Rusty But Trusty

Maybe some of you have followed my experiences with my Lancia Beta sedan… as with many older cars, it’s sat for some time and, as a consequence, had (and has) various needs. So you might ask (and I wouldn’t be offended!), why on earth would you be looking at Lancia Betas? Did you not learn your lesson? Well, yes and no. I learned that the carburetted cars are more trouble-prone if not maintained, and that the fuel-injected cars suffered less from application of smog equipment. I also learned that EFI as installed on these cars makes for smoother running and easier cold-starting, and that the last of the Betas imported to the US came with a better-looking, tidier grill (which might show this car to actually be a 1982 model).

All that said, my sedan is actually fun, in an oddball kind of way. It also has a comfortable ride and a nice interior… it’s kind of like an Italian interpretation of a Mercedes or a Volvo. And for a car of its size, weight, and ride, it corners, brakes, and handles really well. So that brings us to today’s car…. a 1981 Beta Zagato with a 2-liter fuel-injected engine. Same ride, same handling, same brakes, more power. And the top goes down. What’s not to like? For the low, low price of $1000 (probably less if you show up with a neat stack of $100s), you can find this Beta in Roseville, CA, near Sacramento.

If you check out the address given on your favorite mapping site, you’ll see it’s for sale at Roseville Towing (open till midnight – just the thing for those late-night car cravings!). So odds are this car was removed from an unwitting owner who couldn’t be bothered to retrieve it. And therein lies the question…. what secrets did the owner know? That said, it apparently only has some damage to the convertible top, but runs and drives well. Trust but verify is an expression I remember from the 80s, and it applies well to old cars.

Doesn’t it look nice in white? Something about the black roof and trim on a white car gives it an understated elegance quite opposite of the black-on-gold Zagatos. The seller offers no additional pictures, so make sure to ask about the tail lights when you call – they’re apparently as rare as hen’s teeth and only shared with some model of Bristol. If this car checks out, and the seats are as intact as the shiny paint would lead you to think, then this car would be well-bought at this price.

Tags: 2000, beta, Feature, italian, lancia, spider, under $2000, zagato

This entry was posted on March 12, 2010 at 6:08 pm and is filed under Feature. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.