After seeing that little yellow Fiat 128 that dukeofundersteer has I am now hooked.
What do I need to know?
Where should I start?
What should I look for besides rust?
Does being 6'4" become a problem getting in? (It does with MG Midgets)
Just kidding, as I can not sway away from Datsun's since I have an attic, garage, office, bedroom closet shelf, and basement full of 240Z parts and manuals. All I need is a rust free body. LOL
I always liked those.
All I know about those cars is that they rust like crazy, but that one looks almost too good to be true. I'd be curious as to how a car that rust-free ends up in Michigan.
sucked you in huh?
I've had a couple of HPEs and these things rust so bad that they can rust anywhere. Heck I wouldn't be surprised if the glass rusted...
Engine is the usual Fiat twin cam, gearbox is vague but they're all like that. They're pretty quick for the age, handle well and are a hoot to drive. Spares for older Lancias aren't exactly fun to find, though, at least in the corners of Europe that I've been looking for them.
I've had one that I basically had to throw away because the seam of the tank had rusted out, fill it up more than half way and it'd start leaking. The German TÜV vehicle control was somewhat unimpressed and I couldn't get another tank - back in the mid nineties.
He sent me these pictures. Still it looks to be clean. Yes, I have been sucked in!
I need to go see where those little Visa checks went and if I shredded them yet.
That really does look quite clean...
ya, looks better than my 128. I would try Bayless's website for parts, International Auto Parts, ebay...
I am 6'4, I have sat in one and it was fine. I do not think that one looks clean enough to not worry about rust, I would check carefully, and only buy it if you cant see any rust, then budget for repairs for all the rust you cant see. lol I think you can pretty much get maintenance parts pretty easily, but anything else good luck. Even in California they rusted so bad they are mostly gone. The one i sat in was in the junkyard and from far away it looked nice, but the roof skin has almost separated itself from the rest of the car there was to much rust around the drip rail. The engine is the same basic design as the fiat twin cam, but is alot different, so fiat spider parts arent going to be the same most of the time.
the HPE was always my favourite.. followed by the coupe and then the zagato. They are neat little cars that were ahead of their time.. unfortunately they were not that far ahead of rust.
he says "no rust" except for the surface rust. LOL.
In reality I am going to stick with old 240Z's; now there you don't anything rust issues to worry about.
Pete: There is a Lancia Beta Zagato model for sale in Kansas. It has fresh work but still a few issues. Contact me if interested and I will connect you to the owner. asking is $2500
Ron
Fun to drive, nightmares to work on. There's very little room in the engine bay. There's a small but tight knit community of owners who can usually find you what you need. Fiat club recognizes and accepts these. The Lancia community pretty much thinks they are bastard children.
A bud bought a red Zagato that had had an engine fire, we got a 4 door (Beta? don't really remember) with a good motor and tranny planning to use it to fix the Zagato. We got the two cars taken apart, then the buddy got in a bit o' trouble with the po po, did a short stint tin the Hotel Greybar. During that time the cars vanished from his place. I don't know what happened to the cars, but I do remember that at 6' I fit very well in the Zagato.
There's a guy outside of Columbia SC who has several 124's in various states of decomposition and about five years ago he had a decent looking red Beta coupe sitting under some trees. It's Fulwood's Truck Tire Service, visible from I-26.
ddavidv wrote: Fun to drive, nightmares to work on. There's very little room in the engine bay. There's a small but tight knit community of owners who can usually find you what you need. Fiat club recognizes and accepts these. The Lancia community pretty much thinks they are bastard children.
this man speaks the troof..
I spent a few hours under neath the hood of a G5 prepped rally one. Great cars, but you really are out on a limb with performance parts etc.. You can find some stuff, but I dunno.. If I had to do it again, I'd go VW. Same trouble, less rust, more after market.
God the twin cams do sing nicely though...
While looking at that I came across this awesome little machine: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1958-Fiat-600-VW-turbo-/260620709835?cmd=ViewItem&pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item3cae346fcb
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