When I first saw an Isetta, it was love at first site. Everything about the car- its shape, door, gear shift, wheels- immediately appealed to me. After a little research I realized that I would probably be able to find one and restore it. The going rate for fixed up Isettas was quite out of my budget (10-20K) and even daily drivers (~5-10K) were a little more than I could afford. Instead, I decided to search out a 'project' car: one needing full restoration.

After missing out on one in Amarillo Texas (I'm from Austin), I finally found my rolling egg while calling for directions to a mini and micro-car show in Dallas. She'd definitely seen better days: most of her interior was gone (seat and inner panels), the motor wasn't running although it turned over, the windshield was cracked, the body below the knee was a little wavy, and parts of the floorpan and one fender had succumbed to rust. She looked like she might be a handful, but the temptation was too hard to resist: I bought her.

My little Isetta car is a 1958 sliding window coupe model. She has some of the luxury items available to Isettas at the time: the air grills on the front and the luggage rack on the back (although all I got were the brackets...). A friend, Tommy, came by to give her the look over and offer some guidance and help. He had ridden in one as a young man back when they were still sold. He said it didn't leave much of an impression on a teenager more interested in big V8s. Time, however, had changed Tommy's view: he's more excited than I am (and that's alot!) about restoring this thing.

I plan on documenting the restoration of this little Isetta on this page. If you have advice, etc., please share it with me as I try to revive this weird little car...

june-july 1999
july-august 1999
sep-feb 2000
mar-oct 2000
nov-dec 2000
jan-mar 2001
apr-jun 2001
jul-dec 2001
jan-mar 2002
apr-jun 2002
jul-aug 2002
late aug 2002
late-late aug 2002
late 2002 thru 2003  finished!!!

I now have a VELAM Isetta...

Click on all images for a larger view of the action!