1947 CreFaRo Cheta - The project comes to life
Augusto was using his newly built Cheta to deliver vegetables in town. The car caught the eye of one of the inhabitants who drove in pre-war editions of the Mille Monti: he went by the name of Ignazio Gamberini.
Ignazio asked about the car, what was changed and why. «A passion project, nothing more», Augusto replied, but Ignazio realised the opportunity this car was for the village and for the territory of Crevosa as a whole. «Why don’t you build more?» he asked. They looked each other in the eyes and in a moment’s time they were going around the village trying to recruit workers for the project.
Not many were into it, since the car wasn’t exactly a pick-up, neither a tractor; but those who knew both the Mille Monti and Ignazio’s history in the competition were eager to build a car for the man himself, the one who once came back in town on three wheels and no steering wheel (that’s a story for another time), the one who made Crevosa famous, even if for just a day.
Without hesitation, they all got to work. New chassis, new project.
The dimensions were kept roughly the same, but the chassis wasn’t ladder anymore: Ignazio had the idea for a frame that closely resembled the shape of the panels, a frame that was as close to monocoque as possible for such a small team. They squeezed a bit more power from the engine through a different camshaft, new valve springs, bigger engine headers and revised fuel mixture, reaching 1272 cc of displacement and nearly 39 kW of power (52 hp). New tires (135s on a 13-inch rim at the front, 145s on a 14-inch rim at the rear) and a softer compound increased the agility of the car, while a slightly revised braking system increased performance and reliability. Dampers were tweaked together with the ride height, lowering the stance and further getting the car into the “fun to drive” territory. The styling was revised, finally reaching the idea that Augusto had in his mind.
This was the real CreFaRo Cheta, the car Augusto dreamt of, the starting point for his company. He was delighted to work together with Ignazio, as he was the right person to ask for the needed improvements on a project started with little to no experience in the subject.
The first finalised CreFaRo Cheta was assembled in late October 1947, almost an year after the first prototype came out of Augusto’s shed. Now it was time to produce more: 10 models was the goal, six months the timeframe, they knew they could make it. Time to work.