Lancia Motor Club

https://www.brightwells.com/classic-motoring/bicester-classic-vintage/bicester-classic-vintage-24th-june-2018/bicester-flywheel-catalogue-24th-june/

Used to belong to an LMC member named Harrison, if I remember correctly. In the 1960s it came to the Chequers meeting in Hendon and some of us were taken for a ride up a short distance on the M1 at 90+ it had servo on the brakes, the last I heard the owner was replacing the original engine, I wonder what happened to it.

Don

Have been reading a book on Rochdales and was surprised to see another MG engined special, this one called the "Lamgia" with 50's full width sports racer bodywork in aluminium. Does the name Alex MacMillan ring a bell for anyone?

The same author wrote a more general book on the 50s special building boom and - not having the book infront of me - I think there was an early GRP GT body that went on an Augusta but I think that one kept its engine.

http://sportscarpioneers.yolasite.com/

http://sportscarpioneers.yolasite.com/contact-us.php

I drove it back in the 1960s and can confirm that it went like stink!

Roland and I are going to have a look at it on Saturday. I'm on duty at VSCC Donington on Sunday, so won't be able to get to the sale.

    Sold to internet bidder for £1900 (plus buyers premium of 12.5% plus vat).
    Any one know who the buyer was?  Hope he/she is a good welder!
    It looked to me to be only viable for parts. I was interested in the leather interior although that was in pretty  poor condition.

    Actually I was in shock most of the day at having to shell out £56(for two) show entry fee as well as £20 for the catalogue.
    Did you and Roland get similarly stung.
   
     Ben

now on Ebay!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/202351860448?ul_noapp=true

Roland decided against going when I told him the cost, but I went and was disappointed in the condition. Much worse than I imagined. I see it now is advertised on eBay with an MGB engine!

Having disappeared from Ebay now back on with a different seller id.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/123241455530?ul_noapp=true

From what I can make out of the engine number in the photo it looks like an early MGA 1500 engine.  I could be wrong, but the plate number looks to be BP15GB hence it's an early (up to '56) MGA 1500.  Happy to be corrected though!

Yes, it has an MGA engine. The auctioneers put MGB, but I'm pretty sure I drove it before the MGB came out! I don't agree with the present seller about its condition. It will need a lot of serious welding, or the front axle will fall off the first time the brakes are applied!

sold on Ebay for £3600 nearly £1500 more than the auction price inc fees!

Don't know what's going on, back on Ebay1

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/123250485724?ul_noapp=true

I imagine the "buyer" didn't want it when he saw it!

Bid to £2800 this time.

What do you know now appeared on PREWARCAR as a private ad!!!

https://www.prewarcar.com/237173-1936-lancia-augusta

£4950 still thinks its an MGB engine!

"beautifully dilapidated"

https://www.prewarcar.com/beaulieu-autojumble-comes-this-year-with-a-challenge

Interesting, wonder how far they will get with finding Augusta parts.  Getting the MGA engine going should not be a problem but it would be better with an Augusta engine!

They got it running at least....and even before that there was an offer of 6500 UKP, which I found hard to believe...
I wonder who wants to pay that sort of money for such a bad car.

On the other hand Bonhams hammered a new E-type bonnet for 16.000 pounds (plus expenses and VAT!!!!) while a new one costs about 8000....

They were expecting an offer of £11,000 to £12,000 for it! Some hopes!

Now (again!) for sale on Prewarcar....so the bid they claimed to have at Beaulieu was probably fake (or did they really think it was too low??????)

https://www.prewarcar.com/276944-who-will-finish-our-beaulieu-challenge-the-1936-lancia-augusta-mg-special-is-now-for-sale

Who will finish our Beaulieu challenge: the 1936 Lancia Augusta “MG special” is now for sale!
We are looking for a new caretaker for this Lancia. Someone who can make the car drivable and will actually use it! We had the pleasure to work on it during the Beaulieu Autojumble, as you can read here: https://www.prewarcar.com/the-challenge-accepted-and-succeeded-finding-the-real-spirit-of-beaulieu

The engine runs, but we didn't have enough time to get the whole car running (unfortunately!). It is the perfect daily driver, for one who loves old cars but also likes to fit in modern traffic.

The Augusta has hydraulic brakes and other features that feel like a modern car and because of the MG-A engine inside, you also have the power for modern traffic.

The car comes with its original registration document, original manual, a trunk with parts but most important, with a lot of smiling faces!

Can be viewed and picked up in the south of The Netherlands or we can bring it to you (in a trailer)

Price: € 7500.

We hope the new owner will give us an update every now and then!

 

For more information, please contact Laurens at office@prewarcar.com or +31 6 21276908

Hi everyone,
I am the new owner of the Augusta with the MG engine. I have bought it more than two years ago, originally with the intention to rebuild it in one year and drive it to Beaulieu in 2019. For various reasons (the main one being the state of the car) I did not make it, but the rebuild goes on. Everything on the car was terrible (except for the engine, which was just a little bad), the body was shot, the rear axle broken, the front axle bent, etc. All in all a nice challenge :-).
I will need some advice from time to time, the first one now: can somebody post a photo of the hinge that holds the lid of the trunk? Mine was definitelly not original and there was not much left of it anyway. Many thanks for any advice.
BTW, I have exchanged emails with a son of the man, who put the MG engine in, and he remembers the car very well from his childhood.(http://)

You're a brave man, taking that on! Good luck with it.

I'll take some pictures today and post them on the forum tonight. Is it just the hinge or also the spring loaded stay?
In view of the supposed benefits of the Augusta having such a short V4 engine I have often wondered how the MGA engine was squeezed into your car - pictures would be interesting!

Cheers
Mike

It already looks much better now!  Very please someone took this project on...if it was up to e I would make it original again....but of course that is up to you to decide!

Thanks Mikenoangelo, I just need the photo of the hinge.
The engine fits in very nicely, it is complete with a MG gearbox, just the gear lever is further back.
I will keep the engine in the car, after all, it has been there for 60 years. In fact the modification was one of the reasons I fell for this car.

Here are a few pictures. Very scruffy I'm afraid as the previous owner was very fond of grease (but not the JohnTravolta version!) but as a result there is not much corrosion.
The hinge has 23 loops, alternating 29 and 33 mm long, spaced by a 5mm gap so each pair occupies 72mm including two gaps. The overall length of the pin is 870mm x 8mm diameter. The overall length of the hinge is 835 mm so the pin protrudes at each end.

The hinge pin can be tapped outeither side though a hole in the spring hanger bracket casting. The loops of the hinge are formed integrally with the inner skin of the boot lid and the lower edge of the cill across the bottom of the boot. A bit of a nightmare to reproduce but perhaps a commercially available hinge could be welded to the cill and the boot lid inner skin after trimming of the original loops.

Hope this helps!
Mike

The engine fits amazingly well. I'd also keep it in place - a fun project and probably a lot less hassle to complete it as a special than to try to recover original bits to make another standard Augusta.

You might need to raise the axle ratio to suit the engine. The Augusta's 16.5mph / 1000 rpm is a bit low as it will be no heavier than an MGA. Original Augusta 850kg, MGA 905KG. Alternatively and easier see if you can fit a Mazda MX5 five speed box which I believe is commonly fitted in MGs. This would give 4th gear as normal (16.5 mph/1000rpm) and 5th gear 20.3 mph/1000. There are also kits to fit a Ford Sierra box to the MGA which have the same 5th gear ratio as the Mazda. The cruciform frame of the Augusta would probably preclude fitting an aftermarket Laycock overdrive to the MG box.

Looking forward to hearing more of your progress.

Mike

Hello Lojzik ?

About 8 years ago, I have restored my Augusta. I had to get rid of lots of corrosion, by replacing sheet metal. I have hundreds of photos from the process and other information. Please feel free to have some info if that helps with your restoration.

I look forward to see more of your car in this forum.

Regards  Karl

Thank you both for the photos, they are very useful.
Kari, may I ask you for the measure shown on the photo?

The height of the crossmember is 90 mm. It extends and is welded to the diagonal U-profiles inside the boot.

Regards  Karl

Hi everyone, I am still making progress with the rebuild of my Lancia, attached is a photo of the present state. I have a problem with the left rear wing which does not sit in properly whed aligned with the front wing and the running board. May I ask for the measurements as per the attached photos?

Hi,
I can confirm measurements as follows:
Photo WA0069 = 920 mm
Photo WA0072 = 1190 mm
Photo WA0075 = 1290 mm

If you haven't done already, I suggest following: car on stands, draw a center line accurate on the floor length wise. Draw lines left and right parallel to the center line at a distance of 725 mm. This is the outline of the car. With the aid of a plumb line you can check symmetry and right angles of mudguards and running board.
I hope that helps.

I note that your rear axle is from a convertible. There is a spacer between the spring and the axle, the convertible sits a bit lower than the berlina.

Karl

Hi Kari, thanks for the answer. You have confirmed the measurment on photo 0069 as 920 mm, but we have measured 820, may I ask you to check it again? Also may I ask for the dimensions between the rear spring hangers and the width of the rear wing as per the photos.

I am sorry, its 820 mm.

Please find attached some data which could be of use. The distance between the springs is measured at the inside edges of the main blades.

Karl

Thanks Kari, your advice is very helpfull