Stuck for a belt

Sir,

I own a 1975 Lancia Fulvia 1300S which I find very enjoyable to drive. I have had the car for almost four years, my only regret is that I did not have it from new.

Because I came overseas the car was laid up for nine months, and two months before I was due to return to the UK the car was taken to my local garage to be made ready for the road and MoT. On arrival in the UK, the car was nowhere near ready and in my month at home, the correct rear brake shoes finally arrived and were fitted. When I left to return abroad, the garage was still waiting on HT leads and a fan belt. This latter, I have just learned that Lancia say they cannot supply! Now four months involuntary immobility.

Lancia may advertise rightly the “Driving Sensation”, but their spare parts service for a car not ten years old is truly sensational. Moral, if you buy a Lancia don’t keep it too long.

I wonder, do other Fulvia owners have the same problem, or, are Fiat maneuvering off the roads the remnant of the true Lancia?

Charles H. Cuthbertson Kilmarnock