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OREM — When Dante Dagostini was 14 years old, he saw old rally video of cars in mud and snow and dirt roads. He loved how square they were, and their flares and spoilers. The 1976 Fiat 131 was a particular favorite. In 2006, while 19 years old, he lost the fingers on one hand at the second joint, but it would be years of preparation — not rehab — before he could create one of his own.
Dagostini found the old Fiat in El Paso in 2007, sitting in a backyard. It was in good shape with just 30,000 miles. He paid $650 and, although the car was so complete and would've made a nice factory restoration, Dagostini said that's not what he dreamed of as a kid.
His race car was still years away, but the timing of the purchase saved him thousands, as the price of old Fiats has since gone up to $5,000 or $7,000.
Dagostini worked on the 131 every now and then for 10 years. When he lost part of his fingers in a press brake at his welding job, his doctor told him he'd never weld again.
Dagostini, however, had no problem proving his doctor wrong, but he wanted his metal skills top-notch. He developed his skills restoring a motorcycle and a Ford Ranger and got a better-paying job in computers.
Finally, he felt his finances, tools and skills were up to creating his dream.
He tossed the Fiat's 74-horsepower engine, replacing it with a 2.5-liter 2009 Ford Ecoboost he built with a different crankshaft, rods and pistons — making probably four times the power that the car had when it left the factory in Italy all those years ago.
The engine bolted right up to the transmission, but Dagostini had to make his own mounts. He cut out the entire floor, mounts and cross members and built a tube chassis for the suspension. Now, it has a double-wishbone suspension. He removed the strut towers (since it has coil-overs), which gave him more room in the engine bay and more options for the suspension and turbos. He got control arms from chassis legend Art Morrison and put in Wilwood disc brakes all around (Fiat gave it drums in 1976). He said the American drivetrain — a Mustang 6-speed transmission — makes it easy for parts replacement since he doesn't have to wait for someone to discover them in a shed in Italy.
The outside is all Fiat, and Dagostini did it himself. He got the body panels and hood from Rallysport Development in the U.K. They are fiberglass, as they were back then, and were molded off the original car — so they're as perfect as you can get, Dagostini said.
The inside is all modern, and he did that, too.
He built a roll cage and added four-point Sparco safety harnesses. He said it's annoying to get into, but that's part of the race car experience.
He built the dash from aluminum and sewed the cover on his sewing machine. Same with the seats and door panels, as there's nowhere to buy any of that these days. He created his own original-style faces for Autometer gauges, and he made Italian labels for the original-style pull switches.
The rally replica has manual steering like the race cars back then, but is much faster, Dagostini said. He claims it will spin its tires in 3rd gear, adding it "Goes like crazy. It's a riot, it's crazy," at just 2,200 pounds.
He wanted to put a Ferrari Dino engine in the car but said it was $25,000 just for the block. He planned on a Ferrari 360 Modena F131 and still might switch it out someday. One recently sold for $30,000 — but for now, Dagostini is driving his Ford-powered Fiat on the daily.
