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1953 Lancia Appia
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mikeC



Joined: 31 Jul 2009
Posts: 1771
Location: Market Warsop, Nottinghamshire

PostPosted: Sun Sep 21, 2014 6:04 pm    Post subject: 1953 Lancia Appia Reply with quote

I don't think we've had an Appia thread yet, so here's a quick peek at my latest acquisition:



I've just imported it from Italy, so am awaiting DVLA's registration process before sampling it on the road. It will be the first car I have owned with a column gear-change, so I'll have to see how I get on with that:



It has been off the road since the early 1980s, so will doubtless need a bit of fettling, but it has done less than 80,000kms from new, and the woolcloth interior is practically like new:



More details to follow as I get to know the car Wink
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kevin2306



Joined: 01 Jul 2013
Posts: 1359
Location: nr Llangollen, north wales

PostPosted: Sun Sep 21, 2014 7:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Beautiful motor

Kev
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D4B



Joined: 28 Dec 2010
Posts: 2083
Location: Hampshire UK

PostPosted: Sun Sep 21, 2014 7:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Loving the lack of door pillars, cool car Cool Cool
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Rick
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Joined: 27 Apr 2005
Posts: 22429
Location: UK

PostPosted: Sun Sep 21, 2014 9:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Looks good and tidy, thanks for the photos!

RJ
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vitesse



Joined: 03 Jun 2013
Posts: 561

PostPosted: Mon Sep 22, 2014 11:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Very unusual, nice car. As Steve said love the lack of door pillars.

What size engine does it have?

Tony
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mikeC



Joined: 31 Jul 2009
Posts: 1771
Location: Market Warsop, Nottinghamshire

PostPosted: Tue Sep 23, 2014 8:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Tony, the engine is a narrow-angle V4 of 1090cc:



Series 1 cars like mine were rated at 38bhp at 4800rpm, by 1963 the Series 3 cars were producing 48bhp, and the special series like my previously-owned Pininfarina coupe made 55bhp.
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Rick
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Joined: 27 Apr 2005
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Location: UK

PostPosted: Tue Sep 23, 2014 9:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Was it something you'd been looking out for, or a chance discovery?

RJ
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mikeC



Joined: 31 Jul 2009
Posts: 1771
Location: Market Warsop, Nottinghamshire

PostPosted: Tue Sep 23, 2014 12:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rick wrote:
Was it something you'd been looking out for, or a chance discovery?

RJ


I was looking for a vintage Austin Seven Rolling Eyes
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vitesse



Joined: 03 Jun 2013
Posts: 561

PostPosted: Wed Sep 24, 2014 12:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

mikeC wrote:
Tony, the engine is a narrow-angle V4 of 1090cc:



Series 1 cars like mine were rated at 38bhp at 4800rpm, by 1963 the Series 3 cars were producing 48bhp, and the special series like my previously-owned Pininfarina coupe made 55bhp.


Looks very clean Mike. I am not happy you have more than double the BHP of my Fiat 500. Wink

I looked on how many left for the UK, they are so rare they haven't even heard of them!
Tony
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mikeC



Joined: 31 Jul 2009
Posts: 1771
Location: Market Warsop, Nottinghamshire

PostPosted: Wed Sep 24, 2014 8:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

vitesse wrote:


Looks very clean Mike. I am not happy you have more than double the BHP of my Fiat 500. Wink



Well, I have got more than twice as many ccs, and the car probably weighs twice as much too (book weight is 800kgs).
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mikeC



Joined: 31 Jul 2009
Posts: 1771
Location: Market Warsop, Nottinghamshire

PostPosted: Sat Dec 13, 2014 5:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nearly three months, and I have, at last, got my registration documents from DVLA.
Moral of the story when importing a car: forget DVLA's requirements for the original registration document and/or the original export documents, and don't wast your time getting authentication from the manufacturer (DVLA's second line of attack), just go straight to a UK owner's club for verification! Basically, unless the documentation is in English, DVLA throw it back at you Rolling Eyes



Looks like I'd better give the old thing a wash, now Shocked
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mikeC



Joined: 31 Jul 2009
Posts: 1771
Location: Market Warsop, Nottinghamshire

PostPosted: Wed Jan 07, 2015 7:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I went for a run today - the first time its been on the road since 1984. Basically happy with how it went, although a few more jobs were revealed to add to the to-do list Very Happy

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mikeC



Joined: 31 Jul 2009
Posts: 1771
Location: Market Warsop, Nottinghamshire

PostPosted: Tue Apr 14, 2020 12:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I see it's over five years since I last reported on my Appia, so it's time for a bit of an update!

All went well for a couple of years during which time I clocked up about five thousand miles with trips all round the country, even meeting up with a younger brother:



But then the car started to develop a knocking noise which I had difficulty diagnosing; eventually it was traced to a broken gearbox mounting, which meant removal of both engine and gearbox. Refitting the unit I discovered that one of the engine mounting brackets was also broken, no doubt causing the gearbox mounting failure, so the engine came out again.

All back together, but the first test run resulted in loss of drive; out with the engine again to rebuild the clutch - new linings, pressure plate, springs, bearings ...!

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At the same time I fitted a brand new heater assembly, which had been missing when I bought the car:



Unfortunately the repeated removal and refitting of the engine had revealed a sadly deteriorating wiring - the old cotton-covered rubber insulation had not taken kindly to the repeated flexing during the work, so now a total rewire was undertaken!



All the wiring is encased in rubber sleeving which was a bit of a pain, but certainly keeps everything nice and tidy.

Eventually everything was back together and I was looking forward to a full year's use in 2019 ... only for the engine to seize solid after only a few outings Crying or Very sad

So it was engine out again, to reveal a very sorry state - it was the front main bearing that had seized, but the big ends were on the point of disintegration, the pistons were in a bad way and the bores badly scored ...

The bearings are white metal in bronze cases, and one of the big end cases had broken up:





I managed to locate a brand new crankshaft, con-rods and big-end set sourced from the former Lancia Distributor in South Africa so by the time everything is done my wallet will have taken a real knock - let's hope that will be the end of the expenses!

Needless to say, the suggestion that the car had only done 80,000kms turns out to be very far from reality; it's far more likely to have been round the clock four or five times! Just about everything I've touched has been worn out to the point of being unusable. Even the windscreen wiper wheel-boxes were beyond redemption:


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in the garage: 1938 Talbot Ten Airline
Recently departed: 1953 Lancia Appia, 1931 Austin Seven, 1967 Singer Chamois, 1914 Saxon, 1930 Morris Cowley, 1936 BSA Scout, 1958 Lancia Appia coupe, 1922 Star 11.9 ... the list goes on!
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peter scott



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 7113
Location: Edinburgh

PostPosted: Tue Apr 14, 2020 3:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Goodness Mike, You've certainly had your problems and there was me thinking that I was unusual in having to rebuild by engine 3 times when I replaced my dural con rods with steel!

Peter.
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1939 SS Jaguar 2 1/2 litre saloon
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Rick
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Joined: 27 Apr 2005
Posts: 22429
Location: UK

PostPosted: Tue Apr 14, 2020 3:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Such a little charmer (the car, obviously!

Thanks for the update.

RJ
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