I was browsing the web and ran across a car called the Scorpion or Montecarlo by Lancia. Does anyone have any experience with those cars? Would they be a good starter Italian for someone? What is the ownership experience, and how much do they cost these days? Thanks
I wanted one since I was a kid. There have been on many occasions, ones that have come up for sale that I took a look at, but all of them turned out to be abused, neglected cars and I passed on all of them. But, even in some of those cases, they were still a fun car to (test)drive. Seeing all of these "bad" cars, I had considered importing a Montecarlo from Europe (Switzerland) for a "good" one, but dropped that after realising it would not be wise buying sight-unseen. There is a member of the Alfa Romeo club I belong to who has an immaculate Scorpion and has been considering selling it... That's the one I'm waiting for. Buy the absolute best one out there (that would be $7500 - $10K Concours). If you have your own shop you may consider a project car, but be careful. Engines are the tried-and-true Fiat Twin Cam. Most people upgrade to a two litre, but the original 1.8 can be done up to be just as powerful (head-work, hi-comp pistons, 40/80-80/40 cams, etc...). Only problem pieces are plastic trim-work - NLA. Soft-tops are available though from a variety of Fiat places. Take a look through these websites: http://www.lanciamontecarlo.net/ http://www.scorpionregistry.com/ http://www.baylessfiat.com/ http://www.flu.org/ http://www.ne.jp/asahi/montecarlo-x1/20/home002.htm (Japanese) http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Speedway/5917/ http://www.montecarlo.org.uk/ http://www.sicap.it/malara/gpeng.htm (Italian Montecarlo site. Comprehensive MC registry)
All you had to do is ask. I have owned 3 of them. My last one has a modern 2 litre Euro FI engine. Quite a blast driving a 2300 pound car with 200+ horse power. I traded that car to my mechanic for the work on my Indy. You don't want a stock Scorpion, way to low on power. But without much work you can either replace the 1800 with a 2litre or go to high compression pistons and bigger carb (1st car). Or add a volumex super charger. Also cut suspension to EURO spec. Basically you are driving a street legal go cart. I would take turns @ 80 MPH on a regular basis. Now the downside.. they are small inside, which is why I got rid of mine. The fire wall kind of tilts in. I have a bad left knee and after driving the car for a couple of days my knee would be dead. I would have one heck of a fun time for those two days though Best place to talk to people is LanciaScoprion@yahoogroups Rodney
