Quick reminder. Some advice for driving a Lancia in historic rallies. Lancias were made for the upper class. So, it's not chic to be (seen to be) in a hurry. You want to arrive safely and on time. That's exactly what you need for historic rallies. You don't have to do anything. Just hop in and go for it. Well, make sure the car is in perfect condition. Don't fight with the design! You will loose the balance and reliability

A solid and straight body? Most Fulvias that come to us have old collision damage. Currently (November 2025), we're working on several cars, three of which have severe to very severe body damage. A Fulvia Zagato 1600 that, besides extensive rust damage, has also been in at least three serious accidents, one of which included a rollover. Body repair shops use straightening benches where they pull or push without removing any sheet metal. This means that stress remains in most of the sheet metal parts, including the beams and chassis components. The geometry is also no longer exactly correct. Fortunately, the sheet metal part containing the chassis number is still good.

Another Zagato (1st series) with minor collision damage but a lot of rust damage. Even the sheet metal part with the chassis number is rotten.

And a 1200 Fulvia coupé without collision damage but with loose spot welds where the front end connects to the body. If you put the car on axle stands, you can move the left and right front ends up and down without the cabin moving. You wouldn't even want to drive around the block with cars like that. Let alone participate in a rally. At Casa Lancia, we have the molds to completely rebuild the body from scratch without any stress on load-bearing and non-load-bearing sheet metal parts.

Arrive on time! That's Lancia. Safe and secretly incredibly fast. It all starts with a solid body.

Casa Lancia leaves nothing to chance. Everything is inspected. Engine. Transmission. Suspension. Brakes. Steering. Wheel bearings. Springs. Shock absorbers. Rims (the standard steel rims are recommended). Tires of the correct size and construction. Everything checked, overhauled, 100% in order. We also replace the fuel hoses with ethanol-resistant hoses.

The Flavia and Fulvia were the first Italian front-wheel drive cars with a longitudinal engine. These cars have leaf springs front and rear. Your tire pressure is low, which affects the drift angle. If you feel you're not going fast enough, it's wise to examine your driving style and optimize it for this type of car. Casa Lancia can help you with this.

Note that the suspension is a two-stage system. The first stage is the air spring of the tires. Michelin X or XAS are ideal, with the pressure quite low by today's standards. The second stage consists of leaf springs with high-pressure gas shock absorbers patented by De Carbon. The original De Carbon factory closed in 2004. Casa Lancia has De Carbon shock absorbers custom-made. The leaf springs look simple but are very high-tech. The De Carbon dampers are fast and progressive. The handling is phenomenal, as is the comfort. Exactly what you need for a regularity rally. The car is a fast and very stable platform for the co-driver.

There are some things we can do to the engine. And the gearbox. I call that optimization. Polish. Harden. Diamantare. Balance. Losses caused by friction, vibration, and flex are reduced. You don't really tune the engine for more power, but by reducing losses, it's faster on the gas, more economical, and more reliable.

Photo of a diamond treated forged piston for Fulvia.

Good navigation is key. In the beginning, you'll notice you're always passing the same drivers. That's understandable because as a newbie, you have the least experience. You'll take more wrong turns. Then you have to pass everyone again. After a few years, you'll notice the roles are reversed. It's always the same drivers passing you. If you also score high in the expert class, then we can talk about Group 4. But I bet you're happy with your car just the way it is.