Lancia Motor Club

Hi advice on the following appreciated.
Flavia 2000 Coupe 1970. Failed MOT as dipped beam points to the right (car was imported from Italy last year and passed 1st MOT!)
Lights are not very good especially dipped beam.
Is there an easy fix where I can re-align the dipped beam to pass MOT and get brighter lights without major alterations/work?
Finally how do you get the chrome ring off that covers any adjusting screws etc? It looks as if there are some clips but how do these undo?
Thanks Mike.

Best to fit uk carrello or cibie lights with the correct glass pattern (has the little arrow to the right).

Do not tell anybody but same light units on my Sport restored in Brussels and MOT passed annually from 2011!
There were Lucas units that fitted my 2000 saloon when I ran it - I cannot remember the part number. As far as I remember too it was not difficult to replace the chrome rings and the Flavia Consortium used to have them. I may still have a few lurking in a box in the garage.
Presumably you cannot just put the black sticky stuff over the part of the lens that produces the raised edge to the beam? Or even some opaque paint.

Hi thanks for your suggestions. I got some "beam benders" to fit to the outside glass of the unit and the car passed its MOT.
I'll now be looking at a permanent solution and investigating the carello/cibie units.
Thanks again, Mike.

Out of interest, what diameter are the Flavia headlights? Are they the same size as Beta ones?

Frank

Hi Frank only just seen your post and the Flavia is tucked away in the garage I'll get my tape measure out tomorrow and let you know dia of lights, regards Mike.

Hi Frank the dia of the light units is approx 6", regards Mike.

Mike, Beta is just a tickle under 6 inches so that may be a solution.

standard size was 5 3/4 inch. Cibies are good but mounting lugs on the rear may need modifying (removing)

My Beta ones are mounted from the front retained by a chrome bezel so I wonder which mounting lugs are the issue on a Flavia?

mounting lugs read lugs to ensure its the right orientation ie not upside down etc. certainly on Flavias and Fulvias

Hi my measurement was taken in situ with the chrome ring in place so was not too precise.
How does the chrome ring come off? There appear to be some clips in the chrome surround which I've tried pushing down etc but nothing happens. What's the technique I require?
Thanks for all your comments and advice, regards Mike.

The chrome trim rings just pull off. Look closely and you will see a triangle shaped clip pointing through the ring. Push this down at the same time as you pull on the rim.
Brian.

Hi Brian,
 the chrome ring isn't held on by screws on lugs which has been my experience with other old cars over the years. The Flavia appears to have 3 clips in the ring but i don't know which way to push/pull or whatever to get the ring off. Mike

if like the fulvia i depress one of the "clips" with a small screwdriver and lift off that "corner" then the other 2 become in effective and the whole ring comes off. To put on simply push back on....

Thanks I'll give that a try later today, cheers Mike.

Hi, it was a little fiddly but I've got the hang of it now. Thanks for the advice Mike.

If the headlamps are 5 3/4 inch, which I suspect, you could do worse than try for Cibie unit (with or without pilot bulb) from Larkspeed in Leeds; Their price was £38-odd against £59 quoted by several suppliers. If yo're not fixed up,and need further info, please let me know- Larkspeed are just round the corner from me

Thanks for the info Peter, I'll get in touch with Larkspeed. regards Mike.

Update on headlight conversion. Called Larkspeed re Cibie's but told not available with a pilot light. Bought some mid price units with halogen bulbs which are a big improvement on the previous ones probably because the silvering on the reflectors was bubbling.
(Are the old units of any use?)
Garage has adjusted so that dip beam meets MOT standards
Will now uprate the main beams.
Thanks for all the advice. Mike.

I've seen old glasses grafted onto new backs.

David

Derek Creasy did that with his 2000HF restoration.I'm not such a stickler for originality although we all draw the line somewhere I guess.

I was being smug!!
Daughter borrowed Sport to use for the summer in Devon and needed MOT.
You are ahead of me --- they noticed the European dipping main beams!!!!
They did tell her that they would pass it with appropriate bits of plastic on the lenses (but why did they not just do it - I suppose they get a very easy retest fee)
She says the lights are so bad that the chances of dazzling anybody is pretty remote - the Carello reflectors rarely lasted very long and so most of us did use Cibie or Lucas.
Very interesting discussion but I think I will just leave as is until light so bad alternative is necessary.

So far even when I forget to dip no one has flashed me even when the dip beam was to the right! The reflectors in the old units, which I presume are the originals, are bubbling up which doesn't help.

Daughter George has just sent this picture of the Sport getting sorted for MOT - Is it the only gullwing Flavia?

Very good Brian, but perhaps he wanted to see a Doctor :D

Brian
8227 8)

Gullwing Flavia continuing a proud Lancia tradition of innovation. Viz a viz the 1932 Lancia Dilambda Gullwing.

Photo courtesy of Ade Ruddler from the 2014 SP Rally Eastbourne.   

Robin.

Oh dear! What have I started?

That's a lovely angle for the Flavia Sport. Love that gentle constant curve from headlight to rear light. Very nice colour too. I seem to remember that when I was a kid I thought they were ugly. What a fool I was.

As a young man (a long time ago) I was able to appreciate the design of Fulvia Sports but had difficulty with the Flavia Sport. Nowadays however, I think they are lovely and the complete antithesis of the design of a lot of modern cars which look to me as if the front has been designed by one committee, the centre of the car by another and the rear by a third committee......then someone else comes along and puts trim panels, imitation air inlets etc on the front and rear sides to really mess it up.
I had supper once many years ago with an eminent Pininfarina designer who told me the reason that everyone regarded the Aurelia B20 design so highly is that it is possible to pick any point on the body of the car and trace a gently curving, comfortable,  uninterrupted line to the opposite extremity.
This also works with the Flavia Sport.
Chris

I can only agree with Chris - except I have always  thought the Flavia Sport a "better" shape. I realise this really means nothing as it boils down to personal preference, but the Fulvia Sport is more restrained and I just love the OTT-ness of the Flavia.
The colour I confess is non-Lancia - it is a 1960s Ferrari blue so has the right feel.

Someone once said to me that although the Fulvia coupe looks pretty square it's difficult to lay a 6" ruler flat anywhere on it. As far as the Flavia Sport is concerned, while it has taken some of us a time to realise it is a beautiful car, Ercole Spada knew straight away, the sign of a top designer.

One story is that the side windows should have continued over the roof which might make more sense of it.

I still think you can't even claim it looks like the front of one car stuck to the back of another - as the front and back separately look like nothing else.

One feature that doesn't show well in photos is the way the headlights are in their own 'nacelle' on top of the overall form.  The only other car I can think of which has the same feature is the Lotus 11.  It results in an odd looking line on the wing where they join, odd in photos, a delight in the metal once you "get" that the line is that of the bonnet between the wings.

David