The Fiat 1100-103 of 1953 was designed as a family vehicle for the newly prosperous Italian middle class that had slowly emerged following World War II.

The offered example has an unusual and well-documented history.

A brass plaque affixed to the dashboard attests that the car, when new, was presented by Fiat to the prominent Italian solar astronomer, Dr.

Giorgio Abetti.

Dr.

Abetti kept his Fiat until his death, at age 99, in 1982.

A church vestry then obtained the vehicle and forthwith offered it to a new rector.

The rector, however, declined the 30-year old auto.

It was then put aside on the church property, where the vendor discovered and acquired it in 1984.

She drove it regularly for the next nine years, during which time a heater was added to the car.

By 1993, the Fiat was showing its age.

"I realized I would either have to restore or replace the car, and since replacing it was out of the question, I put it in the hands of a very competent restorer," the vendor reports...