By Corrado Caruso
Photos by the author
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Lancia Classic Team

Passion is created from youthful experiences: From Milan, this is Mr. Caruso's story of a search and restoration which, if not financially astute, nevertheless was gratifying in a heartfelt manner, which cannot be quantified.

For many years, I have searched for a particular Lancia Flavia, as similar as possible to the car that was owned by my family, in which I learned to drive with the help of my late father. His was an 1800 Berlina, dark green in color, and I remember it well and fondly. But after years of searching I decided to buy the top of the line, and the decision was made to purchase a 2000 LX.

The Find
After some years, in 2001 I found a Flavia 2000LX advertised in the Italian "Routeclassiche" magazine. I wrote down the phone number and called immediately. The man who had placed the advertisement was an old gentleman, born in 1919; his first name was Vincenzo (just as in Vincenzo Lancia) and he lived in Via Valsesia in the eternal city Rome (note that Valsesia is the valley where Vincenzo Lancia was born!). It may have seemed just a coincidence, but for a thoroughbred Lancista this was an omen of the good things to come! The 2000LX, so the gentleman explained me by phone, had been owned by his family from new and thus for 31 consecutive years. He did not put any pressure on me; it was as if he did not really want to sell the car. He told me that he asked 10 million lires for the car, non negotiable! Quite a high price if one considers that the car was, in 2001, quoted by the magazines as having value of only 3 million lires! Nothing, therefore, indicated that the car may quickly change ownership!

Corrado was eager to drive the new car away--but the original owner had other plans.

Signor Vincenzo then sent me some photos of the car. It appeared from the photos that the car was in reasonably good shape. A few days later I was on my way from Milan to Rome with a check of 10 million lires in my pocket; I had written the name of the old man on the check ..... just in case!

The old man awaited me at the Termini train station and drove me to his garage. Once there he gave me the keys of the Flavia and I started the car. The sound of the engine immediately had the upper hand on me and I said: "Sold! Let's go to transfer the ownership papers/registration at the department of motor vehicles office!"

The Lancia seemed to be in good condition--at first.

Signor Vincenzo, from a different generation of slower living, was stupefied by the fact that I traveled 600 kilometers and still was in a hurry! He only said "I prefer to sell it to you rather than to anybody else," mentioning briefly that he had another potential buyer that intended to use the car for his wedding business... He invited me for lunch in a very good restaurant, and during that lunch he told me the story of his life in a way that one could only do to a family member! Afterwards, we went to the agency and the notary.

Corrado decided to have the interior reupholstered--with fantastic results.

When we were done with the bureaucratic practices, I noticed that Signor Vincenzo was in a sad mood. I felt that I had to do something: I promised him that, other than for the anonymously cold bureaucratic practice, the Flavia would remain his, as I considered myself just the lucky young man that would take care of it!

With other Lancias at an event in Ravena.

Reality of Restoration
This drove me to restore the car as well as I could. The car seemed in excellent condition, however the complex (and costly) Dunlop disk duplex brake system soon collapsed. Soon, other aspects needed my attention such as the radiator, drivetrain axles and numerous other little things as time progressed. For all mechanical aspects I decided to use the services of a mechanic named Luigi Cricca, a man from Ravenna who had moved his workshop to Via Maiocchi in Milan. As with all good things, Cricca's strong point is not so much in economics, but rather in his extraordinary knowledge of Lancia and other Italian thoroughbreds.

Restoration was inevitable and expensive but heart-warming.

After having completed the necessary works I was on the road again! I decided to participate in several car meets such as the one of the "Prealpi Trevigiane" the "Autodromo of Monza" (where the Flavia was driven on the race track) and in Ravenna. At the meet in Ravenna I managed a second overall place in a handicap-rally. I continued for several years on the car meet circuit and drove it also occasionally on Italy's open roads.

Now one of the best Lancia Flavias on the road in Italy.

Finally, I decided to give it a well deserved beauty treatment. I replaced the upholstery that had been redone by Signor Vincenzo in a black, suede type, artificial leather (Alcantara). Signor Vincenzo was proud of this modification, but I could not stand it as all the internal foam material had collapsed and, above all, the interior was not original anymore! So I decided to overhaul the whole interior by using real leather. That strictly conformed to the color and the materials as well as design used originally for this car by the Lancia factory. The interior work was executed by Dante Trezzi of Verano Brianza (near Milan). His work was excellent and completed the body work done earlier by the Meroni brother of "Carrozzeria del Sole" in Seregno (also near Milan). I can now proudly state that my Flavia 2000 shines as never before on the roads of the Brianza region.

The Cost
The whole operation has not been inexpensive, considering that purchase and refurbishing have set me back 20,000 euros, a figure that is about six times the market value that is quoted for a Flavia in the classic magazines. Personally, I believe that these magazines publish pricelists that are a far cry from reality, especially if one considers the costs of refurbishing a 40 year old vehicle. However, I am not interested in the price quotes that are churned out by these magazines and the so-called experts; I will not sell my car, not even in case I would not have the money to feed myself!

To Corrado's great regret, his father passed away before he could enjoy a ride in the restored Flavia.

Unfortunately, the car arrived too late to give my father a ride that I so much wanted to give him in my new-old car. My father died unexpectedly, before restoration was completed. He had never been sick, and he was not even very old. He is gone, but the Flavia remains as a tribute to my father.