new to Lancisti

[glenn cornish]

Hi - I've just found Lancisti, having put a (non-returnable) deposit on an early Fulvia 2 - then saw your buying guide, which I'm about to read - I'm terrified :eek:- however, it's got bills for £37,000 from Omicron and others, so I'm hoping it'll be OK!:confused:

Really value your site, the advice I've already seen, and knowing we're all in this together. All advice on being a new Fulvia owner welcome, especially how to keep it nice. 2 specific questions: What's the advice on how best to store to prevent corrosion, please? Does anyone know anyone who can service and maintain in Surrey pls?

[1,6 HF]

Glenn,

Congratulations on the purchase, and welcome to the forum! I'll leave the service question to those in the UK. As to storage, the usual general advice applies regarding humidity and corrosion protection. However, I'll just add that unless the brakes have been sleeved with stainless, it's a good idea to exercise the car regularly; if left to sit without use for months on end, the brake cylinders tend to corrode. Otherwise, a good Fulvia should be generally very reliable.

[fay66]

Hi - I've just found Lancisti, having put a (non-returnable) deposit on an early Fulvia 2 - then saw your buying guide, which I'm about to read - I'm terrified :eek:- however, it's got bills for £37,000 from Omicron and others, so I'm hoping it'll be OK!:confused:

Really value your site, the advice I've already seen, and knowing we're all in this together. All advice on being a new Fulvia owner welcome, especially how to keep it nice. 2 specific questions: What's the advice on how best to store to prevent corrosion, please? Does anyone know anyone who can service and maintain in Surrey pls?
Hi Glenn,
Nice to have another Fulvia owner with us, any photos or details please?
I'll leave it to the boys south of the river to answer your question on servicing.
I live in Bedfordshire and as Ed says you need to exercise them fairly frequently to keep them in good order, I've got a brick garage, nothing fancy but a lockup that backs onto my garden, I bought an Airchamber about 10 years ago from Hamiltons, and probably the best money I've spent, at the moment I haven't re-erected it since getting this garage but having your pride and joy in an airchamber with 2 fans blowing air over it all the time, has certainly help my Fulvia 2c Berlina stay in good condition, previously she was in a concrete lock up garage and if I hadn't had the airchamber she'd have rotted away years ago with the condensation I used to get in there.
During the summer I try and get her out for a run at least every week, in the winter on dry days I take her out a least once a month for a 30-40 mile drive, enough time to get her nice and warm and all the oils nice a fluid, while giving the clutch brakes and everything else a good bit of use, and the battery a chance to charge.
I always leave the handbrake off and leave it in gear instead in the garage, and with the windows slightly open to allow a bit of air circulation.
If it's been through Omicrons hands in recent times then you shouldn't have too much in the way of problems.
If you look at downloads and then Fulvia you will find lots of information to help you look after your Fulvia.
Have you joined the Lancia Motor Club, if not I would suggest that would be a good move.

Brian

[glenn cornish]

thanks - it'll certainly get used regularly - it's not going to be a trophy car - I deliberately chose what I hope is a well restored, but not perfect car so I won't be worried about using it - I used my Elise as a daily drive for three years, rain or shine, and it still gets used every day for work through spring and summer ( I copped out a few years ago and bought a Volvo V70 T for winter after realising how uncomfortable the Elise is in winter, and also how invisible it might be to lorries on the motorway)

I havn't any pictures yet - havn't picked it up, but it's on the Richard Thorne website ( rtcc.co.uk ) (also dealer for Morgan - have a look at the Morgan 1964 SLR in secondhand Morgans! ) It's a dark green one. S2, '71, just tax-free, but has the Girling brakes and 5 speed box. (pretty much exactly what I wanted) Pretty original, as far as I know - I'm having an alloy boot lid fitted, as the steel one has some corrosion that's only going to get worse, still on twin solexes, and original ignition, original steel wheels. It won't be the fastest Fulvia ever, but it's got an architectural purity about it, which enhances its prettiness, I like to think. It's history seems to be that it was found abandoned by an antiques dealer who spent several years having a complete resto done at two places. If he's reading - please do get in touch!
It's got a tiny stress fracture(?) on the driver door near the latch - any advice?

[ncundy]

If the doors are ali then cracks are an occupational hazard unfortunately.

If they are steel than its probably either (or both) the door is incorrectly hung or the lock isn't set correctly. Both end up with people slamming the door, hence the crack. They should just swing shut (particularly the steel ones). Relatively easy to repair but you'll have to take the door to bits and get it welded.

[marlboro]

Nice looking car , the colour suits(mine boring red).Im over in Horsell from time to time

[Fulvia]

Glenn,
very nice looking car. I very much like the green (mine is also the usual boring Red :) ).
Good luck with it!
Dave

[riczag]

Hi Glenn

May I also welcome you to the Forum and congratulate you on the purchase of a car which will give you much pleasure. Dare I say it, I actually very much like the S2. I consider that for every day transport, the ergonomics is far superior to the S1 ( I have owned several of each).
Of course, these cars are getting old but my experience is that provided that routine maintenance is regularly carried out, mechanically they are excellent and capable of doing very high mileages. Two of mine did really substancial mileages (about 280,000 and 240,000 miles).
If the car is run twice a week, I have found them to start easily. If run only once a week, they can be difficult to start. You need to get use to starting them without choke and with 2 or 3 pumps of the accelerator to prime the carbs. Nothing damages the mechanics of a car more than leaving it inactive for lengthy periods.
Unfortunately, the weakness (and I use this in relative terms) is the bodywork when living in damp countries like the UK. Brian mentions an airchamber. I wish that I had bought one or more of these a long time ago. They are not that expensive and I would recommend you buying one.
From the bills, it sounds as if much work has been done, and that you should have got a really good car.
Hope you enjoy it. Have fun.

[fay66]

thanks - it'll certainly get used regularly - it's not going to be a trophy car - I deliberately chose what I hope is a well restored, but not perfect car so I won't be worried about using it - I used my Elise as a daily drive for three years, rain or shine, and it still gets used every day for work through spring and summer ( I copped out a few years ago and bought a Volvo V70 T for winter after realising how uncomfortable the Elise is in winter, and also how invisible it might be to lorries on the motorway)

I havn't any pictures yet - havn't picked it up, but it's on the Richard Thorne website ( rtcc.co.uk ) (also dealer for Morgan - have a look at the Morgan 1964 SLR in secondhand Morgans! ) It's a dark green one. S2, '71, just tax-free, but has the Girling brakes and 5 speed box. (pretty much exactly what I wanted) Pretty original, as far as I know - I'm having an alloy boot lid fitted, as the steel one has some corrosion that's only going to get worse, still on twin solexes, and original ignition, original steel wheels. It won't be the fastest Fulvia ever, but it's got an architectural purity about it, which enhances its prettiness, I like to think. It's history seems to be that it was found abandoned by an antiques dealer who spent several years having a complete resto done at two places. If he's reading - please do get in touch!
It's got a tiny stress fracture(?) on the driver door near the latch - any advice?
Hello Glenn,
Just had a look at the Chris Lawrence Morgan, one of 3 built for endurance racing, £275K is bit rich for me, but it's lovely, the Carver looks a bit different as well!
Your Fulvia looks great in that colour, and looks really nice, congratulations again I'm sure you'll love it, 1.3's were pretty fast for the size of engine in their time, and they're certainly no slouches these days, they will easily keep up at motorway speeds, and more, as my 2c frequentlly does, and I've only got 1091cc and a Ton of body, but Fulvia is more about handling and the engineering, which as you no know is where they come into their own.
I hope you have many years of enjoyment with her:cheers:
As i've pointed out before an Airchamber is a good investment without it my 2c would just be a pile of rust by now, my airchamber has now been re-erected, I struggled like mad on my own with the weight, crawling inside it to erect the poles for the frame, think, " I don't remember doing this 9 years ago the first time" ? afterwards I found the original instructions that says blow it up first! no wonder I struggled! i've now managed to run power in there, although I'm still running it on the leisure batteries at present, but I'm now debating adding a smallish (it would have to be to fit) Dehumidifier, anyone have any thoughts on that?

Brian

[glenn cornish]

Thanks for the encouragement and advice. Soon after I collected it I had a strong smell of petrol in the car, and there was actually petrol swimming around in the boot. I had good advice on the forum, and the dealer gave excellent, excellent service, collecting the car, replacing the tank with one that had been reconditioned , as the old one was rusty and delivering it back. This took a little bit of time. Then the Elise, which has to sit in front of the garage that the Lancia's in wouldn't start - so the Lancia was trapped!!
I've had it out recently, though, and hope to regularly - the more I use it, the more reliable it should be, so the more I'll use it etc.
I thought about a carcoon, but was reluctant to spend what it would cost, so I bought a secondhand Prem-i-air dessicant dehumidifier on e-bay for about £40. I'm now using the ultra cheap insulation that you can buy from DIY stores (in the UK) currently, with some plasterboard to seal the garage as best I can. The only fly in the ointment is that the dehimidifier chews power - about 600 watts. However, it also moves air around, works down to 1 degree (refrigeration/condensing ones don't) and slightly warms the garage as well.
Riczag, you say I 'need to get used to starting it without using the choke' - however, it doesn't keep running if I dont use a bit of choke for the first 5-10 minutes. What are the disadvantages of using the choke, and what does it mean if the car won't tick over without it when cold, please? It would be great to do so, because currently I have to take the seat belt off every time I want to adjust the choke!
Anyone know a simple way to estimate humidity, please, so i can check the success or otherwise of my efforts?

[glenn cornish]

I should have started a new thread, but i can't see how? Duh?
My brake pedal switch is stuck - the spring seems to be either broken or stuck down. I've filled it with WD40, but am not hopeful.
The difficulty is that it must be back on the road in a few days, or I'll be in trouble with SWMBO! Is there an off the shelf replacement? If not, who will have one, apart from Omicron, I presumne, who I've already contacted, but they'll hopefully get back to me soon.

It doesnt' look lilke it can be fixed to me??

Thanks

[ncundy]

Do you mean the switch that works the brake lights?

I don't know what the equivalent is, I'd take the broken one out and have look on e-bay or try Maplins or your local motor factor. Shouldn't be too hard to adapt.

[glenn cornish]

Yes, I think I do, the one that sits attached to a U-shaped bracket behind the brake pedal. I'm hoping a Fiat one might be adaptable.:D