SA Import 1982 Lancia Beta Coupe
Discussion
Thought about this for a while. So here goes
This Spring I imported a Lancia Beta Coupe from South Africa. Trusted a collector clearing his cars out, and c12 weeks later it turned up.
I will gradually update you all about the journey so far. First shots are a couple from the sales advert
This Spring I imported a Lancia Beta Coupe from South Africa. Trusted a collector clearing his cars out, and c12 weeks later it turned up.
I will gradually update you all about the journey so far. First shots are a couple from the sales advert
Why on earth a Lancia Beta?
Background - sorry its long:
I am now late 50's and been recently sorting out my VW t5.1 Caravelle, which my mates describ as 'Triggers Broom' now as I have replaced a lot. This was the first vehicle I had worked on pretty much since the early 90's. Last few years I got pretty fed up haemorrhaging a lot of cash on two vehicles when actually one EV for the family is fine and the Caravelle I can try to make a reliable occasional 2nd vehicle and fun bus for cycling trips, holidays and camping trips.
So two years of ownership it has a new VW crate engine, turbo's, DPF, most suspension and brakes, wheels and all sorts have been refurbed and/or replaced. It was hard (heavy) at times, but now I have a great mile-muncher vehicle I love to drive. I love the fact it has a few dents but drives like a new van.
So finished the van, what next?
Back in the 80's to 90's I bought and sold cars, restored MG's, and worked on all sorts outside my parents house. I tried flipping cars to make money, some cars I found were cheap trade-ins at auctions and this is where I found Lancia Beta's. I think I had four in the end, 3x Saloon's and a brilliant HPE with a flash engine in it.
So when I started looking again the I kept going back to Beta's....
Why? First it will (eventually) fit in my little garage, I know them back to front and have done most jobs on Beta's BitD, the owners club is really good and a good forum, most part are available now, remade, old new stock or used. They are nice to drive. They have interesting engines. Its all metric.
Now to find one... I looked a load of UK cars and was seeing nothing nice. I am teaching myself to MIG weld again, but I just dont have the time, space or energy to take on a full body restoration. So I started looking at LHD Southern European cars. Then a South African Vx Coupe cought my eye, I missed this and then a maroon (all my Lancia's have been maroon) 1982 2000 carb Coupe showed up.
Background - sorry its long:
I am now late 50's and been recently sorting out my VW t5.1 Caravelle, which my mates describ as 'Triggers Broom' now as I have replaced a lot. This was the first vehicle I had worked on pretty much since the early 90's. Last few years I got pretty fed up haemorrhaging a lot of cash on two vehicles when actually one EV for the family is fine and the Caravelle I can try to make a reliable occasional 2nd vehicle and fun bus for cycling trips, holidays and camping trips.
So two years of ownership it has a new VW crate engine, turbo's, DPF, most suspension and brakes, wheels and all sorts have been refurbed and/or replaced. It was hard (heavy) at times, but now I have a great mile-muncher vehicle I love to drive. I love the fact it has a few dents but drives like a new van.
So finished the van, what next?
Back in the 80's to 90's I bought and sold cars, restored MG's, and worked on all sorts outside my parents house. I tried flipping cars to make money, some cars I found were cheap trade-ins at auctions and this is where I found Lancia Beta's. I think I had four in the end, 3x Saloon's and a brilliant HPE with a flash engine in it.
So when I started looking again the I kept going back to Beta's....
Why? First it will (eventually) fit in my little garage, I know them back to front and have done most jobs on Beta's BitD, the owners club is really good and a good forum, most part are available now, remade, old new stock or used. They are nice to drive. They have interesting engines. Its all metric.
Now to find one... I looked a load of UK cars and was seeing nothing nice. I am teaching myself to MIG weld again, but I just dont have the time, space or energy to take on a full body restoration. So I started looking at LHD Southern European cars. Then a South African Vx Coupe cought my eye, I missed this and then a maroon (all my Lancia's have been maroon) 1982 2000 carb Coupe showed up.
TwigtheWonderkid said:
Back in the day a good friend had one of these when it was just a couple of years old, and it was nothing but trouble then. God knows what it'll be like at 43 years old. Having said that, it looks great. Fingers crossed for you.
Funny all my Beta's were really good, in fact brilliant. I went from a Mk2 RS2000 Escort to a all my Beta's and was really impressed. They were cheap, interesting and went like hell (for my budget).I had a Beta Coupe, Spider and a Monte Carlo, and all were pretty much trouble free for me back in the day too.
I will always have a Lancia itch to scratch, but would be something a bit older, Fulvia/Zagato variant i think.
Good luck with yours, i hope it helps consolidate aome good memories.
I will always have a Lancia itch to scratch, but would be something a bit older, Fulvia/Zagato variant i think.
Good luck with yours, i hope it helps consolidate aome good memories.
MrFerrisBFW said:
TwigtheWonderkid said:
Back in the day a good friend had one of these when it was just a couple of years old, and it was nothing but trouble then. God knows what it'll be like at 43 years old. Having said that, it looks great. Fingers crossed for you.
Funny all my Beta's were really good, in fact brilliant. I went from a Mk2 RS2000 Escort to a all my Beta's and was really impressed. They were cheap, interesting and went like hell (for my budget).so far :-)
So after negotiating a deal over the phone with 300+ photos and a few videos I did the most bonkers thing. I bought it. I sent him a bunch of money and waited... all on trust :-O
When it was delivered to the port and car exporter a week later it was a relief, it did actually exist, but what state was it!!! I would have to wait a further few weeks before it was loaded and set sail at c13knts to the UK over 7200 nauticle miles and a bunch of weeks[. This is at the car exporter
url]
|https://forums-images.pistonheads.com/672582/202509187807244[/url]
being loaded right at the front
So after negotiating a deal over the phone with 300+ photos and a few videos I did the most bonkers thing. I bought it. I sent him a bunch of money and waited... all on trust :-O
When it was delivered to the port and car exporter a week later it was a relief, it did actually exist, but what state was it!!! I would have to wait a further few weeks before it was loaded and set sail at c13knts to the UK over 7200 nauticle miles and a bunch of weeks[. This is at the car exporter
url]
being loaded right at the front
I was ####ing myself.
So after a couple weeks where the boat sat off the coast, docked was unloaded and then finally the container was collected and unloaded, when through the VAT process (5%) it was finally delivered on 12th June.
I have a little garage but its full of bikes, and a drive with two cars on. Lets face it a 43 year old Lancia isnt going to last long outside. Its home is currently on the lawn, half of which is a temp hard-standing I knocked up. The wife went nuts :-)
We have a big back garden (and we hate gardening) and as we speak I am building a base for a big workshop. The car will 'just' fit in the garage. Big plus is its heated by the heating HW tank and boiler being in the same location. Plan is to get it inside ASAP, in the meantime i picked up a new really expensive cover.
So after a couple weeks where the boat sat off the coast, docked was unloaded and then finally the container was collected and unloaded, when through the VAT process (5%) it was finally delivered on 12th June.
I have a little garage but its full of bikes, and a drive with two cars on. Lets face it a 43 year old Lancia isnt going to last long outside. Its home is currently on the lawn, half of which is a temp hard-standing I knocked up. The wife went nuts :-)
We have a big back garden (and we hate gardening) and as we speak I am building a base for a big workshop. The car will 'just' fit in the garage. Big plus is its heated by the heating HW tank and boiler being in the same location. Plan is to get it inside ASAP, in the meantime i picked up a new really expensive cover.
Edited by MrFerrisBFW on Thursday 18th September 22:15
So the condition, was I ripped off?
Well the first few weeks I was still asking myself what I had done. Was it as advertised? Mostly....
It wasnt perfect for sure and I think I had convinced myself it was going to be. So I was a bit down. My poor long suffering wife sorted me out tbh.
She asked 'is it a good car?', yes it was. It seemed rust free and so far I am yet to find 'any' rust. 'Does it need work?', yes. 'How much money will it take to sort it out?', I think I said a couple k at the time. I think its going to cost nearer £4 or £5k.
I was told it was refurbished c10 years ago. I think it was nearer 20 based on the tyres and knackered battery date stamps, but its pretty dam good. My initial list keeps growing but its all easy stuff, its bolt on stuff that needs fixing once.
So the costs so far:
Export, import, shipping, vat, delivery, registration with the DVLA, A Lancia MC inspection and certificate (really helps get historic tax status and reg) and plates came to £4k, so not all bad. The forms to the DVLA the LMC guys helped me out. Sent them off and a less than a couple weeks it was back with a 82 X plate reg, tax, mot, ULEZ exempt historic status. The bonkers bit it no mot required, not once, not never... mad
Well the first few weeks I was still asking myself what I had done. Was it as advertised? Mostly....
It wasnt perfect for sure and I think I had convinced myself it was going to be. So I was a bit down. My poor long suffering wife sorted me out tbh.
She asked 'is it a good car?', yes it was. It seemed rust free and so far I am yet to find 'any' rust. 'Does it need work?', yes. 'How much money will it take to sort it out?', I think I said a couple k at the time. I think its going to cost nearer £4 or £5k.
I was told it was refurbished c10 years ago. I think it was nearer 20 based on the tyres and knackered battery date stamps, but its pretty dam good. My initial list keeps growing but its all easy stuff, its bolt on stuff that needs fixing once.
So the costs so far:
Export, import, shipping, vat, delivery, registration with the DVLA, A Lancia MC inspection and certificate (really helps get historic tax status and reg) and plates came to £4k, so not all bad. The forms to the DVLA the LMC guys helped me out. Sent them off and a less than a couple weeks it was back with a 82 X plate reg, tax, mot, ULEZ exempt historic status. The bonkers bit it no mot required, not once, not never... mad
All the time I was waiting for it to arrive I set up a blog on the Lancia Beta Forum and FB page and started asking questions.
They have all been brilliant. On Saturday afternoons when I have it in bits of it out on the drive they are all on What's App helping me. Some have been sending me bits I need for nothing, a few are clearing out all the parts they dont need, and I do need, all for a fraction of the real value. They have all been amazing.
My list was based on a few headings:
What do I need to do to make it safe/get it through an MOT?
What will make it able to drive further distances safely and more reliably?
What should I do to keep it in good shape, ie before the winter, ie fill it full of wax etc
Whats do I want to do to it long term?
So there are a few suppliers that stock parts for Beta's, but the best by a long run is Betaboyz down in Devon. Mark, makes lots of parts you just couldnt get. He is fab.
Obvious stuff from the off was all the suspension bushes, battery, check the brakes, wiring, fuel tank and hoses. Get a endoscope in all the major rust traps and voids etc. Cam-belt, engine oil and filters (twice so far), gearbox oil,
Bushes were a mixed bag of home made ones and original ones which were knackered. The back wheels would move inches if you grabbed them. I did the lot. The handbrake cable had died and that was easy. Everything baring the rear fog lights worked wiring wise - it needs some fettling but actually its all good. Earths seem good, it starts on the button, I got the alternator tested, fitted a new battery, and I think I found the fog lights issue the other night.
I drained the tank of old SA fuel, dropped it, and got a camera inside. Spotlessly clean (had a date stamp on the outside of 2004) except one little blemish and it had a little patch on a front corner where it looks like something has hit it. Good enough, new hoses, clips and filters, rust proofed it and back up. Cam-belt, coolant flush a few times and unblocked a blocked return to the expansion tank.
Around this time the registration turned up, plates ordered and slapped on, informed the insurance co of the actual reg (it was on just the VIN for the first month or so) and I actually got to drive it around the block :-)
https://youtube.com/shorts/Be5WNt62jgU?si=BucR-MfJ...
Its drives and stops amazing. I have one 'clonk' from the NS rear, more of that later. The brakes are firm and no leaks. Its power steering is nice.
I have an intermittent wiper issue, which is a known issue but it hard to sort. Sometimes they work and sometimes they dont.
Front discs are beyond the limit, so I have new ones and new softer pads and it needs new hoses all round.
I have been working through a massive list of silly items like fitting a new washer bottle and mending the washers, and getting parts for bigger pieces of work like the bushes and brakes. I have the radiator out at the moment, half the interior out and the stalks half out. I fitted a nicer Vx leather steering wheel I refurbished last week.
I will post some more photos and then next my list of done and todo's
They have all been brilliant. On Saturday afternoons when I have it in bits of it out on the drive they are all on What's App helping me. Some have been sending me bits I need for nothing, a few are clearing out all the parts they dont need, and I do need, all for a fraction of the real value. They have all been amazing.
My list was based on a few headings:
What do I need to do to make it safe/get it through an MOT?
What will make it able to drive further distances safely and more reliably?
What should I do to keep it in good shape, ie before the winter, ie fill it full of wax etc
Whats do I want to do to it long term?
So there are a few suppliers that stock parts for Beta's, but the best by a long run is Betaboyz down in Devon. Mark, makes lots of parts you just couldnt get. He is fab.
Obvious stuff from the off was all the suspension bushes, battery, check the brakes, wiring, fuel tank and hoses. Get a endoscope in all the major rust traps and voids etc. Cam-belt, engine oil and filters (twice so far), gearbox oil,
Bushes were a mixed bag of home made ones and original ones which were knackered. The back wheels would move inches if you grabbed them. I did the lot. The handbrake cable had died and that was easy. Everything baring the rear fog lights worked wiring wise - it needs some fettling but actually its all good. Earths seem good, it starts on the button, I got the alternator tested, fitted a new battery, and I think I found the fog lights issue the other night.
I drained the tank of old SA fuel, dropped it, and got a camera inside. Spotlessly clean (had a date stamp on the outside of 2004) except one little blemish and it had a little patch on a front corner where it looks like something has hit it. Good enough, new hoses, clips and filters, rust proofed it and back up. Cam-belt, coolant flush a few times and unblocked a blocked return to the expansion tank.
Around this time the registration turned up, plates ordered and slapped on, informed the insurance co of the actual reg (it was on just the VIN for the first month or so) and I actually got to drive it around the block :-)
https://youtube.com/shorts/Be5WNt62jgU?si=BucR-MfJ...
Its drives and stops amazing. I have one 'clonk' from the NS rear, more of that later. The brakes are firm and no leaks. Its power steering is nice.
I have an intermittent wiper issue, which is a known issue but it hard to sort. Sometimes they work and sometimes they dont.
Front discs are beyond the limit, so I have new ones and new softer pads and it needs new hoses all round.
I have been working through a massive list of silly items like fitting a new washer bottle and mending the washers, and getting parts for bigger pieces of work like the bushes and brakes. I have the radiator out at the moment, half the interior out and the stalks half out. I fitted a nicer Vx leather steering wheel I refurbished last week.
I will post some more photos and then next my list of done and todo's
Beautiful car. It's a beautiful survivor but it's still a Lancia so now that it's in Britain, please consider going through an extensive rust preventative procedure.
In North America, there's a product called Fluid Film that people swear by. Here's a link: FLUID FILM
In North America, there's a product called Fluid Film that people swear by. Here's a link: FLUID FILM
That looks great.
When I was a kid living in South Africa, a a family across the road from us had an HPE, which was probably my earliest memory of a Lancia. From then on, I've always liked them, and I guess my dad did too. He eventually bought an HPE which was an auto unfortunately.
Lancias were few and far between there compared to the usual daily transport but you would see them occasionally.
I'm pleased to see this has a GP registration. Many people seem to think all S African cars are going to be rust free but this is only relevant for cars inland.
Oh, now this is a thread! I had 2 Beta's whilst studying back in the early 90's, a 1600 Hpe and a 2000 coupe - both drove brilliantly. I rebuilt the engine on the 2 litre as I bought it with the head in the boot (it had got a chunk out of it between two of the cylinders) with all the ancillaries.
Your car looks lovely in that colour (what engine is it btw?) and should have escaped the biggest risk of corrosion. They suffered a terrible reputation when early ones had front sub-frames that rotted from new but later ones were no worse than contemporary alternatives at the time IMO.
Look forward to photos as you progress!
Ah, just seen your vid - it's a late facelift model with injection so I'm guessing a 2.0?
Your car looks lovely in that colour (what engine is it btw?) and should have escaped the biggest risk of corrosion. They suffered a terrible reputation when early ones had front sub-frames that rotted from new but later ones were no worse than contemporary alternatives at the time IMO.
Look forward to photos as you progress!
Ah, just seen your vid - it's a late facelift model with injection so I'm guessing a 2.0?
Venisonpie said:
Your car looks lovely in that colour (what engine is it btw?) and should have escaped the biggest risk of corrosion. They suffered a terrible reputation when early ones had front sub-frames that rotted from new but later ones were no worse than contemporary alternatives at the time IMO.
Look forward to photos as you progress!
Ah, just seen your vid - it's a late facelift model with injection so I'm guessing a 2.0?
Everything about it is inj/vx, rad, oil filter etc but it s was built as a carb. A Beta forum guy who worked for the importers Tak bitd, and in the UK now,says they didn t bring inj in for a while due to being more complicated.Look forward to photos as you progress!
Ah, just seen your vid - it's a late facelift model with injection so I'm guessing a 2.0?
It s now got UK plates but I am keeping the SA tax disc and dealer markings
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