Posts Tagged ‘beta’

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Been There, Done That – 1975 Lancia Beta Sedan

May 26, 2013

Well here’s something you don’t see everyday. Unless you were me a couple of years ago – I owned a 1978 sedan from from 2008 to 2011. And while it was a nice car on one level – sort of an old Italian man’s car, or an Italian version of a Volvo or Mercedes – it was painful to repair and woefully underpowered for a sedan of its size and displacement. Certainly, one of those issues could have been eliminated if it weren’t for the fact the car needed to be smog legal – a popular conversion is to mount twin carbs, which is supposed to give over 100hp. With the 5-speed, that would surely give more competitive performance. Find this conversion-ready example for $2500 in Bellevue, near Seattle, WA.

1975 Lancia Beta sedan right front

(more…)

Tags:, , , ,
Posted in Feature | Leave a Comment »

Italian Berlinas – Alfa vs. Lancia

April 28, 2011

A lot of things have changed in the car market since 1978. For one thing, there was a vast selection of now-absent marques available… Peugeot, Renault, Lancia, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Mercury, Isuzu, and probably more I am forgetting. Two of these in the foreign sector, but not directly competing with one another, were the Alfa Romeo Sport Sedan and the Lancia Beta sedan (to describe them by their US-market names). While both are Italian and share some the intrinsic qualities of Italian cars, they seem to have been targeted against entirely different competitors. You could say the Alfa was designed to face off against the BMW E21 3-series and Fiat 131, while the Lancia was a better competitor to Mercedes W123, Volvo 240, and Peugeot 505.

Let’s take a look at what they share, and how they differ. Having personal experience with both, I can give some insights. But first, let’s take a look at the Sport Sedan, which is listed here on the AlfaBB for $1000. However, the seller has included the old “if it doesn’t sell in a month, it’s going to the crusher”, so I’d imagine as you get closer to the deadline (May 12), negotiations would work out in your favor. Our other car, the Lancia Beta sedan, is a bit more rare, but in no small coincidence, one of those is for sale out of the Rusty But Trusty fleet for $1975.

1978 Alfa Romeo Sport Sedan front

(more…)

Tags:, , , , , , ,
Posted in Feature | 2 Comments »

You say Zegato, I say Zogata – 1981 Lancia Beta Zagato 2000

March 12, 2010

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.

1981 Lancia Beta Zagato front

(more…)

Tags:, , , , , , ,
Posted in Feature | 2 Comments »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »