rivolta made their first Grand Touring (GT) car – and what a car it was, and still is – the Iso Rivolta GT. With chassis design by Giotto Bizzarrini and styling by Giorgetto Giugiaro of Bertone, Iso made a comfortable four seater that handled like a sports car. It is powered by a Chevrolet Corvette 327 cid engine and has disk brakes on all four wheels with the rear being in-board, like a race car.
The motoring press loved this car and what’s not to love? Italian styling and American power – a great combination. There were 799 Iso Rivolta GTs produced between 1963 and 1970.
This Iso Rivolta GT is for sale – a rare factory sunroof.
Make: Iso
Model: Rivolta GT
Year: 1965
Chassis number: IR*410387
Exterior: Red
Interior: Black
Engine: Chevrolet 327 cid – original engine
Transmission: 4-speed manual
Factory sunroof – a rare feature
Odometer: 50,259 kilometers (31,229 miles)
Build date: February 19, 1965
Number made: Approximately 799 of all types
Featured in “Iso Rivolta, The Men, The Machines” by Winston Goodfellow
Needs a full restoration
Text and photos by the seller, Ron Ciardella
Sunroof Iso Rivolta GT chassis no. 387 was ordered by the Swiss Iso Distributor Roggero, and production was started on February 19th, 1965. It appears that this was to be his fully optioned “showroom floor” demonstrator car to help him sell the Iso line. He ordered the car in the stunning color combination of “Rosso Alfa” red, with a “Pelle Nera” black leather interior. It was equipped with a very rare manually operated, fully integrated sunroof.
The engine was a 300 horsepower 327 cid, that had been ordered with the optional 7 quart Iso/Campagnola finned aluminum oil pan. A four speed transmission and 2:88 to 1 rear end gears were installed. The Roggero dealership eventually sold the car, and at some time in the late 1960’s/early 1970’s, it was privately imported into the USA. After a few years, the car was sold to its second USA owner, who was located in Eugene, Oregon.
In March of 1984, this second owner sold the car to longtime Iso & Bizzarrini Owner’s Club (IBOC) member and “Technical Director” Rodger Davis. Rodger flew from his home area of Dallas, Texas, to Oregon, purchased the car, and drove it home. Along the way, he stopped in Menlo Park, California so that Winston Goodfellow, co-founder of the Iso & Bizzarrini Owner’s Club and author of “Iso Rivolta, The Men, The Machines” (the Iso bible), could inspect the car.
From “Iso Rivolta, The Men, The Machines” by Winston Goodfellow
Winston did a photo shoot with the car, and these photos are prominently displayed in a four page spread in his book. This car was featured in the October 1986 issue of “Superauto Illustrated”. Rodger kept the car in Dallas, and drove it for many years. Around 2000, he and another longtime IBOC member and fellow Rivolta owner (Darrell Bartek) took the car apart for a paint job. Darrell got sick and was not able to finish the paint job, so the car remained in storage until late 2012 when I purchased it and moved it to Phoenix, Arizona.
This car is thought to be the only documented factory Sunroof Iso Rivolta GT currently residing in the USA. It has a clear Arizona Title. The odometer shows 50,259 kilometers. The car is entirely numbers matching, and it has the original Iso factory stamped engine. The floorboards are in good shape, needing only some flattening and patching. It does have the typical rust in the rocker panels that all the Isos get from the drainage hoses which channel rain water into the rockers where it can’t escape. It also has rust and some patching in the trunk area, due to the same water drainage issues.
The Rare Sunroof
The hood, roof, trunk lid, and passenger door look very good. The driver door was in the process of being re-skinned but never completed. I have a replacement door that goes with the car. The front fenders show signs of a repair at some point. The sunroof is complete, except the locking handle was broken, and somehow it got lost years ago. The interior is complete, but almost 50 years old, so will need re-doing. All glass is in good condition and complete. Bumpers, grilles, and trim are complete also, including the bumper mounted optional “fog” lights.
The motor runs and sounds very healthy. The brakes are disconnected, and had been partially removed for service. I did not engage the transmission with the engine running, but the car was driven onto the trailer when it was moved to a new location in Texas about three years ago. My understanding is that the transmission and driveline were all functioning properly when the car was taken off the road for the paint job.
I had the transporter use a winch to put it on the auto transport when I moved it from Texas to Arizona. I have 5 of the correct Borrani RW 3728 wire wheels (they will need to be rebuilt) with 4 of the correct 3 eared Borrani knock offs that go with the car. Currently, the car has a set of Grifo wheels on it that are from my other car. This is just so I could move the car around. I have some used 15 inch tires to put on four of the correct wheels so the car will be able to roll on its own wheels.
More photos are in the slide shows below:
Iso Rivolta GT Sales Brochure
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Forty thousand dollars is a bit high for a car in pieces. Love the fact it has the factory sunroof but that sunroof also means there will be leaks in that cars future.
What about the $50,000 price for an Apollo GT in similar condition and is sold?
https://mycarquest.com/2014/03/apollo-gt-for-sale-a-restoration-project-garage-sale-find.html
Seems like the market is overheated! A Iso Rivolta GT sold on eBay a couple of years ago that was a rust free unmolested original car for around $42,000. The bubble is going to burst soon.
To my mind, the sunroof certainly adds an element of interest and value to the project. However, given the Rivolta is already relatively rare and very thinly “traded”, I don’t know how much incremental value can be attributed to the sunroof. Given the current exotic car market, I would be hard pressed to place a value on this project. But all things considered, I am surprised to see it is still available.
No available any longer – sold to The Netherlands.
Hi , who is the new owner into The Netherlands?
Maybe I can help whit some parts.
Regards
Simon
simonvels@kpnmail.nl