Lanciaflavia (go to “Annunci auto epoca,” type Flavia and click on “cerca” - for search). Both of these sites offer a CD that contains the full range of user and workshop manuals as well as brochures and period articles. Also, there is a host of Lancia Club sites and several restorers and part suppliers such as Omnicron Engineering Ltd. At Omicron in the United Kingdom where Lancia motorcars can from time to time be found for sale. Here again, Flavia Berlina 1st series and Sports are very rare. Most cars that are offered are Flavia Coupes, Convertibles, Berlina 2000s and Gammas.
The seller was
in Italy and obviously a true "Lancista". Here the Flavia poses
with his Aurelia.
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A Buyer’s Experience
Locating a good Flavia 1st series Berlina that is for sale is definitely not an easy task, so it seems. People who own one in good running order cannot easily be persuaded to sell it. Still, it might appear as if miracles can happen in the search for a 1st series Flavia Berlina! The gray - “grigio tordivalle” - 1962 Lancia Flavia 1st series Berlina - shown here was found in the spring of 2004 on Ebaymotors Italy.The car was owned by an Italian gentleman in a small village in the hills near Padua (Padova), Italy. The owner-seller, who appeared to be a purebred “Lancista”, assured the prospective buyer that the car was in very good order. “Ready to be driven anywhere”, so he stated, and could be inspected prior to finalization of the transaction. He reported that the car came with a fully documented history, including the original invoice, that evidenced that the seller was the first owner and had kept the car for 42 (!) years and had all tools, the instruction manuals and booklets, as well as the black and the white Lancia keys. Yes, the car had been resprayed and it had some minor blemishes in the paint, but no rust at all. The interior was said to be in great shape (original Lancia cloth) and the dashboard had been refurbished by using a fiberglass molding - dashboards of the early 1st series Berlina being notorious for disintegrating!
Nothing is ever
perfect, so the Flavia paid a visit to a local shop before
departing to Holland.
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The buyer, who lives in the USA, arranged for his local representative to inspect the car. At inspection the car was generally found to be as the seller had said . However, there was a small leak of oil at the rear brake system that the seller would take care of prior to delivery at his full expense. The Italian contact person paid for the car with a cheque from an Italian bank where after the seller finalized all paperwork by transferring the title to the new US owner. Here the buyer’s old Italian Budrio address came in very handy! Several weeks later, the Flavia was insured at a nominal charge as a classic automobile with assistance of one of the good offices of the Italian Automobile Club (ACI) and driven over the highway from Padua to Budrio near Bologna. The trip of about 100 kilometers was made successfully!
On the lift, where
the Flavia received the full treatment to brakes and exhaust.
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A Brakeless Lancia
Once the new owner in the USA received word that the Flavia 1st series had arrived in Budrio, he decided to fly to Italy, accompanied by his friend and realtor in the Greater Washington DC Metropolitan Area Dave Warner. The intention was to combine business that focused on real estate at the Italian Riviera with a short car-guy-gourmet-tour type of vacation and to drive thereafter the newly acquired Flavia through Austria and Germany into the Netherlands, from where the car would be shipped to the USA.
The first surprises came at arrival of the buyer in Budrio! Here it appeared that (a) the brake system was near to failing totally - it actually totaled failed within the first 10 kilometers, (b) the exhaust system had been “patched” and was in need of a total replacement, and (c) the gas tank level indicator optimistically showed half a gas tank left at empty, while the speedometer was indicating anything but the speed at which the car was moving! On the positive side it should be mentioned that the car’s engine ran extremely smooth; water temperature and oil pressure were all at perfect operating level!
The work done
to the brakes at Gamberini's was superb.
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Thus, the next most urgent thing was evidently to find someone who had the technical knowledge to do a complete brake system overhaul. Mr. Remo Magri - owner of the Lancia dealership Emmeauto in Budrio - came to the rescue by recommending a specialist in the nearby village of Granarolo dell'Emilia on the outskirts of Bologna. After a few phone calls it was decided to drive the by then totally brakeless Berlina (during evening rush hour!) to the premises of Lancia specialist Sergio Gamberini (see sidebar). After a quick tour of the facilities, it was decided to overhaul the entire suspension, as well as the brake and exhaust system, and to give the Flavia’s engine and transmission a complete tune up with fresh oil, filters, and spark plugs, points, etc. This was not exactly cheap as the repair bill tripled the acquisition cost of the Flavia! On the other hand it must be acknowledged that Mr. Gamberini delivered immaculately and returned a totally revitalized car. Thus, the Flavia was ready for thousand miles the trip to the Netherlands.
Parts and Restoration
A global review of the cars offered for sale reveals that most advertised cars in the for sale sections are in bad to very bad condition and therefore in need of complete overhaul including body, interior and mechanics. Mechanical and body parts are not too hard to come by thanks to the services offered by historical Lancia parts supplier Cavalitto in Turin, Italy LanciaSpares.com, the M.A.R.A organization in Milan, Italy Mara.it and, with a more limited inventory, the earlier mentioned Omnicron organization. Other sources that should be used by potential Flavia buyers are the Italian magazines: Ruoteclassiche, Auto d’Epoca, and La Manovella - the official magazine of ASI (Automotoclub Storico Italiano). The Ruoteclassiche website is particularly interesting as it has a “mercato” or market section.
Classic car dealers seem to shy away from the Flavia 1st series Berlinas and its derivates; the exception is however Joop Stolze in the Netherlands who can be considered a treasure cove for classic Lancias.
Two Lancia dealers come to mind as valid addresses for restoration and maintenance of Flavias . We do not pretend to be able to advise in complete manner on the workshops and restorers for Lancia and other fine automobiles. However, based our experience, we feel comfortable in recommending two such outfits. One is father and son Franke in Wassenaar, a suburb of The Hague, the Netherlands, which started back in 1962 as Franke & Tjepkema as the very first (!) factory appointed Lamborghini importer. Another excellent restoration shop is
owned by Chris Petter and also located in Holland. Chris called his company "Vincenzo"Lancia Service. It shows his addiction. Chris services, repairs and restores older Lancia's. Don't talk to him about Gamma's. Everyting else is ok. Chris is a member of the Lancia Club Nederland.
Find him on the web at www.vincenzo.nl Vincenzo.nl.
To be continued in Part Four: Visiting Northern Italy and Bringing the Flavia Home to the USA.
