RE: Shed of the Week: Lancia Dedra

RE: Shed of the Week: Lancia Dedra

Friday 9th August 2013

Shed of the Week: Lancia Dedra

This week's Shed is a true rarity but there could be a good reason for that



Shed is under some pressure at the moment. He has to buy Mrs Shed a replacement for the BMW that she apparently thought was hers, and that he accidentally sold when she wasn't looking.

Non-standard wheels aren't so great...
Non-standard wheels aren't so great...
As you would expect, in the matter of choosing a used car for his dearly beloved, Shed sets the highest possible standards. Nothing must stand in the way of Mrs Shed's annual trip to Barnsley, when she brings her mother back down to Shed Towers for her annual six-week stay, most of that time spent pressing out a giant potato-shaped indentation in Shed's telly-watching seat. You can see why, for Shed, only a car boasting unimpeachable build quality and unrelenting reliability will do when it comes to Mrs Shed's personal transportation.

A car like this 23-year-old Lancia Dedra.

Stereotypical joking aside, Shed rather likes the clean lines of this 90s Italo-exec. Over 400,000 Dedras were built between 1989 and 2000. The fact that only 40 or so Dedras remain on UK roads either a) tells you all you need to know about the quality of Dedra construction or b) gets you all excited about Dedra rarity. It all depends on how cynical you are. The fact that this one is still happily humming away is obviously testament to some degree of mollycoddling, but also (Shed likes to think) to its relatively robust nature.

...here's what it should look like
...here's what it should look like
Take it from Shed that back in the 90s, mass-market Italian cars were the don. The Fiat Tipo in particular was a brilliant car, 1989 Car of the Year in fact, and one much sought after by aspirant Euro-suburbanites. As per the assigned role of Lancia, the Dedra was put out as the 'elegant' version of the Fiat Tipo, on whose floorpan it was built.

Where are all the Tipos now? See that can of tuna you're just opening? Might be some Tipo in there.

Laugh it up about Italian cars in the latter part of the 20th century, but once you've mentally swept away all the minor irritations like body panels made out of biscuit tins and electrics that only work on alternate Fridays, you have to admit that this was something of a golden age for mainstream Italian engine building.

Other than that it's a clean-looking Shed
Other than that it's a clean-looking Shed
The Fiat twin-cammer in this Dedra i.e. is a case in point. Designed by well-known whirly-bits boffin Aurelio Lampredi, it saw service in Fiat family cars for 34 years, which for longevity of service makes it the Latin equivalent of the Rover V8. It liked a rev and was tough too. This car has had a new unit installed, which again is either good or bad depending on your outlook.

The vendor's desciption of the zingy twin-cammer as 'quite nippy' is a refreshing bit of understatement compared with some of the overblown phrases used to glorify tragic old nails at this end of the market. The other day Shed saw an ad for an old-style Mini describing it as 'very rust-free', which presumably meant there was only rust in one place - the body. This Dedra looks surprisingly un-motheaten inside and out. Not sure about the chavvy wheels, or the HF badge on the grille; that should only be worn by the turbo HF Integrale.

This was the luxury Tipo offshoot remember
This was the luxury Tipo offshoot remember
20-odd years down the line - it seems longer than that, somehow - it would be foolish to expect an incident-free life in a Dedra. Rattly doors, lumpy running when cold, fritzy ventilation systems, blinky ABS sensors, leaky fuel hoses: Dedra problems can include any or all of these, over and above any normal age-related ones that could strike anywhere and anytime. Spares are getting hard to come by, but there is a Thema Dedra Consortium whose laudable motto is 'keeping Lancia Thema and Dedra on the road'. They have 'Spanner Away Days' during which members gather in respectful silence to dismantle dead cars in order to keep others alive. Shed likes this idea. He knows a few spanners he'd like to send on an away decade.

Finally, some Dedra trivia. In Gaelic, Dedra is a girl's name. Meaning 'broken-hearted or sorrowful', it is a variant of Deirdre. Which, funnily enough, is Mrs Shed's first name.

Here's the ad. Ignore it, if you're a young 'un. Or if you're not, read it and hark back to a time when Italian cars ruled the roost.

Here's the ad.

I'm selling my Lancia Dedra 2.0ie 1990, newport blue met. Lots of history including every MOT from 1993. The car covered 54k in the first 3 years then had a replacement engine, The car is now showing nearly 41k. The MOTs and history verify mileage. The Dedra is in very good condition. Recently the car it has been serviced, belts have been changed, middle and rear exhaust, starter motor and all the offside has been sprayed only due to peeling lacquer. The N/Side rear wheel arch has some bubbles and there is wear on the drivers seat. The car drives as it should, the two litre twin cam engine is quite nippy, and looks lovely. All original except for the 17" alloys. Also included are 2 A4 lever arch work shop manuals,owners handbook tow hitch and 1 key

All in all a cheap retro classic, taxed and tested, only cost me £85. to insure on a classic policy!

Author
Discussion

B'stard Child

Original Poster:

28,324 posts

245 months

Friday 9th August 2013
quotequote all
Liking this, not quite sure why!

B'stard Child

Original Poster:

28,324 posts

245 months

Friday 9th August 2013
quotequote all
Ahhh my first secret thread on SOTW

bencollins

3,486 posts

204 months

Friday 9th August 2013
quotequote all
top read as usual
"only a car boasting unimpeachable build quality and unrelenting reliability will do when it comes to Mrs Shed's personal transportation.
A car like this 23-year-old Lancia Dedra." laugh
However, must respect the general lack of rust on these italo-franko cars of this period compared to jap/brit/german equivalents.

renaultgeek

473 posts

147 months

Friday 9th August 2013
quotequote all
Why is the HF badge only present on the car for the picture of the badge, in every other pic its removed.

gforceg

3,524 posts

178 months

Friday 9th August 2013
quotequote all
Spot the mouse pointer time...



Or is it?


btw, I had an H reg Golf that did 56k in its first three years, and didn't need a new engine.

LordPetroleum

371 posts

169 months

Friday 9th August 2013
quotequote all
I remember an ex-Gfriend's father who was a proper mentalist when it came to cars. He has a left hooker Delta Integrale straight out of the box, ran it for a couple of years and switched it for a Dedra Turbo. Much more low key and less muscular that the Delta which meant he got alot less attention from Plod but the Dedra was bonkers fast, and I am pretty sure it was also 4wd unless my memory is playing tricks on me.

Proper Q car.

He was bonkers too, much time spent in the passenger seat helplessly grinning from ear to ear as we leathered it round the Peak District quietly wonerdeing to myself if we would actually make it to our destinations.

Krikkit

26,500 posts

180 months

Friday 9th August 2013
quotequote all
What a fantastic shed, great choice! A bit of de-tatting and it'd be a great runaround.

Cotic

469 posts

151 months

Friday 9th August 2013
quotequote all
Article said:
Finally, some Dedra trivia. In Gaelic, Dedra is a girl's name. Meaning 'broken-hearted or sorrowful', it is a variant of Deirdre. Which, funnily enough, is Mrs Shed's first name.
It's also an anagram of 'Dread'. Coincidence that is not.

mrpenks

368 posts

154 months

Friday 9th August 2013
quotequote all
On the topic of rust, I'm fairly certain these are fully galvanised like the Tipo so don't rust. Subframes do rust though so I seem to recall, so most get chopped up for parts - Lancia pulled out of UK in the mid 90s so servicing tended to be neglected too, compounding the problem on consigning many to the scrap yard. I recall these were good to drive and handled superbly. I'd rather these than the new Chrysler Lancia mongrels we have now....

Edited by mrpenks on Friday 9th August 09:43


Edited by mrpenks on Friday 9th August 09:45

trashbat

6,005 posts

152 months

Friday 9th August 2013
quotequote all
Coooool, it's the new Skoda Octavia.

Amirhussain

11,486 posts

162 months

Friday 9th August 2013
quotequote all
trashbat said:
Coooool, it's the new Skoda Octavia.
Was just going to write that, soon as I saw the pics, Octavia was the first thing that came into my head.

crostonian

2,427 posts

171 months

Friday 9th August 2013
quotequote all
I had quite a few Dead Rats back in the 90s they were always bargains and the SE's with the Alcantara interiors were very well specced with climate and electric seats. The Turbo was the one though, a quick car in it's day, the integrale version was never sold here but a few were imported.

Prawnboy

1,326 posts

146 months

Friday 9th August 2013
quotequote all
it looks exactly like a Renault 21.
i think i would take the Renault.
i run an old italian and this scares me.

still, good find shed, your on a run!

mikeymikemcmike

4 posts

131 months

Friday 9th August 2013
quotequote all
gforceg said:
Spot the mouse pointer time...



Or is it?


btw, I had an H reg Golf that did 56k in its first three years, and didn't need a new engine.
I had a 1.6ie Dedra which had 173,000 miles on it's original engine. It was sweet as a nut. I sold it to buy a 2.0 HF Turbo which is, as has been said, "bonkers fast"

exgtt

2,067 posts

211 months

Friday 9th August 2013
quotequote all
First memory of these is when we used to wait at the bus stop for the school bus - a middle aged lady had a turbo one and used to overtake slower moving traffic every morning past us. The induction noise sounded like a yellow pages being torn in half whilst the exhaust puffed a bit of black smoke. Needless to say ive always had a hankering for one!

Andy75

43 posts

134 months

Friday 9th August 2013
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An old lady or a Dedra?

fnar.


tannedstamina

510 posts

128 months

Friday 9th August 2013
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Never ever heard of it before... I think I'm a chav as I think it makes it look a little more modern with those wheels...

s m

23,164 posts

202 months

Friday 9th August 2013
quotequote all
Mmm, would have quite liked a Turbo one. There was a twin test ages back in a mag against the E36 325i. Testers said it was ridiculously quicker than the BMW
Rare thing to see one at all now

GranCab

2,902 posts

145 months

Friday 9th August 2013
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There are some strange looking stains on the driver's seat ...

MX7

7,902 posts

173 months

Friday 9th August 2013
quotequote all
"Newport blue met"

That's a great name for a colour.