Hi here, italian-french guy.
My first car was a Lancia Beta Coupé 1300, from 1981, acquired in 2005. It was a special Series (only in France, done by the importer André Chardonnet AFAIK - it is a Frankenstein : specific grille spoilers and decals, on a S2 IIRC. Got the 828BC3 with the D3 engine at 1366 cc, 84 hp).
I just fell in love with it in a meeting of Italian Cars. (I was bred on Alfasuds and 33 and later on btw I bought a 156 which is my daily, I'm an Alfista at heart, but definitely Lancia is like the lover in a relationship).
I drove it in town and for work daily for 5 years. It was fantastic (although let's face I only recall the good moments, not the issues
)
Due to a move in a countryside town nearby, at 30 kms (highway) from work, I had to change my daily. But I couldn't sell it, so I placed it in a garage for a couple of years, and later, I had to put it in my stepparents backyard. For nearly 6 years. Only a start from time to time. I saw it getting older, sad and aging, painful to watch.
Long story short, we built a house (with a garage I designed to accomodate my Coupé
) in 2018. Got divorced this year, and did everything it needed (towing, emergency brake drain) to get it back in my garage.
It was 3 weeks ago. And to be honest, I still go and check it every day, and every night
It has severely aged, It'll need a lot of small works and repair (only for the MOT , the aesthetics will come next), but it's back. And I'm glad I never sold it for a low price due to its condition. It has now a second life (or a third) ahead.
Expect a couple of posts for minor details I'd like to fix
Some fun facts now
The French Lancia Beta Wikipedia page grey coupé is mine (the picture above is from there)
The ICC Squadra Beta logo (
) was designed by my brother, for the Beta division of a french Italian Cars club. I'll ask him if he still has the vectorized files
Some stories about the Turini special version :
http://www.auto-pub.net/ASL/Lancia/page_Lancia_Beta_Coupe_Turini_1980.htm
