The Kindness (and unkindness) of Strangers. + Lecky prob
Discussion
Today I went out in my Lancia Beta Spyder. I stopped to go to the cash machine. A pleasant bloke issued forth from a nearby house and admired the car, telling me that it's the same type and colour as his was several years ago. He then went to his shed, and produced two spare wing mirrors and two tail light units (all of these are like unicorn jobbies), in their original boxes, and refused to take any money for them.
Wootage!
This came one day after some scrote loosened all of the wheel bolts on the same car, I almost lost a wheel while driving, and, a bit shaken by that, I left the car parked with the top down and the keys in the ignition for a couple of hours, but got away with it. I have told this tale in more detail in a separate thread in General Gassing.
Other Lancia related fun today: I replaced a blown 16 Amp fuse that protects the radio, clock, and indicators. It had blown out when I put the internal fan on. All fine, but then.... the engine continued running after the key was removed. I removed the fuse, and the engine stopped. WTAF? Electrics: I have no clue. I can fix stuff if it responds to being hit with a large lump of wood, but electrics are the work of Beelzebub.
LANCIA:
Look, ANother Crappy Italian Automobile.
Looks A Nice Car, Involves Aggravation.
Leaky and Noisy, Corrosion Is Audible.
BETA: Baffles Even Trained Apprentices.
As for the electrics: I Think A Lancia, Yes?
Wootage!
This came one day after some scrote loosened all of the wheel bolts on the same car, I almost lost a wheel while driving, and, a bit shaken by that, I left the car parked with the top down and the keys in the ignition for a couple of hours, but got away with it. I have told this tale in more detail in a separate thread in General Gassing.
Other Lancia related fun today: I replaced a blown 16 Amp fuse that protects the radio, clock, and indicators. It had blown out when I put the internal fan on. All fine, but then.... the engine continued running after the key was removed. I removed the fuse, and the engine stopped. WTAF? Electrics: I have no clue. I can fix stuff if it responds to being hit with a large lump of wood, but electrics are the work of Beelzebub.
LANCIA:
Look, ANother Crappy Italian Automobile.
Looks A Nice Car, Involves Aggravation.
Leaky and Noisy, Corrosion Is Audible.
BETA: Baffles Even Trained Apprentices.
As for the electrics: I Think A Lancia, Yes?
From another Forum:-
"Re: Ignition fault with fuse intact, I suggest a fan relay stuck, and reverse feeding the ignition switch...... hence the blown fuse originally . Does it even have a fan relay?"
Sounds plausible, I reckon, but I know Jack. Sadly, not the sort of thing that I can fix by the use of Italian swear words.
"Re: Ignition fault with fuse intact, I suggest a fan relay stuck, and reverse feeding the ignition switch...... hence the blown fuse originally . Does it even have a fan relay?"
Sounds plausible, I reckon, but I know Jack. Sadly, not the sort of thing that I can fix by the use of Italian swear words.
Mr. plastic toad's symptoms are exactly what you get if the earth tags need cleaning, it's because a component can't find the earth and so earths itself via something else, giving you crazy results!
I found this out when my first Delta gave me indicators when I tried the wipers. A good clean of the earth tags - they're a set of paired male Lucars all held on by a bolt - and a smear of vaseline and all is well from then on.
Made this an early job on my current integrale and it's been fine for years.
I found this out when my first Delta gave me indicators when I tried the wipers. A good clean of the earth tags - they're a set of paired male Lucars all held on by a bolt - and a smear of vaseline and all is well from then on.
Made this an early job on my current integrale and it's been fine for years.
Reminds me of my college days. Bought a Beta Coupe for £60, white with martini stripes, as it had engine issues- when I went to collect it the head and ancillaries were in the boot. Trailered it home and set to work, turns out the head had a chip between two of the cylinders. Local engineering firm dropped a blob of weld and skimmed it. Re-assembled the engine (have you tried valve timing one of these, bloody fiddly job) new gasket set and off it went. Ran it for a few years during my education whilst all around had fiestas and metros- oddly women were not impressed with an Italian coupe as much as the fact it had electric windows..
Went through three head gaskets before I got the tightening sequence right but was great otherwise- sold for £450 to fund a Mk1 Golf Gti Campaign again with engine issues but that's another story.
Great cars Betas.
Went through three head gaskets before I got the tightening sequence right but was great otherwise- sold for £450 to fund a Mk1 Golf Gti Campaign again with engine issues but that's another story.
Great cars Betas.
Breadvan72 said:
Today I went out in my Lancia Beta Spyder. I stopped to go to the cash machine. A pleasant bloke issued forth from a nearby house and admired the car, telling me that it's the same type and colour as his was several years ago. He then went to his shed, and produced two spare wing mirrors and two tail light units (all of these are like unicorn jobbies), in their original boxes, and refused to take any money for them.
What a very nice chap. Maybe you could anonymously have a half case of a red Italian wine sent round. I reckon he'd get the message.Make it a Spanna and he couldn't miss it!
Gassing Station | Classic Cars and Yesterday's Heroes | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff