Lancia Aurelia B20 GT Restoration

If a car restoration is to be planned and carried out, there must normally be some kind of a good starting point. Deviations of this are understandable if the vehicle to be restored has a special history with famous previous owners or racing history or if it represents a high value in perfect condition. However, if a certain state of deterioration is exceeded, a restoration makes no sense from a financial point of view. Of course, emotional reasons often play a decisive role for private owners, making scrapping and parting out the wreck impossible.

However, that a reputable company like Thornley Kelham from South Cerney near Swindon works at a real wreck, is rather rare. In this case, it is a Lancia Aurelia B20 GT Series 3 from 1953, which was discovered in almost unrecoverable condition in the USA. In addition to the typical weaknesses of this model, namely the floor panels, the sills and the door bottoms, this car also showed the obvious traces of accidents and decades spent outdoors. Even the tops of the fenders were rusted through, the transmission tunnel was virtually gone.

At the beginning of the restoration, the team of Thornley Kelham welded in some stiffeners into the body shell, otherwise there would have been a risk that the structural integrity would have collapsed during media blasting of the metal parts. After two and a half years of work, the customer order resulted in a classic car in new-car condition with many sheets of metal produced by hand. As a livery the original beige color was chosen, in which this Aurelia once left the factory.

Since the new owner clearly expressed ambitions to drive rallies, this vehicle received ‘Rally De Corsa’ style sports seats and period-correct competition upgrades like a Nardi floor shift, a Nardi bonnet scoop, Nardi twin carburettors and Borrani ‘bi-metallic’ wheels. After completion, the lucky owner made a 500-mile test drive, which he completed without problems. In addition, this Aurelia B20 GT received the official approval for the Mille Miglia in Italy, where it should be seen later this year. Who would have thought this at the beginning of this special project?

Images: Thornley Kelham