1975 Lancia Beta Coupe from Australia and New Zealand - Comments

Carburetor needed an overhaul, ended up replacing with a down draught Weber from a two liter Lancia.

Rust in the front fenders and front windscreen.

Mildly worn interior.

Worn gear shift linkage.

Lancias are a true Italian sports car. The Lancia Beta Coupe (from which I own two) handles better than any other 1970/80's sports car. Cornering as if it were on rails.

The motors are very strong with a forged crankshaft, double valve springs and twin cams. From experience they can be revved passed 8000 RPM on a daily basis.

Lancias are out-competing modern twin cams on a regular basis on road and track.

Lancia Betas are truely high performance sports cars that compete with the likes of modern V6's.

Lancia's have very good stopping power through four wheel disc brakes, utilising an older form of anti-lock braking.

The interior can only be described as classy. Four bucket seats make up the interior of a Lancia Beta Coupe.

Total weight of the Lancia Beta Coupe is around 900kg, thus adding to the great performance and handling characteristics.

I couldn't agree with you more. I had an '81 Coupe 5 years ago, the most fun I had on four wheels. Felt like a modern sportscar, handling was foolproof, cornered at 75MPH like it was on tracks. And Very beautiful -- young people in Integras would look at me and wave, teenagers at gas stations would walk over and talk to me about the car. I had to sell it before it started rusting. Bought 4 Audis since -- rustproof, but not as much fun. If the Italians had the sense to use proper steel in those cars or the Fiat 124s, there would be more around!

Well, you got me all teary eyed - used to have a '76 when I was a kid. I know where there is one like it now that I think I can get for a few hundred $$ U.S. - think I will.

I'm the author of the 1984 HPE comments in this forum. Maybe I was too harsh on the good-looking little Italian vixen.

I remember hustling along the local freeway at 6,500rpm in 5th...tracking around the sweeping curves in the late afternoon sun...

Then reality bites with another expensive conversation with Tony from Il Portello...'Well, OK, if you think that will fix it...'

But I'm glad I owned it.

Serious good handling and power for age of car

much better than modern standard cars

a real italian sports car

my 2L could take roundabouts at bike speed

pushing the car too hard was hard to do

screen started rusting and all 4 struts replaced

dangerous to drive with bad sunspension. brakes

will blow tyres off rims if used too hard at 200+ kph

belive me I done it as well as warping the non vent discs

and melting the plastic ball holders in the front wheel bearings needless to say the brake pads were history as well

" three 19 year old blonds in a mini on the A323 near sutton surrey england " the driver decided to change lanes

without spotting the lancia about 400 yards away with a trail of tyre smoke behind it. I found a gap they and I lived to tell the tale. they never knew though.

Yes, it's an enormously underrated car. Here in the USA, they are virtually nonexistent. People always ask me what it is, and when I tell them it's a Lancia, they just stare blankly at me as if I were speaking another language.

Which, in a way, I guess I am.

But after owning a very large number of highly-touted sports and GT cars, I honestly believe my Beta Coupe is one of the most pleasing touring cars I have ever owned. It has been remarkably reliable, it still covers ground incredibly quickly and comfortably, and it is a delight to drive hard.

The shift bushings can be problematic, but if they are kept properly lubricated, they last longer than most people think. In the USA, parts can be hard to come by, particularly body parts and glass and trim. And unless you live in a major metropolitan area, you'd better be able to work on it yourself, because no one else will want to.

But it's all worth it. A great, great car.

I had a Lancia beta coupe when I was 19,it was a 1300 engine the body was white with martini racing stripes down each side. It was the best car I have ever had, It was a 1980 model with light Grey interior. I paid £600 for it off a colleague who coincidently was Italian. Rust was a problem, but that did not matter as it was a great drive. I must get my hands on one just for old times sake.

Have owned at least 4 of these Lancia Beta Coupes. Turned these 4 Lancia Coupes into 1 very good 1976 Beta Coupe with a 2 litre conversion put into the saddle of the tired original 1800.

With a great deal of time put into that 2 litre engine, it now makes around 150 bhp.

Added a 1979 Coupe 2 litre bonnet with the conversion because of the 20mm height difference from the 1800 engine it replaced.

But yes, the rust was the biggest part of the restoration, replacing parts left, right and centre. But after 5 years part time on the project, she is a great old school package to have a play in.

We own a 1976 Lancia Beta Coupe in Australia. There are a few around, but not many good ones, but the ones that are good are usually awesome.

Our car is being totally stripped and rebuilt, and having the rust removed.

Our car, where we live, is much loved by all the local people, and when it is finished, it will be stunning.

I'm 46, and to all you people reminiscing, go and get one or even two. If people don't know what a Lancia is, they don't know anything about cars.

I own a 1981 beta coupe, less than 70,000km on the clock, I have the log books... the guy who had it before me did a bare metal respray with rustproofing, all the upholstery and mild work on the engine. had some electrical issues, but in the process of getting those fixed found a guy who has the gear lever bushings made, and all the spare parts i'll ever need. fun, fun car to drive, and good enough to be a genuine gt; I drove 2000km at a steady 130-150km/h most of the way.

Boyfriend has a chopped (convertible) '76 beta which is seriously awesome - looks even quirkier with the coupe roof gone. Feel like movie stars in it.

Found in a shed covered in mattresses and boxes and seized! Once un-seized has given four years of trouble free and very fast service.

Go Lancia!

I am 44 years old. When I was 20 (1983) I bought a 1979 Lancia Beta coupe. It was green, with a tan leather interior. Of the many, many cars I have owned ever since, this is the one for which I have the fondest memories. The handling was something out of science fiction, the brakes were apocalyptic, the seats, oh, those incredibly beautiful and comfortable seats... of course there were many mechanical issues, but when everything was working right, it was magic. I miss my Lancia.

Just got one! My other car is the CX 20. These two cars are incredible - a real glory of the 70's engineering. The Italian keeps my left foot very very busy compare to what I get used to with the French. The magic is at the brake paddle for the French and the steering wheel for the Italian. It just much much "Grip (er) " than the French even there is a special design system to take care of the steering wheel for the CX.

Both runs on LPG which cost me about 20 km of driving at the speed of 120-140 km/h for only about 1 US$ (about 3 litre of LPG in Thailand). Gotta save up!!! these 70's glory are being eaten alive by rust.

I have a 1981 US-spec fuel-injected coupe. I purchased it in 1990 as a "common" "practical" car to take over the bulk of the daily driving duties from my rusting and gradually deteriorating 67 Fulvia. It had 65,000 miles at the time. I thought I would keep the Beta for a few years and then send it on its way to the scrap yard.

There were teething problems in the early years of my ownership of this car including several years with an uninspired mechanic. After replacing the troublesome Marelli distributor with a Bosch unit (from a US-spec FI X1/9), and attending to pre-existing rear wheel misalignment and a few electrical bothers the car has proven to be reliable. It is much less rust-prone than a previous 1976 model I owned.

After 18 years of ownership the car now has 127,000 miles. It needs struts and I look forward to sourcing those and at the same time fully rebuilding the suspension front and rear. I agree with the comment about the car being at least potentially dangerous when the suspension is tired because the Beta is eager to respond to whatever inputs are given to it. Its driving duties are now shared with an Alfa 164. The Alfa has a lovely sounding engine but simply cannot complete in terms of driving dynamics, even with the Beta's tired struts.