1800 Coupe questions

[Jaro]

Did any of you Flavia owners do a twin carb conversion on your 1800 coupe? I will have to rebuild my singe SolexPAIA carb, but I also have a pair of Weber IDF40 and Solex PII carbs to use... so I am thinking of an upgrade to twin carb setup as on the Zagato 1800... I also have an old picture of a 1800Coupe with two carbs... I have a few magazine articles on people who did the conversions ( Udo Dörich and Helmut GÜnther - do you know them ? ) ... but there are very few details on how they did it...

I also have to renew my exhaust... Do you have any idea, why the Subaru boxer engine sounds so deep ? I would like to have the same sound on my Flavia... I know I ask a lot, but I really like it ! Any ideas ?

Also... two of my original Flavia steel wheels are in a very poor condition... I am afraid that they are rusted through... I bought a 1970 Mille Miglia alu (or mag) wheels (14¨) with 4x130mm wheel holes . They were on VW Bug... I calculated the ET(offset) of Flavia... It is around 48... and these are 35 so it should not be a problem... I also found ATS Classic alu wheels 5.5x15 with VW bug 4x130mm wheel holes. Do you think I would have problems running on 14 inch wheels instead original 15 inch ?

I know that the best way is to keep it stock and original... but I would really like to do this conversions and give my Coup a little sportier feeling...

Thanks for any reply !

Jaro

[alan cooper]

don't know about the carbs but I believe you can gain some power by fitting late 2 litre cylinder heads with bigger valves, as regards to wheels I can't imagine 14 inch being a problem. why not find some 2000hf chromadoras as I am sure they fit with perhaps a little modification and look the business

[Jaro]

Do you think the later 2000cc heads would fit ? I have a friend with a spare 2000 engine... maybe he would sell them to me...
The Mille Miglias 14 are really something special... I havent seen them anywhere yet... Cromodoras look too new designed to me...

Thanks for reply!

Jaro

[alan cooper]

what about minilites they look very period

[Dave Gee]

I am in the process of rebuilding my 1800 Flavia engine and am fitting 2000 pistons as I could not find any oversize Flavia 1800 pistons. A friend has successfuly done this conversion before and fitted 2000 heads with the bigger valves as well as converting it to twin carbs. I will be seeing him at the Lancia AGM (UK) in July and if you like I will take a digital photograph of the carburettor set up and email it to you. ( This is something I have been thinking of doing to my Vignale as I have the carbs but not the manifolds at present.) Hope this is useful.
Dave

[Jaro]

Minilites also look too new to me... I think I will stay with Mille Milgias...

So 2000 head can be done to fit 1800 boxer - any mods ? I would be very happy if you can get some info or pictures on this conversion... The problem is with the radiator fan... Must it be changed to electric? And the water pump inside the carb bridge ? Also electric ?

Thanks for all replys !

[Paul de Raymond Leclercq]

The 2000 heads would definitely fit.

I know this because years ago here at Evolution Engineering we worked on the ex-Spud Murphy Flavia Zagato that had competed in (I think) the european Hillclimb championship. I understood that the car hadd originated in the Jolly Club.

This had downdraft Webers fitted and despite the general condition of the engine, went like a bomb - very free-revving due largely to the incredible lightweight flywheel. This looked like Jolly Club work as it resembled a piece of Gruyere cheese.

We rebuilt the engine (we had been commissioned to rebuild all the mechanical parts) gas-flowing the cylinder heads (3 days\' work). Sadly the owner went bust so we never heard it running. I wonder where it is now?

Paul

[Paul de Raymond Leclercq]

The Minilite was a 1960s design and would probably look fine - they look very good on my Fulvia coupe!

Paul

[Paul]

Hi Paul,

I own a Flavia Zagato and I'm also looking for alloy (or the original Borrani "bimetal") wheels,
preferably in the size 5x15 inch. Do you know who sells minilites (or alternative wheels) that will fit my car?
I know the later Flavia 2000 (14 inch) wheels don't fit without major modification.

Furthermore I'm working on a website about the Flavia Zagato and am now collecting data, I'm especially interested in the chassis/engine numbers and any competition information.
Form the Graham Ward Fulvia & Flavia Sports website it appears that the chassis numbers of 1.800 cc cars started at 1101 instead of 1001 to fool the FISA and comply with the Touring car regulations.
My car has chassis number 1108 and is the oldest known 1.800 car.
So if you happen to know the chassis/engine number of the car you worked on I would be gratefull to receive this information. By the way, what kind of inlet manifold did you use, a 1.800 manifold or 2.000 one?

Thank you in advance for your reply,
Paul Brancart
Amsterdam, Netherlands

[Paul de Raymond Leclercq]

Hello.

Here is a telephone number where you can order Minilite wheels. They are available in aluminium alloy or (much dearer) in magnesium alloy; they offer a variety of colours. I chose black which I much prefer to the ubiquitous silver.

The company (Tech Del) is very helpful. The number is +44 (0) 19846 31033. Please mention that "Evolution Engineering" recommended you should you call.

Another possibility is to buy 15" wheels intended for VW Beetle. The PCD is 130mm same as the Flavia/Fulvia, but the centre hole may be smaller.

The Flavia Sport project we undertook was about 14 years ago sadly I have no details available. There was no inlet manifold as such; there were two carburettors mounted close to the inlet ports. From memory they were 40mm Weber IDFs.

Best wishes

Paul