Zagato body section behind rear wheel advice wanted

[zagatoman]

Just sorting out the ends of my rear valence on my Zagato and was wondering what the side profile should look like.

I have seen cars with the lower body section behind the rear wheel in parallel with the body crease but also seen them with a slight swoop up, so not in parallel.

Found a drawing showing the side profile of the Zagato with the slight turn up, what is more original?

Advice.

Paul

[roddy]

Hello Paul

My experience on what I own and what I have seen is that the red car in the photograph is wrong, and the technical drawing is correct.

Regards - Roddy

[zagatoman]

Thanks Roddy, as I thought. Somehow the red car looks a bit strange in this area as the rest of the car is so curvy but I have so many pictures of other Zagatos either flat as the red car or curves like the drawing. As I was welding repair sections into this area I thought I would try and get as close to original as possible.

Thanks again for you invaluable help.

Be interesting to see other peoples opinions.

Paul

[nistri]

I confirm Roddy's comments on the Zagato lines, best, Andrea

[Scott]

Oops - not wanting to be controversial or difficult but I'd say the car in the picture with the bottom of the wing running parallel with the swage line was the 'right' option.

If anyone knows what they're talking about Fulvia wise though it's Andrea so I wonder if this design feature is something perhaps relevant to a model year / series?

I am looking at the excellent 'Lancia Fulvia' by Enzo Altorio. The chapter on the Zagato with plenty of period pictures shows the bottom of the rear wing running in parallel with the body swage line with a curve only at the end along the lines of:
http://www.autobelle.it/archivio_carrozzieri/inc_file/zagato/arczag42.jpg

Although further on in the book the technical drawing you cite indeed shows the gradual updwards curve from behind the wheel backwards...!  

Perhaps to put your mind at rest before you start something that can't exactly be buffed out if you change your mind later is to use Google Images with a search like 'fulvia zagato' and see if there are enough side profile pics to get another opinion.  

[fay66]

Roddy's not so dusty either in knowing what to look for.!

Brian
8227

[chugga boom]

i'd also bear in mind that all the zagato's were hand built and "one off's" so not all exactly the same, many of the older lancias especially coach built are like this and panels do not just swap over, don cross bought a bootlid for hip pf appia and it was (i think) 3cm different in length to his origional, many of these type of cars altered through their production life so is there a right and wrong 

[roddy]

Hello Paul - me again!

An Australian contact sent me a picture of his car, and questioned my post, as his car tended to appear like your 'red' photo.   So I went to the garage with tape measure.

On both the S1 and the S2 1600, the distance from the swage line down to the wing bottom, in front of the wheel arch is 13" (sorry it's imperial - it's an age thing).   The distance from the swage line down to the bottom corner of the wing behind the wheel arch is also 13" (give or take .25");  and in both cases, the rear wing bottom profile sweeps upwards from the lowest point at the end of the arch.

However as has been correctly pointed out, no panels are interchangeable between S1 and S2, and panel shape can vary from car to car, the factory using lead or filler to get the shape/gaps right.

I would suggest that as Bill has made a beautiful rear valance for you, that you just blend the lower curve of the wing in to match the edge of the valance.   Remember that this now creates an in accessible chamber under the boot-floor inside the valance and rear wings, and is a candidate for injecting cavity wax or similar to prevent corrosion.   I also sealed round the edge of the boot-floor/inner face of wing/rear panel with Sikaflex to prevent any moisture getting from above.   Remember also to have fitted in the hatch drain pipe hoses first.

Regards - Roddy

[zagatoman]

Thanks Roddy for all the information and taking the trouble to do the measuring.

I today welded up the rear valence and behind wheel sections, and am very pleased with the results. I think it is a little bit different from what was intended with Bills sections but the section curves he provided favoured the the slop up sides so that’s what I went for as the drawing not the red car and I feel it gives it a much better look and sweeps up nicely to attach to the rear valence. I also have given the centre of the rear valence a slight sag to help with drainage so no water will collect in valence to rot it out. Bill provided a convenient hole for this but am not sure if this hole is original.

I am rust proofing as I go with every panel coated in weld through primer and will when finished give everything a good going over with wax. Will try and take some photos and post them up to see what people think. I also fitted all the rear bumpers to make sure the curves looked OK and I am happy with them.

I love this forum, you can ask any advice and people always come to the rescue.

Thanks again to you and everybody concerning this post.

[roddy]

Hello Paul

Thank you for your kind words.   Good to read that you are making progress with your car.

However, just to keep a balanced perspective on the Forum, and not to appear too dogmatic, I have now been presented with a whole raft of photographs of Fulvia Sports with the rear wing lower profile parallel to the ground, like your photo of the red car.   They appear to be S2 cars, and it could be they are all cars with late chassis numbers, near the end of production, and Zagato made a conscious decision to alter the shape and construction (?).   Does anyone know for sure?   As any Fulvia Sport and coupé owner will know, that area behind the rear wheels is a terrible spot for retaining debris and creating a 'rot zone'.

Regards - Roddy

[zagatoman]

Hi Roddy

I have also seen lots of photos with this section as the red car but also seen some as the drawing. I don’t think it matters what is should be as long everything is protected against the rust. I am pleased the way my rear has turned out, it still has all it’s nice curves.

Thought I would post some pictures, before and after.

[zagatoman]

Hi again Roddy, you might be able to help with this.

My number plate lights that attach to the rear bumperets on my Fulvia Zagato are not very good condition.

Would you have a couple of decent ones hanging around that you don’t want? or failing that would you know where to get replacement glass domes as both of mine are cracked.

Thanks, Paul