Fitting a LHD stalk to a RHD column.

[SanRemo78]

eBay.it - the magic words to search are Lancia Beta devioluca

https://www.ebay.it/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p4432023.m570.l1313&_nkw=lancia+beta+devioluca&_sacat=0

and then find a seller willing to ship to the UK.

Guy

[mangocrazy]

eBay.it - the magic words to search are Lancia Beta devioluca

https://www.ebay.it/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p4432023.m570.l1313&_nkw=lancia+beta+devioluca&_sacat=0

and then find a seller willing to ship to the UK.

Guy

Thanks Guy! I suspect it will be easier to wait until I'm in France in April/May and get it sent there. Intra-EU shipments are much less hassle, I've found. Thanks for the translation!

Graham

[SanRemo78]

You're welcome - it's amazing what you can pick up just by trawling eBay.it and eBay.de just using the words Lancia Beta... Some of it sticks eventually!

[George-S]

Thanks Nigel turns out my browser was having a moment!


On a side note Graham, I just got a new LHD unit from https://www.facebook.com/fortunato.valenza
Was €200 including shipping from Italy.

I have ordered loads of stuff from him in the past, very reliable and a nice chap.

Cheers George

[peteracs]

You're welcome - it's amazing what you can pick up just by trawling eBay.it and eBay.de just using the words Lancia Beta... Some of it sticks eventually!

Subito.it is also worth a look.

Fortunato is very active on Facebook and appears to have a wide range of stock, I am in the process of buying some small items so good to hear of first hand dealings with him.

Peter

[Nigel]

As a matter of interest, does anyone have a source for a new LHD indicator stalk? My Italian is nowhere near good enough to go searching on ebay.it...

Hi Graham,
I got mine from D G Rally in 2020, paid £178.
No idea if they still have, but I do see them online from various sources occasionally.

Nigel

[mangocrazy]

Thanks Nigel turns out my browser was having a moment!


On a side note Graham, I just got a new LHD unit from https://www.facebook.com/fortunato.valenza
Was €200 including shipping from Italy.

I have ordered loads of stuff from him in the past, very reliable and a nice chap.

Cheers George

Thanks George, will bookmark him.

Graham

[mangocrazy]

As a matter of interest, does anyone have a source for a new LHD indicator stalk? My Italian is nowhere near good enough to go searching on ebay.it...

Hi Graham,
I got mine from D G Rally in 2020, paid £178.
No idea if they still have, but I do see them online from various sources occasionally.

Nigel

Thanks Nigel, will have a look at them.

Graham

[mangocrazy]

You're welcome - it's amazing what you can pick up just by trawling eBay.it and eBay.de just using the words Lancia Beta... Some of it sticks eventually!

Subito.it is also worth a look.

Fortunato is very active on Facebook and appears to have a wide range of stock, I am in the process of buying some small items so good to hear of first hand dealings with him.

Peter

Thanks Peter!

[Ferrit]

A couple of reasons:
Apparently only LHD are available new...this came from a UK supplier in 2 days.

I was irritated during a drive last weekend that the indicator stalk was on the wrong side,
so this has fixed my frustration!

My old unit was a bit loose on the light stalk, but worked fine.

So, all in all, a nice to have upgrade, but not essential!

And yes, inspired by BOM!

I have purchased a new set of LHD sticks, I was wondering what approx size bar did you start with, 25x5?

Not in a rush to do this, it will be a rainy day project maybe.  I have had no obvious signs of 'smoke' from the stalks area, but not touched the wipers since [scared].  I will strip the wipers before I try that again.  Main reason for doing this is the broken dodgy repair of the wiper stalk is not filling me with confidence.

Mark

[Nigel]

I have purchased a new set of LHD sticks, I was wondering what approx size bar did you start with, 25x5?

Mark

Hi Mark,
I actually used bits of aluminium, I think they were around 6mm thick.
Using steel is fine and you can go thinner, so 5mm will be fine. You don't need any strength,
precision is key. As you can hopefully see, start by drilling holes to mount at the back of existing,
then put switch on, (ensuring the switch is going to cancel evenly) to mark holes for tapping M5 threads.
Trim to as small as required to clear everything. 8mm wide is plenty width.

Using the existing cowls is fine, although you'll need to dremel out slots as required.
Or obtain a pair of LHD cowls as I did. I still had to modify these, but better than the old ones.

Hope this helps
N.

[Ferrit]

Thank you Nigel

[Ferrit]

I fitted my lhd stalks today.  I think I will get some lhd shrouds next.

Its not as neat as your aluminium ones Nigel.  I tried in steel as I had this in stock.  All works.

M

[Nigel]

Good work Mark.
I think I mentioned that the LHD shrouds are a 'much better to have' but you'll
still need to relieve the left side upper to clear a connector tab. You can
disguise this with black paint.

N.

[JohnFol]

So is the conclusion that the switch assembly cannot be repaired?

[peteracs]

So is the conclusion that the switch assembly cannot be repaired?

Hi John

Depends what is wrong with it I guess. I know there is a popular plastic part that cracks which has been remade.

Peter

[JASPER_40]

If anyone has a broken trafficator broken stalks then they can be fixed through the magic of 3D printing.

I am always on the lookout for broken trafficators so that I can get the measurements, sufficient to do a CAD design for the replacement parts and print them....namely the indicator stalk and the Lights stalk bodies. (later model with the black cylindrical stalk ends)

Let me know if you have anything along these lines that you are willing to part with.

Cheers,

Steve

[JohnFol]

I noticed the right headlight stalk needs a bit of a wiggle and pressure in the right place to turn on dashboard lights.

Does that sound like it is the bit that snaps frequently, or something different?

Not against sharing bits for 3D scanning but experience shows that unless you have a plan to source possible parts, you risk being off the road with the car in bits


In my good old Morris Marina days the stalk switch could be disassembled, contacts cleaned and reassembled.

[JASPER_40]

I noticed the right headlight stalk needs a bit of a wiggle and pressure in the right place to turn on dashboard lights.

Does that sound like it is the bit that snaps frequently, or something different?

Not against sharing bits for 3D scanning but experience shows that unless you have a plan to source possible parts, you risk being off the road with the car in bits

Hi Jon, the Beta trafficator can be disassembled and cleaned quite easily...have done several. There is a bit of fiddling with ball bearings and springs but technique wins the day. However, Attempting a repair is always a huge gamble with 40 year old plastic parts and yes, not having replacement parts on hand or readily available could mean being off the road for a while, wishing you had never bothered in the first place.....bin there way too many times !!

As concerns the 3D printing.....I should have been more clear as I was only interested aquiring broken trafficators where owners had already replaced the broken one. The hope is that replacement parts could be designed in CAD using the spec and measurements taken from the broken parts. The replacement parts could then be made available to anyone wishing to replace just the broken item as opposed to replacing the entire trafficator.

To answer your question about wiggling the light stalk....No, that is not what usually breaks. All too often the entire stalk is broken off leading to some creative and fragile repairs.

If it was me, I would investigate this unsound connection in the light stalk switch

Steve

[Ferrit]

I bought this one from a UK seller, I think Nigel did the same

https://ebay.us/m/Z8XAIG