Francisco Carrion
I was looking at some cars with a couple of friends when one of them commented, as if nothing else, that his father had "once" had a Seat 1400 Serra that was still preserved. Amazed, I asked him several questions to make sure that my interlocutor was not making a mistake ... until at my insistence he took out his mobile phone and showed me three photos of a whole Seat 1400 bodied by Serra!
A specimen in reasonable condition, belonging to those small series of rounded bodies that were portrayed in salons and films of the time. Still in a state of shock, Well, this was - and still is - a specimen off the radar of every fan, they dropped another bomb on me: "Well, it is not the only Seat 1400 Serra out here."
How? Yes, it turns out that they swore to me that not far from where we were there was also another second unit, and there was also the possibility of visiting it. So after a few weeks of paperwork and phone calls I finally got a specific date for the appointment.
In search of a Seat 1400 Serra
The morning was very unpleasant, cold and with a thick fog that even made us lose ourselves, but even so, the way out in the company of a good friend who was the interlocutor with the owner of the car was most entertaining. In my head I imagined another Seat 1400 Serra, semi-disassembled and accumulating dust ...
We finally arrived at the place, a well hidden farm. Once inside the enclosure and before even getting out of the car I could already glimpse it inside an interesting garage full of classics. However, as I got closer the surprise was getting bigger. It wasn't like the one I had been taught days ago! It was much weirder; specifically, it was the twin brother of another unit that is conserved in the Spanish Levante, and that until now was believed to be a unique accomplishment.
There were many unknowns about the authorship of that "unique" Seat 1400 Serra located in Xátiva, because even the own Pedro Serra had questioned his origins in an interview conducted by the accredited motor journalist Manuel Garriga. That other unit had been the property of the Barreiros family, but the copy that we have now discovered was registered in May 1959 in the name of a private individual of which we have found nothing in the newspaper archives.
Nor do we know anything about the first years of life of this Seat 1400 B, although we can say that it has been in La Mancha at least since the 80s, where it ended up painted according to the fashion of that time in a strident combination of black and gold tones.
After several years without use but under cover it ended up being scrapped At the beginning of the 90's it was about to be pressed. The quick intervention of its current owner saved it in extremis, But the car had suffered enough from the rigors of the weather. In the yard of the junkyard and with the top down, it even served as a dog feeder, and when its rescuer began dismantling it found countless bones inside.
Seat 1400 Serra, saved and in dry dock
The body of the Seat 1400 Serra was completely pierced by rust, but the fact that it was complete encouraged its salvation, and work to restore the veneer soon began. In the photos you can see the magnitude of the work, which by the way was the last before retiring of a body builder of those "lifelong".
However, once this section was finished, and with everything else pending good sanitation, the project was left in dry dock, and thus, with the work half done, we have now found it.
The curious is that despite so many years of neglect this unit has become so complete to this day, and currently the only serious thing missing is the panoramic windshield, which broke during its stay in the scrapyard.
For example, this Seat 1400 Serra still has -although disassembled- the Serra logos, as well as others of "Siata 1700", which indicates that it assembles a kit of those marketed by Siata Española that increased the displacement from the original 1.395 cc to 1.648 cc, reaching a maximum power of 75 hp at 5.000 rpm, although at at first glance we don't see anything different to any Seat 1400B underhood.
It also preserves its original hood -Which curiously lacks a rear window- or the taillights created by Serra, consisting of curious rectangular hoods with a chrome surround, which are flush with the bodywork in conjunction with the license plate frame.
Reasonable doubts
Curiously, its owner has told us that during the restoration of the body the sky blue original color in the most difficult to access corners, and this same color is the one that also appears in the depths of the bodywork of the other unit. Therefore, were they built at the same time? Because they are exactly the same, at least aesthetically, and if they also had the same color ...
In any case, it is something that we can never ask its creator, because unfortunately the teacher Pedro Serra passed away on February 17. May this discovery serve as a tribute, but also as an example for all those who have said that their designs lacked originality. And in case they forgot, there is still other 1400 Serra we have to "dust off".
