Lancia Motor Club

evening all!

New owner, directed to the forum by Norm and his resto thread.

I've been looking for an s1 fulvia on and off for a couple of years, came close to buying a couple but nothing quite right...and now after some evening bidding I am the owner of a '67 1.3 rallye!

Few plans for it, starting as I always do with a new car - a good service.
And then fitting seatbelts, having been on the Fulvia FB page I've been told that there should be mount points already for static belts which is fine.

And then the fun stuff...idea is to get it to a fast road spec, no track work. I was quite keen to put 13" gold 4 spokes on it but Omicron have told me that they handle best on the steel 14s so going to run it like that initially and see how I feel about them.

- I would like to lower it a touch, to me it looks like it is sitting too high at the back by quite some margin, may just need setting up.
- new exhaust, seems like the group 4 is the only real option...? Omicron mentioned they do one, I wasn't sure if it was an in house item or the INOX one iIve seen on some sites?
- would like to swap carbs, have been told that the Weber 40 DCOEs would be best, I know some people do a basic cold air feed so something else to consider. alternatively I know some people think that the solex carbs are the best option so could look to have those refurbed.

I'm also going to change the steering wheel to something a bit smaller, probably a momo prototipo to give me a little bit more room being 6'4..

For now those are the rough plans, can't wait to actually be able to get it out for a spin

Hi. Welcome to Fulvia ownership! I can't help with any advise regarding serious modifications as mine is mostly standard. What I can encourage is to get it all working properly before you modify it. Each time I've brought my car closer to perfect working order my enjoyment at the wheel has increased. Sweet steering, strong brakes, enough performance to enjoy and keep up with traffic.

The improvements I've made have been in the name of usability. Electronic ignition, working fuel guage, fresh tyres, up to date servicing/ suspect service parts changed.  I've added led bulbs almost everywhere and keep earplugs the glove box for long journeys. I'd imagine that a loud exhaust would make long journeys a chore/ headache.....

Where are you located? Is the car on the button?

yes there's going to be an initial stage of just going through things, making sure that everything is as it should be - within reason. di not think about LED bulbs, will definitely do that, having recently built a '89 defender into a basic camper I had to get familiar with heavily chopped electrics pretty quickly :D

Exhaust wise...loudish but usable is fine, as long as it isn't droney. a fine balance.

I'm in the Netherlands, recently moved here from the UK.

and you've lost me with 'is the car on the button' ?!

On the button - does it start immediately without drama, can you get in and go?

ah, start on the button! unless something has changed then yes, I'll still be changing plugs, leads...maybe points and dis cap as well once I figure out how to set points :D

Welcome to Fulvia land!

Re rear suspension this should be flatter (lets see a pic of your car....) but can be (re)set as per manual instructions. Re exhaust a true Gp4 system would (how would I know...) be too boomy for long journeys. A great compromise is to fit a good stainless "Gp4" manifold that connects with the standard system. Note that not all Gp4 manifolds are designed to do this. The Vere Lancia system in NL is but has a couple of shortomings. Potentially it will foul the subframe and the exit is 1mm narrower than the standard IMASF exhaust middle pipe...

The best upgrade is new tyres.....

Pic attached, I've been told that it is possible to fit the rear ARB wrong which causes the rear to be higher. Possibly the case here.

If you are based in the Netherlands, I would suggest you to contact Huib who has a specialist Fulvia workshop good for servicing and repairs. He is based in Breda and has lots of spares. His web address is www.casalancia.nl.

Already speaking to him! He suggested I take it down for a free inspection so will do that once I've gone through the fun of re-registering it here.

Rear looks really too high as if the springs are wrong.

Is your car not the one (also) sold here?...
https://www.lesanciennes.com/encheres/1967-lancia-fulvia-coupe-1-3s-rallye-a692215 (https://www.lesanciennes.com/encheres/1967-lancia-fulvia-coupe-1-3s-rallye-a692215)

In which case looks like rear suspension has recently been overhauled given difference in rear stance you now have but with leaf springs not quite correct. Maybe you've inherited paperwork that could shed light on what was done and supplier of rear springs (?)

yes that's the one, although not seen that website.

Will have a look through all paperwork, at least I should have plenty of time over winter to solve any issues.

It certainly is possible - I did it and, going over bumps while loaded with two large adults, the ARB reamed metal out of the inside of my Cromadora wheels.  The wrong and right ways are both shown on the attached sketch.  This will not be responsible for the ride height though, which requires some static adjustments to be made with the suspension unlocked and the boot loaded.

Enjoy Fulvia ownership!

There is a discussion of tyre choice, tubed vs tubeless and the 'proper' stance of a Fulvia in an earlier thread which might be of interest:  https://www.lancia.myzen.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=13967.msg99123#msg99123
Cheers,

Glyn

great thanks, will have a proper look through. It did say the setup was for an s2/3...is it different for an s1 do you happen to know?

Thanks

I don't think the stance was substantially different between S1 and S2/3, but their spring rates may have been.  The early S1 cars were principally aimed at town driving and to satisfy the new female market. If you have new (non-original stock) springs, their profile and rate may also be different from standard.  The usual method is to loosen the silent-blocks that locate the springs and put some weight in the boot, until the gap between the bump stop and the spring is at the correct value (see workshop manual for your car) - or the stance looks about right - and then retighten.  If that takes more than 2 medium adults in the boot, then the springs may be too strong and the silent-blocks could tear after retightening.  Hopefully, if new springs have been fitted then any remaining 50-year old silent-blocks have also been replaced.

As for tyres & wheels, I would use the Lancia Instruction Book recommendations for size for the S1 1.3 Rallye.  Lancia put a lot of effort into designing the cars as a package.   If your wheels are original, they will have been designed to be used with tubed tyres and I would stick with that.  It was only after about 1970 that tubeless tyres were introduced and, with more experience, wheels for tubeless tyres were modified with 2 additional safety ridges (inboard of the rims) to retain the tyres in the event of a side impact.  If you have a modern replacement wheel which has these ridges, you should not use tubes - the pressure of the safety ridges can cause localised heating of the tube and failure.  There is some good information here:  https://www.longstonetyres.co.uk/classic-tyre-inner-tubes.html