From Russia with Beta

[Tone]

Hi all!

Found this HPE on the south of Russia. Thinking about purchase. Would like to know your opinion about it condition.
My previous "hobby" cars - Alfa Romeo 33 Ti, Lancia Delta Integrale 16V. I like shape of the HPE body, but spare parts for this old Lancia is a huge problem here.



































Best regards,
Anton.

[Tone]

[Tone]

[MattNoVAT]

Hi Anton,

Welcome to the forum 

It's amazing to see how far a Beta can travel...  I think you are the first person to find a Beta in Russia on this forum.

The condition of the car is quite good, it looks complete but it does look like it needs some welding to sills and it looks like it has a few oil leaks.

Are the suspension turrets solid or do they have rust?

Does the engine start?
Has the car been driven regularly?

I can understand that parts are a problem in Russia, but getting things posted to Russia should not be too much of a problem.   There are plenty of people on here with spares and you can also buy new items or remanufactured items from www.lanciabetaparts.co.uk.... The only real issue is cost of postage.

[peteracs]

I can understand that parts are a problem in Russia, but getting things posted to Russia should not be too much of a problem. 

Matt, not sure it would be so easy (for larger items anyway). A number of the couriers will only accept items if they are going to a company in Russia and with personal experience I sent a used piece of computer gear to a guy in Russia to a company and they wanted to charge him import tax on the full new price for an item which was 10 years old.....

May be different if sending small items in the post of course and yes it is expensive.

Peter

[Tone]

Are the suspension turrets solid or do they have rust?

The car is about 1500 km from me. Now i got only these pictures. Planning to go for it in november.

Does the engine start?
Has the car been driven regularly?

The engine start, but working not as smoothly as it should. The car didn't move regularly last year.
The dashboard doesn't work. In addition to oil leaks there is a leaking radiator.

[Tone]

Matt, not sure it would be so easy (for larger items anyway). A number of the couriers will only accept items if they are going to a company in Russia and with personal experience I sent a used piece of computer gear to a guy in Russia to a company and they wanted to charge him import tax on the full new price for an item which was 10 years old.....

There are two main problems: cost of postage and customs clearance. If it is small detail and cost less them 1000 euro - no problem. In other cases it can be completely unprofitable.
Also ebay sellers not always ready to work with russians =)

[lukasdeopalenica]

Hi Tone,

Some parts you can try sourcing from Poland. I do not know where do you live in Russia, but comparing the size of Russia even to the whole Europe the distance may make no difference...

[Tone]

By documents this car is 1987 of birth. VIN ZLA828BF000928479. Can anyone suggest the correct year of production?

[peteracs]

Wikipedia says 80-84 was the IE production time.

Peter

[rossocorsa]

Email tim speechley at fiat he will be able to tell you, I will check his email when I am at home and let you know. The last beta was built in late 1984 so it can't be later than that

[lukasdeopalenica]

The HPE production was ended in 1984.

[Tone]

Email tim speechley at fiat he will be able to tell you, I will check his email when I am at home and let you know. The last beta was built in late 1984 so it can't be later than that

Thanks, this seems to be the best way!

[rossocorsa]

Tim can be contacted by email (email address sent by PM) he can provide build dates for Betas from about 1978, earlier information appears to be lost, the last Beta produced was made in November 1984 chassis number 954124, on these late cars with VIN type chassis numbers all Betas seem to have used the same sequence so sadly there seems to be no record of which model it was. Unlike the earlier Beta chassis numbers these numbers also appear meaningless or shall I say that at least I haven't been able to find anyone who can find any meaning to them.
  

[Tone]

1550 km - and i've got it 













A lot of not original parts - trying go back to the factory set. Where can i get Beta Serie 4 spare parts catalogue? Found *.pdf only for serie 1 and 2.

[rossocorsa]

Ask information in the part number section and I will reply/advise. Parts listing for s2FL 2 (serie 4) were only ever issued on microfiche of large format that cannot be easily scanned into pdf.

[VXdeMayo]

Dear Tone,
Welcome to Lancia Beta HPE ownership! I hope you have a lot of pleasure driving her. We especially love the HPE because they are so practical yet sporty. Did you drive back all the way or trailer it back?
Keep us all posted.
Best,
Chas and Anne.

[Tone]

Ask information in the part number section and I will reply/advise. Parts listing for s2FL 2 (serie 4) were only ever issued on microfiche of large format that cannot be easily scanned into pdf.

So many parts need to be repplaced... lot of questions.

[Tone]

Did you drive back all the way or trailer it back?

By car. Long time preparation gave the result 

[Tone]

Does anyone use http://lancia.cc shop? Are they reliable?

They ask money for requested photo of the recored radiator