I said I would never buy another Fulvia Berlina......

[chriswgawne]

Before anyone thinks I am trying to be clever, I can confirm I have Simon's permission to entitle this thread as I have. Thank you Simon.

Jacky and I have been continuous Fulvia owners since 1972 of one model or another - but mainly 1600cc Coupes and Sports -  and indeed she learned to drive in the early 70's in a lhd Fulvia 2C which became our family car until some idiot wrote it off with his Alfasud. There are other references to our 2C  in the 'Harry Manning' section of 'Lancia in Britain'.

And these days our lovely rhd Berlina GTE ( thank you Sebastien) gives us sterling service on a daily basis in Italy being used also for holidays each year in Tuscany with the family and Elba for just the 2 of us. Our other 'daily driver' in Italy is usually our Aurelia B12 as both cars can accomodate our many visitors.

So, to the point of the thread.
Its not often these days that motoring things in my life truly excite me but yesterday was such a day. Our new addition was collected from a transport depot near Vicenza by Giuseppe, my local breakdown truck man, having been transported there from Portugal in an artic along with a large collect of new and used Fulvia spare parts. I collected the spare parts in a hired Mercedes Sprinter van which was just large enough to accommodate them.
The car is a dark blue  rhd 1967 32,000 mile one owner car which was last on the road in Portugal in 1990. It went to Portugal in the 80's I think and was registered there although the UK Registration wasnt cancelled so I have a V5 which is helpful. I have the original invoice for the car from new and the bodywork is in 'as new condition' as is the interior. The seats which are off white have been covered from new and the door cards all still have their clear plastic covering.
The engine is in pieces (probably since 1990?)  and no-one seems to know why but all the parts are there including a fully built head with new valves along with at least one complete spare engine. There is also a good used 818.302 1300cc engine for sale locally here about 20 minutes away for €400 so I am not too worried about that. Obviously the brakes need a complete overhaul but I have all the parts for that on my shelves already. I wont however be getting stuck in just yet as there are an awful lot of new and used spares to sort through and our vines and fruit trees take quite a lot of time at this time of the year not to mention visitors.
I was reminded of the car possibly being still available during a chat with a well known LMC member in January when I said that I would ideally like to find a second really good rhd Fulvia Berlina, either GT or GTE (thank you Tim) and it took 3 months to negotiate, view and buy the car and spares from the late owners Estate and then 3 weeks or so to organise transportation. Its a long way to S Portugal from the UK and Italy - about 1,500 miles - and I was ultimately put off doing the trip myself using a Sprinter van + trailer by a driver who told me of the high incidence of theft, damage and worse on the Spanish section onthe motorway which runs along the Mediterranean coast.

No photographs just yet as its a little dirty and full of spare parts but I am really pleased to report that the paint on the horizontal surfaces which had a lots of dust and dirt and bird droppings on them seem to be 100% after a careful wash and T cut.

And finally I have a complete set of perfect 100% rust free S1 Berlina complete doors, bonnet and bootlid for sale at a knockdown price as well as a perfect rust free 'as new' Fulvia subframe.


Chris

 

[lancianut666]

Get that camera going!
Clarkey

[DavidLaver]

The quote for me was "Its not often these days that motoring things in my life truly excite me but yesterday was such a day."

Am DELIGHTED for you - and of course am looking forward to the story from here...

[DavidLaver]

...and even ten years ago if told such a car would bring you that much joy would you have believed them?

[the.cern]

Chris, what an absolute gem ....... and there is no-one better able to make the most of it than you!!!

I am certain that it will bring you and Jacky huge enjoyment and, like David, I cannot wait to read the story!!!

Andy

[stanley sweet]

It's great that these cars with plastic door coverings etc and such low mileage are still out there. The longer these cars stay out of the hands of 'investors' the better.

[williamcorke]

Sounds terrific Chris, I look forward to photos.

[Justin McArdle]

Congratulations Chris. I was very interested in this Fulvia in Portugal but things sort of ground to a halt with the solicitor involved. It great news that this Fulvia has gone to a good home - I was concerned that it may disappear into the Portuguese ether!!
I subsequently bought my LHD 2c - which is with me currently in Gent, Belgium for the weekend. Travelled from London to Bruges and then to Gent yesterday in considerable comfort on half a tank of petrol!
I would be very interested in the spare parts. Let me know what you have to sell when you have sorted through the the tea chests etc!
I will PM you with me contact details.
Congratulations on saving another Berlina!,

[chriswgawne]

I am working my way through the various bits and pieces that came with the car. Its all a bit of a jumble and yesterday was spent emptying the boot and interior of the car which were full of wishbones, interior bits and pieces, trim pieces and front and rear screens all of which are in pretty good condition even if previously used. Quite a lot of stuff is brand new  and I am trying to put aside everything I will need to bring it back to life.
I am not quite ready to post any detailed photos yet as the car is very dirty but this will change shortly.
The engine in the car is not actually the original one ( which I have - see later) but it is correct being a 818.202 variant of 1231cc. The cylinder head and sump are off the engine , the underbonnet area including the subframe, cast aluminium uprights and gearbox are spotless ( I think the whole subframe assembly has been unbolted, cleaned and painted) and the cylinder head has new valves and has been lightly skimmed so I think the engine was in the process of being rebuilt when work stopped in 1990.
I have a pair of Dellorto 35DHLAs which I will fit as well as a pair of original Solex 32s and for safetys sake I will take the pistons out before re-assembling. The bores look ok but are very slightly scored and the pistons are a snug fit.
I have the original 818.202 engine number 2510 and it looks to me as if the bores have been honed or maybe even lightly rebored as they are perfect but covered in dry anti corrosion coating which I don't want to disturb just yet. I have a new set of 75.16 pistons and rings (is this first oversize?) and 2 sets of conrods and shells so potentially I have enough bits to fully rebuild a 100% spare engine.
The puzzle is what happened to need all this engine work on a car which has only done 32,000 miles? In all the Fulvias we have owned which must be about 20 over the last 46 years I have never had to rebuild a whole engine. Valve guides maybe ( and our GTE could do with them but I am running it on fully synthetic 10W40 oil  which I use in all our cars from Aurelia to Porsche 911 twin turbo) but never lower down the engine. Was there a spate of  broken piston rings possibly as I have a set of used standard pistons with some rings missing.
I also interestingly can see that our 1968 GTE has some slightly cheaper fittings that the 1967 GT which is currently parked next door to it. Maybe a case of cost cutting?
Chris

[Parisien]

Sounds as if you'd a lot of fun during the chase, great to hear of your new purchase , especially as it seems a cracker and has lots of potential, will follow thread with interest.


P

[chriswgawne]

The large load of S1 Fulvia Berlina parts for the UK was loaded this morning for delivery to the various buyers later this week so I can get back to bringing the Fulvia GT back to life as it was last on the road in 1990.
The body of the car is completely original and unmarked (apart from a couple of scratches on the lower half of the drivers door and the leading edge of the bonnet which were picked up in transit from Portugal which my local bodyshop here run by 2 brothers will sort out) and is incredibly clean and new looking underneath.
The bumpers have no dents, the brightwork is very good  and all the light lenses are bright and clear and all the electrics seem to work.
Consequently it is a joy to work on.
So far I have done no cosmetic work whatsoever concentrating mainly on completely overhauling the braking and fuel system.
The previous (first) owner had fitted additional Lancia badges on the rear which I have removed and for some reason he has fitted a pair of desirable 1600HF rear number plate lights to complement the number plate lights in the bumper. I don't like these but if I remove them there will be 3 holes on each side of the new number plate to be plugged so for the moment I will leave these.

There were a couple of additional gauges fitted under the dashboard which I have taken out ( voltmeter and vacuum gauge) and I have also removed all the additional wiring and pipes associated with these. The previous owner did a good job of fitting them tidily so they have come out without leaving a mess.
The car has 5 new tyres - Falken Sincera SN832 165/80 R14 85 T @ €49 each delivered exactly as fitted to our GTE -   and my local tyre fitters fitted and balanced these with new tubes and disposed of all the old stuff for €120.

I have overhauled the brake system completely fitting sleeved wheel cylinders which I already had together with a resealed 18mm rhd master cylinder. RHD brake master cylinders are not available new and whilst it is possible to fit a lhd one at an angle its preferable to fit the correct thing. I have a few rhd master cylinders in vgc dismantled on my shelves packed in airtight dry containers to preserve them.
Two of the 3 flexible brake lines had collapsed and were blocked so I replaced all 3.
The fuel tank was about 1/2 full of horrible 28 year old fuel and the fuel tank sender looked like a Christmas Tree being covered in crystals and firmly stuck but lots of patience and Plus Gas has meant that it is now working fine.
I am now about to start on the engine and it would be nice to think that it might be running for when the family arrive for 3 weeks visit (when all car work obviously stops) but its far too hot now to work on the car between about 11.00am and 5.00pm and there is work to do on our vines and fruit trees which must take precedence.
Sorry for the lack of photos but I will put some up when it is running and after I have given it a good wash, clean and polish.
Chris

[the.cern]

Chris, this all sounds absolutely brilliant ........ you obviously have a gem and are in the perfect situation to recommission it. I love the reference to the "...previous (first) owner ....".

                                              Andy

[chriswgawne]

With our 'new' Fulvia GT which had been standing for > 28 years, in renovating the brake system I fitted a set of wheel cylinders which I had used a local Surrey workshop to fit pressed in stainless steel inserts many years ago.
I fitted the renovated wheel cylinders with new rubber seals and dust covers about 10 days ago and also fitted a good 18mm original master cylinder off my shelves and having bled the brakes using pressure, I had a firm pedal. Obviously I fitted new pads as well and interestingly the discs on the car show no wear or corrosion.
So the wheel cylinder pistons and seals were therefore sitting well down in their respective cylinders.

I then continued with other aspects of the work needed on the car but noticed yesterday that the brake fluid level had fallen slightly.
I topped up the fluid then pressed on the pedal long and hard....and suddenly it went to the floor. My initial reaction was that a hose had burst but they are all new.
On closer inspection I discovered that the ss insert  on the inside front lhs wheel cylinder had been pushed up the cylinder walls by pressure and was standing proud and because the piston was well down ( new pads and unworn discs) the sleeve had actually ridden  up over the seal.
The other 3 front wheel cylinders seem to be fine and I have fitted a brand new unused one in place of the faulty one.
I seem to remember John Savage having a problem with his Aurelia with fluid loss between the sleeve and wheel cylinder which was sorted out by using adhesive and I am wondering with this slightly different problem whether I can save this cylinder by extracting the sleeve and then gluing it back in?
And if so, what sort of adhesive? Maybe Araldite or similar? Or is it not worth the risk?
Chris

[lancianut666]

Hmmm pressed in liners for calipers...went that way many years ago with my Flavia coupe...what could go wrong? never underestimate the force of hydraulics the sleeve was just forced out and we had brake fluid everywhere. I bought replacements from my local motor factor as they were the same as MkII Jags
Clarkey

[chriswgawne]

Interesting  and useful PM response to the brake sleeve problem using a Loctite product which appears to have been designed for just this sort of issue.
Well done the forum.
Chris