So, I bought it. What the original pictures didn't make clear is that the car had the driver's window smashed out, and it was buried under a pile of tires. On the positive side, the car's from California and is pretty solid, only a little sill rust on the passenger front. The surface looks bad, but some sanding and paint will take care of that. Odometer shows 22K miles, I don't believe it. It was last registered in 96. Carpet's ruined, leather looks good. Motor isn't as badly disassembled as I had feared, but will definitely need a good going over. It does have the original jack and tools and spare, all good things. Passenger rear brake locked solid, and I'm waiting for the keys to unlock the steering column. Can't keep it in the driveway too long before the neighbors get *****y. Great lines on this car. I see it in a screaming orange Pics in a second.
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On the hook. Tow truck driver asked "What's a Lancia? Some sort of Toyota?" Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
At home, on the spare with air in all 4 tires. Check out the redneck fabulous window repair. Gotta love that aluminum tape. So, just how screwed AM I on this motor, if you had to guess? Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Head and valve job - you can remove it yourself and take to a machine shop; Carb & distributor rebuild (easy) or get a new one for $200 each Would suggest having it prepped and painted while the engine bay is disassembled. I think you are going to have a lot of fun.
Around 1989, I owned one of these beauties, that looked exactly like yours. It was barely alive, totally rotten, but drove like crazy!! The second car after getting my license, I paid the staggering price of 125 dollars(coverted). Back then, there were no safety regulations, and certificates for roadworhtyness were not invented yet. The engine was superb!!!!!! The rest was a total misery!!!! Drove it for around a month, and sold it as soon as possible..... Sweeeeeet memories! It got me hooked to italian cars, and learned be to be carefull with buying Italian cars. I hope yours is in a better state, It looks better (lol), but who knows whats underneath the rusty appearance. good luck
Tillman, Congrats on the beta coupe, if you need parts for it let me know I have tons of parts for the betas and scorpions. Check out my profile
Turns out it's a 77. I didn't think the bumpers looked right for an early car. Ah well, it'll be fine. Looks like the interior isn't as bad as it first appeared. Certainly it will need a dang good cleaning and drying, but I think the carpet's usable. Door panels look usable, seats are fine (or will be with some conditioning and seam resewing), gotta do something about that hole in the rear panel. Won't be a showcar, but could be a decent driver. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Speaking of the Beta's, there is a good article about the Lancia Beta's in the July issue of the CLASSIC & Sports Car magazine page 154 Image Unavailable, Please Login
Encouraging. No serious rust in the trunk, nothing rotted in the sunroof. Going to have to replace all the seals in the car. Looks like someone has cared for this thing in the past, as all the fuel hoses look like they've been replaced. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
How random. I passed a silver-ish one this morning in California. Minus the rust (at least that I could see). My first thought: don't see these often. Good luck with the project.
Check with the Rodgers, probably a window in their junkyard (and maybe other stuff you need). http://www.shadetreeenginetrics.com/ And here is the Vick Autosports Fiat/Lancia catalog: http://www.vickauto.com/Catalog/Vick%20Fiat%20Catalog.pdf I like the orange idea. I plan on painting the Fiat coupe orange. I like the Lamborghini pearl orange or perhaps the very bright orange used on the Laverda Formulas from the late 90's.
Other sources of info: www.lancisti.net www.mirafiori.com www.flu.org Other parts and/or expertise: http://www.international-auto.com/ http://www.fiatplus.com/ http://home.columbus.rr.com/midess124/index.htm http://www.betaboyz.co.uk/ http://www.omicron.uk.com/ More vendors here: http://www.fiatlanciaunlimited.com/links.asp
Not that anyone asked for my opinion, but.... I don't think the Beta Coupe has enough of a "rarity factor" to make this one worth your time and money to fix up. If you like the looks of the car, and think it would be fun to drive one, I would suggest buying one about ten times better than this, and keeping this car as a parts car. I just think you're going to burn out on it before you get it together. It looks like an ENORMOUS project from almost every angle, and it's going to take a LONG time before you can do anything with it except invest your time and money. If it's any help, I have quite a bit of original Lancia material (Workshop Manual, Technical Data Manual, Weber 32 DATRA Carb training manual, relay and component location book, factory wiring diagram, tune up and ignition helper sheets, etc.) and loads of magazine road tests. I can supply copies. I worked at a Fiat/Lancia dealership in Seattle in the late 70's. One of my friends still uses his HPE as a daily driver.
Two things come to mind; 1. Get rid of that hideous steering wheel and bolt a nice Moto-Lita in there. 2. Forget about rebuilding that engine. Drop a Volumex engine in it. Cheers, Aaron '82 GTSi '83 400iA
There's a 2 litre/5 speed from a Beta Spider/Zagato on ebay, supposedly complete and "running when pulled" Does anyone know if this will fit into the 77? I know they offered a 2.0 coupe later in the run.
The guys on Lancisti would be the ones to ask, but I don't think there would be any significant differences.
I happen to notice in one of the shots of the trunk area, near the fuel vapour separator, the cream-coloured three-way valve looks identical to what's used in the carb 308's... Just thought I mention that. If you get a chance to remove it, can you check the P/N? You should also try to get a copy of Brian Long's: "Lancia Beta" book. Has loads of info on all of these models. Also, get a hold of Guy Croft's: "Modifying and Tuning Fiat/Lancia Twin-Cams" book. Essential reading!
Is it injected or carbed? I'm pretty sure it's carbed. He has taken it to the Italian Car Show in Seattle a couple of times. It's not a "queen", the paint (blue) is fairly badly faded. He also had a gold Scorpion for quite a while. Looking at Tillman's pictures serves as reminder of the jungle you find under the hood of a Lancia from this period. What a mess!
