| My Grandfather's Lancia Flaminia... |
| After several years of loyal service, the Flaminia could use some TLC and in order to give it a second youth, he decided to deliver the Flaminia to Nardi in Turin where a new triple Weber 2.500 liter engine was fitted together with a new rear axle and radiator. This new engine, thoroughly tuned and tested by Nardi, obtained the following figures : Compression ratio 9 to 1 Exact capacity 2.458 cc Horsepower 147 BHP Max. speed 195 km/h As Enrico Nardi passed away in August 1966 (due to blood poisoning caused by exhaust fumes), it was Mr. Barbero who ran the business till 1969 (after that Nardi & Co. continued their activities under the management of Mr. Iseglio, but I don't know when they stopped nor whom took over the company afterwards). After Nardi finished the mechanical tune up, Mr. Barbero delivered the car to Pininfarina in Milan where it underwent a total "mirrir finish" respray. I have no letters about the Pininfarina arrangements, but my father told me they had some kind of department where customers could have their car reconditionned. The result, according to my father, was worth the hassle. The pictures above and below shows my parents next to this Flaminia. It was taken on the way back to Belgium. It may not be obvious from this picture, but the cars' sides were absolutely straight. Nowadays only the best restoration shops obtain such straight panels, and often at a very high cost! Letters between my father (who handled this for his father) and Enrico Nardi regarding modifications can be seen here. |
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| Several years later, after a total of 450.000 kms!, the Lancia was dismantled and a white 2.8 Coupé shown below took its place. The GT Touring (of which only 168 were made)was my father's personal car and we still have it today. It has just crossed the 100.000 km barrier a while ago and it's still in perfect condition. Two years ago the rear tyre (Michelin "X" - Made in England...) exploded and damaged the inner wing. This was repaired in a Citroën garage who had a very competent man working in the workshop. The best part was when an Italian customer drove in to have his Citroën serviced... when he saw the Lancia a lot of memories came to his mind as he was a former employee of the Touring factory till it closed its doors! |
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| Many years later the white Coupé was going to be dismantled too. We spent several weekends to dismantle old Lancia's and ended up with tons of spare parts. Behind the Flaminia Coupé, my mothers' Milleotto which was the "best car she ever had". I remember it had curtains in the rear. The Flavia history is not clear to me, I know my we had a white one... but the other one was possibly bought for spare parts. All these spares were cleaned and oiled before being packed in wooden cases. The stock was used to help members of the Lancia club in search for parts and the remains were sold to Mr. Hermans who sold another part to Mr. Janssen in the Netherlands. |
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| These pictures wre taken during one of the many trips my grandparents did in Italy. The Flaminia was a perfect "Gran Turismo" and my grandfather loved it. I don't like the fake exhaust (an Ansa Marmitte would have been better) but the reverse light is a nice accessory, espaecially on the 2500 series which lacked this useful option. The wheelrim is gone... probably stolen... or lost against the kerbside which was a common "accident" with these rings. The magnificent volante Nardi... and a very nice anti theft system. I remember it was made by BLOSTER and had an impeccable black crackle finish. It was fixed over the steering column with bolts that cracked when they were tight. When activated with a key, two chromed steel arms with a white rubber protection blocked the lower arm of the steering wheel. The wooden ball on the gear lever was made especially for my grandfather by no one else than Enrico Nardi himself as a present. This is a less charismatic car... but fun anyhow.... |
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| This is a great picture... it shows my grandmother in a Lancia Augusta Convertible. This shot was taken in Venice Italy where she stayed for a few months in an Italian family. This is not the first encounter between my family and Lancia. The very first Lancia that arrived in my family must have been in the late 20's when an uncle of mine had a Lambda! |