This Car Changed My Life! 

More vids on this car on my 2nd channel: youtube.com/@theclassicnut

I had a 1978 Beta coupe. Such charismatic vehicles. I still miss mine.

What a stunning car absolutely loved these back in the day

Hi Chris, as an Alfa nutter myself, I too bought a UK import Lancia Prisma that was stored for 14 years in a shed here in Australia and I had to bring it back to life with all the rust on it. The bones were good and an excellent history as well. I look forward to the finishing touches on the Beta targa. No shame in owning a classic Lancia with all the Alfa's in our lives. Cheers from 🇦🇺

The first car I purchased when I started work in the mid-80s was a 78 Lancia 2.0 coupe. Beautiful car and I still miss it to this day. In good tune these cars were fast (for the day), handled really well and looked great. Ironically, I also had and issue with the passenger side window regulator. I think they were made out of tin foil and more in hope than expectation and the manifold nuts had a tendancy to unwind themselves until my mechanic doubled up the nuts.

Nice car Chris from a time when cars had character and individualism and the quirkiness just made them more interesting and fun to drive.

A beautiful Lancia. I can tell from your voice how pleased you are with it and what great memories it has brought back. Yes it needs some work but it's worth it

Hi Chris, What a beautiful Lancia!! My most favorite brand, even though I drive an Alfa. A long long time ago I owned a very nice dark green Fulvia Coupe. Had it for two years before moving to the USA from the UK. Sold it but I wish I had shipped it over. Looking for another Fulvia Coupe but the pickings are quite slim over here of course! Looking forward to seeing more if this rare and collectible Beta!!

I purchased a 1978 Lancia Beta coupe in California back in 78. It was one of the very best cars of my life , and I regret selling it in 1985. Fabulous quality and performance.

Another beautiful car! And the new place may look big enough to reunite all your fleet in one only place! Looking forwards to seeing it!

Lovely video Chis. Thank you. Good to see you at the Alfa meet in Totnes.

For some reason it’s taken until now for this video to appear in my feed, and I’m so glad it finally did - great video and such a lovely Beta Spyder!

Own one for 42 years now (first real car ever bought) did 400.000 km with it from the North Cape to Sicily and everything in between. Took it completely apart last 12 years and made it almost new. Did just 400km so far and am looking forward to many more kms next years and use what it's made for Drive! Viva Lancia !

We have similar tastes in cars… as a lad I had X1/9, Matra Bagheera then Lancia Montecarlo…. Loved every minute 😊 I reckon our generation is lucky as we had so many choices for sports cars back in the 80’s… Spitfires, MG’s, Alfa Sud / Sprint / Spider naturally

Love the Beta! As a 25 year old I'm not ashamed to say that my first and only car and DAILY driver is my lovely 1985 Lancia Delta (1300 79HP, the other 1300cc Deltas (1979 and post-1986 were only 75HP).

My hearty congratulations to you , sir. The Lancia Beta was a terrific car , in whatever form , saloon ( or should I say Berlina) , HPE, Targa top Spyder as you have, or the Monte Carlo. Loved all Italian cars of the seventies(1970s) , this is great . Get the carb cleaned out , fit a Malossi fuel filter ( the metal one- keeps the carb in better form) , you’ll feel the car performs better. Once again , congrats on your purchase . The standard factory wheels I believe are often available, and IMHO would suit the car better.

My 1984 Lancia Beta coupe was an absolutely beautiful car - it provided the best ride I've ever experienced. It was a true joy to drive.

The paint looks beautiful!

I did not know there was such a model, absolutely love it. A coupe and that interesting roof.

this car changed your life this car saved my life i had a bad accident in the coupe version 1.6L in ormskirt near the water tower a datusn 120Y pulled out in front of me and i had a front end smash my head was rebuilt in hospital i will never forget this beatiful car i was only 19 i remember the yellow seats looking like space 1999 eagle brown dashboard and wooden gear knob good times

Looks in great condition, congrats. Lanciaa are awesome.

I had a red '84 2000ie coupe. It was a lovely, interesting car. Miss those days.

I like that roof arrangement. very practical. I don't know why more cars don't have that setup

that's a pretty one indeed, can't wait to see more of it

Love it! Its an honourary Alfa🙂

Hi there not Sean one these for many years, my brother Ken had one back in day, it was bright red it used to get a lot of attention from people because looked fantastic it was not something you saw everyday. So good luck with it and enjoy..cheers Phil

I had a 1974 midnight blue Beta coupe 1800, and my Italian mechanics were so wrapt that I had purchased a 'true' Lancia rather than a Fiat cog-swap. The only problem I encountered in my 3-year ownership was the Fiat 124-fitted hand brake swap which only locked when applied; again, my mechanics came to the rescue. It was an impeccable performer. When sold, two young women fought over the deal and it resulted in a thousand dollars over the asking price!

I have an 81’ Zagato SE that was given to me. The previous owner was going to restore it but ended up buying a standard beta Spyder with a Honda K24 swap on BAT so he needed the space. It was already in pieces but I love the thing especially the black and gold wheels! I’m most likely going to use the 2L block in my 77’ Scorpion for a Guy Croft tuned/twin carb setup and just k20 swap it. The main thing is I have the removable targa top and back canopy which are valued possessions to me. Getting it on a rotisserie will be the next step for blasting and full zinc coating with high gloss black paint and the glorious JPS gold striping. What is it about these old Lancias that provides so much joy!

Ahhh , I can’t wait for this episode ❤ I am sure every Alfa Nut is secretly a Lancia Nut when it comes to this model !

That Chris is a pretty little car, I approve 👍

Had an 81 and loved that car despite all the niggling issues. Bought it very cheap with a blown 2L. Picked up a NOS 1.6 long block very cheap. and it ran great. Smoooooth was that 1.6. Would have been nice to have a 2L

Personally, I always thought the Beta Coupe was prettier and better proportioned. But nothing like the staggering beauty of the Scorpion (as it was called here - Chevy owned the Monte Carlo name). They did not stand up well to Canadian winters. Haven't seen one here in decades.

😂😂😂 Omg that made me laugh out loud. Never seen a rear seat come away like that under braking hehe

My father had a mk1 from new. Great childhood memory of travelling to london with him to collect it from the dealer.

I had 79 black/gold stripe in So. Cali. Mine was full of problems usually serious. Also the window regulator on mine was broken just like yours. That window regulator were a joke, piece of tiny soft metal bevel gear and wound wire spring mechanism😢 I hated so much it still gives me chills.

In Spain, the Lancia Beta was produced by Seat between 1979 and 1981, in two versions, Coupé and HPE (High Performance Estate). Here the car could not be called Lancia Beta, since that name was already registered - I think by a sewing machine company -, so it was called Lancia Coupé and Lancia HPE, without mentioning the word Beta. Both cars, the Lancia Coupé and the HPE, were manufactured in testimonial quantities - 1,300 units each - at the Landaben factory, but the Spider was never marketed in Spain, this is the first time I have seen this car in my whole life, thank you for bringing him into this channel. That Landaben factory, located on the outskirts of Pamplona - a city famous for its running of the bulls - was bought by Seat from Authi -acronym of Automóviles Hispano Ingleses or Anglo-spanish automobiles -, i.e. the subsidiary of British Leyland in Spain, and where Austin and Morris brand cars were manufactured , like the Mini between 1968 and 1975. Spanish Lancia Betas had a 1995 cc engine used in the Seat/Fiat 132, but with a displacement reduced to 1919 for tax reasons - it paid 22% tax, instead of 35% for cars over 1920 cc -, and at the time it was the most expensive car that an individual could buy in Spain, a market closed until 1986, when Spain had just joined the EEC, when tariffs were abolished; it was not until the mid-90s when we enjoyed free imports. It could be said that this car was in Spain the civilized substitute for the Seat 124 Sport, but with front-wheel drive and independent suspension, unlike the Seat 124 Sport, a car with a more rabid behavior, pure if you like, with its classic conception, rear-wheel drive and rigid axis. Until the Renault 11 turbo came out in 1984, the 124 sport was the car with the best performance made in Spain.

After watching this I said to my son...." This guy has a Lancia that has all the problems that all my old cars had. Now I want one. "

Always wanted one in the 1980s... thanks for the video

Oh, i knew you was a man of great taste. Like always, people like us, people who loves alfa, loves lancia too. Great car! And dont worry for the things falling apart... Its a Lancia! Just need some love and will be great. Personally, i like way more the Montecarlo, but all betas are pieces of art.

Masterpiece ❤️

My grandad has just passed his lancia beta spyder 2000 in Italian racing red down to me, I’m a lucky lad 🙏🏽

I have owned a 1976 Lancia Beta Coupe designed by Pininfarina. Absolutely a gorgeous touring coupe, wooden steering wheel with red leather seats, unfortunately, the body panels were using steel plates that FIAT acquired from Russia thru barter trade with FIAT 124 saloon assembly lines that were of low quality with too much carbon inside, thus these Russia-made steel plates tend to rust prematurely within two years, the other bad thing was that FIAT acquired Lancia in 1974, so FIAT was using FIAT engines in Lancia cars while faking them as Lancia engines(on the engine's top cover with "Lancia" engraved, but in fact was a FIAT engine inside). Worst of all, the electric assembly was down to the drain to cause false warning lights all over the instrument panel. I sold it in two months!

My brother had one in orange in 1987. One snowy morning we set off to our college me in the tiny back seat with the hood covered in snow. We go stuck in Balcombe on a back road because the snow was too bad but my brother couldn't see out of the little plastic cabriolet window so I struck it with the back of my hand in an attempt to throw the snow off the outside. Hand and arm straight through the plastic as if it were baking paper and the snow covered the back seat. We laughed at the time but it never got repaired as the sills rotted and it failed it's mot. Good memories though. My dad always owned Lancias and Fiats.

The Best looking at beta. Funny the flying seat..

Fantastic car! I'm hoping for more 156 v6 content soon?

Betas were a rare sight where I lived. I was quite fond of the car, and loved the history and legend of the marque, so it was heartbreaking to watch the only two Betas regularly parked in the area, rot into rust.

Love your chanell and love that watch. I had one.. Gifted it to my son for his 21st. Gifter's remorse! Only when I see you wearing it. Yes, Omega Seamaster, 2531.80 if my memory is correct5. The watch was even spotted being worn by a "Real" Diver, not just a desk diver in that great Doco/Movie, "Final Breath" It has great credibility.

Love it. Been Driving a Lancia kappa for the past 3 years. Its bit me. I'm really into Lanciaes. And with the renewal of the brand. Im very excited to see what will come from them.

Rear seats! Per seat one nut and two parkers to be mounted. Nut behind the spare. 5 minutes of time. Window winder. It does not work due to a worn pinion/and worn spring-wire-cable. Sympomatic. No one puts grease on it. Mine survived 38 years of use, still fitt. In case. The mechanism can be opened, de pinion could stil be functional, and the wire can be turned on the ends for a new lease of life. Changing to new about 1 hour or less, depending on coffee... and grease it rich, Teflon added even better. Unbalance in steering wheel, is road wheel. Worst case is homokinetics, in need of new grease, but making noise quickly. To wide road wheels will more quickly eat a a ZF powersteering actuator. 185 will still outcorner most. Very nice car! To be enjoyed to the max!

Beautiful elegant car i had one in my 20s Lancia Beta coupe 1300cc

I know a friend of yours, he has an art shop in Warsash on the Hamble and he used to admire my Alfa 156 2 litre JTS and the previous Alfa 156 2.4 JTD Sportwagon. I did 45000 miles in 2 years in the Sportwagon and somebody drove into the rear end while I was stopped at a roundabout and wrote it off. I had a 145 cloverleaf too, a GTI killer that was, it was raced by the previous owner and would batter the big American V8s. In the 1980s my brother and I had a valeting busdiness and had a contract with the local Fiat dealership, I drove lots of X1/9s and had a blast with them, also the 131 Miafiori was around and that was really quick back then. I enjoyed driving those things. I had a Fiat 124 trade in I paid £70 for and it was far better than a MK2 Cortina in every way. Me and the wife and kids had many good runs in that. I drove that Lancia and it was a fun car but I never clicked with it. I wish I had kept all the rusty Alfas of the 105 series I had chucked away. The Alfa 75 and GTV6 were around and a few years in could be bought for pence, mind you the rust was awful, Lancias were definitely the worse cars for rust, the Alfasud too!

Top podcast, Lancia!

had the 2lt twin cam with sun roof what a fun car

Hi Chris, you should try try to find a set of original Lancia alloys they were quite nice.

5:59 I was always a little disappointed in this version of the Lampredi engine. Note the position of the distributor - some had it positioned in the opposite corner (right rear of engine) which gives more room for a bigger intake manifold and two twin-choke carbs like the twin Weber downdraught setup found on some of the Sport Coupes, and without blocking access to the dizzy hidden beneath the intake manifold. It's a small detail, and one that doesn't dramatically affect how it runs - but it would have been nice to see, as it makes tuning the engine that much easier.

I used to own WEY780V about 15 years ago. It's in a lot better shape now obviously. My first Spyder KWX287P is still on the road too. I wish they still made cars like that

After a Beta 1800 saloon bought in 1975 (that, ordered in 1974, spent 8 months aboard the delivery cargo ship anchored 2 miles away from the blocked harbour - Angola...), completely ruined by rust, but with a brave Lampredi, I believed have been vaccinated forever. Mistaken. In 1983 I bought a beautiful Beta coupe 1300, dark blue. A trip to Paris, however, finished with my left hand with an apple doing the job of the failed windshield wipers. Some time later I realised that the steering wheel was broken and not much later a strong rain flooded completely the floor, what I discovered had been caused by the rust that has destroyed most of the lower part of the windscreen frame. Discouraged from fixing the corrosion issues, I got to sell my ruined love for 20% of what I had paid, feeling lucky. My passion were the Italian, but I started buying German, while occasionally driving Ferrari (456 GT and Maranello). Instead of a Giulia that wasn't still even in the dreams of the fabulous team that created it, I went through VWs, Mercedes and, ultimately, several classes of BMW. Relatively satisfied with their reliability (more issues than I expected, exception made to the series 1 diesel and the 6 inline X5), I gave up. Now in my seventies, I opted for a Mazda CX-5. Not before I tried the Giulia. Delightful to drive, its steady connection to the ground at any speed and road conditions, guided by the best direction I have experienced in my whole life, bar Ferrari's. It's a special fragrance that made me smile all the time, even going slowly, what becomes difficult, I reckon. My wife forbade me... The Portuguese have a proverb: if it weren't for what what we miss on them, women wouldn't be missed at all.

I just purchased one of these on marketplace myself. Haven’t messed with it yet, has been parked indoors for a some years non running. Has a shift linkage issue I’m told.

You are forgiven. A Lancia is almost an Alfa...:-)

It's a lancia truly stunning

Veeery nice...👍

What a lovely car. You lucky bugger

can you use that Lancia to drive in London, for instance or other cities in uk

Oh, pretty rare. Never seen one of it personally. Very cool. I wonder how many of them are still existing. Ok, maybe that was not the right period, but you always wonder (and I mean for every car maker): why didn't they produce more of those models? Why the better ones were rarity of even one-off (like the cars that Agnelli had Fiat produce for himself only and that are now in a museum)?

That first car for sale looks like my Abarth 125 spider launch edition, I’ve got in Australia

My favorite car of all time. I wanted this so bad it hurt. Was a college student so couldn't afford it. Convinced one of my professors to buy one. Call a Zegaro Spider here in the states

Hey Chris do you have any control over the adverts that appear on your channel? I'm currently beong advised on how I can improve ny manhood. I have to say it needs improving🤣🤣🤣🤣

Wow......Lancia Beta Spyder for your first car........Lucky Young Fella!😂😂👍

Stunner my colleague has 2 and a delta evo

No worries Chris, we love Lancia!

How is the body so good? Didnt these come with factory rust?

I bought a coupe in 76, great car. could use more power. The 1.8 was standard at the time. AC was even cold.

I had a Beta HPE back in the day. I cherished it and mostly gave all of my wages to the local welding community. Oh well…. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Your first car was a Lancia. Nice!

Very nice Lancia indeed👍😀

Gets the thumbs up from me !

That Lancia IS a great looking car and a great pedigree. That I feel is way better than the X19. I had the equivalent Toyota MR2 original and it was a serious dangerous car in the wet. Amazing in the dry, but holy hell no front end grip on even damp road let alone raining. A front engine car is WAAAAY more natural and predictable.

I had one a 1600, drove it to Gibraltar and back.

i sold my beta coupe last year. you mentioned part are plentiful!!!!! Not here. in USA

Looked for a good,classic Alfa for a reasonable price. Couldn't find anything under 15k Settled on a Lancia Fulvia Coupe Rallye.Rust free(really) low mileage and only 2 previous owners both lady solicitors. 8k as long as I promised not to rally it.

The Lampredi iron block was originally designed for Fiat, all blocks cast after Fiat acquired Lancia are FIAT LANCIA until Fiat acquired Alfa Romeo, from then on all blocks are GRUPO FIAT share the same single spark FIAT LANCIA ALFA 16V head as used in the Fiat Croma, Lancia Thema, and Alfa 156. After the acquisitions, the existing Fiat subsidiary Abarth worked with Lancia developing the supercharged Beta 037, turbocharged Integrale and dual charged Integrale S4 and ECV. The final iteration of the Lampredi for NA competition use was the D2 version from the Alfa 156 D2 Superturismo. 310 bhp @ 9,000 rpm plus Hewland or X-Trac 6 speed sequential. That engine and gearbox combination has been used to great effect installed in Fiat X1/9 Dallaras driven by Gianluca Ticci and Manuel Dondi. Tunable, hell yes.😊 You could get a junk Thema motor and copy the bore and stroke from the D2, stick it on ITB's and that's 200bhp easy. I can't think of any other production cars that were both mid engine and front engine apart from the Beta 🤔

Omg. My first car was a Beta 1800 coupe. I wanted a spider too. It was named the Zagato here. After I bought a 1985 Bertone X1/9. Great minds.

Bella macchina Almost all Zagatos are timeless cars (yes, I know, I'm biased, I have a Zagato too 😊)

Lovely looking car. Lancias reputation goes before them. As a big Alfisti myself, I can understand the attraction of flaky Italian cars.

I crashed a Beta HPE Volumex :(

Nice car, but unfortunately the Federal Exhaust Gas Control Ordinance and the Transport Tourism Emission Restriction Federal Ordinance will soon ban exhaust gas fun and transport tourism emissions!!!

How on GOds earth can a blinker stalk on the correct side of the steering wheel for a manual car, the right, be in anyway annoying? Driving any RHD manual car anywhere with the blinker stalk on the incorrect side of the steering wheel, the left, then that would be annoying!!!!

And mine!

I thought they all disintegrated ?

Nice video on the Beta Spider as you Brits call it! My 2nd car was a Lancia Zagato as we call it in the US. Your steering wheel is on the right, but still wrong side! Here's my Drivin' Ivan review of mine: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Ei-IezGYgvU.htmlsi=UtupSgAcPuLwTXoI

When that engine is set up right the car will go off the clock on a flat road

Hardtop coupe is more striking.

Everything squeaks......😢

Only ever owned Alfa's, my brother had a bunch of Fiat's in the 80's, so never had any experience with Lancia. They were pretty rare where I grew up as well, even rarer than the Alfa's. Don't know why really but they've always been somewhat like the ugly ducklings in my view.

It'sLAN-CHIA

Lovely car mate

That was great!

I’m in central Missouri. Have an ‘82 (red) Zagato. I luv the car when it runs but it never runs.

Hey mister Alfa Nut I'm a Owner of the Alfa Romeo Spider 916 1996 2.0 Lusso and I desperately looked for a fuel pump the complete one can you help me I'm in Germany and there is nothing to find only used ones.

Eccelsa