Why This Gorgeous 1976 Lancia Fulvia Was The Car That Defeated Me
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- čas přidán 19. 07. 2021
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In today's video you get to see me well and truly fail - as I try to drive this stunning Lancia Fulvia. I couldn't wait to drive this car, but unfortunately after not long behind the wheel, I couldn't wait to get out. Find out why.
#Lancia #Fulvia
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/ @jayemmoncars - Auta a dopravní prostředky
Owner here - JM is correct in identifying that the throttle progression is somewhat stiff in the early stages of acceleration. This is due to the way that the throttle linkage attaches to the middle of carbs - pointing down at an angle. It does take some pressure to start the acceleration and of course it does take some getting used to when starting off, but when you are used to it - it really isn't a problem. This was JM's first drive, so he did very well. If you are in your 50's you will be familiar with old car foibles like this - makes it all the more fun! However, I am looking to replace my Chinese webers with some original webers. The throttle linkage set up is different on the originals - the linker is horizontal over the top of the carbs - so this should make acceleration much smoother. In all other respects the car is great to drive and own. The indicators work perfectly - I think JM was grasping the light stalk which is adjacent to the indicator stalk (!) - perhaps easy to do if you are out of your comfort zone. Regarding performance, the car has been tuned by on the UK's best - but the power is not as I would like, so maybe I will take a trip down to Day and Whites to get them to have a look at how we can improve on the HP.
Seems like a nice car. Well done.
@@GoldenCroc Thanks - it came in bits, no glass, missing parts - so took a while to put back together. On the plus side, there is no rust (back to metal respray) and everything has been either restored or replaced (where new parts have been available).
Thanks for the honesty. It looks and sounds gorgeous!
@@jamesengland7461 Thanks - initially I cleaned and refitted the original Solex carbs, which didn't sound as nice and also were very difficult to keep in tune. The bigger racing inlet manifold (proper one from Omicron) together with the FAJS Webers does a much better job. Sourcing some good original 40 DCOE Webers is my next task. They are double the price of the FAJS carbs - arguably not twice as good - and sometimes the budget prevails when you are doing a restoration, particularly if you are uncertain if they are going to be better than the original Solex's
@@ogrodz makes sense to me!
I guess this one is broken then- never heard a bad thing about the driveability of a Fulvia before... given it works right, I would definitely take a Fulvia over most Ferraris
Chinese carbs, what do you expect?
It’s his MO he likes to knock everything everybody else likes. Cayman etc.
He's clearly trying to be more critical the better a cars or a companies reputation is to try and be more objective but I also think he's overcompensating. But of course it's easy to be frustrated when a good product suffers from simple mistakes.
Esatto mai sentito
In RHD spec, the throttle cable goes through a series of bends inside the cabin to reach the other side of the engine bay, and that's the the source of Jay's pedal difficulties.
In left-hand-drive, the throttle cable has a very direct path so the pedal feel is very different
There must be something seriously wrong with that car, I’ve driven these and they’’re super easy to drive.
It shouldn't be this bad, this one clearly needs some sorting. Really a shame as I was looking forward to seeing JayEmm having a go in one of my all time favourite cars.
Check out the fulvia currently being restored by 'Harry's Garage', I bet you wouldn't have the same drivability issues on that one once finished!!
Yea. That is great to watch but not everybody has the money to hire experts for the job to bring it up to 110% again.
@@marcnobel3938 sorry, did I claim everyone did? Just said it’ll be a nice example to test drive.
O.P i bet he would.
@@patherl1 To be honest, buying a project Fulvia and having it restored to a good driving standard still probably costs less than the purchase price of the majority of JayEmms review cars.....
That Zagato body is such a beauty, my favourite variant, that car is going to look amazing!
Having loved the lancia fulvia, owning 4, one being the 1.6 hf, I was really looking forward to watching this. The car looks great, well done to the owner 👍
But to slag off the car, was just wrong. These cars are great, and beautiful. The car obviously needed more work, so to disrespect the car in that way was harsh.
If that was my car that I'd let him try, I would have been pissed with his comments,,,,,, oh sorry it wasn't a Ferrari or Mclaren!!
To the owner, we'll done on saving another beautiful Fulvia 👍👍
I drove a Fulvia HF years ago for an article in Sports Car International magazine. Absolute blast to drive, no drivability issues at all. Always wanted one after that. This one must need some more sorting. Also, it's front wheel drive but is still extremely fun to drive. Probably one of the first FWD cars that was genuinely entertaining to drive.
As Jeremy Clarkson would say upon seeing a Lancia- "Yeeeeeeeesssss"
My father had a Fulvia Berlina which sort of became my daily for a while. I loved the surprisingly good build quality of it and its lively 1.3 litre V4 engine, with a 15 degree angle if I'm not mistaken. The dog leg 5 speed gearbox was nice too when everything had warmed up properly. Never had any issues whatsoever.
I’m surprised you put this one out, but demonstrates how it can’t always go well. Reminds me of Matt Farah’s experience driving that honda spaceframe thing on track.
This is what I was referring to if anyones interested: czcams.com/video/tWIM8I_J4Cc/video.html
Eh. That one was a more fundamental issue with the model. This one was a broken car most likely
It would be interesting to revisit this car James, once the correct carburettors were reinstalled and the throttle linkage upgraded to a working standard. A beautiful car and clearly a nice renovation. She’s just in need of that final bit of sorting.
You really need to find good example and try again with a completely fresh review - the throttle should be light and very easy to modulate, gear change (once warmed up) should be precise and a delight, brakes should be as good as any modern car with those huge twin pot front callipers, heal and toe fun can to had with a good set-up, indicators are as simple as any other car and its sounds like the mechanism is worn out, damaged or needs rebuilding. Those 'Webers' are probably well to large for the 1.3 and causing lumpy running with loads of flat spots… I could go on but as I said at the start find a good well sorted Fulvia and they are a revelation to drive - never the fastest but still an absolute joy! I may be biased though as I previously owned NBO836P - czcams.com/video/-HcCrEliXHU/video.html ;)
Why did you sell it? Did you own it at the time it was on the show?
@@FlyingMrMuh Yes I did own the Fulvia at the time of the BBC show, a friend helped organise getting all the Lancia's together for that Top Gear special. Sold the car as I moved to live and work in Greece.
I drove a Fulvia Coupe in Rome 50 years ago, and loved it, still one of my favorite cars of all times. I think it is more about the set up rather than the car itself. And don't forget the 1600 HF was a very successful rally car.
They have a beautiful, tiny single head V4 engine - a lovely car
You should ask harry metcalfe for his fulvia zagato once its back together
I'm sure we'll get a Harry's Garage original on that.
Loved my 74 Fulvia Coupe. The twin Solex carbs worked fine. Cruised at 90 to 95 mph on the M4 no problem! Even more fun on twisty roads. Mine was easy to drive and perhaps the nicest car I’ve ever owned. Certainly the most fun!
Had mine 3 years. It'll never leave me. Great to drive, very easy to do long distances. Throttle absolutely fine. Steering you can input on the tips of your fingers (should have a negative camber). Gear changes you can make easily and accurately. Indicators work like any other indicator??? Very confusing experience you've had there. Sorry you didn't take to it. As for the measly power, I love that b Road runs are full throttle, weaving this little precise car and at speeds that aren't even illegal!
Then you get to the looks and the total admiration you get from passers by at every trip. That never grows old.
So this was unexpectedly entertaining. I look forward to seeing your update once you've figured it out and tried a better example. Sounds amazing certainly.
Up until very recently my father had a series 2 1970 berlina, so I can say the following:
i don't know if the throttle linkage in worse because the car is rhd but on a lhd car with the standard carb (i don't remember, it's either a solex or a su unit) it's fine, a bit heavy for modern standards but lets say it matches the other controls, unassisted steering etc.
The engine is fantastic, sounds amazing and is willing to rev, 13 degree V4 mounted 45 degrees sideways for reduced cog, you can say its both dohc and sohc because it has 2 heads and 2 cams but one cam operates the intake valves and the other the exhaust valves like a dohc engine.
After the series 2 the gearbox became a 5 speed dogleg which was a great deal back in the early 70s. The engine sits length-ways so the gearbox is below the lever so its quite direct and nice.
Another great deal back in the day was the disk brakes all round they also went from dunlop calipers to girlings which were more convensional and easy to work on.
If you thought the engine was weird and fantastic wait till you see the front suspension, very long double wishbones with a transverse mounted leafspring on the top. one of the reasons these were such a great rally car at the time. The rear suspension nobody talks about because its very basic, beam axle with leaf springs.
The indicator rods like everything you see in that vicinity is metal so something might be bent or oxidised and you had sush trouble therwise they are quite tactile.
Fulvias are important for the history of lancia because the were developed when lancia was still independent so there were many engineering quirks but were later produced under fiat ownership and management so later cars had more plastic bits inside etc.
Rust to be honest on ours hasn't be bad at all but if it's dead cold it needs quite a lot of cranking.
To drive they are special and quite modern especially if you consider that they are a compact fwd saloon car with either 2 or 4 doors from the late 60s.
if you haven't see them check out harry metcalfe's restoration blogs on his, especially the engine teardown and the most recent one were they show the front suspension
Thanks for your honesty! Such throttle difficulties must be truly unnerving, especially when handling such a valuable antique.
I owned a 1976 turbo charged lancia scorpion back in the late 1970s. Lancias are wonderful and the example you drove was one of the prettiest lancias ever. Thanks for the review. Always fun
Best tried on a country lane if you're not used to old cars.
I've driven one around the nurburgring and a few track days - they are lovely. Neutral stance despite fwd, great steering and engine.
Beautiful engineering too.
Strewth!Drove one of these back in the day and it was a dream,speedy,corner on rails,super steering great sound too.That S3 needs the original Solex carbs back on it I reckon to make it more driveable.Wish I had kept mine for sure.
i'm sure some ppl will be mad about I thought this was hilariously honest
Cool review James. Head back to Telford soon
Never seen a car review like this one. Truly unique. Reminds me of driving old wrecks in younger days.
fantastic review and a perfect life lesson.
Please try another one that’s better sorted and give it another go, breaks my heart to hear how difficult this one was. They should be easy to modulate on the throttle. Cheers from a Fulvia Sport Zagato owner
Yeah, I agree
I think this one may benefit from a new/different throttle cable and sorting out the cable routing,
I hope he gets a quick go in the Sport Zagato currently being restored by Harry Metcalfe @ 'Harry's Garage' channel, great videos if you haven't seen them already,
I love the Zagato body, it's a real beauty and my favourite Fulvia variant,
I would be interested in hearing from an owner what makes the Zagato's so great (apart from the looks and rev hungry engine) and what you don't like so much about it,
If I'm in a position to own a classic car then this has always been high on my list... One day!
Cool seeing you in Leicestershire (you started near where I work) do like the idea of Lancia Fulvia’s
Now this is a video I'm happy to share, hilarious :)
Ideal opportunity to revisit it once the carbs and throttle linkage have been sorted.
Would make a nice " then and now " video for the future.
Loving the video's as always. More 550 video's soon pleeeease! 😬😬
I had one Rallye , awesome car to drive , you got scared too easily 🤣😂
A bit of a missed opportunity and the appearance of the car promised so much; fulvia's sure are among the loveliest looking little coupé's of the 1960s and 1970s. I haven't got any experience with them (unfortunately), but with their not overly powerful engines (certainly the 1.2 & 1.3-versions) and FWD I can't imagine them being that difficult too handle? Especially as they also were so hugely succesful in rally's for many years (Lancia was world champion with it in 1972 if I'm correct). I feel the fulvia deserves a new chance from you, just to show how nice it can be 😊.
You need to drive an HF. Completely different experience. You will get addicted and once you do, there is no turning back 😂
Wow a v4. Those are so rare 😮
I don't remember any such issues when I drove one in the early 80s. Lovely little car for the country lanes
Such a car of its time
One of my all-time favourites, especially with the uk spec headlights.
The engine sounds amazing
I drove one of these from the classic car club about 20 years ago. I thought it was wonderful, but then I learned about heeling and toeing by necessity having a Vauxhall Chevette that would not idle and the engine simply stopped without any throttle. I think with more time the challenges would dissapear and the joy would grow. I do like James' honesty in his reviews. I agree with other comments that driving low power cars flat out is far more fun than pootling around in high power high grip cars at the same speed.
Almost a Churchillian statement you made there James.
He might’ve said “ Never in the field of motoring has one man made so much noise and made so little progress” 😅
Absolutely gorgeous piece of Machinery!
Sounds fun if nothing else!
That V4 engine sounds delicious. Probably would be even better if it was the HF with... y'know, actual power.
Makes me wonder why we didn't see any other cars powered by a v4 or crossplane inline 4. Super common on bikes but not cars for some reason.
@@CheapskateMotorsports balancing issues, if I remembered correctly
@@CheapskateMotorsports The Porsche 919 Le Mans car is a recent example with a V4. However I believe the Fulvia engine was also narrow angle V4 with a single cylinder head, or a "VR4" as VW would call it
I love that cars like this make you work for the enjoyment but I also appreciate they’re not for everyone I guess
I always liked the look of these how could you not?.I remember someone on the estate I lived on in the seventies having one.
That one might be a bad example, i drove one last year and I was amazed by how good it was
Thanks J, despite the outcome, I enjoyed this!
Not all throttle cables are created equal! I've had terrible trouble with cheap bowden cable on the delorean (with 3m+ of cable). As soon as it has to hook round (as the delorean one does above the pedal box), the cheap ones bind up really badly. You have to hunt around but there are twisted strand outer cables as opposed to the spring-like ones which are much less prone to folding
Cars like this need drivers, modern cars just need operators!
Famous phrase: My Dad had one of those.
His was a 1965 old 'C' reg. 1st year of the Fulvia and one of only 6 imports that year. His was the only one known to be left from that year. 1200cc engine and a real squash to get my brother and I (14 and 16) in the back seats. Reg (I think) BAN???C, if it is still out there. It was sold on as a half done project.
Such a beautiful car
I have a feeling that it may be a result of the 'chinese' Webber carbs that the owner has on it. Less the route of the throttle cable takes, and more perhaps a stiffness of the throttle valves.
I find it hard to believe that a decent example of one of these has such a shocking oversight that has never been raised in the motoring zietgiest.
Especially for a brand such as Alfa.
I get the impression that you may just be bemoaning the car you're in, rather than the model itself.
@@dans2971 It is. But that's a negative connotation for reliability, not drivability.
Fulvia Coupe, single cylinder head narrow angle Vee engine (much like the later VW VR6 motor). Rally winner in HF form. One of Clarksons favourite cars of all time. When new cost more than an E-type.
Pretty car.
Learnt to drive in my mums 1972 fulvia wish I still owned it if I remember correctly the steering was heavy at slow speed parking etc and you had to let the gearbox to warm up as first was impossible to select, once up to temp no problem .
Wish we got more v4 engines they sounded pretty cool
Poor JayEmm! It's a shame you struggled there, because they are very fine cars. Think it's that particualr car. Arm signals and indicators -had to laugh
Well, my brother has the same car , in the same colour, on the original carbs and he absolutely loves it. It drives superb and sounds gorgeous. Unfortunately when folk mess around with the engine on these old classics, they create a car with less appeal than Trabant 601.
Would luv to see your review of the HF 1.6 version.
Now, that's a man's car to drive. Makes you work for it. Its a pleasure to see Jay sweat it out a little. 👍
Must be down to the carbs or throttle linkage. I had one years ago and it drove like a dream.
Pretty car inside and out for sure. Too bad about the difficulties in her drive-ability. Still, great video and lovely thing to behold - If only had by the hands of a slightly scared to death driver. Live to drive another day!
Had a drive in one of these about 40 years ago, and loved it. This one obviously has serious issues.
Proof of how real Jay is, every other automotive youtuber seems so fake in comparison
Agreed. Loved the real review. Thanks Jay for showing that not every car is awesome.
Absolutely fantastic. As authentic a review of his experience as you could get. Hopefully he won’t be put of by trying other similar ‘exotica’ as it puts the more modern cars into proper relief!
I don't like the car, but watching you drive it, hilarious! 😆 Thanks.
Lol, the perfect Boxster alternative! :-)
Absolutely 'goergous', as per the video title ;)
My my James. You did look uncomfortable in that review!! 😂
A stunner of a car.
I have desperately wanted one of these for the last 7ish years. I'm currently leaning more towards a TVR Tuscan but the appeal of these is very strong indeed.
What would you rather own for weekend drives and playing with in the garage?
TVR for drives, Lancia for home tinkering. I cannot stress how much of a pain in the arse working on a TVR is.
Lovely ❤
Magic Fulvia! 4V-engine!
Front light for UK were different from Italia
i have one of the more rare fulvia ...a works 1300 ....it was my fathers till he passed away....he had owned it since 1970...as the second owner...now it is mine...it drives better than my mx5....they bought three works 1300 here to australia...mine is works number 8....every thing works as it should....and no i am never going to sell this car....so many memories with my father and this works 1300...it also was on the front cover on sports car 1968 with the caption works lancia here....
I can’t see a return spring on that carb linkage, there should also be one on the accelerator pedal which based on comments sounds like that is also missing, which will make the carb’s impossible to balance. The actual carb’s, if fitted correctly, not over jetted and with a good linkage design will transform the ride. Don’t start from scratch yet, get what you have got going correctly!!
I have watched many Jayemm reviews and enjoy them as he gives a decent general view of what the car is like . A bit like Harrys Garage a down to earth no nonsense opinion.
I never normally comment on videos good or bad but having just watched Matt Watson from Carwow also struggle to drive a "real car" in his case 1980's Porsche 911 Turbo I feel the need to make an important point about how cars are now sold to the younger generation.
I have a collection of classic cars and old racing cars. The newest is 1971 the oldest 1954. You need a certain amount of driver talent and mechanical knowledge to drive any of them. This is part of the fun of driving that is missing from all modern cars. My 14 year old daughter who's only experience is driving my Tractor around the field could drag race against Lewes Hamilton in a modern 800hp super car and achieve a similar time........whats the fun in this?
Modern cars make every driver equal now matter how good or bad. This also is part true on track.
Jayemm seems like a decent chap but I now see is caught up in 0 to 60 times and how many trillion BHP a car has rather than understanding what real fun can be had in a an old car if you are able to drive it properly and get the best out of it. This requires driving skill and the more skill one has the more fun will be extracted from the car unlike the dual clutch( Automatic ) fly by wire accelerator ABS anti stall cars now being offered by the top marques on the planet. We are all being told this the way forward ?
I agree for an every day car to go shopping I will take every aid possible to pop to the shops or do the school but for this all that is needed is about 75 BHP some comfort and decent MPG.
The super cars are sold to the public as a "fun" items not for every day driving or towing a trailer to the dump with your garden rubbish.
Having driven many modern 500hp plus cars from Audi RS6 to Aston Martin I can assure any modern car owner reading this getting a half second faster time up a Hill climb or managing perfect up and down shifts revving the engine to the max in all the gears on your favourite B road in an old " sporty" car is far more as skill will come into the equation. Flooring even the most powerful modern cars and letting the electronics do all the work will see you doing 100mph in a few seconds...... so what? Any one can jump in the car and do this even my 87 year old Mum.
Having fun driving does not need to be going that fast !
It seems like the one you drive there haven't been put correctly together.
It needs a adjustment of the throttle and a few other things.
The Fulvia is actually a really good car to drive when sorted out correctly.
That V4 engine has a fantastic sound, and for a old front wheel drive it is fun.
Hope you get to drive a good one at one point.
Viva Lancia! Good to see some classic Lancia content as there's not much around. Shame about the throttle pedal/cable.
Sorry to see someone have such a dodgy go at driving a Fulvia.
I bought my '67 Fulvia Coupe last spring, after literally 50 years of wanting one. While in fundamentally sound shape, it took a complete carburetor overhaul and tune up to make it sing as it ought .. along the way with an electric fuel pump and a 123electronic ignition upgrade. It drives beautifully now: excellent throttle response, good handling, good brakes, all that. No rust anywhere, exterior in good shape, and now it's headed to the upholstery shop to have the interior fully refurbished.
It's the sweetest little coupe I've owned and realizes my long held fantasy of what one would be like. It sounds to like the one you had to drive needed a bit more sorting out, that's all, to get its drivability up to par.
My funniest "almost negative" experience to date was figuring out how to work the heater on a 35F day.. but I expect that sort of thing in a 55 year old Italian sports coupe... 😉
J EM it's a gorgeous car.😄
Quite lovely cars, as a young man agreed to buy one second hand only to find could not get insurance, same story with an Alfa GTV. Cortina 1600e instead which was a rust bucket as it turned out 😕
very nice car, very like a boat tail Alfa in profile.
I would say that needs a little fettling. They were always a sweet and very light jewel of a car to drive. I've not had much experience of those but did have a very short thrash in a 1600 many years ago. It was very like nothing else at the time. Real shame. You really should try and find another one, they are lovely.
"Goergous" indeed! ♥️
„Görgeous“ is what the title currently says
its the driver that's not safe, Fulvia are fantastic cars to drive.
'Ashraf on Cars' has one, i'm sure he can tell you about it. I believe he's left The Intercooler and now doing videos for AutoExpress. I was surprised by how relatively affordable these were until recently, despite them having that rally pedigree, looking incredible and sound amazing. It would be great if a company like Alfaholics with their GTAR-290 or Singer Design can do a 'reimagined' take on the Fulvia Coupe.
These cars should be an absolute pleasure to drive. I think the carbs are too big and or not set up correctly. The dogleg gearbox takes about 3 minutes to get used to, just pretend its a modern six speed starting in second. Peak torque at 5000 rpm tells you how hard they need driven though. High revs at sensible speeds = fun with a clean licence.
a SAD OUTCOME. Hopefully you can get another drive when the cable issue is fixed, Sounds like the cable is binding, it must be possible to sort this out.
Imagine Lancia being resurrected 😞
FCA do it
Pls!!!
Stellantis bought Lancia and are planning to bring it back
@@rileyberkowitz Stellantis did not buy Lancia. They are basically responsible for its demise as Stellantis is nothing more than the merger of FIAT-Chrysler and PSA.
This is like watching my 8 year old nephew play original NES and seeing him frustratingly grab for all the features and buttons on a PS5 controller.
No. Trottle actuation in a fulvia should be super smooth. Thus one just has issues. Its like his first into to n64 being a controller with a broken joy stick
The engine is really interesting. its a VR4 if i'm not mistaken. (Its basically the engine VW looked at when they developed the VR6.)
Its a V4, with a very narrow angle, and a single cylinder head. So it should have the characteristics of a i4 engine, while beeing shorter. (Its also the cause for that distinct sound. :-)
Classic Lancia great ideas execute badly :)
@@itisjustacomment You can't blame Lancia for the faults on this car; the standard car is beautiful to drive, all the controls should be light and delicate and there should be none of the issues James experienced. It's not a modern car that you can be rough with, caress it like a lover and your joy will be immense, and you'll probably be quicker over a B-road journey than anything modern!
@@saxon-mt5by my point was Lancia is known for great new ideas and pushing new tech at the time but they had plenty of problems in the cars and business.
Can't we agree if this said car having something like the alfaholica treatment is would be a gem even by modern standards and then it would keep up with modern cars?
@@itisjustacomment The Fulvia was an incredibly well executed machine in just about every way.
How do you post this.?
You went to the trouble of finding out how to spell KRYPTONITE, but spelled GORGEOUS incorrectly? Tut tut tut...
It's LanCia, not LanSia! Cheers from Italy!
Do you mean 'Lan-Chee-Ah'? Typing it out as 'LanCia' could still cause a pronunciation as 'Lan-See-Ah'
LanCha...
I was sat here thinking you were being a heretic then remembered I has a similar experience with a 70s Alfa Gtv. Just didnt find it fun. An E type though, loved that....
Throttle issues aside, it seems to be a great little classic. Might look a bit more like an Alfa in red, though.
Maybe Harry Metcalfe will give you a spin in his Lancia Fulvia Zagato 1600 when it's restored
That could restore James' faith in Lancia, although Harry also has two overlarge Webers (real ones) on his. But they'll at least get the cable routing and pedal response right, I'm sure.