New member: '78 Beta Coupe

[donaldb7]

Hey all,

New to the forum so figured I'd say hi. I'm sure I'll be posting plenty of questions and photos. I've taken ownership of a 1978 Lancia Beta Coupe and looking forward to tinkering away with it. The previous owner told me that it was put away in his shed/garage around 20 years ago and hasn't been out since! Any advice for starting the engine after 20y sitting, aside from all the obvious servicing?

Also looking for a driver's side (RH side) quarter window frame if anyone has one they'd be willing to part with.

Cheers

[Nigel]

Welcome Donald!
You'll find a lot of help here so don't hesitate to ask.

I'm sure, as I was, you're keen to hear the engine run. [mine sat 14 years]

Bit of a list:

Pour half an eggcup of diesel fuel down each plug hole and leave for as long as possible or at least 48 hrs.
Then try turning the engine by hand on the crank [38mm socket]. Give it 2 slow revolutions.
Then...Renew cambelt and tensioner bearing. These are the most important bits.
Carb clean/jets, float, fuel filter change.
Oil and filter
Plugs and points.

There are many opinions on the above, more will follow I'm sure.

How's the general body condition? Rear strut towers, sills, subframe to body mounts are the common issues.

Best of fun with your project which, as the photo, looks good. More pics, engine bay, interior please!

Regards, Nige

[WestonTB]

Another lovely round roof, as said, 38mm socket, belts from Mark. W, good oil ,gentle 'running in' and hopefully a summer of fun with possibly some minor niggles for fun!?! ... many new fuel filters maybe a good new purchase. p.s. my 1600 only has BP 97 ron ultimate , runs like a dream, no degradation of lines, carb, float, jets etc. Plenty of good info on here as regards care and modern fuel.

Enjoy

Tim.

[frankxhv773t]

Another bit, perhaps stating the obvious, is when you have done the above take the plugs out and spin it over on the starter till you register oil pressure (this is subject to advice on whether a Beta will show oil pressure as I have a feeling they are notorious for frightening new owners by the oil pressure gauge dropping to zero at tick over).

[peteracs]

Hi

Welcome. Wise words above, check those rubber fuel lines as they will most likely rot once you start using modern ethanol fuel. Also looks like your dipped beam headlights have rust in them.

On the quarter light, do you want the glass or part of the surround for it?

Peter

[donaldb7]

Thanks for all the advice already! Out of interest, why diesel and not petrol? Will take on board all that advice. Looking for the window frame rather than the glass. Both sides seem to have rotted out. The car is at a friends being dry stored as the garage here still being put up! Will give it a proper inspection when I get it back!

[Nigel]

Petrol doesn't contain any lubricant.
The point being that the rings will likely be a bit crusty and clogged, and the bores, or
at least a couple of them may have a coating of fine rust.
The diesel is thin enough to penetrate through the crud, and give a small amount of lubrication.

Frank, yes, forgot that. Establishing oil pressure before an initial start is very sound advice. 

As a p.s....the diesel will likely produce huge white smoke on initial start. It'll clear quickly.

[peteracs]

As an alternative to diesel if you do not have any, put in some light oil. Again anything to provide lubrication to the bores before you start turning the crank.

One way of getting oil round the engine whilst you have the timing belt off, is to spin the aux shaft which drives the oil pump. This allows the oil to get to the cams before you start spinning them. Double check however that the aux shaft does not strike the con rod on cyl 2 however when you do this.

Peter

[smithymc]

Welcome Donald and best of luck with your new project. All good advice to date and plenty more available from what you will find to be a very helpful and supportive forum.

Mark

[donaldb7]

Will get on a buying spree and get anything that I haven’t already got! Thanks for the oil pressure tip as well! Hadn’t thought of that. Is it possible to do all this without pulling the engine? Or will it be easier just to pull it out?

[frankxhv773t]

Everything is intended to be done with the engine in place. It's pretty much the standard procedure for waking a car up from a long slumber.

[peteracs]

Hi

There is a removeable panel on the inner wing at the timing belt end which gives you good access.

Peter

[WestonE]

Welcome!

I agree with the revival comments already made. You might want to consider changing the water pump (The VX/ Montecarlo version provides more flow), Checking the thermostat using a saucepan and jam thermometer and back flushing the radiator. With the car running a de-scaler flush before a high concentration of new anti-freeze.

NB the heater valve might be semi seized or leaking.

Also inspect distributor cap and rotor for burning and HT leads and Dizzy cap/coil ports for corrosion. 

In general inspect everything made of rubber for cracks, becoming hard and brittle or loss of structure (brake hoses).

Look inside the fuel tank for rust and scale by removing the level sender. You might need to flush the tank out to prevent break downs later from clogged filters

Fortunately most service parts are easy to find and relatively cheap.

Enjoy

Eric 
PS if you decide to pull out the engine then change the rear crank oil seal and clutch whilst you are there.

[rossocorsa]

Welcome!

I agree with the revival comments already made. You might want to consider changing the water pump (The VX/ Montecarlo version provides more flow), Checking the thermostat using a saucepan and jam thermometer and back flushing the radiator. With the car running a de-scaler flush before a high concentration of new anti-freeze.

NB the heater valve might be semi seized or leaking.

Also inspect distributor cap and rotor for burning and HT leads and Dizzy cap/coil ports for corrosion. 

In general inspect everything made of rubber for cracks, becoming hard and brittle or loss of structure (brake hoses).

Look inside the fuel tank for rust and scale by removing the level sender. You might need to flush the tank out to prevent break downs later from clogged filters

Fortunately most service parts are easy to find and relatively cheap.

Enjoy

Eric 
PS if you decide to pull out the engine then change the rear crank oil seal and clutch whilst you are there.

Here's a curious thing, I gave  Steve Thompson a VX waterpump to put on his 2.0 ie and he said it wouldn't fit! I was sure it would but he was adamant that it doesn't odd isn't it?
 I would suggest starting a shopping list for certain key parts and to start searching, some things are easy some things need to be snapped up in advance if you find them at a good price, brake discs (see recent thread on those and current probably short term availability), engine mountings, thermostat, shock absorbers come to mind

[WestonE]

Hi Alan

Good point on stocking up in advance to save money and disappointment. Very strange on the VX water Pump as I have fitted these to IE blocks and looked at far too many TC blocks over the years and not heard of or seen any issue with the depth of the recess for the deeper impellor.
A new standard one will still do the job on a standard car reliably provided it is not scaled up or been run on plain water.

Eric 

[rossocorsa]

Hi Alan

Good point on stocking up in advance to save money and disappointment. Very strange on the VX water Pump as I have fitted these to IE blocks and looked at far too many TC blocks over the years and not heard of or seen any issue with the depth of the recess for the deeper impellor.
A new standard one will still do the job on a standard car reliably provided it is not scaled up or been run on plain water.

Eric  

It is odd about the pump I do wonder if it's just a quirk of that particular car. It was a Graf pump one of the few that do the proper VX/Monte pump

[Alsace Stradale]

Hi Donald,

I'm new here aswell. I've just taken custodian of two 2.0 coupes, along with a lovely bunch of bits. I know for sure that I have a surplus of quarter windows, so I could have a look (and do some much needed cataloguing) amongst the spares that came with them; I may have what you need.

Luis

[frankxhv773t]

Quarter windows come in a variety of constructions. Finding ones with all stainless frames instead of mild steel with a stainless trim attached would be a bonus.

[donaldb7]

Hey folks,

That’s the car back in my hands after spending a while in a friends garage. The plan of action is to get it running first, make sure the mechanics are sound, work on brakes and suspension etc. After that, the focus will get shifted onto the bodywork. Had a quick look around the common areas for rusting. The worst of it seems the be the sill/inner arch at the front and some rust of the rear strut towers as well. Hoping the inner sills are okay and most likely going to end up buying the outer sill replacement. They have been replaced once already... but badly. On top of this are the usual rust bubbles dotted around the car, hopefully nothing too difficult to sort. Wanting to try my hand at welding in some panels but also considering a body shop for the replacement panels. Let me know if I should be looking anywhere else for structural rust!

[WestonE]

Look into the cross floor box sections. It is common for trapped water to create rust at the seams and corners. Other wise the boot floor in the corners.