Lancia Beta Forum

got up early and decided to take my beta for a spin, the first time it has been driven since the early 90's....
No MOT/insurance/tax but i live in the middle of nowhere and in 5 years i have never seen a police car around here so i decided to risk it.
i was actually quite shocked at how quick it is, it really goes well,it takes off like a scalded cat when the second choke cuts in.
the engine went well and apart from the exhaust blowing abit all seems well, there seems to be a few fumes coming up from round the back of the engine but it maybe spilt oil burning off (new rocker box gaskets). it did seem to take ages to come off the choke which is a bit of a pain.
steering/suspension was pretty good with no bumps or knocks and it even steered nice and straight. the steering seemed light which was good  considering it has no power steering.
the brakes were not so good, i think there is air in the system as the pedal was not that solid and the brakes seemed poor. i am used to modern cars so i am not sure how good they should be. i will have a look at them in the week and bleed them again, it was a pain to bleed the nipples nearest the front discs as i did not have a cranked 8mm spanner. what is the best order to bleed the brakes?
the speedo was still a bit jerky (new cable fitted) but i can live with it.
apart from that i was well pleased. just need to sort out the above jobs and paint the wheels and fit new tyres and it's time for MOT.

i am running it on super unleaded, do i need any fuel additives?
also does it matter what way the connectors go that go on to the 2 senders on the cylinder head? (near the spark plugs)

i did manage run out of fuel. had to phone her in doors who came with a can of petrol....now i  have to take out for a meal to make up for it!!

One is the water temperature sender for the gauge the other is the switch for the warning light. If you get them on the wrong way round the gauge and light don't work so it's pretty obvious.

I run mine on Super UL without an additive but I will probably start using one when I put the new head on with it's new valves & seats there being no lead 'memory' on them. Possibly it's overkill but I don't enjoy shimming heads that much.

PS Please edit your first post! It's your choice but there are things you don't want to put on a public forum and we certainly don't want to know :)

I second that last thought! It's bad enough someone running about "like a scalded cat" with poor brakes, but I would be livid if I was coming the other way in my Beta and got totalled by someone who turned out to have no insurance, tax or MOT.
(Or am out of touch with "modern values" at the wizend old age of 48)!
Words fail me.
Chas,
(VXdeMAYO). :o

I always bleed the brake nipple furthest from the master cylinder first.

After a wee bit of use any air in the brake system should gravitate towards the rears.

As for fuel additives I use Millers VSP

You should get insurance if for no other reason than a small fuel leak could turn the car to a pile of cinders also if the unthinkable happened on a test run could you forgive yourself i'm also an old fart  though........

calm down chaps, it is now fully insured. and i was driving on a private road anyway.

almost finished

inside

i got a new set of wheels to fit and then its going for MOT

total cost so far including puchase price is about £300, it broke down today (no spark), turned out to be the resistor next to the coil, it runs if i bypass the resistor, do i need it?

engine bay

The resistor is normally used in series with the coil for normal running with the nominal voltage being 12V. When starting the voltage is normally much less, so the resistor is shorted during this period to give a better spark. So in answer, yes you will be overloading the coil which will eventually fail if subjected to too high a voltage. I have not checked the wiring diagrams, so happy if someone wants to correct me.

Peter

Looks good Raz.

Nice to see another on the road :-)

Cars with coil & resistor use a 9volt coil,
during starter operation 12 volts is fed
from starter solenoid direct to coil giving
it a short boost, during normal running
coil is powered through resistor which
drops voltage to 9 volts.

It's called a ballast resistor and you'll need another.

Looking very nice Raz

The old one will have a value written on it,
just replace like for like or check the wiring
diagram.

A lot of car for the money as they say!

the new coil came with a resistor, but i cant find the old one, i changed the new coil for my old one and it runs fine. i am worried that a 32 year old coil will fail soon so i may still get a new coil. does anyone know what value the resistor should be?

oh..and can someone please tell me where the jack should go? i have the original jack but cant find its home

Under the boot carpet behind the offside strut tower. Might even be a strap to hold it down.

I've also seen on some cars it straps behind the rear numberplate panel behind the carpet (vertical section)

I should learn to type faster just going to say the same, probably from S2FL but not 100%

Alan, correct, my S2/FL has it strapped on the back panel.

S1 and S2 has it in the recess by the fuel filler pipe, under the carpet as Neil rightly pointed out.

And yes there should be rubber straps holding them in place.

found brackets but no straps, i am sure i can sort something out, did any one find out what rating ballast resistor the coil should have?

guess i will have to look for the old one

Why not just measure the resistance of the coil? Then you can calculate the resistor needed to drop the voltage from 12-9V.