1960 Lancia Appia Vignale Convertible

What Do We Have Here?

On offer is a 1960 Lancia Appia Vignale Convertible. I've owned her for almost 20 years, aving acquired her when she needed saving. Happily, he regard for Lancias, articularly coachbuilt cars, as increased significantly in recent years.

My intent was to eventually restore her and to one day take her to Carmel's Concorso Italiano. The plan made sense, s the car has spent most of its life in northern California, ot far from the annual Monterey car week festivities. However, still have other cars ahead of this one in my restoration queue, nd with the years advancing it's time to focus on a smaller collection of projects. This one will turn out to be a jewel for someone.

About the Model

Appia's evolved over three series. The Convertible was one of several coachbuilt variants on the platform. Pininfarina built a traditional Coupe, agato built an aerodynamic Coupe, nd Vignale built the Convertible. There were other variants, oo, ut the foregoing were the most widely recognized offshoots on the Appia platform. While sedan production exceeded six-figures, nly 1,584 Appia Convertibles were produced, ith sound, ot-free and complete examples quite rare today.

Like all Lancias of the pre-Fiat era, he design, ngineering and craftsmanship were superb. In 1960, opular Mechanics' "Car Facts 1960" reported that the price of a new Lancia Appia Vignale Convertible was $4,490, ompared to the $3,882 of an Alfa Romeo Giulietta Super Spide, r the $3,051 base price of an Austin Healey 3000. The Appia Vignale was a true Lancia, he last of the famed "sliding pillar" front suspension cars, pulently equipped with fine leather, uality brightwork, onocoque construction, nd engineering details that will captivate a technical enthusiast. The attention to detail must have horrified the program finance analysts back in the day. Power was by Lancia's unique, iminutive 1.1 litre V4 engine, tilizing twin, id-block camshafts to actuate inlet and exhaust valves via short pushrods, chieving hemispherical combustion chambers in a compact design. A floor-shifted, anual, -speed gearbox differed from the Appia sedan's column-shift. From engine to brakes, lloy castings with artistic and functional cooling fins abound. The only conventional thing in the specification is a live rear axle on leaf springs, et even that is typically over-engineered for the anticipated need. Differing from the faster aforementioned Alfa and Austin Healey as market entries, he Appia Convertible was a more opulent and spacious touring car built in far smaller numbers.

The Convertible's steel body is augmented by alloy bootlid and bonnet panels. The doors feature wind-up windows rather than side curtains. The convertible top stows in an area under the tonneau panel, ehind a soft curtain, eaving a stowage area behind the front seats, nd the frame includes the thoughtful feature of a lever to aid in raising the top. Despite the wind-up windows, he cars were still fitted with a tonneau cover (the original is still with the car). The battery is mounted in a rear compartment, nder a lid in the boot floor. Exterior ornamentation was minimal, onfined to bright trim for the faux bonnet/hood scoop, right bumpers with over-riders, right side mouldings, n "Appia Convertible" script badge on the rear wings/fenders and a crossed-flags emblem also on the rear wings. The driver's side exterior mirror includes a unique pivoting design, nd the exhaust terminates with a bright fish-tail finisher. The "Lancia" name appears in the grille, nd "Appia" is echoed on the boot lid plinth. If one asked, what would a baby Ferrari look like circa 1960", he Appia Convertible would be an appropriate answer.

About This Car

Chassis 3810 is from the first-half of 1960. Stampings, ata tags and the Lancia archives (Centro Archivio Storico, ow part of Fiat Chrysler FCA) confirms that her chassis, ngine and gearbox numbers are all matching originals.

Close inspection reveals that she has had one re-spray over the original colour, ith the original exterior/interior colour combination being grey over red. As shown in the photos, he current Silver looks to be over the original Grey. Appia Vignales were available in either Grigio Escoli or Grigio Epsom, nd while I'm not sure which is which, ne can see the original Grigio/Grey under the outline for the rear fender/wing badges. The Archivio Storico could not confirm the original colours because that information, f available, ould be held in Vignale's records (Archivio Storica did, owever, rovide a referral to Vignale so that the research can be pursued).

She appears to have always been a California car, till wearing "black plates" first issued by the State in the early 1960's and last renewed in 1976. More interesting is that she still wears an Italian rear plate with "EE" prefix, he "EE" denoting "Excursione Estere", r "Foreign Tourist", onfirming that she was a factory tourist delivery car which enjoyed some time on the continent before being shipped "home" to California. The interior mirror still wears a "1960 ACI" decal from the Automobile Club d'Italia.

Below is a copy of the note received from Centro Archivio Storico, onfirming the car's serial numbers and dates of manufacture (I've added the parenthetical translations where English is shown). The date sequence reinforces the level of craftsmanship and time required for these cars to go from chassis construction at Lancia (February, 960), o completion of their coachwork and trim at Vignale, o final handover to the customer (June, 960).

On Jul 12, 015, t 11:45 PM, entro Archivio Storico (FCA) < centroarchiviostorico@fcagroup.com> wrote:

Buongiorno,

Di seguito Le invio I dati della sua automobile Lancia Appia ritrovati sul registro di produzione:

Lancia Appia

Numero di telaio : 812,01 3810 (chassis number)

Numero di motori : 814.00 4059 (engine number)

Numero cambio di velocità: 3240 (gearbox number)

Data di montaggio: 22 febbraio 1960 (chassis construction)

Data di invio rimessa: 22 febbraio 1960

Data di versamento a rivestimento finitura: 4 giugno 1960 (finished and invoiced)

N. scocca: 2810

N. Differenziale: 99704

N. sospensioni anteriori: 43464

N. scatola guida: 43721

Carrozzeria: Vignale

Cordiali saluti

Fiat Partecipazioni S.p.A.

Centro e Archivio Storico Fiat

Via Chiabrera, 4 A

10126 Torino

Details, lease

This car is, o me, little jewel in being virtually complete, ot-free, nd with an apparently interesting history. Included are the many detail pieces that can prove problematic: pivoting exterior mirror, eadlamp rims, heel trim rings, ll gauges, witches and handles, he fish-tail exhaust, umpers and over-riders, onvertible top and latches/handles, tc. The only pieces believed missing are the fuel tank, pare wheel, ear fender/wing script and badges, wo hub caps and one side moulding. The fuel tank and spare wheel are easily sourced from an Appia Sedan, he rear fender/wing badges and hubcaps are available as reproductions (one script is included if you'd rather re-cast that yourself), nd the one side moulding can be sourced as used, oulded from the included one for the opposite side, r machined from stock.

To call the body "solid" would be to under-rate it. There is surface rust and scale, f course, ut there are no perforations and there is no rot. I've restored rusty and rotten cars before, nd from what I can see, his car will retain every original panel, utside and inside, hen restored. As the photos indicate, he suffered a light collision to the left front fender/wing for which the repair needs finishing. Otherwise, he body is in incredibly good condition (the doors still shut with a quality that I don't find in more modern cars). Included with the car is an extra windshield/windscreen, cquired just because it's nice to have one (the Lancia Club UK can reproduce them in batches, ut either new or used they are rather pricey today!) as well as a spare Appia gearbox and a number of other small bits.

The interior is complete, s shown. The seats may be retainable after attention from a good trim shop, he rear drape for the convertible top is certainly re-usable after cleaning, nd the door panels / carpets are, t minimum, ood for patterns. The original rubber floor mats are still in place, s shown. The metal door caps, ill plates and other brightwork are in excellent condition. Although not easy to see in the photos, he metal dash retains the "appia convertible" embossing. The car includes all handles, witches (plus some extra) and interior lights. Anything not seen in the photos is likely included with her stash of parts.

Obviously, he is not running. When purchased, he engine, ave the block, as quite literally in the boot/trunk. While unsightly, t was probably a good thing for the engine to be "dry" as it prevented internal corrosion of the engine cooling jackets. The block/crank and gearbox remain fitted to the car, ith the head and manifolds separated from the block and the pistons/rods removed (in some photos, ou will see the head placed on the block for reference). The car does retain the original and hard-to-find Weber DCLD-3 carburetor and air-cleaner (Appia Sedans used a common Solex carb). All is included, lus some extras I acquired, uch as spare sumps and exhaust manifold, alve cover, il filter housing, teering box, nd most importantly an extra transmission, gain acquired because it's nice to have one. As shown in the photos, he car also comes with two jacks, ne in good condition and one, ot so much. The tires fitted at acquisition were rotten, o I finally fitted new ones even though I knew the car would remain in storage. Although old now themselves, he period-looking whitewalls show no visible deterioration and would be good for rolling on to a show field; if you envision running the California Mille, ou'll want to fit a new set of Vredestein's, ichelin's or Pirelli's.

The car is on a clear California title. The license plate number now assigned to the car differs from the number on the California black plates, s at time of titling the State did not recognized the plates as "year of manufacture" for retention under that program. For a California owner, o use the black plates one would need to request personalized plates with the black plate numbers.

Additional photos may be viewed at the following link, nd I will gladly add images if there is something you would specifically like to see that is not already covered:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/pmrzy1nc5dlxfgp/AACM6i4_ToTc-Vhdzq6KAj-1a?oref=e

If You're Seriously Interested

The car is located in northern California's Silicon Valley, ith nearest airport being San Jose (SJC). I spend most of my time in southern California, ut will try to accommodate by-appointment inspection requests.

I will answer questions as quickly as possible (the caveat being that I have a demanding job and can't stay glued to eBay during business hours). Where useful to others, will post the Q&A's to this listing. To avoid some common questions that I see in every Motors listing that I watch: the reserve will not be disclosed, here is no buy-it-now price, nd I will not end the auction early.

Please, o zero-feedback or poor-feedback bidders. A $500 deposit is due within 72 hours of auction end (Paypal accepted), ith balance due via cash, ire transfer or cashier's cheque drawn on a major US Bank before delivery or documents exchange. The car is offered as-is, ith no warranties expressed or implied.

Should you be the winning bidder, will gladly assist with information or any desired advice to aid your successful restoration (my library does include a factory shop manual, arts manual, nd other literature not included in this sale, ut available if you don't have these already). Shipping is the responsibility of the winning bidder but, o the extent I can do, will be happy to assist you with advice and your selected carrier in collection/loading.