Hot Rod Italian Style.....ISO Rivolta

Shelby did it with an A/C and a Ford V8
Allard did it with a Flathead, then a Cadillac V8
Renzo Rivolta did it with his own car and a Corvette 327/4sp

I first saw this car a couple years ago, took some pictures and tried to
figure out what it was. Since then it has began to consume me. The
car is an ISO (pronounced E-so) Rivolta. It is a 4 seat GT type car, Lots
of power, style, and luxury accompaniments to boot. Body by Bertone
of Italy, Chassis by Bizzarrini, and engine by Corvette (327) Posting
numbers 0-60 in 6.2sec and 0-130 in 29sec with a top speed of 140.
It has AC, Power windows, leather seats to go along with the unibody
chassis and aluminum hood and trunk. Suspension consists of
Independent front with Disc Brakes and a DeDion rear with inboard disc
brakes. Only 792 of these were built between 1962 and 1970

Here is a clip from some literature of the day.
“Combining European styling with high perf. US-power plant is an idea
that has intrigued designers and builders on both sides of the Atlantic
for many years. Most of such products were and are for racing, like Allard,
Lola, AC Cobra. Newest entry from Italy is Iso, a four seater whose elegance
disguises the power within. Its name is Iso, and its pedigree is impressive:
body by Bertone, suspension and chassis by Bizzarrini, engine by GM
Corvette. It looks like a GT and acts like one. 0 to 60 in 6.2 seconds,
acceleration from standing start to 130mph in 29sec!”


I went back today to get a really close look and possibly make and offer only to
be really disappointed in the condition of the car and the bottom dollar price.
It has rusted pans and the front of the frame horns was rusted through. I think
it is out of my restoration/hot rod league. If anybody knows where there is
another please let me know as I would love to turn one of these into a road burning
hot rod.

 

Interesting history, ISO started out in the Isothermos refrigerator factory after WWII, they also made the ISOmoto scooter then went on to build the first bubble cars, ISO Isetta later to be licensed to BMW.

Currently active today is the Rivolta group a design and architecture firm based in Sarasota FL.

Here is some of the Rivolta legacy

Furetto Scooter, the first vehicle to come from the ISO factory
ISOMoto 125 motorcycle
ISO Isetta circa 1954
ISO Grifo. Another sports car
ISO Mare, one of Renzo’s fast boats

 

Just a little ways down the road there used to be a Riviera graveyard, only two left and this other car? Don’t know what it is.

 

Oh yeah, Iso's cars were very kool in the days of the "rat pack" and such. As I recall really fast as well. That other car in the pic above looks to be a modified version of either a Fiat X-something or a Porsche of the same era. Apparently has an added f'glass front end and body kit. The roof looks strangely familiar.

 

I like the body style of the Grifo better but they are cool cars regardless. That kit car almost looks like the front of an old FiberFab Avenger. Can't say what the back is off of though. Stu

 

Hey,

flt-blk, ya were wise to pass on the ISO as parts for these as like
'32 ford money++.
Most of the Italian vehicles of this era were notorious rotters.
no patch panels or replacment panels are out there.
The Buick Riviera was Bill Mitchell's answer to the Pininfarina
bodied Ferrari's he'd seen in Europe.

Swankey Devils C.C.

 

This one is to far gone, huh?

Bummer... That's a cool Car.

 

Dare I ask what was the price?

 

That would be a mighty fun car to own for sure....

 

It could probably be salvaged, but is beyond my skills, besides I am not
looking to do a full restoration.
His price is out of line for a car with this much rust and no interior.

 

Maybe out of line for a car with that much rust and no interior, if it were a shoebox ford or something....but considering they made only 792 of them, and there probably aren't that many left, it may be worth it. You're not restoring it anyway, so exact "replacement" parts aren't a big deal and fabbing up some floorpans seems like basic stuff for you. What else is there that's a close second to it? I guess you could go find a Sunbeam Tiger or Jensen Interceptor....but neither of those looks this good.

 

Have you done a lot of research on these cars? I was looking for some more pictures and every picture I find has capped off rear wheelwells. The one you found has much cooler flares fender lips....and different (again, cooler) front turn signals.

Also, could be worse...

 

"His price is out of line for a car with this much rust and no interior"

Same question,what is his PRICE?

 

That's nifty looking. I didn't even know such a thing existed.

 

He was willing to knock off $5,000 if I let him keep the Ferrari Magnesium
Knockoff wheels

 

Thats allright...

You dont need those anyway when you put on the Big and Little Halibrands and the Straight Axle.

 

Beautiful...thanks for posting that.
More info on these cars:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iso_Rivolta

 

I'll bet the "other car" is a Marcos.

 

My neighbour has 3 ISOs in his Garage.
And that is in a town with a population of 1000.
So a ISO can't be rare
Michael

 

They can and are rare!! Psychotic collectors of all things pop up in small towns!!
Just how much is he asking????!!!
I bet it IS a fair price, mate I worked in a classic car restoration shop and what these things brought in was substantial.
You may be getting a bargain, especially if hes dumb enough to leave it out side he cant honestly know what its worth.

 

FWIW, Neal East owns an Iso, & it too stayed here till about 2 yrs ago when It finally got a ride to Denver/Littleton,CO. His was a gutted deal too, but had alot work already done to it. It was in k200 or DP40 and would be a cool car to do.

I often wondered why he just didn't sell his 32 Panel & this Iso if he needed to generate capital & just keep the Doane car???

You might call him @ his bookstore & see if he still has it. As for the one above in the yard being too much. Nothing is too far gone if you feel something/connection to it.

Just cough up the dough, post on here what you need help with & I'm sure that between all of the talent here, you can achieve your goal of having your cake & eating it too!

 

Thanks for all the feedback.
I am really intrigued about the flared fenders now. I don't think it was a
racecar because there is no evidence of a cage and the A/C is still hooked
up.

My online research shows great condition cars going for $35k, and this one
needs $20-$30k worth of work. Plus chasing all the missing interior pieces
doesn't sound like fun.

You think things don't rust in Texas, this is the back window and where the rear seat goes. Might not be a big deal if it wasn't a unibody car.

 

wow, that loosk alot like a BMW 3.0CS one of my favorite european designs. I was unaware of this particular Iso. I learned something today!

 

You could spend a shitload of money finding the missing pieces.
And unless the bushings in the suspension and tierod ends, etc are off some other production car, that could get expensive too..

 

I've also not been able to find any pictures of a Rivolta with those tail lights on it either...I think you found a special one. Think he'd trade it for a Mustang? I want it now too.

 

Speedtool,
the red car is definitely not a Marcos. They are much narrower and have a lot more curvature to the fenders. The back half looks vaguely like a second gen Bradley and the front doe resemble some of the Fiberfab stuff although it loos as if the "grille" opening has been modified.

Roo Man

 

A friend of mine, Roberto Negri, has bought off the remaining parts from the ISO factory 30 or so years ago, and guess still has many parts. When I was restoring my 69 Camaro, I visited his place fairly often, and had lots of nos stuff, both ISO and Chevy . That was 79 or 80, if I remind correctly.
Those ISO IR 300 or 340 ( depends on the power level of the 327) are very cheap compared to Ferrari of same years, here in Italy can be bought fairly cheaply. The real big money cars are the ISO Grifo, body is a lot sleeker and power is greater, and some were even powered by 427 engines with ZF 5 speed trans. Speed was 160 mph, and 0.60 was in 5 second range.

 

Pretty sure that other car is a Kellison.. kit car from the '70's. Could be wrong though

 

Looks like a modified Fiberfab to me... ( pic)

Two other pics are Marcos and Kellison to compare.

 

A used car dealer in my home town of Adelaide (South Australia) had an Iso Fidia four door sedan in the early 1970's. When he knocked most of one front corner off the car the body shop ordered a fender and a hood from Italy. When the parts eventually turned up the hood was a top hat section frame and a sheet of aluminum while the fender was roughed in to the general shape but not trimmed or finished anywhere.
On another subject the tail lamp assys in the red Iso pictured look like Fiat components. Like the British small run car industry/kit cars the Italians also used common parts for their ready availability. Lamborghini Muiras use Fiat Dino tail light assemblies and they are very hard to find as the Fiat version of the Dino was built in extremely small numbers. I worked at a resto shop in the early 90's and when we need a set of lights for a damaged Muira the Lambo factory found a set in a wrecking yard for us. We probably only got those because my boss is really tight with Bob Wallace, the engineer who did the chassis development on the Muira.

Roo Man