A rather unusual hobby 50 years ago
08/29/2018
Gérald Arnoux was a detective inspector with the Geneva police. And 50 years ago, he indulged in what was certainly an unusual hobby, namely restoring an old car to roadworthy condition.
It was a Mathis from 1921, which he had pulled out from under hay and litter in the south of France, in other words a barn find. The policeman paid 2,000 francs for the wreck with its four-cylinder engine, which was actually a hefty price at the time, as the Automobil Revue reported in March 1968 .
He brought the car to Geneva by truck and made it roadworthy again. To do this, the technology had to be completely dismantled. No spare parts were available, so everything had to be repaired. As a trained mechanic, Arnoux made what was missing himself. The bodywork could no longer be saved, it was made of wood and covered with Similli. Arnoux was just starting to construct a new body.
Originality was probably not the focus of interest at the time, but above all functionality. After all, Arnoux wanted to be able to drive the car, which cost around 8,000 francs.
I wonder if it was finished back then? And did the Mathis survive?
