Gregory DeJean's Rosso Corsa (or Racing Red) 1969 124 AS Fiat Spider is immaculate — after a two-year overhaul by Todd Lewis and his crew at Xtreme Restorations in North Smithfield.

LITTLE COMPTON — Gregory DeJean's Rosso Corsa (or Racing Red) 1969 124 AS Fiat Spider is immaculate — after a two-year overhaul by Todd Lewis and his crew at Xtreme Restorations in North Smithfield.

DeJean acquired it just over two years ago and had planned to seek out auto shops that could work on different parts of the car. But he finally handed it over to Lewis for "an extreme restoration," which included a lot of effort to find original parts. DeJean only recently took delivery of the masterpiece.

"Greg originally wanted a nice driver, but as he got into it he wanted everything perfect and that's the direction we took," said Lewis. "Every nut and bolt was restored. Greg wanted the best 124 Spider that you could put together. There's a lot of research in that car."

"A lot of people are passionate about the model," DeJean said.

Lewis said it was a challenge to find many of the parts, noting that the 1970 model was different from the 1968 and '69 models. "The entire car changed in 1970," he said.

Indeed, he found many of the utilitarian parts — hoses, clamps, cables — from Ferrari restorers. Fiat had acquired a 50-percent stake in Ferrari in early 1969, and Lewis said the companies shared components.

DeJean noted the car had been manufactured with a number of progressive features, including "four-wheel disc brakes, double overhead cams, fuel injection and hesitation windshield wipers." Meanwhile, he has added a navigation system, speakers where side pockets used to be and lap seat belts with the Fiat logo. The license plate, SPY124, reflects the model, Spider 124.

The convertible 124 Spider body was designed by American Tom Tjaarda and produced by famed Italian coach builder Pininfarina. It was marketed by Fiat from 1966 to 1980, and introduced into North America in 1968.

"It was imported as a sideline car," said DeJean.

The cars, however, were not properly rust-proofed. "They got the reputation as rust buckets," he said, noting that not many survive of the approximate 8,250 1969 models that were imported. He added that wags claimed Fiat stood for "Fix It Again, Tony."

DeJean, though, ended up finding one without rust. "He found a beautiful rust-free body, not one speck of rust," said Lewis. But he said nearly all the plastic was distressed and needed to be replaced.

"The upholstery, the dash board, the gauge lenses, anything plastic," he said.

DeJean, 58, a semi-retired pediatric dentist with a practice in Manhattan and a former professor at New York University, has a slight drawl that betrays Louisiana roots that go back to French settlers in the 18th century. He studied at Louisiana State University in New Orleans and served in the Navy from 1985 to '88, followed by 22 years in the Navy Reserve, retiring as captain. He moved to New York in the 1990s.

He said his late spouse, Philip Harper, had owned a 1969 Fiat 124 Spider that he ran for years in the summers in Little Compton. Harper gave the car away 15 years ago. After he died in 2012, DeJean tried to buy it back and, when that didn't work out, found a similar model online in San Diego.

It was delivered in late December 2013, and DeJean said the first thing to go was the block. "They don't use antifreeze in California and the block cracked," he said, adding he was able to find a rebuilt engine from the same year and model in Alabama.

"He had been restoring it but ran out of money," he said of the seller.

He said driving the car has taken some getting used to.

"When I first drove it I asked myself, 'I paid this money for this?'" he said. "It's not like a new car, which is smooth and quiet like an airplane. You really feel the road and hear everything.

"It took a few rides to appreciate the drive."

Xtreme Restorations will be showing the car at the Town Fair Tire World of Wheels Show at the Seaport Hotel & World Trade Center in Boston, April 1-3.

— pelswort@providencejournal.com

(401) 277-7403

On Twitter: @peterelsworth