Description
1973 Lancia Fulvia Series 2 - RHD - Lancia Blue - Dark Red interior. Original UK car, V5 in my name, small amount of history, last MOT 2001, full set of keys, including petrol filler lock and glove box door.
This is a complete and very original car that has been in long term storage and not used for many years. The car does require restoration or maybe a rolling restoration and keep the amazing patina that the interior has developed over the last 5 decades.
ENGINE: I have fitted new battery, points, condenser, coil, spark plugs and leads. The carbs have been removed, ultrasound cleaned and rebuilt. The compression was checked and are all good. With fresh fuel from a can the car started up and ran. There is an air leak from the inlet manifold spacer, the rubber part has perished and a slight blow from the exhaust manifold, but on the whole seems to be in good order.
MECHANICALLY: The car does drive, I have driven it on my drive forward's and in reverse, the clutch works fine and no nasty noises. The brakes are not currently operational so these will need work. The hand brake is however working. The steering feels ok, as does the suspension. The fuel tank looks like it's been replaced and is good. I have the air box and associated parts. The car will need to be collected on a trailer as it's not road worthy.
INTERIOR: The interior is complete and looks like it's never been removed at all. The rubber mats are all there, the front part does have some tares but the rest seem to be ok. The rear seat top has deteriorated form sun damage, the headlining has two little hole's in it and is discoloured but I think the patina of that looks great. The front seats are also usable, the drivers seat base has some stitching that has come apart on the seams and the door cards are also fairly good. The wooden dash is in great shape and the dash top has a few cracks but again it all adds to the character. Personally, I like it as it is and wouldn't restore it.
EXTERIOR: The glass is all good and so are the rubber seals. The door handles have pitted chrome, but the rest of the chrome trim is all good and could easily all be retained. The car has been repainted once at some point in its life and all the trim is present, the rear badges are from a series 3, but other than that it is very original and complete. All the lights are in good condition and reusable. The tyres are old but have loads of tread and hold air. The paint is obviously old and lots of rust bubbling, see the photo's but is generally solid. A full repaint would be best but you could do local repairs and keep the cars patina and originality.
BODY: Having restored a few Fulvia's before, all being UK RHD cars I know what to expect. This is far from a basket case, in fact it probably looks worse in the photo's than it actually is.
Working from the front this is what I think the car needs and what is ok. The front valance is ok and only requires minor repairs. The flat panel under the grill either requires replacement or repair sections. The headlight panels have surface rust but seem to be solid enough to keep. The bonnet slam panel requires a small repair to the LH side. Tops of the wings over the headlights are solid. The front bonnet edge has rusted, could be repaired or easily replaced. Inside the engine bay is all good and solid, inner wings solid, scuttle solid, bonnet seal channel all solid. The front wings, the arches look/ feel ok, minor repairs to the bottom edges required but nothing major.
The front floors will need replacing both sides. The subframe arms need repairs. The sills do have rust holes, they could probably be repaired in sections saving a lot of work. The inner sills are good. The doors have rusty bottoms, could be repaired or easily replaced. The LH side is much worse than the drivers side. The rear floor pans could probably be retained with, the bowl part is very good, just a small repair on the one corner of it needed. The outer rear floor where the jacking points are will need replacement both sides. Rear seat base floor really good, A B C post all good, rear parcel shelf good, rear scuttle good. `Rear wing bottoms may require a bit of a repair once stripped. Rear wing arches all look and feel ok, inner wings good, chassis rails good, boot floor all good and solid. Rear light panel is solid but does have rust bubbles, rear valance is good but will require repair. Rear wing ends look rusty but are solid from inside the boot, I think the shape has been filled out wrongly and the filler is cracking.
Not a weekends work but all doable and where there is rust the panels are available. This is a really worthwhile project of a rare Series 2 RHD that's not been messed with.
The car can be viewed by appointment, any questions just ask.
