Fulvia useful Spares & Tools For Long Distance Touring

[Mikenoangelo]

Spare bulbs, plugs and a head gasket. Wire for electrics, fuses, insulating tape, gaffer tape, PTFE tape, cable ties and a tube of Hermatite joint sealant. Mainly though make sure the car has run a good mileage before your long trip, and of course go over it thoroughly beforehand. If a special tool is needed to get to the brakes (like the castellated hub spanner) take that and a decent complement of spanners, sockets etc, and a few small bolts and nuts.

Not a Lancia but my 1925 1100cc Salmson has done many thousands of miles in France and even did a two way crossing of the USA. I found if I took more than the above it was never needed, even on the US trip when in 9000 miles just one bolt stripped its thread on the dynamo mounting bracket and the carburettor flange nuts came slightly loose making the exhaust pop a bit going down the Rockies near Aspen.

Mike

[lancialulu]

I go along with Mike but would add a small analogue multimeter and wiring diagram, spare quantities of fluids esp if running silicone brake fluid, a tyre mouse repair canister.

[nistri]

As an aside, please note that very few tyre garages stock inner tubes and rely on next day delivery, meanwhile the Lancia driver is expected to relax. In Northern Italy the Michelin stockist is in Bergamo. Andrea

[simonandjuliet]

Tim - "tyre mouse" - to help with the squeaks ?

[Richard Fridd]

Also, today's Classic Car Weekly suggests a roadworthiness certificate acceptable to the country being visited.

[Mikenoangelo]

MOT then? Not a bad idea anyway. What other document could you use?
Mike

[Scott]

Last summer I did a 3,400 round trip to Italy via Switzerland with no issues so I can certainly recommend a long road trip in a Fulvia! 

I agree with the other folk who have replied on the basis that prevention is better than cure. I used the time before I went to clear up some messy wiring relating to the ignition and other minor niggles to de-risk any issues as well as doing full fluid changes (and I can thoroughly recommend an addition like Millers Extra Cool). I also took the Fulvia to a Lancia specialist for a tune as well as a full check over for extra peace of mind.

Do you normally have your fuel tank fully filled? I hadn't normally as with shorter journeys and advice that petrol 'goes off' I would only have a half tank of petrol at any time. It was only shortly before my long trip that I filled the fuel tank fully to find that the seal between filler pipe and tank had perished allowing fuel to leak; something that would have been a PITA to fix on the journey and not something I had predicted or even thought about. Fortunately finding this in advance meant it could be fixed.

With all this prep work I then took only a fairly basic tool kit and spares. The only thing I wish I'd taken? ... some copper grease! The brakes developed a squeal on one side at the rear (probably all the brake activity on those Swiss mountain passes!) and where a coating of some copper grease on the back of the offending pads would cure this niggle. I must have visited about a half dozen petrol stations en-route to try and find some with no luck and couldn't find any Swiss equivalents of Halfords! In the end I used the local knowledge of some chap admiring the Fulvia to locate a friendly back street mechanic and blagged some grease from him!

For additional peace of mind it's also worth considering breakdown cover and on that check your classic insurance policy. My policy for instance handily includes UK and European breakdown assistance.

[lancialulu]

Do you normally have your fuel tank fully filled? I hadn't normally as with shorter journeys and advice that petrol 'goes off'

I have always filled my tank especially for putting my cars up for a winter hibernation. I have never suffered from bad fuel (always fil Shell Vplus) at the beginning of the season with my cars. Fuel in the tank stops the consensation (yes there is always time when the water vapour pressure is high enough to condense) rusting the inside of the tank. This rusting leads to muck in the fuel lines and consequent problems en route. Always have a spare in line filter if you suspect a mucky tank.

As an aside I did have "poor fuel" problems with a Ducati I woke up this year after 3 years hibernation. At the MOT station I complained of poor running and told them I thought it was bad fuel. They said try this Wurth Fuel Cure product. A cap ful in the tank and the engine ran like a dream.....