1983 Lancia Gamma sedan

[CR6ZZ]

Daughter has found a very tidy Lancia Gamma 2.5 manual that she is quite keen on. Anyone know much about them? Early ones seem quite fragile, but they appear to have got most of the bugs out by the time the later ones were built. Worth a look, or run like hell?

[TheRealFingers99]

I'd not, I think, want one as a daily driver.

But as a keeper, and taking into account condition, relative lack of spares, etc. why not.

[imagineifyeswill]

I dont think anyone will know too much about them as they are pretty rare in this country. I dismantled the engine in a coupe back in 1983, the local Fiat/Alfa/Lancia agent knew nothing about them had never had one in there workshop, it needed new camshafts, they were only available from Italy and were £400 each then and no aftermarket cam company could supply either. I wouldnt think parts supply would have improved over the years for a vehicle imported in such small numbers.

[Yertis]

They were not highly rated at the time IIRC but they look wonderful now. It would be a brave choice – not something I'd want my daughter relying upon to be honest. If she wants something a bit different old Audi Coupes are cheap as chips at the moment and built like tanks.

[dinkel]

Wow.

If the engine is OK you should be good. Good luck and please share some images with us. Thanks.

[FailHere]

I owned a Gamma Berlina Auto for a while. It did have a few issues with the electrics (central locking and fan relays) but didn't let me down. I was warned to always centre the steering before switching off as apparently if you start them up on full lock the steering pump puts too much strain on the camshaft that drives it. (I have no idea if this is true or not, and I never tested the theory as I didn't want to find out the hard way). I used to get about 13mpg around town and 25mpg on a run. I remember the proper exhaust system was stupidly expensive, fortunately I got one made up for a lot less.
It was nice as a toy, but, unless you have really deep pockets I wouldn't attempt to run one as a daily. Mine didn't seem to last long after I sold it, in favour of an Alfa 164 3 litre

[dinkel]

The coupe is epic:

[CR6ZZ]

Thanks for the responses. This is the car in question. Lovely thing, but she is also considering an Alfa 156 2.5 V6 and an Audi 80 Coupe quattro..... Decision, decisions.

[jaisharma]

Actually that looks lovely

[TheRealFingers99]

You know, if I could find one, if I could afford one, I'd go for a 2000HF Coupe: last evolution of the Flavia.



Flat 4 and no FIAT bean counters involved in screwing the design up!

[chrisr29]

I've owned an Audi coupe Quattro and a Gamma coupe. The Audi made it all over Europe, the Gamma never made it out of the garage! Seriously, they're rubbish, pretty but fraught with problems. Rust being a major one.

[iva cosworth]

FailHere said:

I was warned to always centre the steering before switching off as apparently if you start them up on full lock the steering pump puts too much strain on the camshaft that drives it. (I have no idea if this is true or not]

This IS true.

Apparently it takes the cambelt off with dire consequences.

The coupe is a lovely thing to look at though.

[TheRealFingers99]

iva cosworth said:

This IS true.

Apparently it takes the cambelt off with dire consequences.

The coupe is a lovely thing to look at though.

It's generally said that Lancia designed the engine with a timing chain. FIAT concluded that a belt would be cheaper and quieter. Such is life.

It may be possible to fit either an electric/hydraulic system (Toyota, etc.) or an electric one (FIAT, Peugeot, et al).

[MonkeySpanker]

TheRealFingers99 said:

It's generally said that Lancia designed the engine with a timing chain. FIAT concluded that a belt would be cheaper and quieter. Such is life.

It may be possible to fit either an electric/hydraulic system (Toyota, etc.) or an electric one (FIAT, Peugeot, et al).

The steering pump issue was fixed on later models but the engine's still not brilliant. Spares were almost mythological to obtain even when in production so can't imagine this has improved in the past 30 years. It's a brave choice but whoever said PHer's were all sensible people

[dinkel]

Out of the box: avoid problems and dropping a Lampredi 2 liter in?

[TheRealFingers99]

dinkel said:

Out of the box: avoid problems and dropping a Lampredi 2 liter in?

Doubt it'll fit.

Scooby lump?

[Martin 480 Turbo]

You got every advice on the Gamma, that I could have brought, but one thing is missing so far: You Sir deserve a medal in petrolhead upbringing!

How do you get a young girl to recognize the stylistic superiority of said three choices? You must have been doing something terribly right.

Martin

P.S Our local FIAT dealer declined to give my dad even a testride in his Gamma demonstrator,despite me begging for it. He considered my dad a friend.(and his son was a pupil of my pops at the time...)

[CR6ZZ]

Martin 480 Turbo said:

You got every advice on the Gamma, that I could have brought, but one thing is missing so far: You Sir deserve a medal in petrolhead upbringing!

How do you get a young girl to recognize the stylistic superiority of said three choices? You must have been doing something terribly right.

Thank you. However, I am sorry to report that she and her hubby have had an attack of the sensibles and are taking a Mazda 6 for a test drive today. Seriously considering having a paternity test done just to confirm that she actually is my daughter....

[Martin 480 Turbo]

Blame it on the maternal side.

actually Mazda 6 sounds quiet sensible. You could take that Gamma on for your
self, saving your daughter from tooling around with something that likely is
over her head...

[POORCARDEALER]

Looks a nice Gamma, how much was it?