Fulvia worries

[Robroy]

Hi can anyone out there advise on how many miles to a tank a Series 1 should return?

The car has had a recent full service and tune with both cams and carbs adjusted but is slow land lethargic up to 60mph. It covers just 150 miles before the red light comes on.

Any ideas appreciated except - "Buy a diesel !"

Car was South African but has UK air filter fitted.

[shaun pond]

Sorry for the long delay in replying; I hadn't tracked my Fulvia's fuel consumption for quite a while and needed to monitor it again before I was qualified to respond.

My 67 Coupe Rallye 1.3 seems to be getting around 28 miles per gallon (US gal).

Usage is as a daily driver: a mix of some freeway cruising at 60-70mph, a lot of urban streets driving, and the occasional "rush hour" crawl across one of the bridges.

I'm discounting the lower mileage I got during last month's Melee, where the car spent 800+ miles chasing Alfas and BMWs around Northern California, and so returned no better than 25mpg.

The factory Lancia "Instruction Book" for the 1.3 Rallye indicates you should be getting 31mpg Imp/25.8mpg US, if everything's right with the car.

"Slow and lethargic" doesn't sound right, though. Was the valve and carb work you mention accompanied by a general check of the timing and of the ignition system? Is the idle speed right (the book indicates around 800 rpm, mine seems happier at 1000 rpm)?

Regards

[rossocorsa]

on a 1.3s i would expect between 30 and 35 mpg (imperial measure) pretty consistently and a very eager engine with sharp throttle response

[Robroy]

Thanks for the replies chaps.

The timing and ignition was all conducted at the same time as the carb balance and valve work. Idle is about 900 rpm and ticks over ok - occassionally the red generator light flickers on and off but she doesn't stall.

However, I have now covered around 5 or 600 miles since and I am pleased to report that the car has been transformed particularly in its performance. I think it has been sitting for quite some time as the perfomance gain through use is quite astonishing. It now seems to drive just like the road test reports and is as quick as my Series 2 was - gearing aside. The mpg on a run (UK) is now around 30 at 70mph with occassional bursts up to 80mph, which I suppose is more like it too.

Now puts a smile on your face and embarrasses some larger cars on twisty roads - fantastic !

[shaun pond]

Great to hear that your Fulvia is healthy. They are delightful cars for the twisty stuff.

I wouldn't worry overmuch about the generator light. Mine doesn't extinguish itself until 1100-1200 rpm or so, due I think to the generator requiring that many revs to wake up.

I've mused about converting to an alternator, but likely will just try to make sure the battery's healthy and charged up.

Regards