Since the recent post about the Lancia Augusta fuel tank the parts came in and I was able to get it all hooked up and running ready for a visit from the owner yesterday. I'd taken it out on Friday and found that under load, or when you are lead footing the gas pedal, it would still run out of fuel, the flow not enough to supply the float chamber. I'd also found that the steering vibrates at anything over 30mph, although putting 32lb of air in the tyres helped calm this down a bit. Neither of these issues prevented me from running the owner up the road, something that has been a very long time coming - as a matter of fact it was the first time he's been out in it since purchase. Other than the above issues the car really is a delight, plenty of torque for the size of the car, slick gear change, easy steering, strong brakes and a delightful driving position. It's been said that if you have a Lancia Augusta you don't need any other pre war car and I am inclined to agree. I understand Nuvolari was too. To sort the faults I am going to try fitting a low pressure 6v pump into the fuel system and am going to start from scratch on the front wheel balancing, the weights that were stuck on when they were last balanced have all fallen off so I am going to try some spoke weights first.
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