Passion over Pain? My rusty HPE

[codman]

Hi there folks,
My name is Callum, from Melbourne Vic.
I've been lusting over HPE's for years, but a combination of bad timing, difficulty in finding a solid affordable car and stacks of Pugs have gotten in the way!
In the way that these things work I meet someone through the Peugeot community who had just bought a 205 pug, Helping him out with parts I found that he had come from the Lancia side of things and happens to have a 81" HPE that needed a new home, and so i relived him of it!

81"
Sunroof
Air con
Silver
Grey + Blue Zegna cloth 


This car is to be a weekender, while I am not a huge stickler to originality, i will be keeping the HPE tame, as i have a Turbocharged Peugeot 505 road car and a Engine swapped 205 race car to tick those boxes and whilst i love both of those cars, neither are beautiful nor stir the romanticism that the Lancia does for me.

I am quite experienced with care and repair of classic cars, and FWD 2L 16V is a combination I am very familiar with, I am used to early injection systems too (unfortunately) from what i can see the suspension is not to scary either.

Now, its rusty, and whilst it was in daily use, it has been in a garage for a number of years, i had not anticipated such a large undertaking, and am yet to really commit to tackling it.
I have been working immense hours for the last few years and have not had the time to tinker with any of my cars for too long, and am now making preparations to slow down some with work and give myself some shed time, so comes to the Beta.

I know it needs a starter motor changed over and Oil level solenoid and from what i'm told its mechanically good, this will be the first thing to check, and so ill get it started, and move it about to check it is good in the drive line.

Body... how far is too far? I have seen what you UKians claw back into service, I'll be doing a proper assessment and will upload some photos for your input, I am keen to learn some panel welding and fab so will treat this as my trial by fire, i work as a fitter and maintenance for a packaging company so should have a decent base.   
   
I am considering fiber bodywork replacements, i have no timeline for this car at all, and have other cars that i can brake it all up with so as not to get frustrated.

I welcome any and all input, and look forward to sharing my experience whit everyone!

Cheers
Cal

[HFStuart]

Hi and welcome.

Passion and pain  - it's funny how often those two come up together with Italian cars.

How far is too far is a personal question but in terms of bodywork the Beta isn't too complicated. Doors, wings, front valence panel,  bonnet tailgate can all be replaced eventually so I don't pay them much attention. On the shell the if the screen surround, roof and bulkhead are OKish then I'd be tempted to have a go. My mantra on this is it's always worse then you first think but it's never as bad as you fear later!

Any pics to show how bad / good it is?

[rossocorsa]

The most complicated bits are probably the rear of the sills and the rear strut mount area. If you live in warm dry area there's a good chance that things will not be too extensive, the damp atmospheric conditions in the UK plus the fact we put salt on everything in winter(not just our fish n chips 😂) is a killer so our cars can be really bad. Regarding fibre glass parts personally I wouldn't you may come to regret it later and most parts can be found. There are quite a few enthusiasts for betas in Australia that might be able to to help you.

[Sandro]

Hi Callum,

Welcome to HPE ownership! I purchased a model 'very similar' to yours about this last time last year,
it has the same colour and spec's as yours but it's 3 years younger ( its the one on the masthead ) I think that the advice you've received from the other members is spot on. 
ie the main areas to look out for on the body being Sills / rear suspension mounts etc.. It sounds as though you have reasonable mechanical knowledge so the engine shouldn't be a problem. 

Knowing how much you can take on is important so it doesn't overwhelm you, you'll enjoy the time working on it and seeing results rather than things getting on top of you.

I'm interested in knowing how you intend fabricating & fitting the fiberglass panels ? I personally haven't seen this done to a beta.

You'll receive alot of help on here.
 
Best of luck and good choice, the HPE's a beautiful car! A.