Friday 3rd August 2007

SOTW: Lancia Beta

1984 Lancia Beta Sports Coupe 2.0

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The gang at Pistonheads were filled with mixed emotions when we spotted this 1984 Beta Sports Coupe for sale. Come the early 80s, it was game over for Lancia in the UK. The company had become renowned for making rustbuckets rather

Beta coupe is still a stylish set of wheels

than revered for building beautiful driver’s cars. Yet still, if we had £500 burning a hole in our pocket, we’d be hard pressed to resist this car.

The Beta coupe still has masses of image and this model for sale sounds like a great project. It uses the Fiat-derived 122bhp 2.0 litre injection, which was the most popular engine on sale, and the advert states has had thousands spent on it. If that’s the case, we can only hope that the front subframe on which the engine and gearbox are mounted, will be pretty solid.

Unfortunately, the rusting rep was deserved - the combination of poor quality steel, poor rust prevention techniques and inadequate water drainage channels led to the Beta being seriously rust-prone. So if you’re going to check it out, make sure you get on your hands and knees for a proper inspection. If there are any minor problems, remember you’ve always got that spare £500 to play with.

Advert:

1984 LANCIA Beta Sports Coupe 2.0

Twin Cam, A reg. thousands spent including full engine rebuild, includes last 10 Mots, for restoration, OFFERS OVER £500

Source: www.autotrader.co.uk

 

[Casino]

I had a Montecarlo. Mid engined seaside car not built for our wet climate. Streetwise version of the 037 rally car. Havent seen one in years, Perhaps thy have all rusted away.