Ignacio Saenz de Camara
It's a shame, but at this point it is still necessary to remember that before the six hundred there was another Seat model. Our noble and honored Seat 1400, with which the Madrid-based firm with a factory in Barcelona began to supply the Spanish market.
After having built its factory in the Zona Franca de Barcelona, located next to the Casa Antúnez neighborhood, at the end of 1952 SEAT had already installed the expensive stamping presses and the rest of the machinery. At the same time, the Spanish suppliers had signed the supply contracts for 40% of the parts. All this with a view to starting production in the spring of 1953, something that will soon be sixty years old.
According to the newspapers and specialized magazines of the time, on May 29, 1953 the first Seat 1400 was assembled. And, gradually, the assembly line was rolled, in which 959 copies had been built by the end of the year.
As expected, those domestically manufactured passenger cars had a higher demand than the number of units that were being assembled. And knowing us, there were the typical cases of picaresque, something that also affected the FASA-Renault 4/4.
The Seat 1400 in the images corresponds to the 1954 production and was registered on March 3 of that year. Although most of the 1400's used to be painted in dark tones, the one we bring to today The Escudería it was originally painted in this luminous beige color. In addition, it was bought by the company José Artés de Arcos SA, which, as it already had others at the service of its Barcelona staff on Venus 8-12 Street, chose to transfer it to its Madrid branch.
There, on Salud Street and just a hundred meters from Gran Vía, was the capital's representation of the firm. And at that time, a somewhat large car was good for doing business with vehicle production companies.
And more in a company like that. Whose Cibié license headlights, Jaeger instrumentation panels and proprietary horns were of interest to Madrid car manufacturers, as well as those of trucks, buses and motorcycles.
Doing research…
As you might imagine, this 1400 has not remained for almost six decades in the enviable condition that the reader can see. When Abel learned of its existence, it was out in the open in a warehouse near Campo Real and painted in a sad dark gray color.
After much insistence, he bought it in 1996. Of course, he had to go with a crane driver and remove five old and immobile cars that were hindering the operation. In the end, he was able to load it, not without having spent moments of stress on that Saturday morning.
Once the disassembly phase had already started, Abel verified that the engine was very good, almost the best of the car. But the 1400 was without papers and it was necessary to locate its theoretical owner.
He asked for a report in Traffic and it appeared in the name of Luis Lapaz. And some negotiations in the style CSI Las Vegas, that lasted seven years, they made him meet this person personally in Almería.
With cordial treatment, Don Luis had been Don José Artés de Arcos's trusted man within the business sector of safes. And he believed in him so much that he took him to Almería and put this car in his name. With the documentation on track, Abel took the Seat 1400 to a restoration workshop. And it was there that, as he eliminated the successive paints applied, he discovered with joy that the first coat was the pleasant beige color mentioned.
And it is that, as Don Luis told him, "In the Artés de Arcos workshops, if we used gray paint it was free."
After patient and long work, the day came to pass the first ITV, carried out successfully on April 24, 2006. Ten years after removing it from the ship and after many adventures, I was finally able to roll behind the wheel! of your Seat 1400!
At the wheel, with parsimony
Now, it's time to savor the driving of the model with which Seat started, but away from the overwhelming traffic of the Villa and Corte. Before, it must be said that in these almost seven years Abel has barely modified his unit, except for the change of the Firestone 5.90-14 tires for similar, brand new ones.
Without haste, we remove the protective cover and connect the battery, located under the rear seat. Out of curiosity, we raised the hood and looked at the Public Works license plate, characteristic of vehicles registered before 1960.
In its inscription, Modesto Herrero, who was the delegate of Artés de Arcos in Madrid, appears as the owner. And also the address at C / Salud, 19, Madrid, the engine number and the frame number.
Incidentally, note the cleanliness with which Abel maintains it. And attention to details such as the fuel filter between the tank and the carburetor. Or the care in preserving the original parts, including the stickers with service instructions.
Fan profiles
Abel Pérez Blasco is the current owner of this example from Seat's early days. A great collector of miniatures, as well as toys and automobile objects, his eyes shine when the conversation turns to classic cars.
However, he is not a monothematic person, since he is also passionate about History, in general, and all those objects that, survivors of distant times, are silent witnesses of times that the vast majority are no longer interested at all.
for a practical leather key ring. To his left, the handle that operates the starter motor
The original ignition key, accompanied by its leather key ring, is already placed in its corresponding slot under the ashtray. Starter activated, starter motor, gas tip and, after ten eternal seconds, first explosions.
In the garage with the door open, the propeller stretches and takes a regular turn. Meanwhile, we decided to go to the quiet area of Campo Real, with its olive groves and its reddish-brown lands.
To carry out the photographic session, we left Madrid and took the Valencia highway, heading for Arganda del Rey. With the necessary caution, Abel moved along the right lane.
With the speedometer needle fixed at 80 km / h, the copilot, Igor, did not think that the car could go so fast. All this while express delivery vans and trailers overtook him with the utmost indifference.
Already in an esplanade near Campo Real, the photographer Paloma Soria immortalizes the details of the body and interior. And he was struck by the fact that the instrument panel put WATER, OIL, together with BENZINE, AMPERE AND KM / ORA.
It is not a question of confusion, but rather that parts from Turin were still imported and that until the end of 1954 it would not be possible to nationalize the production of the model to 100%. Both in the front bench seat and in the rear armchair, materials and colors take us back to the XNUMXs, with the upholstery in striped gray fabric, finished at the ends with green imitation leather and white trims.
Well-kept rear seats. Though there isn't much legroom, rear-seat passengers have armrests, an ashtray, and handgrips to hold on to when cornering.
The driver's door is thick and you have to give it an energetic bang so that it does not close badly. Lots of steering wheel, chrome horn rim and a slightly panoramic windshield. The engine is running and my seat belt is fastened. Foot to the clutch and shift lever towards me and up. And when you release gas, the 1400 begins to roll in first with a characteristic hiss, which disappears when the second gear is engaged.
The engine is comfortable at low and medium speed, in exchange for our gait being quite parsimonious; at 50, 60, 70 km / h ... to measure it. As befits a mid-high saloon in our fleet from six decades ago, the suspension is comfortable and somewhat soft. And the direction has an imprecise central zone, which forces to correct every moment, as in the old American movies.
On a straight downhill the needle reaches 100 km / h, which in the Spain of the fifties was a scandal speed. Taking advantage of the inertia, the Seat 1400 dares with the secondary roads, which travels at a more than dignified pace. With the proliferation of these decelerating obstacles at the entrance to the towns, we also had the opportunity to make urgent braking. There was a hard stomping, the wheels screeched, and the car slowed effectively enough.
In short, this Seat 1400 was in its time a car with all the laws. Spacious for five occupants, far more comfortable than prewar cars and strong enough to move on the dubious layout and firm roads of those years.
Finally, an invitation to write your name in the search engine and immerse yourself in the biography of Don José Artés de Arcos. A man from whom, in these confusing moments, we can learn a lot.
The best in the category
By the early XNUMXs, a large array of mid-range sedans had already appeared on the European scene. Designed according to the new postwar standards, most had monocoque bodywork.
Between 1950 and 1952, the French magazine L'Auto-Journal drew up a series of comparative tests, which included sedans equipped with an engine with a displacement of between 1.300 and 1.500 cc. The group consisted of the Austin A40, Borgward 1500, Fiat 1400, Ford Consul, Ford Taunus 12M, Hillman Minx, Jowett Javelin, Opel Rekord, Peugeot 203 and Simca Aronde.
Examining its road skills, habitability, performance, consumption and price, the Fiat 1400 was the one with the best marks, the Borgward 1500 being in second place. Consequently, the decision to manufacture the 1400 in Spain was a success.
Photos of Paloma Soria.
