Introduction and Request for Advice

[abgwin]

Hello, all.

Wanted to introduce myself and hopefully get some feedback on an upcoming Lancia acquisition.

I'm Austin, currently living just outside San Francisco, California. I've been messing about with vintage cars most of my life, having had a father who was famous for bringing home odd cars ('71 Honda 600 Z coupe, '57 BMW Isetta, '60 Ford Falcon Ranchero are a few of the standouts). I've worked my way through virtually every air cooled VW (including a Type 34) as well as some vintage Chrysler ('60 Valiant, '66 Barracuda) but I've become obsessed with owning a Lancia.

For sale in my immediate area are:
 - 75 Beta coupe
 - 81 Beta coupe
 - 81 Zagato
 2 - 76 Scorpions (Montecarlo)

I drove the 81 coupe and was really impressed with its power and handling. It's been very well maintained, with only 2 owners and stacks of records, including new timing belt, exhaust, etc. Its biggest downfall is some rust around the front windshield that was long ago covered over and appears to have been stopped - owner claims no changes in over 10 years, and I'm honestly inclined to believe him - and the seats probably need a recover before too long. The underside is remarkably rust-free, by the way.

Here's my big question, though: during the test drive, I had an overwhelming sensation that when the motor revved (very rev-happy, with a soft throttle!) and we pulled away, the body seemed to drift back, almost as if the drivetrain were trying to leave on its own.

Is this a symptom of the subframe pulling away from the body? How can I inspect for this, other than a visual underneath the car?

Or is this perfectly normal, or perhaps a sign of weak rear shocks/springs?

Your advice and thoughts most welcome; thanks in advance.

[rossocorsa]

Sounds like a combination of worn out dampers and engine mounts, even a very healthy beta does have a slight tendency to dip at the rear under acceleration so with wear on these components the effect, rather like a speed boat, is greatly exaggerated. Despite anything you may have read elsewhere the subframe is usually unaffected by corrosion and only very early series 1 cars had issues with the rear mountings corroding.  The most important places to check corrosion are around the windscreen, sunroof surround if fitted, the sills (rockers) mostly at extreme front and rear and the rear strut turrets (you would need to pull up the boot carpets plus ideally remove the rear seats to check properly).

[abgwin]

Went back and drove it once again.

A few more things have surfaced.

 - The oil pressure gauge goes very low at idle when warm and lights. Owner says it's the sensor.

 - Runs rough when cold but smooths out when warm. Fuel injected examples shouldn't behave like this, right? Perhaps a bad sensor?

 - A howl shows up around 30 mph. Isn't related to engine speed or gearbox, just vehicle speed. I'm assuming a rear bearing, though owner says they were replaced at least once before.

 - Brakes now spongy. Owner says he's ordered a rebuild kit for the master cylinder which will go along with the car.

It's the only coupe I've seen for sale anywhere near in the last six months so I'm inclined to go for it.

[abgwin]

Brought the Beta home this weekend.

[rossocorsa]

Looking good

[peteracs]

Can only agree, looks a nice example, if all it needs are shocks and bushes then a pretty good buy.

Going back to your earlier point on the subframe, I recently scrapped an early Series 2 pre f/l Spyder, which I cut up to send to the scrap man. I kept the engine and subframe, interestingly most of the car was a complete basket case, but the subframe mounts were 100% complete and no sign of rust and even the bolts came out without too much argument......

Peter

[abgwin]

Thanks.

The seller had to do some work to make it pass smog in order to sell it, so his mechanic did some tuning work. Brakes were bled and are now very good.

Once it was parked in my garage, I note the lingering smell of gas so need to check out the return lines and tank vents. No smell inside the car, so thinking it's a connection or degraded line.

Some maintenance to do before I drive it too much, like timing belt and tension bearing. Better safe than sorry!