Here's a great Fulvia.
I found it in a mountain town in Italy about 90km outside of Maranello.
Giovannni Passonis' Granfather gave it to him when he was 14 years old so he could learn to drive.
The Family has a winery high in the mountains & the car had never left the property since he received it.
( After I bought it, It got impounded by customs in Genoa. It hadn't been registered for almost 2 decades so the paperwork was amiss. That was devilish to sort out.
my Italians' not that good & I had to pay daily demurrage on the impounded container while the papers were slowly doing the rounds of Government offices. Ouch ! )
See that dent on the right front fender ? He showed me the tree he hit with it when he was young. I couldn't pound that out . It wouldn't be right.
The sedan lived in a beautiful stone garage on the side of the house, & when you roll up the door the panoramic vistas are breathtaking.
I was lusting after a Fulvia and he knew that if he sold it in Italy someone would take the engine out for a coupe & throw the green box away.
You couldn't have that happen. Giovanni had owned it 18 years at that point.
I have now owned it for seven, & it has been my daily driver.
The best feature outside of its unmolested original patina is the smell.
Somehow aging 18 years in an enclosed stone garage at a winery has allowed this car to not dry out, yet not mould either.
The seats are supple, the dash has no cracks, the gauges are still bright, & the scent is just magnificent.
Over the years I have sold three different cars just on the basis that the smell bothered my nose, & this Fulvia is the opposite. It's a magnificent tone of earth & old Italy.
I have massaged this Fulvia for the years I have owned it.
It has the last new set of DellOrto carburettors I have seen. Found them new in a box in a tiny car shop in Italy.
I took all the calipers & the master apart, & now even the hand brake works.
Alignment, wheel bearings, Tie rod ends.......... Gauges.
Transmission from a late model coupe so it is freeway happy.
The last set of those magnificent discontinued Yokohamas that look correct in the wheel wells & give it such a light turn in.
I pulled the whole subframe at one point just to clean it.
A magnificent stainless muffler that gives it just the proper burble. It's very free revving.
On & on & on.
I have owned 6 Fulvias & people have asked why I kept this one...
I can tell you. It is the smoothest & best running Fulvia I have ever been in.
How could I possibly sell it ?
Well, after that article on me in the New York Times came out my phone has been ringing.
5 new vehicles that were languishing in garages have been unearthed & it's up to me to start bringing them back to life,'
I'm out of parking spots !
Have a look at these photos, & think about driving this Fulvia.
I should make a video !
Oops. At 14 I might have hit the tree too.
Wow. Even the door warning lights work.
No cheap stickers here. When Lancia wanted to tell you this was the GT with the twin carburettors,
(note the four circles signifying four throats ) They made a brass badge & then enameled with glass.
Cloisonne' !
A very smooth running lump. It ticks over like a sewing machine.
. All 4 headlights are the original Carellos.
The stainless trim has never been hit or bent.
Even the windshield wipers are the original Carellos.
The whole car is that way.
Tough to tell here, but the (working !) drum speedometer glows in an amber color. It's nice at night.
Even the little green ring around the headlight switch still illuminates.
The electrons flow well in this car.
How much for the Fulvia in the window ?
I just returned from Italy, & the few of these I saw all needed work, with asking prices around 7 to 8 thousand Euros.
Call it $10,000USD.
Shipping to San Francisco from the middle of Italy will cost you a good $4250 after Customs & all expenses.
Call it 14 to 15K replacement cost, & that's before you change the transaxle, put in a clutch, give it a $2500 brake job (Those Girlings just eat time..)
Tires, alignment, front end work, tuning, gauge repair, It just goes on.
Seems fair to ask $15,000
Or more ?
But you can watch the video below & get an idea......
Happy Motoring !
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