1978 Lancia Beta 1600 Coupe
Discussion
Plans: drive it around and pose a bit. Buy it some Uniroyal Rain Experts or some Pirellis (it has matching Hedge Denter Grand Prix tyres at present). Get the idling issue looked at (some carb blah, no doubt). Change the cambelt and water pump and all the main rubbery and plasticy bits. Maybe get the wheels refurbed. One day sort out the bubbly bits on the boot lid. Drive it around and pose a bit. Go out on drive it around and pose a bit trips with a friend in my Lancia Beta. Maybe give it or the Lancia to my daughter when she is twenty something (she is fifteen).
Dunk130TC said:
If you need a Fiat/Lancia twincam expert, have a word with Autointegrale in Beenham (nr Theale).
They’ve been excellent doing bits on my Spider that I didn’t have time for/couldn’t be arsed to do and have also rebuilt a 130TC lump for me.
That is good info, many thanks.They’ve been excellent doing bits on my Spider that I didn’t have time for/couldn’t be arsed to do and have also rebuilt a 130TC lump for me.
I really liked the two litre twin cam with a pair of Dellorto 40s that was in my old Alfa Spider, and its five speed gearbox was good also. Did Fiat, Lancia, and Alfa all use the same ZFs or Getrags for their 1970s five speeds?
I have found some oooooold photos of my Alfa Spider. Also in shot my 1970 Triumph Vitesse Mark II, which I bought in 1989 as my first classic car, and the 1997 Fiat Coupe 20 valve Turbo that I regret selling. It was Barried by some Barry idiot.
Edited by anonymous-user on Thursday 2nd July 11:43
My Fiat Coupe Turbo was in Sprint Blue, but I made the mistake of ordering black leather seats instead of tan leather, which would have made it the proper mini FWD Ferrari that it sort of was. The advert for it said "In Italy, nobody wants to be a train driver when they grow up".
The Alfa Spider had black and silver Alfa logos on its steely wheels. It fell victim to family politics.
But.... I have now driven the 124 in daylight and in darkness and it is very fun. Proper 70s rorty twin cam carburetted rev box. Italian gorilla driving position, good gearchange, light steering, fun handling, brakes a tad soft but not too bad. It has, as advertised, an idling problem, and cuts out at junctions, but the hand throttle helps to deal with this pro tem. The car has had a not very good paintjob, but it is very shiny and the chrome is good. The interior is well patinated and shows its age and mileage (115,000 showing), but the interior is not doggy, and the car seems quite original. It appears never to have had a radio (same as my Lancia Beta). It has static seat belts (front seats only). There are lots of switches and buttons, and the Veglia Borletti dials are yummy, and they all work. No voltmeter in these (Dolomites lack oil pressure gauges but have volt meters "because Castrol more reliable than Lucas"). The tall, thin, and slightly bulbous tyres are terrible! I will get on the blower to my mobile tyre bloke tomorrow and see about some Pirellis or Uniroyals.
The car comes with a handbook, a Haynes manual, and a bunch of bills and other docs to riffle through. There is a spare carb in the boot. The seller was a total gent.
If I CBA over the weekend I might give the car its own thread and return this thread to the Lancia, which is still awaiting clutch fitting and has not yet seen its cousin.
The Alfa Spider had black and silver Alfa logos on its steely wheels. It fell victim to family politics.
But.... I have now driven the 124 in daylight and in darkness and it is very fun. Proper 70s rorty twin cam carburetted rev box. Italian gorilla driving position, good gearchange, light steering, fun handling, brakes a tad soft but not too bad. It has, as advertised, an idling problem, and cuts out at junctions, but the hand throttle helps to deal with this pro tem. The car has had a not very good paintjob, but it is very shiny and the chrome is good. The interior is well patinated and shows its age and mileage (115,000 showing), but the interior is not doggy, and the car seems quite original. It appears never to have had a radio (same as my Lancia Beta). It has static seat belts (front seats only). There are lots of switches and buttons, and the Veglia Borletti dials are yummy, and they all work. No voltmeter in these (Dolomites lack oil pressure gauges but have volt meters "because Castrol more reliable than Lucas"). The tall, thin, and slightly bulbous tyres are terrible! I will get on the blower to my mobile tyre bloke tomorrow and see about some Pirellis or Uniroyals.
The car comes with a handbook, a Haynes manual, and a bunch of bills and other docs to riffle through. There is a spare carb in the boot. The seller was a total gent.
If I CBA over the weekend I might give the car its own thread and return this thread to the Lancia, which is still awaiting clutch fitting and has not yet seen its cousin.
Mefistofele said:
Have a look here:
https://www.kijiji.it/annunci/ricambi-auto/cuneo-a...
The lighter bits seem to match your upholstery but I wonder how much material is actually savable there.
Methinks looking for s/hand fabric in Italy may end up being rather pointless unless the car had been always garaged. Have you tried any Lancia clubs in Germany, for example?
Grazie tanto!https://www.kijiji.it/annunci/ricambi-auto/cuneo-a...
The lighter bits seem to match your upholstery but I wonder how much material is actually savable there.
Methinks looking for s/hand fabric in Italy may end up being rather pointless unless the car had been always garaged. Have you tried any Lancia clubs in Germany, for example?
Update on the Lancia: non update. It is currently amost buried in assorted tat in the barn that I rent to store rustheaps, gimps, and so on.
Last week I moved house fifty metres, from a large old farmhouse full of cobwebs with huge heating bills (and a working Cthulu Portal in the damp cellar) to a modernised cottage on the other side of the barn. This has resulted in the barn being crammed with surplus furniture pending disposal, and box after box of books (I have many thousand of those and never dispose of any book). The Lancia is trapped immobile amidst the wreckage.
Meanwhile my mechanic is working on his own house in Gloucestershire. The Lancia has thus remained untouched. It last drove in 2017 but should need only a light recommission once its new clutch is in. I hope it will be on the road within a month.
Space is now short so I am thinking hard about whether to keep my Sherpa campervan, project Lotus Eclat, and one of two bikes.
The barn is way fuller now than this pic taken during the move shows. That 2009 Fiesta is my mum's and is to be sold ASAP.
Last week I moved house fifty metres, from a large old farmhouse full of cobwebs with huge heating bills (and a working Cthulu Portal in the damp cellar) to a modernised cottage on the other side of the barn. This has resulted in the barn being crammed with surplus furniture pending disposal, and box after box of books (I have many thousand of those and never dispose of any book). The Lancia is trapped immobile amidst the wreckage.
Meanwhile my mechanic is working on his own house in Gloucestershire. The Lancia has thus remained untouched. It last drove in 2017 but should need only a light recommission once its new clutch is in. I hope it will be on the road within a month.
Space is now short so I am thinking hard about whether to keep my Sherpa campervan, project Lotus Eclat, and one of two bikes.
The barn is way fuller now than this pic taken during the move shows. That 2009 Fiesta is my mum's and is to be sold ASAP.
Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 3rd July 07:09
Righty Ho. The Beta is going to get its clutch done by a local garage, as I am am keen to test it against its new Fiat 124 barn mate. Meanwhile, here is some HPE lifestyle blah for yers -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyiVTQTM04s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyiVTQTM04s
I can speak opera Italian (which is all "traditore!", "scellerato!" and "perfido!") so I get about half of this. There is too much of him and not enough of the car. Hey, dude, you're a good looking guy, but not as good looking as the car, so get out of the way!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJVfM8cgKzA
This one is about a resto -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbNhrqUkPfI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJVfM8cgKzA
This one is about a resto -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbNhrqUkPfI
Cheers!
My researches suggest that the real story as to the rust issues might perhaps be something like this.
The early Berlinas had very real problems with sub-frames rusting and engines falling out. Lancia then addressed this. The Mafia and Russian steel story appears to be unsourced, and is probably just a rumour.
In the UK, the Daily Mirror launched a massive attack on Lancia, and Lancia's PR and/or legal teams advised against suing, or perhaps they advised in favour of suing, but management decided that suing would not be a good look. So, the rust story spread, aided by pub rumour (after all, what is more fun than slagging off the hi tech foreign car you cannot afford, when you drive a Marina). Then along comes the young Jeremy Clarkson, and blah blah blah.
The reality is that you can find rusty Betas and unrusty Betas. I have had two that were rotten (one was a spares car) and three that were about as OK as most 1970s and early 1980s steel bodied cars that I have owned (which is to say patched up here and there).
I hear rumours that James May quite likes Betas (and he is after all the only one of the three who knows anything about cars), but he goes along with Clarkson as part of the schtick.
My researches suggest that the real story as to the rust issues might perhaps be something like this.
The early Berlinas had very real problems with sub-frames rusting and engines falling out. Lancia then addressed this. The Mafia and Russian steel story appears to be unsourced, and is probably just a rumour.
In the UK, the Daily Mirror launched a massive attack on Lancia, and Lancia's PR and/or legal teams advised against suing, or perhaps they advised in favour of suing, but management decided that suing would not be a good look. So, the rust story spread, aided by pub rumour (after all, what is more fun than slagging off the hi tech foreign car you cannot afford, when you drive a Marina). Then along comes the young Jeremy Clarkson, and blah blah blah.
The reality is that you can find rusty Betas and unrusty Betas. I have had two that were rotten (one was a spares car) and three that were about as OK as most 1970s and early 1980s steel bodied cars that I have owned (which is to say patched up here and there).
I hear rumours that James May quite likes Betas (and he is after all the only one of the three who knows anything about cars), but he goes along with Clarkson as part of the schtick.
Edited by anonymous-user on Saturday 11th July 14:07
Optimism as ever - having been swizzed on the headrests (the fabric covering of which is too badly damaged and stained to be used for patching the driver's seat), I have spaffed for a seat cushion located in Italy which is covered in what looks like the correct fabric but in better condition. A bit risky, as the fabric was, I reckon, pretty thin and delicate when new, and may be super delicate now, but I shall see.
70s and 80s Lancia had a thing for choosing lovely cloth that did not wear all that well. The groovy Zegna cloth in HPE Volumexes is very prone to falling to bits, especially on the driver's side
70s and 80s Lancia had a thing for choosing lovely cloth that did not wear all that well. The groovy Zegna cloth in HPE Volumexes is very prone to falling to bits, especially on the driver's side
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