Lancia Beta Forum

I am getting both very impressed with the Trevi and quite attached to it  :-* so I thought I'd have a go at boring everyone with my Trevi experience and trials and tribulations.

Some work and repairs on the car have been reported elsewhere on this forum (and some other forums). The latest job (tonight in fact) was changing the exhaust middle section and you can read about that at http://www.betaboyz.myzen.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=392.msg1059#msg1059 (http://www.betaboyz.myzen.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=392.msg1059#msg1059).

One of the things that annoyed me with the car when I got it were the smoked rear lenses, so having managed to get a very good nearside light unit and a brand new offside unit from Chris (ex-Betacar) the rear lenses are now as Lancia intended them to be.

Before:

(http://www.alkionides.org/Photos/Trevi/tl1.JPG)

After:

(http://www.alkionides.org/Photos/Trevi/tl2.JPG)

You should have also noticed that in the "Before" photo the sun visor is at a strange angle and that's because the little clips that hold it in place had lost their shape and hence their holding ability. With a bit of heat and a lot of patience they have been given their original shape so in the "After" photo the sun visor is held in it's correct position.

The front lights were also refurbished by taking several sets of lights apart and selecting the best combinations of bowls and glass and reassembling two headlamps which while not as good as new they are good enough (for now at least).

(http://www.alkionides.org/Photos/Trevi/tf1.JPG)

At least the car no longer has the strange "mascara style" headlamp with black borders on the bowls of the offside headlamp only  ::)

Another annoying "feature" of the car was the boot lid giving me a headache every time I opened it as the gas struts lost their strength. But I found a company in the Midlands that re-gas the struts back up to full pressure and the boot lid can now stay open!  :D

Before (simulated):

(http://www.alkionides.org/Photos/Trevi/tb1.JPG)

After:

(http://www.alkionides.org/Photos/Trevi/tb2.JPG)

I'll try and keep this thread updated with details of any major or interesting work carried out on the Trevi.

(http://www.alfaowner.com/Forum/images/smilies/thumbs.gif)

I think I have a new trevi rear light in the garage if I can find it do you want it? not sure what side it is have to warn that I might have chucked it out as I've largely given up wasting space storing bits n bobs that are not relevant to my own car and that no one ever wants! postage and paypal fee or pick up for free

A lovely looking car and much underrated - better car than a 131? ..... i personally think so.
Good to see you have got the car back to the way Lancia had intended it look.

Your just up the road from me in Enfield.

Very nice Theo, quite fancy one myself now.

Geoff

I certainly wouldn't say no to a free (or nearly free) Trevi light  ;)  I actually have several nearside light units but only one good offside unit (on the car) and one with a cracked indicator lens which is usable. Please let me know when/if you find it. Thanks.

I am not sure I'd go as far as saying anything like that!  ;D Apples and pears, different kettle of fish and all that spring to mind. The Trevi feels much more sophisticated as well as comfortable and relaxing to drive but when it comes to spirited driving, it is no match on the 131.  ;D

Here's a picture of both, at a garage swap-over, to help some of you make up your own mind  ;D

Thanks Geoff  ;) :D  There's a nice one for sale on ebay at the moment http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/rare-classic-lancia-trevi-2litre-twin-cam_W0QQitemZ260453490508QQcmdZViewItem (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/rare-classic-lancia-trevi-2litre-twin-cam_W0QQitemZ260453490508QQcmdZViewItem)

I thought you'd be commenting on the little bit of red Marvin that can be seen in a couple of those photos  ;D

I would normally have mentioned Marvin, or one of his relations but I think it may be better
to keep the dream alive rather than be disapointed by reality.

Oh i don't know, as much as i like - and respect - the 131 i think a Beta can give a 131 a run for its money anyday.
Unfortunately the only way to be sure is to compare two "bog" standard cars, how standard is your 131?

Not meant as a criticism but i have had so many people with Peugeot 205 GTI's (and Renault 5 turbos) go on about how great their cars are and when i have looked its had all the suspension mods - Lowered springs, beefier dampers and engine tweaks.
I am sure the "Pug 205" Clarkson drove on that Top Gear item would have had the same things done, no wonder he did not have to brake to go round bends .... he just drove us round the bend instead!

Trevi any-day - as i am biased!  ;D

Not very standard really...  http://131mirafiori.com/smf/index.php?topic=1564.0 (http://131mirafiori.com/smf/index.php?topic=1564.0)

I very much like and appreciate the Trevi as I've said but if you insist on comparing it with a Fiat then I think it should be compared to the 132 (or Argenta).

If you want to see (and hear) what my 131 is like then have a look at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odtvIQVergg (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odtvIQVergg). The video was made by Jason, the previous Trevi owner so there's a Trevi connection here.  ;D

on styling purity 131 wins hands down, on bizzareness Trevi wins every time as it does on underlying engineering quality, on driveability I'm not sure I always  found the modifications they did changing beta to trevi rather spoilt the experience a case of form doesn't follow function shame as it has a great chassis and the excellent power steering that we were robbed of in RHD until the last cars

I thought not but i don't blame you -  you have to do something to keep all the boy racers in their place!
Does sound gorgeous though around all those "A" roads.
Is the Accusump really necessary with the baffled/winged sump or is it used mainly for pre oiling for cold starting.

I have a friend with a Lada Riva with Beta/131/124 Abarth hybrid mechanical unit (yes i know, i need shooting for selling the rare items to him)  and its a good old laugh as it sounds like yours, everybody expects to see a 131 and a Lada comes around the corner.
You probably also have about twenty to twenty five break more.
When i drive it people resort to all sorts of underhand driving techniques to keep the Lada Lout in his place.
 
Its interesting you got the Trevi local.... ish?

The Argenta, now that's also interesting being the 132 replacement, just a boxier re-bodied 132.
Aerodynamic as a brick (or a Lada)
They drive lovely though but the emphasis was more on comfort oh and those slide down clear sun visors, orange or blue depending on what colour the car was, just like the 132! - the suspension was really soft and i will never forget throwing one of these around Hanger lane in the early hours of the morning and having to use all three lanes.
Steering was also worm and roller so its not directly comparable with a Trevi, i would however say a 131 Supermirafiori is a closer comparison.

Anyway if i find the Trevi tail lights - i have both sides - stored in the loft since 1993 and they are yours for next to nothing.
Found the nearside tonight, just got to find the elusive off side tomorrow.
 

It is certainly not 'necessary' but very useful for pre-oiling. The Trevi starts too easily and quickly sometimes and makes an awful racket for a second or two until it builds up oil pressure. Maybe I should have fitted the smaller oil filter but went for a Champion C102 (same as Fiat 131 and I thought all Fiat twin cams) although I saw the much smaller Champion C107 listed for the Beta twin cams.


It's more a case of I bought the Trevi because it was local-ish. While I've always liked the Trevi (I like quirky things) I wasn't looking to buy one. My Gamma coupe is away having major restoration work so I was having Lancia withdrawal symptoms and when I saw the Trevi for sale so close I couldn't resist.

The last set of strut inserts are on eBay now, Theo.  I don't know what your plans are but hey ho

I thought you sold your inserts (at a vey good price for you I thought  ;) ) so I bought a pair of Monroe rear inserts (which I haven't fitted yet). But I am still after a front set so I better check your eBay auctions again...

I know what you mean about the rattle of bearings on start up - Accusump is a wise precaution now i come to think about it especially as you have a few "extra horses" under the bonnet.
I tend to crank over a carb engine for a few seconds, stop, then engage the choke (two or three pumps on the accelerator) and start, it does the job quite well.
This is something that's impossible on an IE and impractical on your 131 with those 45's.

I don't think it would make any difference what size filter you use, the VX model uses a C107 (Coopers Z501) and many still rattle, Carb Betas use the C102 (Z27a) that you have fitted, have even seen Champion C134 (CoopersZ1011) listed for injection Betas but you can use either. 
I Slick 50'd my engine after running in after a complete recondition just to give it that little extra protection and with a slightly shimmed up oil pump relief valve have not had the dreaded rattle on start up for ten years now, but i only do about 3000 - 6000 miles a year so its more like five years "time" wise.

found it it seems to be siem near side (unfortunately) I am not 100% that it is trevi though,it looks like trevi but there are no black shrouds around the number palte lamp section are the balck bits either side of your number plate separate parts?

Yes they are. They screw onto the light unit though so if the number plate lights are missing you'll have the black backing plate with the two mounting screw holes on the unit. Maybe you have a Y10 light unit? They look very similar to the Trevi lights when off the car. If you can post a photo I'll be able to tell you if the light is for a Trevi or not; l am now an expert on Trevi lights!  ;D

I think it could be fiat of some sort argenta or similar.....but it was in a load of spares from a lancia garageI don't think it's Y10

actually i think it is early Y10 looks like another item to go in a skip then......

Sunday (23rd August) was the Trevi's first "official" outing at the 11th Cotswold Economy Drive. It was a great day and the car run faultlessly covering about 600 miles over the weekend - probably more miles than it covered in the last three years before my ownership   :o The only problem was the passenger side window which managed to go down about 1 inch at the first Control Point and then gave up  >:(  Luckily I managed to convince the window to close again before the end of the day and before the long drive back home. Team-Trevi did very badly at the Economy Drive coming in at number 35 out of 47 entries but I very much enjoyed driving the car for the whole weekend. It would appear that nobody has loved this Trevi having had 11 previous owners to me but I will certainly be giving it the TLC this car so much deserves.  ;D

(http://www.lancia.myzen.co.uk/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=2163.0;attach=3494;image)

Not a lot of new work to report on the Trevi although it has been getting a lot of use as a daily driver; it copes so well with London traffic jams  ;D

My first 'hate' of the car was the darkened rear lenses which I quickly replaced with originals but equally hateful to me were the (badly) colour coordinated mirrors. They should be black on the Trevi. Here's a 'before' photo.

(http://www.alkionides.org/Photos/Trevi/tf1.JPG)

I managed to get a replacement nearside mirror from Germany via ebay but by the time it got to me most of the innards were broken; was very good as a baby's rattle but not of much use as a Trevi mirror  :-[  I also managed to get another used nearside mirror so with the one off the car and the two used ones and plenty of araldite for the broken innards I set about making a good mirror.

The nearside mirror on the car seemed to be red originally and then sprayed silver but the final result was not good.

(http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/Thotos/Trevi/P1060276s.jpg?t=1256417471)

To be able to spray the mirror housings properly and also to repair the broken nearside replacement, the mirrors had to be taken apart completely.

(http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/Thotos/Trevi/P1060274s.jpg?t=1256417613)

But I am very pleased with the final result and I think the car now looks much better with black mirrors.

(http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/Thotos/Trevi/23-09-09_0838.jpg?t=1256417722)

(http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/Thotos/Trevi/23-09-09_0839.jpg?t=1256417773)

(http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/Thotos/Trevi/P1060230.jpg?t=1256418119)

There are a lot of other things I should be doing to the Trevi like fitting the replacement rear strut inserts and eliminating the strange noises emanating from the rear suspension but it was more important to me to fit a new stereo  ;)  'Loose' rear suspension is not such a bother when stuck in a traffic jam in London so having good 'sounds' was higher on my priority list.  So I fitted a modern CD MP3 SD-card USB 'play anything' stereo. It even has built in bluetooth and A2DP streaming so it can stream music straight off my phone with no wires attached. But most important of all it's black with blue lighting to match the black interior of the Trevi and the blue seats  ;)  I had to make a new mounting panel/bezel to fit round the stereo and even though not perfect the result is not too bad I think.

(http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/Thotos/Trevi/P1060260s.jpg?t=1256419160)

The original speakers in the Trevi are fitted to the front footwell pockets but even though I replaced them for modern two way speakers the sound wasn't very good. The car needed rear speakers but I didn't want ugly looking speaker grills on the rear shelf and I didn't want to cut holes in the door cards for speakers either. I like the 'minimalist' look of the Trevi's door cards and want to keep them that way. So I fitted speakers in the pre-cut speaker holes on the rear shelf but then I covered the whole rear shelf in blue acoustic speaker cloth. I am really pleased with the result; sounds great and you can't see the speakers.   ;D

(http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/Thotos/Trevi/P1060248s.jpg?t=1256419596)

(http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/Thotos/Trevi/P1060249s-1.jpg?t=1256419931)

Liking the rear speaker idea :) very smart.

great things those sd/usb /bluetooth radios is it a tevion by any chance? unbelievable bargains if you are not a label snob like the speaker idea may well do that in my VX coupe if i ever get it finished

Yes it is a Tevion "Special Buy" from ALDI. Looks good, sounds great, every feature you would ever want and a 3 year warranty for just £49.99 (http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/2827_11437.htm?WT.mc_id=2009-10-05-16-34 (http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/2827_11437.htm?WT.mc_id=2009-10-05-16-34)).  The remote control is quite handy in the Trevi as the unit is so low down and not easy to reach  ;D

We have an earlier variant in our MG best thing I ever bought (the radio not the MG ;D)

Nice progress Theo.

I have a bag of used S3/Trevi mirrors, you should've called!

A bag full ! I need one for my Trevi VX.Right side. Got one for sale  ?

We never got the Trevi in Australia, shame really i think they look quite good and i think they would have done well here.

you were probably lucky when new they were not a good move on Lancia's part  especially the crazy bent circuit board fuse box but they have their crazy mad design appeal as a retro classic. I seem to recall that someone took their trevi down south years ago so there should be at least one there if it is still alive?

I haven't reported on this for a long time and that's because nothing much happened with the Trevi other than trouble free motoring. The past year or so hasn't been good to me so I couldn't spend the time I would have liked on the Trevi. But today I took the Trevi for an MOT test, it's second during my ownership, and it passed with flying colours  :D And it seems I covered just over 8,000 miles during the year :o I didn't think I had used the Trevi that much in the last year but obviously the Trevi is so good both time and miles fly by while driving a Trevi!  ;D

8k ??  :o

Fantastic news Theo  :)

Proof that AP gearboxes do last too.  I'm a bit jealous, tbh

Update please Theo  ;D

Not much to report really. The Trevi is in regular and reliable use; in fact so much so that there hasn't been any time for improvements and there has not been any need for repairs. I can't remember if I reported on this (had a quick look back on the thread and couldn't see it) but the front suspension has been refurbished with new bottom wishbone ball joints, new wishbone bushes, and new struts.

(http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/Thotos/Beta%20Meeta%20Plus/P1070508.jpg)

The Trevi took part at the Beeta Meeta meeting in August last year. In fact we had two Trevis in one place which was interesting! (photos at http://s801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/Thotos/Beta%20Meeta%20Plus/?albumview=slideshow (http://s801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/Thotos/Beta%20Meeta%20Plus/?albumview=slideshow))

I was also 'forced' to use the Trevi for the Gamma Consortium AGM and Rally weekend as my Gamma restoration hasn't finished yet (over two years and counting but it has been painted now so can't be too much longer...)

(http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/Thotos/Gamma%20Consortium%20AGM%20weekend%202010/P1070628.jpg)

More photos of the Gamma Consortium weekend at http://s801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/Thotos/Gamma%20Consortium%20AGM%20weekend%202010/?albumview=slideshow (http://s801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/Thotos/Gamma%20Consortium%20AGM%20weekend%202010/?albumview=slideshow)

The Trevi has also been seen several times at the Ace Café Italian nights (second Thursday of every month).

Ideally I'd like to have the Trevi fully restored to its former glory but my Gamma restoration has taken much longer and cost considerably more than anticipated so the Trevi looses out unfortunately  :'(  I did buy a pair of front seats for it off ebay recently though  ;D  The problem is that they are a lovely beige colour while my Trevi has a blue interior. So I either have to find a beige rear bench seat to match or some expert use of Dylon will be required. Anybody ever tried changing the colour of cloth car seats?

You've been spotted a few times by folks!  One mate saw you hurtling along past him on the M1, in the rain  ;D


Then, was it FWK spotted on the last series of the Apprentice?  This was filmed in North London

(http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d28/barretta/trevi.jpg)



It's also made it onto the Autoshite pack of trump cards

(http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/2818/lanciatrevi.jpg)

I suppose with 8000 miles of Trevi driving a year I'm bound to be spotted  8)

I don't watch the Apprentice but nobody I know who watches it spotted the Trevi! Then again you need a certain mentality to spot cars like the Trevi  ;D  

I didn't know anything about the Autoshite website either and I don't get what it's all about  :-\


Yes, that was me  :'( Spent nearly two hours in the cold and all because of a fanbelt which the Trevi managed to turn inside-out a couple of days before and snapped it on the day  ::)  probably by turning it inside-out again while on the M25. I should have replaced it in the first place rather than simply turn it right-side up.

So you are the one that filled the bottom of the door? Not very good really is it!  ;)

Autoshite: The main site hasn't been updated for years, it's the forum that's busy.  Plenty of funny fellas on there, all into oddball motors - the unsung cars of the past and present.


Come to think of it, I was mixing up my silver facelift door-skin jobs  :D
I never touched the body on the Trevi - it was the Silver Berlina I umm..  brush painted the door bottom to keep the rust at bay.  Steve Oliver had the car painted around 2006 by a cheap bodyshop, Mitcham way I think...

I have found a pic of Trevi the day after purchase.   See the door bottom  8)
The Delta HF wheels (Cromodora CD-?) had a wrong 45mm offset so were soon dispensed.  Looks much better with the proper set (CD-160) I think.

(http://img809.imageshack.us/img809/9605/dsc00683c.jpg)

I think the Delta wheels look quite nice on the Trevi and the offset doesn't seem wrong in the photo  ;) Were the wheels fitted with spacers? At ET45 offset they would need about 11mm spacers to match the ET34 of the original Cromadoras. I would admit though that the car looks better on its original wheels.

The paintwork on the Trevi (except for the bootlid and rear wings) is the worst I've even seen on any car! I'm scared to wash it as the paint comes off if I rub too hard and there's no way a pressure washer could be used! The passenger door looks fine in your photo but it also does in the side photo of the car I posted above  ;) Here's another one and it also looks fine  :D

(http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/Thotos/Beta%20Meeta%20Plus/P1070504.jpg)

These Trevi photos were taken the day after Beeta Meeta where the photo was taken for the Autoshite Trump cards showing a rusty passenger door. If only it was as easy to remove rust in real life as it is with photoshop  ;) :D ;D

Spotted again!

(http://s1.postimage.org/cndkvtj8/Photo1478.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/cndkvtj8/)

That looks like Italian Race Services (http://www.italianraceservices.co.uk) where the Trevi has been 'resting' since the 2nd of April. I used the Trevi to collect my Gamma which has almost completed its 27 month restoration. I say 'almost' because the Gamma needs to go back for some further work so I left the Trevi there to use as transport when I dropped the Gamma back. But it's been a very busy couple of months so the Gamma has not gone back (but has had a fair bit of use! (see http://s1237.photobucket.com/albums/ff477/TheoKyriacou/Lancia%20Ireland%20Cork%20Rebel%20County%20Rally%202011/?albumview=slideshow (http://s1237.photobucket.com/albums/ff477/TheoKyriacou/Lancia%20Ireland%20Cork%20Rebel%20County%20Rally%202011/?albumview=slideshow)
and
http://s1237.photobucket.com/albums/ff477/TheoKyriacou/BIAMF/?albumview=slideshow (http://s1237.photobucket.com/albums/ff477/TheoKyriacou/BIAMF/?albumview=slideshow)) and then there was 3ma11 (Fiat 131 event - see http://s1237.photobucket.com/albums/ff477/TheoKyriacou/3ma11/?albumview=slideshow (http://s1237.photobucket.com/albums/ff477/TheoKyriacou/3ma11/?albumview=slideshow)) so the Trevi is still 'resting' there. Must collect it this coming weekend....

Out of interest, who spotted the Trevi there? Must be another one of Mark's customers  ;)

Incidentally, the original plan was to collect the Gamma and leave the Trevi there and start a full restoration but the Gamma restoration has eaten up the budget intended for the Trevi  :-[

Funnily enough, the reason why the Trevi paint was done on such a budget was...  he was also getting a Gamma restored and it was costing  ;D

Confirmed.  Your Trevi auto is the sole-surviving, and one of just TWO on the road.

http://howmanyleft.co.uk/detail/N3062 (http://howmanyleft.co.uk/detail/N3062)

That's very interesting but I don't really understand it  :-\ Why is there nothing showing for Q1 2010 and only showing 1 on SORN? I've had the Trevi continuously taxed since I bought it in 2009. And does Q1 2009 mean there were two? One taxed and one on SORN?  ???

I'm a very grumpy unhappy Trevi owner at the moment because my Trevi was a "hit and run" victim in the car park of Duddleswell Tea Rooms  :'( Someone in a blue car left a huge dent in the nearside rear wing  :'(  I suppose this might turn out to be the 'push' for the full restoration....
(photo below is after I straightened the dent by hand as much as I could)

I hadn't used the Trevi for a while so when I was visiting East Sussex last Saturday I thought it was a good excuse to give the Trevi a well deserved run. About 150 mile round trip and I enjoyed every inch of it  ;D I was simply reminded what a great car the Trevi is  ;)

I've always had problems with the windscreen washers on the Trevi.  :-[  They didn't work at all when I first got the car so I replaced the washer pump. Halfords have a pump (meant for a Ford Escort I think) which is almost identical to the Trevi's except for the electrical connector which comes out of the top of the pump instead of the side. But it fits fine as long as the pump is fitted horizontally.

(http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/Thotos/Trevi/sw/tsw0.jpg)

Even though the new pump is very powerful, I could not adjust the washer jets to clear the grill on the bonnet and wash the front windscreen; the water jet would either hit the plastic grill or washed the rear screen!  :-\  So I used a dremel to take off part of the plastic grill so the washer jets could be adjusted to wash the front screen.

(http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/Thotos/Trevi/sw/tsw1.jpg)

But the washer nozzles kept moving and there was dirt inside them that kept blocking the holes. I could get the windscreen washers to work just long enough for the MOT test but whenever I needed to use them they refused to play ball. So replacement was the obvious solution but the Trevi washers (mounted on metal platforms) are very tall.

(http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/Thotos/Trevi/sw/tsw2.jpg)

Short, standard  washers would never clear the plastic grill.

(http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/Thotos/Trevi/sw/tsw3.jpg)

(Trevi washer on the left and new standard and much shorter washer on the right)

But with a plastic nut meant for number plates (which has the correct thread for the new washer) plus a plastic washer the new washer nozzle was extended to be as tall as the Trevi original.

(http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/Thotos/Trevi/sw/tsw4.jpg)

(http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/Thotos/Trevi/sw/tsw5.jpg)

And it stands proud on the Trevi's washer platform  ;D

(http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/Thotos/Trevi/sw/tsw6.jpg)

Held tightly in place by the new and slightly thicker pipe.

(http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/Thotos/Trevi/sw/tsw7.jpg)

It works great and I think it looks the part too  ;D

(http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/Thotos/Trevi/sw/tsw8.jpg)

(This is what happens when we have too much free time during the holidays! Some of us spend hours playing with windscreen washer nozzles....  ;D )

I should really title this Trying to get ready for the Beta 40th birthday celebrations weekend with the emphasis on 'trying'. I spent the day on the Trevi and feel I achieved little to nothing  :-[ I wanted to change the brake master cylinder but thought I'd loosen the bleed nipples first to be sure but after 3 days of applying lots of WD40 and using all the power I dared to release the nipples without snapping them off I gave up. So I still have 'Russian Roulette' brakes and don't know when they'll work or not  :o Only kidding  ;D they are not that bad but pedal travel varies a lot when applying the brakes. Seems worse when going slowing in reverse  :-\ ??? Makes no sense at all to me but I can only think that the problem is with the master cylinder. Maybe the bleed nipples will loosen before the weekend and I'll manage to change it...

But I did manage to eliminate some more squeaks and rattles especially the very annoying rattles from inside the rear passenger door and the even more annoying loud squeak when turning the steering wheel. Then I thought I'd do something simple and easy and washed the car  :D The wheels cleaned up well  :D shame about the rest of the car  :-[

Best of luck with the brakes Theo, I hope you manage to solve your problem before Norwich. I get the feeling that there are many of us all having "issues" with our Beta's at present what with THE deadline looming! I for one am worried about this ignition timing / running / carb problem that seems to be getting worse, not better. Glad to see you resort to bucket and sponge to give yourself some "feel good factor". I think I do that as well.
On a lighter note - LOVE the 131 Sport. Looks suitably menacing!
See you at Norwich,
(I'll be the one kangarooing into the car park - with shiny paintwork of course!).
Best,
Chas,
(VXdeMAYO). :)

I too took the Trevi for an MOT today (having finally got round to changing the brake master cylinder) and it passed without even any advisories (although the tester did say "running a bit rich but it'll do". Even though this is the fourth MOT at the same station since I've owned the Trevi, today's tester hadn't seen the Trevi before (in fact never seen any Trevi and didn't know what it was) and he was very impressed with the car. He actually said he really liked the shape and especially the C-pillar treatment! (most people's major dislike in the Trevi)  and of course he was amazed at the dashboard.  He must have 'got' the Trevi as he didn't have any trouble finding the hidden door catches to get out of the car!  ;D I feel a long Trevi drive coming on now.....  ;D ;D

Not so much "living" with the Trevi right now but restoring instead. So it'll have to be the Gamma or Fiat for Beta Meeta 13  :-\

Wow I cannot wait to see this car when it's all finished!!!

Crikey!

The bottom of the doors needed quite a bit of reconstruction but it's all done now and now there's paint which shines on the car  :D  Just needs to be put back together and then it's up to me to sort out the interior .....

Getting there ....  :D

Nearly there...  ;D

New windscreen (the last one in the country apparently!) was fitted last Friday and only finishing touches left now  :D

Hi Thotos

And very nice too, you should be very happy...

Peter

Theo

Any idea who the Coupe behind the tool box belongs to? Is it there for restoration as well?

The black coupe is a volumex , belongs to workshop owner,
Always open to a serious offer.....

Geoff

The Trevi was collected today and it's back home now  ;)  I'm very pleased with the end result  :D  TRJ cars understood very well what I wanted. I wasn't after a full nut-and-bolt restoration as there wasn't the budget for it. But I also didn't want to cut corners. I'm especially pleased with the C-Pillar badge plates for which I spent quite some time choosing the 'right' dark grey colour. I decided a grey with a hint of blue would look nice and chose a Mercedes colour. The garage had new "TREVI" transfers made locally in silver and they managed to match the original font exactly  :D A couple of phone photos and I'll post better ones once I give the car a good polish  ;)

Hi Thotos

Looks lovely, nice details and glad you are pleased with it. Just hope no ones decides to reverse into it any time soon......

Peter

The best looking Peugeot 305 I've seen in ages  :)

The blue cloth interior in my Trevi was showing its age as it was very faded and the front seats were worn with a bad repair to the passenger seat. I managed to get a pair of front seats a couple of years ago but they were in beige cloth.

(http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/Thotos/Trevi/P1120813_zps9eaf0dec.jpg?t=1373927600)

My plan was always to change their colour to blue. Originally I was planning to strip off the covers and put them in the washing machine with some blue Dylon dye. But taking all the covers off car seats without damaging them is not easy and getting them back on properly even less easy. Then I came across a spray upholstery paint (http://www.simplyspray.com/product/simply-spray-upholstery-fabric-paint/ (http://www.simplyspray.com/product/simply-spray-upholstery-fabric-paint/)) So, armed with six cans of Royal Blue upholstery paint I set off to change the beige seats to blue seats  ;D

First thing was to disassemble the seats.

(http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/Thotos/Trevi/P1120817_zps82697cc1.jpg?t=1373927730)

(http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/Thotos/Trevi/P1120819_zps9d3947ec.jpg?t=1373927778)

And then the beige seat bottom was changed to blue  ;)

(http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/Thotos/Trevi/P1120821_zps1e8b1f1c.jpg?t=1373927802)

As the first coat of upholstery paint had to be left overnight to both dry and to be absorbed into the fabric, I turned my attention to refreshing the rear seat by giving it a coat of navy blue paint.

(http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/Thotos/Trevi/P1120822_zps29885e1c.jpg?t=1373927808)

(http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/Thotos/Trevi/P1120823_zps2f687f5e.jpg?t=1373927862)

I think it looks quite good in the car  ;D (the photo doesn't really do it justice as the light was failing and I used the flash  :-\)

(http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/Thotos/Trevi/P1120828_zps9094c13f.jpg?t=1373927958)

The beige seat bottoms were given their second coat today and seem to be getting there  :D

(http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/Thotos/Trevi/P1120837_zps3c6654a8.jpg?t=1373927024)

While not perfect, they are a million miles better than the current front seats in my Trevi. I haven't done anything with the front seat backs and I've run out of paint  :-[  I've ordered a few more cans of the paint today so hopefully in  few days I'll get back to trying to revitalise my Trevi's interior  ;D

Very impressive job Thotos  8)

+1

Excellent, what the paint called ?

It's called "Simply Spray Upholstery Fabric Paint"  :D Have a look at http://www.simplyspray.com/product/simply-spray-upholstery-fabric-paint/ (http://www.simplyspray.com/product/simply-spray-upholstery-fabric-paint/). Several people on ebay are selling it or can be ordered directly from their UK supplier at http://www.fabricspray.co.uk/ (http://www.fabricspray.co.uk/upholstery-spray-paint)

Thanks Theo.

Geoff

Looking great...Excellent solution.

What a great job they have done at the body shop, love the badges, and I am so pleased for you that the fabric spray worked out so well the seats look fantastic- cant wait to see the car for real!!!

One fully reassembled and blue Trevi seat  :D ;)

(http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/Thotos/Trevi/WP_000313_zps2cd4b38f.jpg?t=1375574868)

Makes a single seater Trevi  ;D

(http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/Thotos/Trevi/WP_000314_zpscf0a91d4.jpg?t=1375574884)

But I didn't think there's much call for a single seater Trevi so the passenger seat went in too

(http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/Thotos/Trevi/WP_000317_zpse7135e9e.jpg?t=1375574916)

and the Trevi was a full 4/5 seater again

(http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/Thotos/Trevi/WP_000318_zpsb68de117.jpg?t=1375574882)

Looks great, I may have a go at this dyeing lark myself now.

The Trevi passed the MOT test today with flying colours and no advisories  :D
So in celebration I went to Sainsbury's for the shopping  ;D

Well done Thotos  8)

Displayed with all its new-found shiny glory at the 2013 NEC Classic Motorshow   :D


(http://www.lancia.myzen.co.uk/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=2163.0;attach=26151;image)

(http://www.lancia.myzen.co.uk/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=2163.0;attach=26152;image)

Looked good like new

Did I miss a year whilst here in France????????

Have to say all the cars looked fantastic.

Well done to everyone.

Peter

Oops! Ahead of myself as usual...  :-\ Corrected now...  ;) ;D

Looking great Theo.

The Trevi is looking tidy now Theo.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk (http://tapatalk.com/m?id=1)

Thanks (http://images.bravenet.com/common/images/smilies/25_coolguy.gif)
If we manage to have Betameeta14 in France next year you can get a closer look of the Trevi  ;D

The new tank arrived yesterday and was fitted today. It looks fine in the end (well, I think so anyway  :D) but it needed quite a lot of modification to both the mounting brackets and the pipework so "almost identical" is not quite right for the Trevi at least. Or maybe the one I ordered is not the right one as the picture of the used one I posted (http://www.betaboyz.myzen.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=2466.msg15743#msg15743 (http://www.betaboyz.myzen.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=2466.msg15743#msg15743)) shows a single breather pipe while the one I received has two!  :-\ Still a new expansion tank that fits (eventually) and looks OK and works for under £25 including postage can't be bad  ;) :D

I haven't posted here in AGES! :o ::) In fact when I started this I got the message:

Warning: this topic has not been posted in for at least 120 days.
Unless you're sure you want to reply, please consider starting a new topic.

But I don't think I should be starting a new topic so here goes....

Even since I've had the Trevi (April 2009) I wanted to get rear headrests for it. I thought rear headrests were standard on the 2000 models but it seems not. So it only took 9 years but eventually Mark at Betaboyz managed to get me a set  :D Unlike 'normal' cars, the rear headrests in a Trevi are not fitted to the seat but mounted on stalks fitted to the rear shelf so rear headrests can be retrofitted and do not need anything done to the rear bench seat  ;) :D  Unfortunately, the fabric on the headrests was badly faded and split in several places so it was way past saving  :'(  But I was happy as I had rear Trevi headrests and I also have a spare set of beige front Trevi seats  ;)  So off came the covers of the rear headrests and the beige front ones. With only minor modification, the front beige covers were fitted to the rear headrests and then with my trusty Simply Spray Navy Blue fabric paint the beige headrests were turned into blue rear headrests  ;D :D

Before and after  ;) :D