Ric stopped by one summer day to present his 1959 Lancia Aurelia GT to us. As many of our customers do, Ric was looking to restore his precious Lancia; noting he wanted the finished product to be something he could enjoy driving, and displaying, equally. 

From afar, this Aurelia presented well, and it was complete. Despite this, the Lancia was overall tired; paint chipping & cracking, interior fabrics faded and sagging, mechanically needing TLC, and the undercarriage beginning to weaken. Not a problem for us- we were ready to take on the job! 

First things first: establish a baseline for the overall condition of the vehicle; as well as particulars, such as the engine's compression numbers. This will give us a better idea of what items may need more work than anticipated, if any. After the inspection is done comes disassembly.

The body was stripped of all components- trim, lights, grilles, doors, glass, etc. Once ready, the body was mediablasted- exposing some of the Aurelia's hidden secrets...

A checkered past revealed! We were under the assumption panels had been patched based on the paint lifting in various rust-prone areas. This work appears to be older, thanks to the old-school brass brazing technique shown above. It is extremely common for vehicles of this vintage to have previous repairs such as this one- at the end of the day, it all adds to the vehicle's story. 

We definitely had our work cut out for us in the body shop- with replacement panels not available, it was time to bring out the english wheel for some in-house custom fabrication... but not until we removed the previous patch panels.

A little before and after here, with the body fresh from sandblasting above- and the same corner, after the patch panel was cut and removed, revealing the neglected original metal layer beneath. 

Once all of the cancerous metal was cut and removed, it was time for the proper repair work to begin! 

After the repairs were complete, the rest of the bodywork went smoothly. While the body was being painted, parts were being ordered and stocked up for reassembly. The interior was also being redone simultaneously by our in-house upholsterer, James, for maximum efficiency. 

Mechanically, we started with installing tires on the freshly refinished wheels. From there, we performed a steering box adjustment, front suspension rebuild, and transaxle refresh. After, a cooling system rebuild, carburetor rebuild, timing adjustment, and some electrical/harness repairs to make this Aurelia awe-inspiring once again. 

Spring cannot come soon enough for Ric and his like-new Lancia!