1972 Lancia Fulvia 1.3 S

We are delighted to offer for sale a delightful 1972 1.3S Fulvia. Resplendent in grey, with a fawn interior, this left-hand drive example would have cut quite the dash. It still looks rather special today and is very much the head turner.

Sold originally in its home market, we can see from the accompanying paperwork that the car spent the majority of its pampered life with two owners in Switzerland.

Our seller has owned the car for around four years, buying it from a gentleman who we think imported it into the UK.

During our seller’s ownership, the car was more or less unused until about a year ago when it was pressed back into active service. A modest amount of recommissioning work was undertaken, including routine servicing and since then we gather the car has run perfectly.

Our seller has undertaken several long journeys in the Fulvia, and these have been completed without drama, but with that glorious sense of occasion that accompanies any drive of a fine Italian classic car.

The car appears to be very original and our seller’s specialist garage was of that opinion too. The best advice would be to come and view the car in person and make your own decision. You may think that is a tad presumptuous, but if you are still reading this description then we presume you are already interested!

The subtle grey paint rather suits the Fulvia. It’s an understated car of elegant proportions, one with no need to shout about its abilities to engage with the driver.

Examine the shut likes and marvel at those even panel gaps – a sure sign that this is a good car.

We note a small area of corrosion just under the windscreen on the driver’s side and this will need addressing. There is also a small area on the passenger door underneath the chrome window trim.

We also note some pitting to the paintwork on the rear wing around the aerial.

Open the fuel filler flap and a little surface corrosion is visible, though this should be easy to deal with.

The chin spoiler has marks in places, inevitable as this area is so exposed to road detritus.

The area around the Fulvia badge looks to have some shading issues, so it is likely that some touching up has happened here.

The edges of the boot lid show some early signs of surface corrosion as do the boot hinges.

There’s a lot of chrome to keep clean on a Fulvia, but with this car it is in good order to begin with. Regular cleaning with chrome cleaner should ensure that it all stays that way.

The wheels are in good order and each is shod with a premium Michelin tyre. All have plenty of tread. As we never tire of stating, matching quality rubber is a sure sign of careful ownership.

Opening the Fulvia’s door reveals a beautiful fawn interior. The cloth seats barely show any signs of wear at all. We would like to think that they are the original items the car left the factory with.

Door cards match perfectly, and these too are in fine condition.

The floor on the driver’s side looks a little tired in places and could probably do with a general tidy up.

The wood dash is in excellent condition, the car having doubtless been kept out of bright sunshine for much of its life. There is a small area of damage to the veneer to the right of the period radio.

The wood rimmed steering wheel is a delight to hold and falling easily to hand is the gear lever.

Ahead of the driver sits a full complement of gauges, including temperature and oil pressure.

The boot compartment itself is clean and tidy and contains a matching spare wheel with a Michelin tyre. There’s a jack and tool kit included should the worst happen whilst you are out and about.

We always include plenty of photographs of the underside of the cars we sell, as this area is notoriously difficult to inspect. For a car that is nearly fifty years old, it is in remarkably good condition. This is a car that has doubtless had a gentle life in the hands of careful owners, and we doubt it has been driven in the wet very much.

Lift the bonnet at that delightful V4 engine is a joy to behold. Clean, cared for and with evidence of new parts. No sign of any escaping fluids either, which is nice.

The vendor adds: "Whilst the choke is unhelpfully under the dashboard (to the right of the steering wheel), the car ticks over at 900rpm when warm, which shows the carbs are set correctly. Vincent, who set them up, once worked at Webers, so he knows his stuff!".

The Fulvia comes with plenty of original Italian documentation and even its original number plates, a lovely touch.

There is also a handbook and some Italian maps.

We can tell you that the car was first registered in the UK on 1st June 2015. It was last MoTed two years later and it passed with no advisories as it had done in the preceding years.

We can see an invoice from a Zurich garage dated November 2014 and from our limited German, this looks like a comprehensive service and other assorted works.

A new centre exhaust section was fitted in 2017.

Our seller had a full service carried out last year and a new clutch was fitted. At the same time some work was carried out on the gearbox.

The brake fluid was changed, the carburettors tuned to perfection and a leaking fuel pipe replaced.

Our seller reports that the car now drives well and that it has proved to be reliable during their ownership.

The delightful Lancia Fulvia is completely solid and does not appear to have suffered from the dreaded tin worm.

We suspect the car has been stored for much of its life which has helped preserve its super condition both inside and out.

With a few very minor cosmetic repairs, this lovely car would be just perfect.

It drives well and is all set to please its lucky new owner.

To be that person you must bid and we estimate a sale price of between £12,000 and £17,000 will be achieved.

Viewing is always encouraged, within government guidelines of course. The car is located at our Abingdon headquarters; we are open Mon-Fri 9am-5pm and to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing to make an appointment. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’