V8 Powered Italian: 1969 Intermeccanica Omega
If you’ve never seen or heard of an Intermeccanica Omega, no one will blame you. They built just 33 of these American powered Italians. Given the steel being used to build Italian cars in this era, rust issues are common and this one clearly has its problems. It’s clearly going to need a complete restoration and the seller is asking $48,500. Given how few there are, it’s hard to say if that’s a good deal or not, but it’s certainly not cheap. Either way, it’s definitely worth a much closer look and can be found here on eBay in Bethel, Connecticut.
Besides the sleek body, the major selling point of these cars was their Ford sourced 289 V8. You got the best styling Italy had to offer with the dependability and performance of an American engine. The seller doesn’t offer much in the way of information about the condition of this car, but it’s safe to assume the engine isn’t running.
The seller claims that this car was purchased new at the 1969 New York Auto Show and is being offered by that original owner. There’s no word on the exact mileage but given the condition of the body and engine, it probably doesn’t make much of a difference. Surprisingly, the interior looks to be in fairly good shape, which is a big plus given the difficulty in finding parts for a car that is so rare. With just 32 other cars, finding parts will be the biggest challenge with restoring this one, but if all the Omega exclusive parts are here, it may not be too bad.
Rust seems to be an issue just about every classic Italian car struggles with, so it really isn’t surprising to see it here. It’s definitely a shame that it was allowed to reach this state of disrepair but it really does deserve to be restored. One of the other Omegas surfaced a few years ago, which we featured here, in worse condition with more rust issues and it sold for $15,000. This one is definitely in better shape, but is it worth the $33,500 price hike? Prices can change wildly in 3 years, but have these gone up that much?
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Comments
I’ve never seen one of these!! Been in the auto world for over 40 years and just when you thought you saw it all something like this pops up!! The hard thing to me about buying a car like this is definitely sourcing parts for it!! Making body panels could be a pain too!! If you can’t use what’s there you might have to make it!! Ford running gear is a plus but there are still some parts that I’m sure you can’t get at autozone!!! Good looking car though!!! Bet it moves with that 289!! Would love to see the suspension on this car!!!
They made more than 32 of these, although they went by different names (Italia, Torino, Omega) but same basic car. I think total production was somewhere near 500 (?) counting coupes and convertibles. Other than body panels, most parts are available. Given its Italian heritage, body panels are probably available too. Mechanics are (mostly) Ford.
Interesting cars. Problem with the small run cars from virtual start up auto companies is that there is little to no time/$’s spent developing the ride quality aspect of things and so they tend to not be the greatest to tool around in.
These used to be cheap – but not so much anymore. If someones in love with it, they’d be better off finding one more finished unless doing things yourself.
The original car for this body was a Griffith 600
They made 33 Omegas mate, rest were Torino / Italia (same car, just a name change thanks to Ford) Many parts are difficult except for the Ford Powerplants / Drivetrain. Italian heritage has no bearing on panel availability, panels were hand beaten over a wooden buck, so good luck getting replacements.
No pics of the underbelly. Rubber gas hoses and ty wraps, plus a plastic gas filter laying on the exhaust manifold. Not good for something they are asking 48 large for. Caveat Emptor to the tenth power for this one. Rare and troublesome I’m sure. Good luck to the new owner!
Cheers
GPC
Larry Jenkins and his brother built these. Jenkins & Jenkins, Rock Hill SC if the new owner needs a source!
Holman-Moody.
Like so many other Italian classics, everyone wanted the convertibles, and the tin tops were left to rot.
I remember these cars well, photos don’t do them justice, they were magnificent to look at, I don’t know how they handled or rode, and the price in the late 60’s was about 7 to 10K when Vettes were around 5k as I recall. I would love to have one sitting in my garage, but I just ran out of space & money………..lol
In pervious posts here I have worked on two of these but not coupes but the convertible version. Almost everything but the body and suspension is FORD including brakes, rear axel and other major interior body parts.
The big problem with these is both the suspension which has almost no suspension travel and the brakes which tend to lock up in the front. I have driven them and while beautiful, fun on smooth roads they are shocking to drive on rough roads. My old MGA and TR-3 rode better than these.
The interiors, dash, seats, doors and the rest work well and are comfortable again only on a smooth road. If you have restored a Mustang you could restore this with ease with the following exceptions: GLASS front, rear and sides are rare and priced like gold last time I checked, Rust. Generally not that bad, better than most Ferrari of the time, (remember paint was not nearly as good back then and it has been a long time since that paint was put on), Electrical systems are most likely needing total replacement due to age. I worked on them a long time ago and they were relatively new then but I would check that out.
If there ever was a car Factory Five should start making a kit of it is this car and the convertible version as well. Put a modern chassis with fully independent suspension with a little suspension travel and you would have yourself a winner. These are heart breaking in real life. Should have been made by Ferrari or Maserati but in Fiberglass with a modern suspension amazing.
Couldn’t remember all the many different engines these used, Wiki history here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intermeccanica
Rare, but way overpriced.
Is that an OSCA behind it? Or two OSCAS? I’d like to see more of those.
Also in Italy in the 60’s ISO Rivolta produced sports cars with Corvette engines. Both the Rivolta GT and the Grifo models were developed by an engineer named Giotto Bizzarini. He left ISO Rivolta and started his own company to produce racing car as well as the street legal 5300 GT Strada, using various GM engines.
The Omegas were assembled by Holman and Moody
Way too much money for this one. It’s only a $60K restoration away from being a $70K car. Despite the rarity of the coupes, the roadsters are worth much more and look better.
I remember these; in fact, I still have a magazine that featured the new 1969 cars, and an Omega convertible is on the cover.
Hi Will, what magazine would that be? As double IM owner all material or references of IMs interest me …
I can’t remember the title, or who published it. I will try to find it and let you know.
I found it! The magazine was just called “1969 Cars”. I thought I remembered the picture on the cover being the full size of the magazine, but it was just a small piece near the bottom left. I was going to post a picture of the cover, as well as the full-page article in the magazine, but apparently I am no longer allowed to post pictures because I didn’t pay to be a member of this website. I don’t know if it is acceptable to the website to do this, but if you send me your email address at [email protected], I will send it to you.