fulvia sport JLG65K

[Richard Fridd]

having attended the excellent LMC Goodwood track day today i heard my old sport  1.3 is active once more!would love to hear about current progress + look forward to seeing it at future events

[stanley sweet]

Hello Richard, Stan Sweet here who bought it from you.  Yes, I had 2 great track days with it at Goodwood and Castle Coombe. Loved it, the handling was great with the negative camber. Think I knocked about 8 seconds off my Goodwood time compared to my coupe. I moved to France last year and so had to go with one car as I have a single garage. I went with the coupe as I've had it for 14 years so I'm quite attached to it. I've passed the Zagato on to Graham Bates and his son Warren has it. It's in safe hands as he's an engineering graduate working with F1 teams. It may appear again at track days. I have the feeling that it will appear one day as a superb Daytona replica. I hope so anyway. Graham worked on my Fulvia coupe and it now has all alloy panels and perspex etc. It's now so good that I probably won't risk it too much competition wise. I still remember those track days though. It was a quick little car. Good to hear from you.

[Richard Fridd]

nice to hear from you stanley,hope you are both keeping well in france+look forward to seeing JLG65K in action again with its new owner.i expect you saw it on the LMC flyer last year -looked great!any mods since you bought it? best regards richard

[stanley sweet]

Hello Richard. There were no major engineering mods. I had the exhaust box in the floor cut out to get my seat back and run the exhaust out the same side but with a couple of smaller silencers that gave adequate ground clearance. I put 2 racing seats and harnesses in and added a couple of small indicators to the front valance. The brakes had seized up while it was having the rear panel beaten out and resprayed so they were stripped and cleaned and new seals were put in the master cylinder. I fitted a couple of of alloy racing mirrors to the wings and painted the wheels gold. I think that was it. It had a lovely little engine and didn't run out of revs on the Goodwood straight the way my coupe did. I never knew if this was due to the bigger tyres (indestructable by the way) or different gearing in the box? Could you let me know if it was a higher ratio box? My coupe has lowish profile Yokohamas so that may have been the difference. At Castle Coombe the handling was great. Even when I braked a bit later than I should for the chicanes it went through perfectly and as I got used to it I realised you could chuck it in anyway you wanted and it would go through with a little bit of a rear slide. If I could I would have kept it but also wish I had the engineering skills to have kept improving it bodily etc. Graham and his son are the people to do this but as with the rest of us it's time and money but I'm sure you'll see it around.The other reason I kept the the coupe was that it is LHD so very handy over here. We've been here over a year now and it's going better than we ever hoped. Took my coupe in for its controle technique the other day and someone saw it and stopped to leave his card. He is a commitee member of La Scuderia Lancia which I've discovered is quite a large nationwide club here. So I will get in touch with him. How are you doing Lancia wise? Have you still got the red Zagato you rebuilt? Good to hear from you.

[Richard Fridd]

hi stanley, the 'box in JLG65K was a HF S2 if i remember correctly .i think the tyre diameter was the main difference in gearing.i reckon the body shape  afforded a noticable benefit on the high speed straights.my S1 sport is in regular use, usually on wednesdays when me + my daughter anoushka enjoy a drive on the kent roads.best regards richard.

[stanley sweet]

Hello Richard. Good to hear you still have it and enjoy it regularly.

[ncundy]

Hi Richard,
Your car has resurfaced here in the UK:

http://www.lancisti.net/forum/showthread.php?t=3600

Neil

[Richard Fridd]

thanks Neil,i dont have access to that forum+e mail not working so cant register.if that new owner would like info etc.please pass on my details.best regards richard

[fay66]

Don't know who she belonged to at the time, but here she is at the LMC Goodwood track day c1996 or 1997.

Brian
8227

[Richard Fridd]

i am pretty sure that was my period with the old faithful,tremendous fun! can anyone identify the passenger?best of luck to the new custodian with whom i have spoken today.will go to have a look at the old car next week if poss.to see if spec. is still the same- at the reasonable asking price as published.i would very much like to have a print of that goodwood pic. if available[i can hear the revs building now -down the pit straight and then in to madgwick......]

[fay66]

Good days when we used to be able to get nearer to the action before all the banking, and view points were altered.
I've emailed you a copy of the photo, unfortunately it's the only one I have of her in action.

Brian
8227

[Richard Fridd]

many thanks Brian,a lovely pic of the car before the wheelarch mods, which became neccessary to avoid the tyres fouling the arches with those campagnolos fitted.i understand more attractive wheelarch extensions are available these days for this model which would be a great improvement over my homemade items!

[fay66]

You were certainly pressing on

Brian
8227

[ColinMarr]

Richard,

If you are in any doubts as to when you did the modifications to the wheel arches – see these pictures below. One is from Goodwood in March ’99 and the other from Franco Macri’s gathering three months later in June ’99.

I think the passenger in Brian’s Goodwood photo might well have been me. Although it was later at North Weald when after another run with me as ballast, I was surprised to learn that your car didn’t have a 1600 engine because it went so well.

Happy days,

Colin

[Richard Fridd]

that car did go well and for very little outlay!car purchase £500 ; what with financial constraints i opted for a rebuilt standard spec. engine/subframe from a scrap coupe for sale by pure chance locally for £100 and beadblasted shell/ self constructed floors front +rear[at local body restoration college] lightweight doors etc.as i had been advised that obviously every kg lost = x amount of power gained, so seemed a good way to go[cant quite remember the formula]. i have to say the best value improvement to handling came via modified front wishbones from John Days workshop.anyhow great fun at less than the 55Keuros reqd. for the posh version currently advertised.does anyone know the current value of an ex works competzione in good order?