1978 Lancia Beta 1600 Coupe
Discussion
Ciao, Italianate clunker lovers, what think you of some Japanese Italiana? Hey, pasta is just noodles, right?
Have a shuftie here -
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Have a shuftie here -
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Edited by anonymous-user on Monday 1st February 05:07
Oops, sorry, techno ineptitude. Corrected above. Try this -
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
I have been reading some stuff from the late 80s or early 90s about Betas and rust. Lancia expert Wim Oude Weerninck goes with the "Alfa, Fiat, and Lancia all bought duff steel" line, but he does not say that the steel was Russian. It might have been Russian, but it seems nobody can come up with documents on this. Other Lancia expert Martin Buckley says that the issue was mainly crappy design/execution for the mountings at the rear subframes of the first series of Beta saloons (dating from the early to mid 1970s), which was then exacerbated by rust around those mountings.
Magazine reviews of new Betas from the period 1979 to 1983 were still mainly positive, and the cars were apparently still selling well when Lancia binned the model in 83/84.
Classic and Sports Car circa 1990 thought that Betas were great and were mega bargains. This all tends to reinforce my suspicion that the reason everyone hates Betas (except people who drive them) is called: Jeremy Clarkson. He was only just starting to happen in the early 90s, and was indeed at that time making some sort of attempt at being a motoring journalist, before changing careers to become a showman.
Anyway, my Beta is going very well as it now has a digital map. No, I have absolutely no idea what that is, but the words sound very PH and, whatever it is, it makes the car happy.
I will however sell the Beta quite soon. This is not because I don't like it, but because I have just bought another Lancia that is not famous for falling to bits and which cannot be described as any sort of Fiat. It arrives tomorrow...
Magazine reviews of new Betas from the period 1979 to 1983 were still mainly positive, and the cars were apparently still selling well when Lancia binned the model in 83/84.
Classic and Sports Car circa 1990 thought that Betas were great and were mega bargains. This all tends to reinforce my suspicion that the reason everyone hates Betas (except people who drive them) is called: Jeremy Clarkson. He was only just starting to happen in the early 90s, and was indeed at that time making some sort of attempt at being a motoring journalist, before changing careers to become a showman.
Anyway, my Beta is going very well as it now has a digital map. No, I have absolutely no idea what that is, but the words sound very PH and, whatever it is, it makes the car happy.
I will however sell the Beta quite soon. This is not because I don't like it, but because I have just bought another Lancia that is not famous for falling to bits and which cannot be described as any sort of Fiat. It arrives tomorrow...
A PHer clamed....
I know. I asked the PH'er for evidence. This is not because I don't believe the story. I neither believe it nor disbelieve it. It's because I'm interested in history, and history is about evidence. The PH'er had no evidence. He said "magazines". Another Ph'er claimed that the alleged trade happened because Italy had a Communist Government in the 1970s. Italy has never had a Communist Government.
I hasten to add that Mr Weerninck and Mr Buckley don't state their sources either.
Mr Weerninck's expensive and well regarded books about Lancias can sometimes be a bit light on detail and occasionally conflict with factory information on things such as build numbers. For example, Mr W claims that a certain car was built X times. I have very recently become the owner of a late 1980s letter from a northern Italian industrial company which states that the number is Y.
Anyway....
RHD
NOT a Fulvia.
I am rare in liking Lancias but not being all that keen on
(a) Deltas (PH HERESY, BURN THE WITCH),
and
(b) Fulvias.
I know. I asked the PH'er for evidence. This is not because I don't believe the story. I neither believe it nor disbelieve it. It's because I'm interested in history, and history is about evidence. The PH'er had no evidence. He said "magazines". Another Ph'er claimed that the alleged trade happened because Italy had a Communist Government in the 1970s. Italy has never had a Communist Government.
I hasten to add that Mr Weerninck and Mr Buckley don't state their sources either.
Mr Weerninck's expensive and well regarded books about Lancias can sometimes be a bit light on detail and occasionally conflict with factory information on things such as build numbers. For example, Mr W claims that a certain car was built X times. I have very recently become the owner of a late 1980s letter from a northern Italian industrial company which states that the number is Y.
Anyway....
RHD
NOT a Fulvia.
I am rare in liking Lancias but not being all that keen on
(a) Deltas (PH HERESY, BURN THE WITCH),
and
(b) Fulvias.
It's arrived. Pics to follow. Whatever it is might get its own thread, if I CBA, but it has already sort of hijacked not this thread but another one in another sub forum.
Irony Corner: Betas are famous for being rusty. My Beta is not rusty. This new old one is a Lancia that is not famous for being rusty. It's (a bit, not super lots) rusty.
Irony Corner: Betas are famous for being rusty. My Beta is not rusty. This new old one is a Lancia that is not famous for being rusty. It's (a bit, not super lots) rusty.
I shall miss the Beta, but it will in due course be on its way. It is driving very well at the moment. I will get a bit more mostly cosmetic work done on it, and put it on the market with UK plates for the summer.
The characters of the Beta and the 2000 are very different, despite both being well equipped and comfortable to sit in FWD four seaters. The Beta is not as hooligan as my Fiat 124 but it is quite a rorty, buzzy, urgent drive if you want it to be, whereas the 2000 is very 60s/70s luxo gran' turismo, with the gearing set for cruising. I think that it may be quite nimble also, although not as super nimble as a Beta is. The Beta is quite early-hot-hatchy in overall driving feel, but the 2000 is nothing like that (and of course neither have hatches).
The characters of the Beta and the 2000 are very different, despite both being well equipped and comfortable to sit in FWD four seaters. The Beta is not as hooligan as my Fiat 124 but it is quite a rorty, buzzy, urgent drive if you want it to be, whereas the 2000 is very 60s/70s luxo gran' turismo, with the gearing set for cruising. I think that it may be quite nimble also, although not as super nimble as a Beta is. The Beta is quite early-hot-hatchy in overall driving feel, but the 2000 is nothing like that (and of course neither have hatches).
The panel and centre console are examples of Pininfarina recycling their own work from the 330 GT into the no longer Flavia but now 2000 Coupe in the 1969 redesign. Pininfarina used a similar panel for the Peugeot 504 Coupe, a close rival to the Lancia.
The idea seems to be that the 2000 gives you the looks of a Ferrari or Maserati GT but the relative simplicity and less crazy fuel consumption of a four cylinder engine. These cars are said to be good for 30-40 MPG on long runs, although I am not sure how much I believe that.
Now I must cheer up the Beta by driving it while my mechanic checks out the new old heap.
The idea seems to be that the 2000 gives you the looks of a Ferrari or Maserati GT but the relative simplicity and less crazy fuel consumption of a four cylinder engine. These cars are said to be good for 30-40 MPG on long runs, although I am not sure how much I believe that.
Now I must cheer up the Beta by driving it while my mechanic checks out the new old heap.
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