The Italian Job | The Jalopy Journal The Jalopy Journal

Building a full custom is a pain in the ass even if you are doing it from Southern California. The parts hunt is just relentless. Trim off this model, headlight buckets off this model, rear window surround off this model, etc… It really is a dogged chore only accomplished with the most acute of determination.

Now, try to imagine doing all that shit from Italy… a place where American cars were never common and vintage steel is as rare as the Cleveland Browns in the Super Bowl. It seems like an impossible task.

Enter a HAMBer by the name of Mirko. Back in 2014, he found a 1949 Cadillac and decided to ignore the impossibilities. His English was a bit broken back then, but his vision was not… From what I can gather, Mirko and a man that goes by the name of Marcello Schettini have been hard at it for almost a decade and posting much of the effort on a build thread.

It’s now 2022 and Mirko’s English has come almost as far as his Cadillac. It’s not done yet, but man is this a fun thread to keep tabs on.

You should do just that here. You’ll be glad ya did.