ListerBell Stratos
Discussion
Something a little bit different I guess...
Before Christmas 2016 I was thinking about getting an Audi R8 V10 because I wanted something sensible that I could use and enjoy without every journey being "all about the car" but never really bit the bullet because as much as I liked the idea of "sensible" it seemed awfully grown up.
I also had been through to the Lotus dealer a few times to look at the conveyor belt of new Elise and Exige models but only really fancied the newer and more extreme looking Exiges and they seemed awfully pricey and there always seemed the prospect of a better one on the horizon.
So, I seem to have headed off at a bit of a left-field tangent and I put a deposit on a factory build of a ListerBell Lancia Stratos.
The Stratos was always the 1st WTF car I remember seeing on telly when watching rallying on telly and I am actually really excited.
My car will be a Group 4 replica with the full painted Alitalia livery of Car number 4 from the 1977 Tour de Corse.
The Alitalia scheme was always what I associated with the rally car and I had in my mind from the outset that I wanted the more aggressive looking "square arch" bodywork. Fortunately there was one factory car that competed in that configuration so.... lucky me!!
Engine was always intended to be a totally rebuilt and refreshed 3.2 litre Alfa Romeo V6 Busso on individual throttle bodies with a programmable ECU which will allow me to have a couple of sensible maps for MOT and road use and a full-on pop/bang/crackle flame spitting rally mode for fun and should be around 320BHP.
It will be built LHD as per the originals and will have the full Group 4 rally dashboard as per the original. No half measures
I ticked the box for the big brake upgrade, double adjustable Nitron suspension, roof scoop, chin spoiler, quad driving light pod with twin lower fog lights. After the IVA I'm going to run it with a Group 4 style decat exhaust system with custom manifolds. Externally it will have the full decal set as per the original car.
The bugging thing was the wait.... 12 months before anything even started to happen after paying the deposit.
Anyhow.. obviously no pics of the car at this stage but I did buy a 1/18 scale model of the very car so have some pics of what it will (hopefully) look like.
It will be interesting to look back at the end of the project and see how much of the above plan comes to fruition.
I've a few more pics of progress to date incase anyone is interested.
Edit to add.
During the build I've kept an online photo-blog of sorts to keep track of the car's progress. I've quite enjoyed doing it even tho it's obviously a work-in-progress. It's for my own benefit but I guess will be handy to point anyone to when it comes time to sell it.
http://stratosstr.com/
Before Christmas 2016 I was thinking about getting an Audi R8 V10 because I wanted something sensible that I could use and enjoy without every journey being "all about the car" but never really bit the bullet because as much as I liked the idea of "sensible" it seemed awfully grown up.
I also had been through to the Lotus dealer a few times to look at the conveyor belt of new Elise and Exige models but only really fancied the newer and more extreme looking Exiges and they seemed awfully pricey and there always seemed the prospect of a better one on the horizon.
So, I seem to have headed off at a bit of a left-field tangent and I put a deposit on a factory build of a ListerBell Lancia Stratos.
The Stratos was always the 1st WTF car I remember seeing on telly when watching rallying on telly and I am actually really excited.
My car will be a Group 4 replica with the full painted Alitalia livery of Car number 4 from the 1977 Tour de Corse.
The Alitalia scheme was always what I associated with the rally car and I had in my mind from the outset that I wanted the more aggressive looking "square arch" bodywork. Fortunately there was one factory car that competed in that configuration so.... lucky me!!
Engine was always intended to be a totally rebuilt and refreshed 3.2 litre Alfa Romeo V6 Busso on individual throttle bodies with a programmable ECU which will allow me to have a couple of sensible maps for MOT and road use and a full-on pop/bang/crackle flame spitting rally mode for fun and should be around 320BHP.
It will be built LHD as per the originals and will have the full Group 4 rally dashboard as per the original. No half measures
I ticked the box for the big brake upgrade, double adjustable Nitron suspension, roof scoop, chin spoiler, quad driving light pod with twin lower fog lights. After the IVA I'm going to run it with a Group 4 style decat exhaust system with custom manifolds. Externally it will have the full decal set as per the original car.
The bugging thing was the wait.... 12 months before anything even started to happen after paying the deposit.
Anyhow.. obviously no pics of the car at this stage but I did buy a 1/18 scale model of the very car so have some pics of what it will (hopefully) look like.
It will be interesting to look back at the end of the project and see how much of the above plan comes to fruition.
I've a few more pics of progress to date incase anyone is interested.
Edit to add.
During the build I've kept an online photo-blog of sorts to keep track of the car's progress. I've quite enjoyed doing it even tho it's obviously a work-in-progress. It's for my own benefit but I guess will be handy to point anyone to when it comes time to sell it.
http://stratosstr.com/
Edited by renmure on Tuesday 18th May 19:31
I’m
Interested.
I ran an Integrale as a 23 year old in the early nineties which was looked after by the lancia legend John Whalley.
I always loved looking at his stratos’ Whenever I went to see him in Bishops Stortford.
(And the Ferrari engined Lancia Thema’s He’d often havecin the workshop)
Interested.
I ran an Integrale as a 23 year old in the early nineties which was looked after by the lancia legend John Whalley.
I always loved looking at his stratos’ Whenever I went to see him in Bishops Stortford.
(And the Ferrari engined Lancia Thema’s He’d often havecin the workshop)
The original Stratos was powered by a Ferrari Dino 2.4 V6 engine.
I was set on having an Italian V6 at the heart of the car and the Alfa Romeo V6 Busso engine seemed perfect. It was fairly straight forward to source a 2.5 litre or even 3 litre engine but I had my heart and head set on the much rarer 3.2 litre one.
It was getting really frustrating trying to source a good 3.2 GT engine with all the expensive bits so for Christmas 2017 I did a daft thing and I took the decision to cut out the middle-man and just buy a car. That meant I got the correct gearbox, the LSD and all the proper ancillaries I needed as a package... all wrapped in lovely Italian bodywork and leather seats
To be fair, it had rotten sills and wasn't going to pass another MOT without a lot of expense. I've physically never seen the car and didn't actually see the engine till January 2018 when it was fitted into the running chassis.
In truth, it didn't really matter how great the condition of the engine and gearbox was since the plan was always to have it sent away to a specialist Alfa engine builder in Cardiff to be totally stripped, rebuilt with whatever higher performance bits it needs and it would effectively come back zero timed and better than new.
And with the engine being put on a pallet before heading to Cardiff.
I was set on having an Italian V6 at the heart of the car and the Alfa Romeo V6 Busso engine seemed perfect. It was fairly straight forward to source a 2.5 litre or even 3 litre engine but I had my heart and head set on the much rarer 3.2 litre one.
It was getting really frustrating trying to source a good 3.2 GT engine with all the expensive bits so for Christmas 2017 I did a daft thing and I took the decision to cut out the middle-man and just buy a car. That meant I got the correct gearbox, the LSD and all the proper ancillaries I needed as a package... all wrapped in lovely Italian bodywork and leather seats
To be fair, it had rotten sills and wasn't going to pass another MOT without a lot of expense. I've physically never seen the car and didn't actually see the engine till January 2018 when it was fitted into the running chassis.
In truth, it didn't really matter how great the condition of the engine and gearbox was since the plan was always to have it sent away to a specialist Alfa engine builder in Cardiff to be totally stripped, rebuilt with whatever higher performance bits it needs and it would effectively come back zero timed and better than new.
And with the engine being put on a pallet before heading to Cardiff.
Edited by renmure on Sunday 28th April 22:53
I'll be up at the show on Sunday, nosing around the blue 3.0L customer build they have for sale on the LB stand. I really hadn't planned on buying an LB until late next year, but they come up so rarely and this may be an excuse to jump the queue. Gotta convince the wife that I need another car
Great choice on the 3.2. The alfa engine is just beautiful to behold.
What wheels did you go for? Did you get the chance to drive prior to making the decision?
Would love a chance pick your brains if you are around.
Great choice on the 3.2. The alfa engine is just beautiful to behold.
What wheels did you go for? Did you get the chance to drive prior to making the decision?
Would love a chance pick your brains if you are around.
I was going to say, if you need any info about rebuilding the engine, give me a shout - I've rebuilt more than a few including a 3.0 that went into a Hawk.
Are you sure the GT has an LSD? They didn't come with one as standard, but most have been retrofitted with a Q2 or Quaife torsion type diff.
Looking forward to the updates!
Are you sure the GT has an LSD? They didn't come with one as standard, but most have been retrofitted with a Q2 or Quaife torsion type diff.
Looking forward to the updates!
Edited by Zombie on Sunday 28th April 22:04
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