1978 Lancia Beta 1600 Coupe
Discussion
Quick check: some signs of minor rust under the front lip of the bonnet. Some rust on the exhaust, and a bit on the edges of the front sub frames. Nothing that looks too bad from a rapid shuftie, so here's hoping. Paint generally good. The car needs a new battery. The Pirelli Cinturato tyres are newish and seem OK because they have been in the dark, and pumped up.
Breadvan72 said:
Which glue shall I use to stick the Lancia B (greek B) and 1600 Badges on the boot lip?
I wouldn't use glue, I'd use good quality double sided sticky tape, you can get it very thin but strong these days. Not sure of the make but my other half uses it a lot in her crafty business type stuff. In fact I used it to stick on the NOS 1970s badge on the Mini 30, works a treat.Edit : if the badges are slightly 'hollow' on the back and not completely flat, you can use the 1mm thickness sticky pads that Halfords sell for sticking modern number plates on.
Edited by P5BNij on Saturday 25th July 14:30
Is it a 1600? That was very peppy in the series one cars, wasnt it? Someone asked earlier which badge finish was original; mine were all satin black - neither gloss nor matte.
The first Beta that I drove was an '82 HiFi: I wanted it dearly but the vendor was difficult, so I ended up going with Plan B and driving to Birmingham in a dodgy 'rent-a-wreck' Mk2 Escort and buying an early series two HPE in the same midnight blue.
The first Beta that I drove was an '82 HiFi: I wanted it dearly but the vendor was difficult, so I ended up going with Plan B and driving to Birmingham in a dodgy 'rent-a-wreck' Mk2 Escort and buying an early series two HPE in the same midnight blue.
It is a 1600. Some say that an Italian 1970s twin cam 1600 is as punchy as an 1800 or even bigger engine from a less modernist manufacturer. When I had a 1300 Lancia Lampredi-engined car, that felt more like a 1500 or 1600.
Hopefully within a week or two I shall be able to do a head to head comparison between my Beta and my Fiat 124. They will be, I suspect, quite similar, but also quite different, because they have different steering and suspension rigs, and of course one is driven by the front wheels, and one by the rear wheels. Both have a degree of factory dialled-in understeer, but the Fiat will naturally give more tail happy oversteer too. The Lancia will give you lift off oversteer if you bottle a corner, much like, say, a Pug 205 GTI will.
I have already noticed that the twin choke single carb on the Fiat works differently to the twin choke single carb on the Lancia. On the Lancia, the second choke is a bit like a poor man's turbo, and you can feel it kicking in when you give the car the beans from a mid to upper rev range. On the Fiat, the second choke only seems to come in at the top end. IIRC, the Fiat Lampredi will rev higher than the Lancia Lampredi, as befits the Fiat's slightly more racey character, the Lancia being set up to be a bit more luxo-smooth.
Neither of these cars are licence or limb threatening hyper fast, but both are rapid, and handly, and fun.
Hopefully within a week or two I shall be able to do a head to head comparison between my Beta and my Fiat 124. They will be, I suspect, quite similar, but also quite different, because they have different steering and suspension rigs, and of course one is driven by the front wheels, and one by the rear wheels. Both have a degree of factory dialled-in understeer, but the Fiat will naturally give more tail happy oversteer too. The Lancia will give you lift off oversteer if you bottle a corner, much like, say, a Pug 205 GTI will.
I have already noticed that the twin choke single carb on the Fiat works differently to the twin choke single carb on the Lancia. On the Lancia, the second choke is a bit like a poor man's turbo, and you can feel it kicking in when you give the car the beans from a mid to upper rev range. On the Fiat, the second choke only seems to come in at the top end. IIRC, the Fiat Lampredi will rev higher than the Lancia Lampredi, as befits the Fiat's slightly more racey character, the Lancia being set up to be a bit more luxo-smooth.
Neither of these cars are licence or limb threatening hyper fast, but both are rapid, and handly, and fun.
I see now that it is rather boldly stated in the thread title...
Series one and series two were both over 100bhp, which was bloody impressive and better than Ford/Vauxhall 2.0Ls. From memory the 1.8L in series one cars produced more than the 2.0L series twos.
A friend had a 1.3L series one coupe (FCP 4S) and it was impressively spritely.
Series one and series two were both over 100bhp, which was bloody impressive and better than Ford/Vauxhall 2.0Ls. From memory the 1.8L in series one cars produced more than the 2.0L series twos.
A friend had a 1.3L series one coupe (FCP 4S) and it was impressively spritely.
My series 1 1300 Coupe was so corroded because of a life ungaraged oop north that its pre purchase MOT was a Parker Pen disgrace, and it was probably dangerous, but it was FUN. Sold for 500 quid as a resto project. The bloke I sold it to soon gave up. He complained and tried to get his money back. I had made full disclosure. I politely informed the bloke that it would be an away match for him. I think that he scrapped the car.
Anyway, the Lancia breathes the air of freedom. Its slightly older cousin came to visit.
Anyway, the Lancia breathes the air of freedom. Its slightly older cousin came to visit.
Edited by anonymous-user on Saturday 25th July 19:38
P5BNij said:
Breadvan72 said:
Which glue shall I use to stick the Lancia B (greek B) and 1600 Badges on the boot lip?
I wouldn't use glue, I'd use good quality double sided sticky tape, you can get it very thin but strong these days. Not sure of the make but my other half uses it a lot in her crafty business type stuff. In fact I used it to stick on the NOS 1970s badge on the Mini 30, works a treat.Edit : if the badges are slightly 'hollow' on the back and not completely flat, you can use the 1mm thickness sticky pads that Halfords sell for sticking modern number plates on.
Edited by P5BNij on Saturday 25th July 14:30
Edit coz I mis-remembered.
Edited by AW111 on Sunday 26th July 07:07
Cheers! I think that, sadly, by the time that I started buying what were at the time modern second hand cars in the late 80s, the UK's anti-Lancia and in particular anti-Beta thing had taken hold, and the Beta was already well on its way to bangerland, although people were still whooshing about in Deltas. It is true also that cars were about to take a step change into the 90s, with the advent of things such as standard ABS, airbags, more widely available aircon, whacky valve timing on almost universally injected engines, ever bigger wheels and tyres (BOOOOOO!), and what not.
Breadvan72 said:
This rear seat cushion just arrived from Italy. The fabric on it looks ok to repair the driver's seat in the Lancia. I wonder if my mum will fancy a cutting and sewing job.
I can recommend a trimmer in the East Midlands to make the repair. DIY auto upholstery seldom goes well. Extremely reasonably priced and sufficiently good enough to re-trim classic style Porsche Recaros and them appear to be from the factory.I have been too busy and haven't rung to check if the garage has made a start on the job yet. I will try to do so today. Meanwhile I have found a 2014 photo of the truly terrible but also great 1300 Coupe that I had then. The car was so knackered that it was probably dangerous, but it was such a hoot. It was the pov spec basic model, and so lacked one or two of the usual dials, and had steelies, as well as a different type of rear seat.
CostaBrava1972 said:
LHD one just like it for sale here....https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1245763
CallThatMusic said:
The Hi-Fi Edition.
From an article in the latest Lancia club magazine. They reckon only 2 survive in the UK today.
Sorry about the dodgy photo....
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