Ardea Camioncino - Unbelievably Cute !

[simonandjuliet]

The Ardea camioncino arrived today, it is very, very cute.

It is a car destined to work in our vineyards (it was designed for this sort of work) and I aim to keep it looking rough, but fully functioning so it will be the "Quasimodo" to my Appia furgoncino's "Esmeralda", which I use for local deliveries and markets

I know very little about Ardeas so as I learn, I will update this post, but please add to it as well !!

[Sliding Pillar]

Very nice Simon!
The Girgio NADA Editore Lancia Ardea e Appia book lists production numbers and chassis numbers for the Ardea Furgoncino & Camioncino:-
Furgoncino 1945 - 1953 type 550 7120 made. Chassis numbers 1001 to 8130
Camioncino 1948 - 1952 type 650 100 made, Chassis numbers 1001 to 2600

Engines type 100A from Furgoncino 3170 (No mention of Camioncino),
type 100B from Furgoncino 4385 & Camioncino 2194.
12volt electrics from number 3170.

Oude Weernink's LaLancia lists  chassis numbers 2nd series Furgoncino 1945 - 1949 type 550 1010 to 4384, 4th series Furgoncino 1949 - 1953 type 550 4385 to 8130.
2nd series Camioncino 1948 -1949 type 650 1001 to 2193 4th series Camioncino 1949 - 1953 2194 to 2600

Looking at these figures it appears that there were two series of Ardea Furgoncino and Camioncino, either 2nd series or 4th series.

Being pedantic the commercial vehicles based on the Ardea were called the 800, not Ardea. You will see this on the rear number plate lamp, the left hand side says Lancia and the right hand side says 800. see photos.

[tzf60]

Unbelievably cute it certainly is, Simon 😊
And a fabulous compliment to the working fleet!!
 
Tim

[simonandjuliet]

Thanks for that Ade, I am still working my way through the numbers .... mine is 5 speed with a 100A engine

I read somewhere that they are called "800" because that's the official carrying capacity in kgs, but I have never seen the rear lenses before

I drove it around the yard yesterday - brakes disconnected so everyone kept out of the way. Brakes look very similar to Aprilia so hopefully I should have some bits on the shelf

Tim, I can't wait to try it out in the vines, fantastic ground clearance on those 16" wheels

[chriswgawne]

That looks very purposeful Simon. Its had quite a journey over the last few years hasnt it? Will it fit between the rows of vines like some of the other vehicles you have?
Chris

[simonandjuliet]

Chris - we will have to wait and see, but at least we have started .....

Oils drained and rolled on its side so we can check out the metal and see if more repairs needed. So far looks very solid with previous repairs being done well (not always the prettiest !)

Couple of small repairs needed around one jacking point, plus stress fracture on inner wing

Brakes all stripped ready for a clean and new seals if necessary. They aren't leaking and the brakes worked but were binding, probably due to seized pivots. New tyres have arrived and will also be fitted

[simonandjuliet]

Underneath cleaned up and first coat of anti-rust (converter) paint. It looks like it will be easier to whip off the front wing so we can do the repair around the jacking point, properly

[simonandjuliet]

New sill and door shut made up and now has correct profile so the running board fits correctly, plus the jacking point has been remade

That has been pretty much the only welding. The rest has been done previously

Brakes all cleaned up, seals fitted and waiting to be refitted to the car. A "new" diff has been sourced in Italy and arrived today because there is a lot of backlash in the old one

[simonandjuliet]

Back on her (new) wheels today. I went for the same tyre as the Appia furgoncino because the profile and look are right. They are CAMAC's . Difficult to find in this size at the moment, but eventually found 5 in Holland !

I aim to keep the "used" look so this will present a challenge for Dog because a lot of the paint around the rear has had to be stripped off (by Dietlief who is somehow working in this 40 + heat)

She will be tipped over onto the other side tomorrow so we can finish off underneath and tidy up the other sill. This one is solid just needs some straightening and possibly pulling out a bit

A bit about the history of this camioncino:

Build date:Feb 11th 1949
Original gearbox, diff,steering box and everything else with a number on it - including the engine, which was a surprise because it is a 100A and I think should probably be a 100 N , so typical Lancia - "no such thing as a standard Lancia"

The info came from Centro Storico FIAT  and it will help me register the car here. Mercifully, the car was never registered in the UK so the process is much simpler

[simonandjuliet]

I have been asked (and I have accepted) to show the Ardea camioncino and a couple of my other cars at the Lyon classic car show this year https://epoquauto.com/fr/, where Lancia have the main stand - apparently there will be 30 Lancias on the main stage

So we have some work to do !

Other cars that I will lend to the show are the Appia furgoncino and the Aprilia Cabrio - a great way of focussing the mind

So date for your diaries - 4/5/6 November in Lyon

[simonandjuliet]

We have tipped the camioncino onto the other side so that we can finish of the cill this side and tidy up the rest

I have decided to fit early 2CV lights with the chrome rings, they look in keeping with the original Carello front lights , a bit bigger and with separate indicators , which I suppose is no bad thing ....

Once the tatty metal was removed from the spare wheel cover, there wasn't a lot left, but the frame is good so should be relatively easy to reskin.

Overall the metalwork is very solid, just that some of the repairs have been a bit "agricultural" , so a light skim of filler to flatten out the welds and we'll leave the dents

[simonandjuliet]

I was doing a quick search for rear light options and came across a photo of my car on the Ardea club website - probably when the car was for sale at Padova in 2006

The 2CV are much nicer !

[simonandjuliet]

With the front inner arch cleaned up, you can see the same stress crack behind the axle, so we'll plate this side as well - wonder if it's a general Ardea issue, or just the commercials

A detail showing the new underseal - it is not a classic bitumen type, but a spray PU. You need a special gun (I bought for the Appia) but it gives a nice original style "splatter" and sticks & lasts very well

Lastly, does anyone have any of these knobs for sale ? They are used on the tailgate and are missing. Otherwise I was going to try and turn a couple of them

[simonandjuliet]

Back to rear lights .....

Looking at the black and white photo from early publicity, I am not sure if my camioncino ever had the 2 circular lights on the spare wheel door, or the 2 Aprilia-style catch system. There was absolutely no evidence of holes or wiring on the bits we took off. There is wiring for the number plate light but no more

Maybe previous repairs removed evidence of the lights but the catch does look original - does anyone have any other photos of the back of these cars to help ?

The spare wheel door is nearly repaired, been quite a fiddly job but the neatly folded edges are very strong

[simonandjuliet]

First fit for both rear doors, some details to finish .....