Lancia Beta Forum

Hello,

My name is Robert and I purchased a US Lancia Beta Zagato (Spider) 2000 last October. Drove it sparingly until this Spring as I was busy fixing several of it's problems. I now can drive it everyday with no worries and I continue to improve it. I now want to drive it more than my X1/9. Had it shipped to me from San Francisco and when it arrived the red and clear drivers rear tail light lenses were gone  :(. Anyone have some spares they'd be willing to sell? Also the Betaboyz parts page won't come up. Says it was disabled in 2012. I know I've viewed it since then.

(http://i1282.photobucket.com/albums/a536/Coup_par_coup/Craigslist1_zps1a476c25.jpg)

(http://i1282.photobucket.com/albums/a536/Coup_par_coup/Craigslist2_zps93aea575.jpg)

Welcome!   The car looks good. 

I have a pair of tail lights from a 1981 UK spec Spider, but I am not sure from your photo that they match the US spec.     EDIT:  I have just checked and they do appear to match.   I can check the cost of shipping them from the UK to the US if you are interested.  They are unused and still in their Fiat cardboard boxes.

The Betaboyz website has been down for over a week now.

Have you tried Midwest Bayless for parts?   V helpful guy, in my experience.

http://www.midwest-bayless.com/storefrontprofiles/default.aspx?sfid=208227 (http://www.midwest-bayless.com/storefrontprofiles/default.aspx?sfid=208227)

UK spec for comparison - lights appear the same.


(http://thumbsnap.com/i/Qd3VPWcd.jpg?0530)

I think the reflector sections in the tail / brake lights in EU spec ones is smaller but realistically if you've got a matched pair no one is going to notice plus many EU cars I see have this larger already so it might have become universal at some stage.

Welcome BTW  - nice looking car but those federal fenders do it no favours!

I note that the petrol filler is located in the HPE position with an external cap rather than a flap.  I recall that Lancia made that change in late Coupes, but IIRC the European Spider was phased out before that happened.

One thing that I have never quite understood is why the later injected and supercharged Coupes and HPEs were withdrawn so quickly, not just from the UK market where the rust legend had already set in, but across Europe.  I know that the Beta range was by then over ten years old and had never had more than tweaks in terms of body designs, and the Berlina looked dated when the ugly Trevi was introduced, but to my eyes the Coupes and HPEs still looked good alongside early 80s designs.   It may have been production costs and plant capacity as the Delta was taking up most of the money by then.

Apologies to any Trevi owners out there.  Tastes vary, but to me it is one of the ugliest cars that Lancia ever made.  Oops, sorry, thread hijack!

Hi Stuart

My understanding is that the larger insert was standard from around 78, the smaller was on the S1 and early S2 pre f/l. If anyone has a smaller inset light in good condition uk drivers side, I am looking for one. I have some larger lens ones both sides, so happy to swap if that helps.

Peter

Thank you and Yes. I've been there several times as they are only 1 1/2 hours from my home. Matt, Thomas, and the rest of the guys are an asset to our resource pool.

By the early 80's coupes were considered old hat. Everyone wanted hot hatches instead, and the Delta HF Turbo and GTie fulfilled that market.

Also, when Lancia withdrew the Saloon and Trevi it wouldn't have made commercial sense to continue  making the common parts for the Coupes (suspension, subframes etc.), and in any case the production capacity would have been needed for the more up to date Deltas, Themas and then Dedras.

When the coupe market was re-booted in the 90's Fiat and Alfa snaffled the sporty designs; Coupe and GTV respectively, while Lancia got the Kappa Coupe, after Fiat bottled mass producing the Hyena. The rest, as they say, is history.

No the higher exposed filler was fitted to European spiders starting in about 1980, a friend has one built in may 1980 although not sold until about a year later. Bad stock rotation and cars stood around unsold for ages will have resulted in cars registered after this one having the older style petrol flap though.