Interesting Fulvia for sale

[Lindsay]

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/2319224.htm

Anyone come across such a conversion before? Good idea in theory....

[fay66]

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/2319224.htm

Anyone come across such a conversion before? Good idea in theory....

Why looks like doing it for the sake of it, surely a 1600HF would perform as well and handle better, I also suspect  it would probably upset the balance with the extra weight up front,it has had an SU Carb, probably because the original would sit too high.
Interesting exercise but not sure it's worth the effort.

Brian
8227

[ncundy]

I wonder if it has ever run?

[Lindsay]

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/2319224.htm

Anyone come across such a conversion before? Good idea in theory....

Why looks like doing it for the sake of it, surely a 1600HF would perform as well and handle better, I also suspect  it would probably upset the balance with the extra weight up front,it has had an SU Carb, probably because the original would sit too high.
Interesting exercise but not sure it's worth the effort.

Brian
8227

Well the 1600HF puts out 115bhp is it, and the 2000 injection 130 (well they did when new) so a handy 15bhp extra. Flat 4 - lower centre of gravity presumably depending how high it is mounted. Not sure about the engine weight, surely not much in it? Agree probably not worth the effort and must devalue the car to most, but still interesting!

[neil-yaj396]

Can't see it selling for anything like £7K, especially as the engine 'requires re-build' - not going to be cheap, this is a much rarer engine than the standard. Nice unspoilt late series Fulvias are struggling to fetch this much.

[chugga boom]

i'd thought about this conversion for a fulvia sedan, personally i think its a cracking idea for all the reasons lyndsy has mentioned, anything modified isnt really worth as much as a standard vehicle and i think he is dreaming with that price but i bet when sorted it should go really well

[Dilambdaman]

Seem to remember a similar conversion being around some years ago. Have a feeling it was something to do with Barry Waterhouse.

Robin.

[neil-yaj396]

Having looked at the rest of the (interesting) photos on Photobucket the 2000HF dash and instruments have been fitted too, so it's certainly an all or nothing buy - no easy convert back to standard spec. The spare engine which I'd assumed to be the original V4 is actually a further flat four pretty much fully dismantled.

[DavidLaver]

Not sure I like the dash but the engine looks like it belongs.  Next to a 1300 plenty of torque, power, a good gearbox, would sound lovely.  The transmission tunnel looks fine.  Be interesting to know how the engine weights compare.

David

[zagatoboy]

Bodywork / shell looks very good and I do like the sunroof, as for the rest of it the word 'Skip' springs to mind.

[fay66]

Interesting, how does the bonnet lock now as the hood rail, bonnet catch and safety catch have been done away with as far as I can tell from the very limited photos, pity there aren't more detailed photos of the engine and it's fitment.

Brian
8227

[LanciAlan]

I'd love to try this and have thought of it before but I agree it would only be of interest as an engineering challenge since a 1300 upgrade or a 1600 swap would be far easier and more rewarding!

Great to see it seems at least feasible though - I spent last winter removing, refurbishing and refitting a 2000HF engine/gearbox/subframe and engine ancilliaries so I have some recent knowledge of whats what under the bonnet. In the picture below I can see the fuel injection "brain" sitting disconnected on the drivers side wheelarch and a power steering reservoir on the front passenger side!

...it has had an SU Carb, probably because the original would sit too high...

The carb seems to be fitted where the fuel injection throttle body goes on the rear of the inlet manifold but it still has the 2000HF fuel injection rail (part of) and fuel injectors fitted too - and these seem to be connected to the fuel supply line! And I can see other FI bits and bobs underneath the fuel supply line too. Maybe the carb was planned as a crude air meter or is that an electric fuel pump sitting up near the battery?

I wonder if it has ever run?

Based on the above, I doubt it! Though its likely someone made an optimistic attempt! Hard to see any non-standard (and likely side-draught?) carb working well with the long intake manifold design of the 2000HF which is mostly air column not fuel/air while on the other hand, the Bosch FI system needs all its electronic components to be present for it to work and this includes a throttle position sensor and various other sensors.

Interesting, how does the bonnet lock now as the hood rail, bonnet catch and safety catch have been done away with as far as I can tell from the very limited photos, pity there aren't more detailed photos of the engine and it's fitment.

This picture below can be enlarged and you can see there is a pair of connected bonnet release catches (again from a 2000) fitted behind each headlamp  but probably no safety catch.

http://s886.photobucket.com/albums/ac63/nedetailing/Lancia%20fulvia/?action=view&current=P1050244.jpg

The clearances around the engine must be very tight and it would be interesting to see how it was done - the Flavia/Fulvia subframes and their mounting points to the body are similar at the front and upper points but different at the back and so are the engine/gearbox mountings - though the gearboxes are the same (with different bellhousings).

I was going to say a Fulvia subframe was used but then I noticed the non-standard wedge on the floor under the clutch and brake pedals and something similar on the passenger side floor- that is where the Flavia/2000 rear subframe mounts are located (and where Fessia apparently intended them for Fulvias too instead of in the mud and water trap behind the wheels). So I guess some inboard mounting points were put on to take the 2000 subframe. I can't see if the usual Fulvia chassis outriggers are missing too.

Bumper is a bit forward? And perhaps the lower front valance too? Even in a 2000 there's NO room ahead of the engine and rad!

Real curate's egg - I wouldn't expect it to make over a grand and I wouldn't give more than 500 for it and I'm a fan!

[fay66]

Alan, Thank you fore the link to the photos.

didn't notice the bonnet catches in the small photo, the one behind the LH headlamp looks like it might incorporate a safety catch.
Seems as though there is still a lot of work to do on the engine, lots of loose ends at present.
I can understand wanting to have the Flavia instrument cluster to go with the mechanicals, but it's far too big for the fulvia dash, although a lot of effort appears to have gone into the trim.
Certainly doesn't seem to be a runner at present

brian
8227 .

[ColinMarr]

I am a bit late to join in on this, but I would like to add that with some reservations I think this is a good idea!

This is the sort of conversion that was done in days gone by when nobody wanted to spend much money on Fulvias and purists were putting their money into other models and by and large weren’t interested in Fulvias anyway. I don’t like the instruments mod, but other things are more attractive.

The Idea of fitting a 2000HF engine sounds good, a light-weight all alloy motor with more grunt than a 1600 should give lots of fun. Couple this with the innards of a 2000HF gearbox and you could get a very nice long-legged touring car with up to 30 mph in 1st and about 22 mph per 1000 rpm in top. My Fulvia has such a gearbox and I like it very much.

The SU carb looks like a temporary bodge just to get it on the road. The injectors look as if they are in place, but if the original Bosch injection system is a no-go then it might be possible to dispose of the manifold and all of that, and fit a pair of twin-choke downdraft Solex carbs, as fitted to Flavia 1800 Sport.

And doesn’t it look good sitting on those nice magnesium-aluminium alloy wheels?

When finished off properly I think this would be a fine car to enjoy owning and driving.

Colin