Appia Sedan Engine Bay Color

[Timo04]

Hello,

Does anyone on the board happen to know if the early 1st/2nd series Appia sedans from the Lancia factory had a "black" undercoating engine bay color or are the engine bays supposed to be the color of the car's body? Thanks in advance.

[1,6 HF]

Hello,

Does anyone on the board happen to know if the early 1st/2nd series Appia sedans from the Lancia factory had a "black" undercoating engine bay color or are the engine bays supposed to be the color of the car's body? Thanks in advance.

Hi Tim,

AFAIK, should be body color. I don't know any Lancia that's correct as you describe it.

[Timo04]

Hi Tim,

AFAIK, should be body color. I don't know any Lancia that's correct as you describe it.

Hi Ed,

My old un-restored Appia Vignale (note this was a "coach built" car in the Vignale factory, like Touring, Zagato and others) convertible had the "black undercoating" engine bay and so do some, if not all, of the Aurelia models. BTW:This "black" engine bay was not uncommon on 1950's/'60's era Italian cars, not sure about the pre-WWII Italian cars. IIRC it is actually more like a dark chocolate rather than pitch black and it would seem to fade a shade lighter with time/heat.

Check out this current e-bay auction of an Aurelia convertible for an example of what I am referring to:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trkparms=tab%3DWatching&viewitem=&item=200249607689&_trksid=p3907.m32

Not that I advocate this, but this aspect having a "black" engine bay is what made making a color change somewhat easier to accomplish on these era cars. Some vintage Lancias these days that have been restored (or over restored by some standards) have had the engine bay striped and painted the same color of the body.

Best regards,

Tim

[1,6 HF]

Tim,

It's entirely possible that I've only seen restored cars (possibly incorrectly restored).

BTW, that thumbnail is one hell of an Appia...

[Timo04]

Tim,

It's entirely possible that I've only seen restored cars (possibly incorrectly restored).

BTW, that thumbnail is one hell of an Appia...

Ed,

Here is another shot of a real "one hell of Appia" :) Vignale 3rd series with a twin choke Weber and mild cams to produce a whopping 60 bhp or there abouts. This is almost exactly how my old car's engine bay looked.