LANCIA FLAVIA VIGNALE
Year of manufacture 1968 Recorded mileage 66,621
Asking price £29,995 Vendor European Classic Cars, Winterbourne Monkton, Wiltshire; 01672 512879/07813 394167; europeanclassiccars.co.uk WHEN IT WAS NEW Price £2399 Max power 92bhp Max torque 107Ib ft
0-60mph 13.6 secs Top speed 108mph Mpg 29.4
It is amazing how rare these front-wheel-drive Lancia Flavia dropheads are: 1601 were built between 1963 and ’67, mostly with carburettors and mostly in left-hand drive. Only 40 or so were right-hookers (and presumably not all came to the UK), and there were just 45 fuel-injected cars. So this one is a rarity, and being a 1968 car on a G-plate must make it one of the very last registered.
David Honeybun at European Classic Cars tells us this four-owner example, unusual in period-correct dark maroon, has had quite a lot of restoration to its body, interior and mechanicals, with photographic records to substantiate it. The 1800cc flat-four engine has been stripped, rebuilt and upgraded with the twin-carb set-up only usually seen on the Flavia Sport model or the earlier 1.5-litre Pininfarina coupés and Vignale convertibles.
The all-round disc brakes have been stripped and rebuilt, with an improved servo fitted (the original Bonaldi type is notoriously troublesome). Recent work includes a new black mohair hood, and new black carpets in the cabin and boot area. Honeybun says the car presents nicely on the cosmetic front: “But there are paint imperfections in places and trim parts show some signs of age.”
The Flavia sits well (their leaf springs can sag), it has the correct bumpers, the easily damaged trim rings on the correctly painted steel wheels look to be in good order and nothing offends the eye. The engine bay would benefit from some detailing: and there is something not quite right, if we wanted to nit-pick, about the grain of the black vinyl on the seats. But it is nice to see a period radio fitted and that the dash top, often saggy when the foam inside dries out, looks firm. We wonder if the droopy angle of the indicator stalk is significant.
Honeybun reports that the ride is nice and tight and rattle-free, and the car “feels well bolted together” but could probably do with a tune-up. This could have something to do with the dual-carb set-up, which was never the easiest thing to keep properly synchronised, hence Lancia’s decision to go to a single carb on the 1800 Flavias. The brakes are particularly good, says Honeybun: that uprated servo helps to pull up the Lancia quickly and in a straight line.
The steering is precise with no play and the four-speed gearbox operates well with no synchro issues. Once under way the gauge readings are said to be good: the oil pressure is healthy and water temperature reads steadily. The fuel-gauge warning light is a bit erratic, but the gauge itself works okay.