$10. That’s what this once-pretty Lancia Flavia is bid to at the moment, with no reserve in site. It’s easy to think every Lancia or Alfa Romeo that pops up for sale is a valuable specimen, but this Flavia Berlina is a fairly ordinary example. That didn’t stop numerous designers from wanting to experiment with the bodies, from Vignale to Zagato. This is a far less exotic example, and you’ll find it here on eBay and located in New Jersey.
Wearing vintage Pennsylvania plates, this Flavia has obviously been off the road for some time. The seller says the cars rolls and the manual transmission still shifts through the gears, but little else is known about its mechanical integrity. The body does have rust but no major holes and the floors are described as being solid. I love the detail of the tail lights with the reverse lenses integrated ever-so-nicely.
The seller describes the interior as needing work, with the seat upholstery obviously damage and the dash looking quite tired. I suspect that’s the front bumper chucked inside as well, which does nothing to prevent further puncture holes. From an engineering perspective, these were neat cars: four-wheel disc brakes courtesy of Dunlop; front wheel drive; and aluminum engine construction.
Speaking of the engine, not much is known about the status of the one in this example. The seller hasn’t determined if it spins freely, but if it does, there’s likely some decent performance to be uncorked should it fire again. Even with its humble performance numbers, these cars were still among a small group of driver’s vehicles that the family man could justify and certainly would have been on my shopping list at the time – even if a neue klasse sedan from BMW would have been my top choice.
Being in the process of a $10,000 engine rebuild on a Fulvia HF (which at least has enough value to sugar the pill), I´d say be careful on this. Parts are hard to find, and expensive when you do. There are a lot of variations from year to year.
The cars are well-engineered but it takes a patient mechanic to work on them, as with Citroen or SAAB.
A really nice Flavia shipped from EU will only be $10000 landed with taxes paid. So I guess this is a parts car….in which case, it has much to recommend it!
It’s a fairly pedestrian model, for a Lancia. And even if you (ill-advisedly?) spent the money to restore this, you’d still wind up with a car that looks a bit like a Checker taxicab, particularly from the front.
Not that there’s anything wrong with Checkers…
Interesting…..verrrry interesting….
Lancias, Alfas, DKWs, Auto Unions, Isettas, Messerschmitts….all these and more filled my visions of my time living in Europe (during my Active and Reserve military service). The variety was amazing to a “gear-head” like me. They were all dwarfed by my “mid-size” ’67 Fairlane GTA. AND used far less gas ! I was always amazed by the number of full-sized American cars I saw in Holland with Dutch plates, learning much later that many or most Europeans that had a Caddy or Impala switched out the original engine for an Opel 4banger or 6 to avoid excessive taxation and high fuel costs. I certainly bought a ’57 Fiat 500 ($ 125.00) to preserve my monthly gas ration stamps ! Always wished I’d purchased more of my favorite “oddities” and shipped them home…
I can only see this as a snowball rally car, with a Pontiac DOHC six, and new suspension. Kind of a body to drop on an existing raced out chassis.
This car screams quirky.