1978 Lancia Beta 1300 Coupe
Discussion
Yep, I'm guessing it's over square with a short stroke yet will breathe courtesy of the twin cam head in the same way the larger capacity variants do; twin side drafts and peaky cams world turn it into something special. Only other one I've seen was in a scrappy, 3rd car up, twenty odd years ago. Had the starter off it iirc.
I used to own a 1600 coupe which I ran at the lancia track days, free revving engine, the 2.0 just had a bit more grunt at the upper end.
Would love to try a nicely tuned 2.0 with a lumpy cam, twin 40's and some hc pistons etc. From memory I think Richard Thornes old car had itro 180bhp.
Would love to try a nicely tuned 2.0 with a lumpy cam, twin 40's and some hc pistons etc. From memory I think Richard Thornes old car had itro 180bhp.
Be off with you and you camming and carbing. The sweet little thing is lovely just as Lancia intended it to be.
Today, the Betakoop parked next to a vanishingly rare and utterly minty 1300 Beta Berlina in the most delectable shades of reddish brown and caramel. I will try to cull a photo of the two together from elsewhere. I also saw a late model Coupe on the road, but it was several cars ahead of me and turned off before I could catch up with it.
Today, the Betakoop parked next to a vanishingly rare and utterly minty 1300 Beta Berlina in the most delectable shades of reddish brown and caramel. I will try to cull a photo of the two together from elsewhere. I also saw a late model Coupe on the road, but it was several cars ahead of me and turned off before I could catch up with it.
Just to point out this is not a beta it is simply a lancia 1300 coupe if you check the badges on the back I think you will find it so! Lancias idea of how to replace the fulvia it only gained the beta name after the facelift.
Scary looking car this one I recall first seeing it a few years back and it nearly gave me nightmares, the previous but one owner is a nice chap though and a fairly big cheese in the LMC, he now has a rather more splendid but less cranky facelift version. This version is far more interesting though with its quirky spec although I rather think the interior must have been the work of a mad man with very bad cataracts rather than a dealer, although I suppose you had to be a bit mad to be a lancia dealer back then?
It really deserves to have the original seat fabric restored which will have been either mustard yellow or bright orangey red on that colour car. Good luck with the car !
Scary looking car this one I recall first seeing it a few years back and it nearly gave me nightmares, the previous but one owner is a nice chap though and a fairly big cheese in the LMC, he now has a rather more splendid but less cranky facelift version. This version is far more interesting though with its quirky spec although I rather think the interior must have been the work of a mad man with very bad cataracts rather than a dealer, although I suppose you had to be a bit mad to be a lancia dealer back then?
It really deserves to have the original seat fabric restored which will have been either mustard yellow or bright orangey red on that colour car. Good luck with the car !
Edited by DELTAHPE on Sunday 18th May 00:21
A year or so back despite being a fully committed non-member I got conned into writing a piece for the LMC magazine its a bit dry and tedious but does explain all the twists and turns of series of coupe/hpe/spider. Took me ages to write as I tried to check/cross ref everything at least twice although messed up on one point in that it wasn't daihatsu who built betas in SA. Link below another point is that the very very helpful tim speechley has now retired from Fiat so that contact info is out of date.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/uz6sslfhqolfzbz/BETA%20A...
https://www.dropbox.com/s/uz6sslfhqolfzbz/BETA%20A...
Edited by DELTAHPE on Saturday 17th May 23:56
I had been going to comment on the badging of the 1300, as it is indeed badged simply as a Lancia 1300, and the owner's handbook says the same. It has of course the same body and underpinnings as any other Beta Coupe, and a Lampredi engine. What the marketing thinking was in not calling it a Beta is not clear. The Brian Long book says that the car was sold as a 1300 Coupe in Italy but in the UK was called Beta Coupe 1300.
Here is Motor Magazine from March 1979 to add to the naming confusion.
Here is Motor Magazine from March 1979 to add to the naming confusion.
stewy68 said:
Apologies BV and slightly o/t (as haven't been on here in a while), but how is the Rangie? Loving the Beta bit too though.
The Rangie needed welding so has been swapped fro a series Landy. The Rangey may live again as the apprentice at the local 4x4 place may be using it as restoration training. It is currently on its arse in the yard there. Breadvan72 said:
I had been going to comment on the badging of the 1300, as it is indeed badged simply as a Lancia 1300, and the owner's handbook says the same. It has of course the same body and underpinnings as any other Beta Coupe, and a Lampredi engine. What the marketing thinking was in not calling it a Beta is not clear. The Brian Long book says that the car was sold as a 1300 Coupe in Italy but in the UK was called Beta Coupe 1300.
Here is Motor Magazine from March 1979 to add to the naming confusion.
Yes in UK they did market it as a beta but Lancia didn't , the fulvia was very popular so when that finished this was badged as simply 1300 coupe to sort of fill that slotHere is Motor Magazine from March 1979 to add to the naming confusion.
Breadvan72 said:
By the way, thanks DELTAHPE for your helpful links to Lancia suppliers in Italy and Germany, and for the Volumex cloth source.
The hub caps on the Coupe are bashed and rattly. Two new ones in boxes located in Israel of all places.
There are others of course in the unlikely event that I find time I'll make a list. The hub caps on the Coupe are bashed and rattly. Two new ones in boxes located in Israel of all places.
gforceg said:
That is a really nice car probably unrepeatable at least in RHD but you'd have to be the worlds number one Berlina fan to pay that for one. Oddly the current owner is probably the holder of that accolade and I guess he figures that it isn't worth parting for less. I had a Berlina some time back and looked at objectively they are probably the best of the bunch built like tanks, very comfy and loads of room but I'd sooner have a coupe myself. I believe that the name Beta was dropped from marketing first, for the Coupe & HPE, and from badges later.
For example, a Beta 1,300cc Coupe was badged Beta and the manual refers to it as such, but Lancar didn't call it beta. This was the case with my first HPE which definitely had a Beta badge on the boot.
By the time my second HPE was built (1985), they had expunged the name completely.
For example, a Beta 1,300cc Coupe was badged Beta and the manual refers to it as such, but Lancar didn't call it beta. This was the case with my first HPE which definitely had a Beta badge on the boot.
By the time my second HPE was built (1985), they had expunged the name completely.
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