1978 Lancia Beta 1600 Coupe
Discussion
Breadvan72 said:
OK, so the Beta has a new clutch, new gear linkage, new window winder, and an MOT (it may not need one, but it's a good thing to have).
The car is running on its old coil, and can be switched between points and electronic ignition using a little switchbox near the coil. It seems to run better on just points. Marco Il Mechanico Marvelloso will check this out, and maybe stick an Amethyst system on, as he did with my Fiat 124.
The expansion tank has a small crack in it, and coolant is pushing out when the engine is hot. An easy fix or replacement.
The car is a fair bit quieter, smoother, and more refined than the Fiat, and with FWD it has less lairy handling. It also has firmer brakes than the Fiat does, and less play in the steering. The Beta lacks the Fiat's dynamic urge and rortiness, but is still a lot of fun. The driving experience as between the two cars is quite different.
The interior is looking well shabby - It really needs a retrim, alas, but in cloth or in leather that would be spendoolificacious.
I may have to spaff on tyres again. I have what may be a false memory that I had given the car a set of Pirellis, but in fact it has Pirelli Cinutrato P3s on the front, which are very slightly perished, and two blah blah blah tyres on the back.
Anyway, yippee!
Yippee indeed. A lovely little thing, good on you for saving it. The car is running on its old coil, and can be switched between points and electronic ignition using a little switchbox near the coil. It seems to run better on just points. Marco Il Mechanico Marvelloso will check this out, and maybe stick an Amethyst system on, as he did with my Fiat 124.
The expansion tank has a small crack in it, and coolant is pushing out when the engine is hot. An easy fix or replacement.
The car is a fair bit quieter, smoother, and more refined than the Fiat, and with FWD it has less lairy handling. It also has firmer brakes than the Fiat does, and less play in the steering. The Beta lacks the Fiat's dynamic urge and rortiness, but is still a lot of fun. The driving experience as between the two cars is quite different.
The interior is looking well shabby - It really needs a retrim, alas, but in cloth or in leather that would be spendoolificacious.
I may have to spaff on tyres again. I have what may be a false memory that I had given the car a set of Pirellis, but in fact it has Pirelli Cinutrato P3s on the front, which are very slightly perished, and two blah blah blah tyres on the back.
Anyway, yippee!
I've had success bodging expansion vessels with epoxy, but the pound-shop brands don't seem to be very heat tolerant.
Demon Tweeks website has some nice offers on tyres. I bought a set of Uniroyal Rain Experts from them fairly recently for my MG Midget at a very nice price. Might be worth a coat of looking-at?
Breadvan72 said:
Cheers! Uniroyals are good, but I may well get 1970s style tyres - Pirelli Cinturatos or Dunlop Sport Classics, because their rounder shoulders suit the handling of 70s cars, and nowadays they are available in modern compounds.
There's a geezer near Moreton-in-Marsh who does period style tyres for classics, Blockley I think it is. My chum bought a set of spot on Dunlops from there for his '69 Cooper last year.
Breadvan72 said:
P5BNij said:
I cannot decide which turns me on more - Yummy Mummy della Bella Italia just finishing the daily fashion shopping, or the awesome steelies on her HPE. 
PS: The dude in the background proves that, in Italy, even the obvious kiddy fiddlers are super stylish.
Edited by Breadvan72 on Monday 5th October 12:00
Congratulations on getting the Beta Coupe going again, lovely car.
Breadvan72 said:
The Beta is beautifully proportioned but the details also matter - that windscreen surround is deftly done, and quite Italian in its own little way. The Lamborghini Urraco's is very similar, although wider and more steeply raked off course. Looks like it has nice consistent panel gaps on it too. I've got the Brooklands book on the Beta in my Amazon basket but it's currently at £187, I looked for one on ebay yesterday and it's the same... I'll wait a bit!
There don't appear to be many early Beta Coupes about in the UK, those that do come up for dale are usually around the same age as yours.
There don't appear to be many early Beta Coupes about in the UK, those that do come up for dale are usually around the same age as yours.
P5BNij said:
Looks like it has nice consistent panel gaps on it too. I've got the Brooklands book on the Beta in my Amazon basket but it's currently at £187, I looked for one on ebay yesterday and it's the same... I'll wait a bit!
There don't appear to be many early Beta Coupes about in the UK, those that do come up for dale are usually around the same age as yours.
I can lend you my copy.There don't appear to be many early Beta Coupes about in the UK, those that do come up for dale are usually around the same age as yours.
Most Betakoops for sale are post facelift and have the boring grey plastic interior inna 80s stylee. Berlinas may be the rarest Betas. They have very cool interiors.
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