The AUSTRALIAN and NEW ZEALAND
LANCIA STRATO'S
and STRATO'S REPLICA REGISTER
(for owners of Lancia Strato's vehicles)

Pauls Strato's Replica










The Car as it is today.

This car is an early Strato's Replica and was in fact one of the first batch from a company known then as Transformer ( now Hawk cars ). It was part built in England by a couple of owners before being imported to Australia where it passed through the hands of several more owners before coming to me.
When purchased the car was in a bad state.

When purchased the car was in a very sorry state. Most of the build work had been done very poorly and would have to be totally redone. The engine was seized as were all of the brake parts, and there was a great deal of rust on unpainted mechanical parts. It was a very sorry little car. Despite this, the beauty of the design was still visible.
Inside the car - note the spaghetti under the dash.

The inside of the car was terrible. Everything was raw fibreglass covered in remnants of glue and the wiring loom looked like spaghetti. Very little worked. In fact, when you turned on the interior light, the reversing light was activated.
The condition of the cars nose when purchased.

The paintwork on the car was terrible. The painter had scratched the gelcoat with what looked like a housebrick to help the paint stick. It had not worked and showed under the final coat. The paint had not keyed and the consequent battering the car had taken had damaged the paint everywhere. It will need repainting - properly.
How the seats and interior came.

The seats like everything else in the interior were just raw fibreglass and bolted through the sheet metal of the floor. The door locks had been fitted to the bodywork through holes made with a blunt axe (or that is how they looked). The door skins had been fitted in a way that they were damaged and had to be repaired before I could replace them.
Under the front - note the condition of the booster.

Under the front the spaghetti was again noticable. The brake booster is a perfect example of the condition of the braking system. The radiator was held in place with 1 self tapping screw! The supports for the single wiper blade had to be remade as the entire unit wobbled rather than wiped, and it could not be fixed the way it was mounted.
The enginebay (less engine) when purchased.

As can be seen, the engine bay had been thrown together. The arrow indicates one of the rear "fixed" brake lines. The rear wiring loom was just hanging in place anchored only at the coil (above arrow).
After work - the booster.

This is the after shot of the booster. The brakes have now been totally rebuilt or replaced, and all solid lines replaced and actually anchored to the body. The braking system now works quite well. The white bodyfiller had been used extensively by someone to plug holes that were drilled in the wrong places.
The Engine after it was rebuilt.

The engine was seized and had water leaking into the sump. It had been left filled with water with no coolant in it. The motor was totally stripped and the debris removed from the block. It was then rebuilt with plenty of TLC. The gearbox will be rebuilt when the car is stripped for the respray as it had to be driven to see what needed fixing. Several things in this area needed changing to comply with the Australian requirements.
The enginebay after it was tidied up.

The engine bay has taken on a different appearance. Wiring is now anchored, fuel lines are solid fixed units, fixed brake lines have been anchored and remade, rubber heater lines have been replaced with solid units. The header tank was replaced with a new one. A battery kill switch was also built into the system.
The seats after a little work.

The interior has had a set of new competition seats fitted. I have also fitted 4 point racing harnesses to complement the standard 3 point inertia reel belts. The dashboard was rewired and a heater unit fitted, after which the dash was repaired, recovered and fitted.
The Doors after their rebuid.

The holes made for the locks in the doors were repaired and the door skins were refitted after being repaired. They were then sent away for upholstering - a very difficult job indeed. The side windows on a Strato's are raised and lowered by unscrewing a large knob. You then move the window manually, and then retighten the knob. Note: the door pocket is shaped to accept a crash helmet when it is not being worn.
Building up to registration.

From this point on, it became a matter of putting rebuilt parts back together again. A long and tedious job which included refitting the louvre and spoilers which had been poorly done.
Adjustments for registration.

Once the car was back in one piece (something it had never really been ), it needed adjustments. The first was a setting up of the carburettors. This required trailering. The next job was a four wheel alignment. EVERYTHING on a Strato's is adjustable.
With the body panels lifted.

Finally everything was ready for the registration process. Several minor items needed to be altered before a set of plates could be added to the machine. With this done the car was ready to drive.
The Car at Stanwell Tops on the NSW Sth Coast.

Over the following weeks, the car went on progressively longer trips. During each run, adjustments were made and the reliability tested until I was happy with the handling. It has since had a hot weather shakedown to Queensland and back.
The car is now running around the streets on a regular basis. The handling is being modified and any problems encountered are being fixed. The car still needs to be repainted which will hopefully happen during the coming winter when I will not miss driving the car so much.

Open the panels of a Strato's at a show and this happens!

RETURN To The OWNERS CARS PAGE