Aurelia in Brasil

[peteracs]

Hi All

I received this enquiry from Herve (not a current member) in Brasil, so any help would be useful. (email can be supplied, please send me a message)

Peter

Received email

"Good morning Gentleman,
 
I am a classic car amateur and live in Brazil. I own a 1960 Alfa Romeo Touring Spider (102-04), and a 1960 Austin Healey BT7.
A friend is offering me this Lancia . His deceased father bought the car from a scrap yard with no papers, and the Lancia has been in his family for over 40 years
He has started to do some work on the car, although he does not know exactly what model it is (he told me it is a 1956 Pininfarina…)
Now he says he wants to sell it to me.
 
Can you help me figure out exactly year and model?
 
Although he says the car is complete, are parts (details, chrome, instruments) available for these cars?
 
Would you have a guess figure of what a car like this would be worth if it was in this state for sale in Europe?
 
Thank you very much for your knowledgeable support!
 
Very truly yours
 
Herve Salmon"

[mikeC]

Well, I can confidently say that it is a Pinin Farina Cabriolet on an Aurelia chassis, but I'll leave it to the experts to identify just which model; I would have thought it is much earlier than 1956, more like 1950-51, and probably a B21.
As for value, again over to the experts, but that is a very nice find. There was not a lot of chrome work on this style, but all the Pinin Farina logos and badges are available (at a price!).

[Sliding Pillar]

It is an early series B50 Pinin Farina Cabriolet (circa 1950). If I could have the chassis and engine number I can get the full production details.
Bumpers would be alloy, and VERY difficult to find. Instruments would be the same as a B10 saloon, so not too difficult.
There may not be that much chrome externally, but the hood frame is chromed, not the cheapest thing in the world to replace! and looking at the photos the rear section is not there, unless it is folded down?
If you can P.M. me the owners de tails I will contact him directly.

[Sebastien]

I agree with Ade, it is an early B50 Pinin Farina cabriolet, probably 1950.
Here is what the finished car should look like. My car, exactly the same model, was produced 1950, serial number B50-1055.
You can distinguish it from later cars by the forward opening bonnet, and the sloping rear wings.

If I were to answer the question about value, and what a car in a similar condition is worth, I would first look at the market: quite a few of those cabriolets are for sale in Italy, some in very bad condition, others original, but "oily rag", or similar. Prices range from 30 to more than 80'000 Euros. They stay for sale for a very long time, sometimes more than 2 years. My opinion is that those cars are too expensive, in view of their huge cost of restoration. Doing a B50 top is certainly at least 3 to 4 times as expensive as a B24 spider top, because of the fully chromed frame, and the great span of the top. Doing a B50 interior is the same. You need a very experienced trimmer to do a good job.
And all the body bits and pieces, apart from instruments and bumpers, such as window winder and door handles are specific to the cabriolet.

I would argue that today, a car restored as an excellent driver, almost concours car, with the original B10 engine, should be worth 120'000 EUR, not more. Because of the small engine (1750 cc, and 56 BHP) the appeal to the collector is limited, although they drive well, with their short final drive ratio. There is such a car for sale in Basel, Switzerland, at less than the above quoted figure, and it has been for sale for a long time.

So to finally answer the initial question, I would substract from that value of 120'000 EUR the cost of an excellent professional restoration - here the body seems to be good, which already is a very good point. But there are all the mechanicals and all the exterior trim bits (are they all available?), then comes  the cost for paint, a complete mechanical restoration, the top, and all the interior - and finally the lack of papers is also a concern.

And finally, as the owner of one such car, I would like to give my personal opinion that the cabriolet is a really excellent Aurelia and a very special car, which I have been enjoying on the roads of Europe for many years. So if the OP is serious about the car, and if it is complete with all the hard to find bits, I would strongly suggest to keep it, and restore it to enjoy it on the roads... If the idea is to make a quick financial profit, I would advise not to touch it....