A tale of two Grandis

I've been trying to buy a Grandis for awhile now. Finally found a nice more contemporary model on Ebay. Bike was in Italy but I decided to go for it. Looked like this in the ad:

Unfortunately it arrived like this:

Too small a box and the freewheel packed up against the down tube. After a lengthy process with Ebay and a seller who didn't want to take responsibility I ended up with the damaged bike and funds to fix it.

Trying again I found this Grandis, again in Italy.

Went for it again. Again damage. Same problem, packed the freewheel up against the seat tube this time. Again the box was too small. Damage is tiny but it is actual gouges in the tube, not just the paint.

I should be able to touch this up and got a partial refund from the seller.

Common elements were trying to pack into too small a box in order to meet Post Italiane rules and packing the freewheel up against the frame. In addition in both case the pieces (frame, wheels, etc.) were not tied to each other or down so they were able to move around in the box.

No more buying from Italy.

Finally a Picchio

Just bought this wonderful Picchio Special frame. This is a very special aero frame. More when it arrives.

Cool crimped tubing. Lots of beautiful lug cutouts. City of Torino colors. Can't wait to build this up.

Just purchased: 1964 Bianchi Specialissima

Just purchased: 1964 Bianchi Specialissima. More when it arrives.

Just arrived: 1961 Frejus

Just got in an early 60s Frejus. Pretty cool. White panels are painted not decals, Oil ports on head tube and bottom bracket. Early Record FD with unslotted cable stop. No Record hubs. 151 BCD crank. Will update as I tear this down for an inspection and cleaning.