Lancia Beta Zagato

Please talk me out of getting one of those...

 

I had one during my last year in college (late 1980's) Great little car, but a rust bucket. Legendary Italian quality (that's a joke). Also, if it matters to you, front wheel drive.

But, as a college student, it was amazing. Semi convertible, and with back seats. People really couldn't fit in the back seat, so they would sit on the rear trunk with their feet on the seats, while holding on to the "roll bar".

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You're not helping that much , LOL

 

OK, here goes - The Betas are not Lancias. The Beta is basically Fiat. Yes, the Beta is very lovely to look at - nice proportions, nicely styled.. but technically it is a Fiat with nearly nothing of the engineering talent that Lancia was famous for. This was the time of transitioning everything to plastic - The interior parts are weaker than the bra straps on a Brazilian girl's bikini. Everything is fragile and breaks, with no spares and no aftermarket support. Electricals are Fiat and at least that gives you some parts exchange, but still hard to find parts. There was a very nice one for sale in Washington a few years ago, Asking $2,300 and it didn't even sell at that. Tragic for a "car-guy" to see such loveliness go unwanted - but here is a good reason for it.. it is too painful to own a lovely car that is so maddeningly frustrating to keep fixing. Cheers, - Art

 

go here : lancisti.net good source

 

Ok, that's more like it. Furthermore, seller's being uncooperative, so I think I'll pass.

 

Good. And just to be sure you don't try it again - the steel used in the construction was an inexpensive soft alloy, combined with poor management of water runoff gave that era of Lancia the same problem as Fiat and Alfa - they rust like crazy. The Gamma was not terrible, but most other Lancias in that period were terrible. Cheers.

 

I had one for a while. Everyone loved it, more thumbs up than the Ferrari. Drove it from St. Louis to Dallas back in the late 2000s. It ended up sidelined for electrical problems, and then the hood latch cable broke and I couldn't get the hood open. It's one that I wish I kept, but I needed the space. Fun car. But good luck finding parts.

Here's the old for-sale thread for pics: https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/dfw-lancia-zagato-for-sale.178164/

 

Many parts available :
Midwest Bayless
The Monte Hospital


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Great car. Really loved it! Had one in the family since new for many-many years. Very well built automobile! Started to get little tired at 32X,XXX miles. Needed lots of love by that point. The handling was soooo great and very well balanced. Stuck great. No obvious handling woes being front wheel drive. Would have loved to restore if I was 20. Also handled exceptional in the snow. 2 l motor had plenty of power. I recall brakes being very secure. I agree with another poster that some parts could be a challenge.

 

Someone here is talking too much, as usual, without any knowledge about the topic.
The Spyder (named Zagato in the USA) used the Beta coupé's shorter wheelbase and featured a targa top roof panel, a roll-over bar and folding rear roof. Early models did not have a cross-member supporting the roof between the tops of the A to B Pillars. Later models had fixed cross-members. Production started in 1975. From 1976 Lancia abandoned the previous steel supplier. It was initially powered by either the 1.6 lt or 1.8 twin-cam engine (designed by Lancia engineers), later being replaced by the new 1.6 lt and 2.0 (Fiat derived). In Europe, it never received the fuel injected engine, although a fuel injected version was sold in the US market in 1981 and 1982. The Spyder was designed by Pininfarina and built by Zagato, which suffered a production crisis. The construction process was complex, with coupé bodies-in-white being delivered to Zagato for the roofless conversion, then back to Lancia for rust-proofing, then back to Zagato for paint, interior and trim, and then back to Lancia for a third time for engine installation and final assembly. Lancia lost huge money on every car built, but decided to proceed with the job to Zagato. In early 1980s Lancia also produced a small number of Spyder Volumex (supercharged) cars. This was the last Lancia to be offered in the USA, being the company's sole offering in 1982, their last year in the US market.
My father was the Lancia production supervisor so these words are indisputable.

 

I had one. Loved it. They weren't "just a Fiat", what with a very bespoke and advanced suspension setup. They did of course use the Lampredi-designed four cylinder twin cam common in Fiats at the time (and continued through the Delta Integrale, Thema, etc.)

They are very fun cars, are easy to work on, plentiful parts (except taillights actually), they get lots of attention.

I installed European bumpers on mine. I saved it from a little dealership in the rain and a window that didn't work. I spent time fixing various things and driving it for 4 years or so. My girls were 4 and 6 when I got it and loved riding in the back with the top down.

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Munich license plates!

 

I'm currently in communication with a seller in PA about buying his '82... This thread made me both not want one, and really want one. Oh well

 

Looking at the pics again make me sort of miss mine.