My first love (well, Lancia first love) was the HPE 2000 run as a staff car in Thoroughbred and Classic Cars from October 1985. In 1987 I, as a Civil Servant, was sent on detached duty to another office where the only viable way of getting there was by car. I didn't have a reliable car at the time, living four minutes walk from the office, but realised the travel expenses over the first 30 days would pay for something just reliable enough to do the job. What more encouragement did I need? An old HPE 2000, carb model, was duly acquired.
The following year, after being made permanent at the detached duty station, a small inheritance allowed me to trade up to a wonderful Volumex HPE. Sadly shortly afterwards the commute combined with multiple adverse circumstances ended the VX's existence, and nearly mine as well, against a tree. The bug had taken root but an expanding family meant I could only afford to run one car and it needed to be a reasonably large estate car so no Lancias.
Scroll forwards a few more years and a friend gave us an old Fiesta which, as my wife had by then learned to drive, became my transport to work. An old Fiesta is not exciting, though it was worthy in a "does what it says on the tin" sort of way, but I will always remember it with fondness because it established that we could afford to run a second car. It wasn't long before a second hand 1600 Beta Coupe appeared for sale in the local paper. When I went to view it I almost drove away without stopping because it was beige, very beige. Fortunately it was in a cul-de-sac so I couldn't leave without turning round and driving back past it. Basically I couldn't drive past it and the rest, as they say, is history though after a few years service I sold it on as a restoration project as I just didn't have the time and lost the enthusiasm to keep it running.
After four Betas, two Prismas, three Dedras, three Y10s and three Flaminias, many of which were hopeless cases, I have a 1977 Spider restoration project to add to the collection of hopeless cases that never made it off my drive.
My wife describes my Lancia passion as "an unceasing quest for new and more exotic ways to experience rust".
