New to Beta's

[johnny b]

Hi,

I'm going to look at 1980 Beta Coupe this weekend. What are the main items I should be concerned with? I used to have a 1970 Fiat Spider so I'm not affraid to dig in. I do need to know what parts are easy to find and what is getting rare. Any info. would be appreciated. Thanks,

[rossocorsa]

mechanically they are pretty strong, if you are used to 124's you'll know all that, rust is the biggest enemy in particular check the rear inner wheelarches / strut mounts and do it by lifting the boot carpets/side trim (if the owner will let you...somewhat unlikely....also look at the arches from the interior this might mean removing the rear seats on a coupé) this rust can be repaired but it's a big job most betas in the UK suffer with it, in drier climates it may not be such an issue. Check very carefully around the front screen pillars in the bottom corners another rot spot particularly in cars with a sunroof and difficult to repair. Check on the roof around the sunroof itself if it has one and also check the sunroof works ok. Other than this check the usual spots. Trim can be very difficult to find as can some other spares that are unique to the beta so check it over carefully if it is complete with no broken bits you are very lucky!

[rossocorsa]

difficult to find


any body panels especially rust free doors or bootlids
interior trim in particular plastic bits for the sunroof and the radio section of the dash (both are often broken)
suspension struts are getting more difficult to find inserts are easier but not many cars have the refillable type struts (a 1980 will not)
engine mountings also including the little hydraulic dampers
windscreen washer bottles for late cars (made of very brittle plastic almost impossible to find)

[johnny b]

Alan,
Thanks for the tips. Knowing where to look for rust especially. Parts availabilty is a concern.
John

[johnny b]

Alan,
Thanks for the tips. Knowing where to look for rust especially. Parts availabilty is a concern.
John

[badboyboogzy]

check the door sills if you can unscrew the lancia kick plate and have a look door sills suck to try and fix check the suspension bolts to see how new they are if new good sign if old and corroded bad sign and as far as parts go and this is for every one im currently negotiating a deal on a whole lot of beta spyder montecarlo etc parts and i men a lot of parts(wheretalkin container loads)

i hope that helps a little
renay
Bad Boy Boogzy :twisted:

[johnny b]

Well, I went and checked it out today with my brother who has a 1970 Fiat Spider.(an objective opinion) It is a 1980 Beta coupe with a rebuilt
2liter Fuel injected motor-5 Speed- A/C- Power windows- Leather-Polished stock alloys-sun roof-106,000 miles.
*The only rust we found was behind the left rear wheel
*It leaks oil like crazy-couldn't find where from
*The sun roof doesn't close all the way
*Extensive professional work done over the last 5 years
I did however find out why you guys like these things soooo much.
When it rolled out of the garage it just looked like it had an attitude.
Man, what a kick to drive. I didn't make an offer. He is asking $2,100. I am concerned about parts in the future. Any thoughts?

[badboyboogzy]

as your signiture says man do it buy it parts will come if you buy it they will come

[rossocorsa]

*The only rust we found was behind the left rear wheel
*It leaks oil like crazy-couldn't find where from
*The sun roof doesn't close all the way


oil leaks are not that uncommon and are often from the cam cover gaskets, sunroof is another failing but can probably be sorted if it has no rust on the roof you are onto a good thing, the rust behind the rear wheel could be worrying (although it can be dealt with) remember that once it is attacked with a trusty hammer it will probably be a much bigger hole, if I was you I would go back and inspect the rear inner arches very thoroughly if it then seems reasonable haggle like mad to reduce the price bearing in mind the repairs it will need there. I've no idea what they fetch in the states so I can't comment on the asking price

[andybeta]

Hi Johnny B,

The Californian climate is probably a lot kinder than our UK damp and salt so rot may be less of a problem. Can only support what others have said and add take special care inspecting the rear arckes inner and outer as these can rot very badly and give important strength to the rear body. They also give strength to the boot floor and if too badly corroded can cause the boot floor to become distorted due to it having to take a lot of stress it would otherwise not. Reapairs are not only expensive but need someone woh knows exactly what they're doing to get repair sections on the correct place for the suspension geometry. Not for the faint hearted or shoe string budget. I've been there. Fortunately I found some genuine Lancia replacment inner and outer rear wheel arches. It mus thave been fate as the car is like new at the bqck again and a joy to drive.

As the other advice suggested check the A-posts as rot can lie within and at the bottom and top of the windscreen and behind the rear section of the front wing. Also consider why the sunroof doesn't close fully. Is it simple a mechanical problem or are there other underlying causes such as a deformed body if it's had extensive rebuilding, has it been rolled or in a bad accident?

The oil leak is fairly typical of these engines and an Achilles heel. It leaks from the back cam gasket as oil collects here and also the distributor oil seal can fail which means a steady stream of oil loss. All curable and not too serious. It makes good rust proofingif your're not too fussy about the mess and cost, but smell on the exhaust can be unpleasant as it comes throught the heater vents, but I guess in Sacramento you wouldn't be using the heater!

Look out to see if the oil leak hasn't caused engine mountings to perish and check the front subframe for corrosion. Engine mountings can be difficult and expensive to source.

If the car has been standing for some time usual things such as shocks and wheel bearings. Electrics is another subject........good earths for lights.

Apart form that you might have a fairly good car. Price I don't know, the market may well be different in the US. Just haggle like mad.

Best of luck,

Andybeta

[andybeta]

Hi Johnny B,

The Californian climate is probably a lot kinder than our UK damp and salt so rot may be less of a problem. Can only support what others have said and add take special care inspecting the rear arckes inner and outer as these can rot very badly and give important strength to the rear body. They also give strength to the boot floor and if too badly corroded can cause the boot floor to become distorted due to it having to take a lot of stress it would otherwise not. Reapairs are not only expensive but need someone woh knows exactly what they're doing to get repair sections on the correct place for the suspension geometry. Not for the faint hearted or shoe string budget. I've been there. Fortunately I found some genuine Lancia replacment inner and outer rear wheel arches. It mus thave been fate as the car is like new at the bqck again and a joy to drive.

As the other advice suggested check the A-posts as rot can lie within and at the bottom and top of the windscreen and behind the rear section of the front wing. Also consider why the sunroof doesn't close fully. Is it simple a mechanical problem or are there other underlying causes such as a deformed body if it's had extensive rebuilding, has it been rolled or in a bad accident?

The oil leak is fairly typical of these engines and an Achilles heel. It leaks from the back cam gasket as oil collects here and also the distributor oil seal can fail which means a steady stream of oil loss. All curable and not too serious. It makes good rust proofingif your're not too fussy about the mess and cost, but smell on the exhaust can be unpleasant as it comes throught the heater vents, but I guess in Sacramento you wouldn't be using the heater!

Look out to see if the oil leak hasn't caused engine mountings to perish and check the front subframe for corrosion. Engine mountings can be difficult and expensive to source.

If the car has been standing for some time usual things such as shocks and wheel bearings. Electrics is another subject........good earths for lights.

Apart form that you might have a fairly good car. Price I don't know, the market may well be different in the US. Just haggle like mad.

Best of luck,

Andybeta

[Cougar Dave]

I just bought a '77 Beta, and parts are the big concern. Bayless in Marietta, GA seems to be a good source, and have a good catalog. They say some parts, like motor mounts, just aren't available, but I've seen another web site that explained how to buy a polyurethane mix and make your own. I plan to strip mine and race it, so the trim items like door handles aren't an issue. Rust may not be a problem if yours is a southwestern car. Mine has only one spot in front of the right rear wheel, and I've really searched for the rust, based on the reputation of 1970s Italian steel. Good luck.

[Will]

Bayless is expensive, and Art has shipped me used parts that are WORSE than the ones I was replacing!
A fiat enthusiast near me still has the remains of several dealer inventories, and very good resources, so if you need something, ask. I will put you in touch.
I would recommend are Bruce's parts bin, C. Obert, IAP, etc. long before Bayless.
-Will

[Cougar Dave]

Thanks for the feedback. I've never dealt with them, and will try these others.

[johnnyb]

2 1/2 years later,

I didn't buy it back then, chickened out after negotiating a $1500 purchase price. I emailed the owner last week, on a whim, to see if he still had it. He still has it. The ironic part is he tryed to start it awhile back and a fuel line broke, pouring fuel all down his driveway. He put it back in the garage and there it sits. I am picking it up Sept. 11th for $1350. I always felt I should have bought it.

I noticed looking through the catalogs and web sites there seems to be a parts difference between the 80 & 81 Beta's. Can anyone tell me the changes that were made between those years?

Thanks, John

[sickchilly]

Parts difference between 80 and 81 Betas? The difference would be that there are no 80 parts! Officially, there were no 80 model year Betas in the US. We got skipped for that year. That's probably the confusion you see. 79's were carb'd 2-liters with horrible smog fittings like the FIAT 124's, 81's were Bosch L-jet FI'd 2-liters. Muy bueno.

[johnnyb]

Excellent! Thanks for the info. :D

[johnnyb]

I towed it home Sunday :D . Replaced the fuel filter fuel lines and some rotted vacuum hoses. Then, after checking the fluids, fired it up. Ran a little rough for a few minutes then smothed out. After warming it up and looking for leaks I just couldn't wait to take it around the nieghborhood. Boy, what fun!

One issue it does have is the column switch is messed up. The side lights are always on unless you hold the light handle up a little bit. So, I ordered a new one from Vic's.

Any sugestions for loosening a stuck spark plug? 1 through 3 came out fine but #4 is frozen. I didn't want to try too hard, heard stories of tearing up the threads.

[sickchilly]

On your turn stalk problem... chances are yours can be saved. I'm pretty good at doing it now. I bet the plastic cam that breaks the parking contacts has melted to the point that it no longer breaks the contacts to turn off the parking lamps. You can rebuild this cam with some epoxy. Then you clean the contacts up good and put everything on relays... yes, including the parking/dash lamps, low beams and high beams. High beams should already be on relays from the factory... This switch and the overloading of it is a weakness on these cars.

You should put everything on relays before installing the new stalk if you use it. Otherwise it will have a similar fate shortly.

As for the plug, if it isn't frozen, you can guarentee that it has been cross threaded. Stupid mechanics try to weasle that plug in and out without the proper swivel/socket/extension.

If it's frozen, soak it with PBlaster for several hours. Even overnight if necessary. If it's cross-threaded, you'll just have to muscle it out and then you'll probably end up re-tapping and helicoiling it (or some other brand of thread insert). If you have to tap and thread it, set cylinder #4 to TDC and shove an oil dampened rag into the cylinder in order to catch the shavings, then carefully pull it out when done. The shavings should stick to the rag and not contaminate the engine.

[johnnyb]

Thanks,
What type of relays are you using. Do you just pick up the wiring right out of the column switch plugs?

[SubGothius]

As for the plug, if it isn't frozen, you can guarentee that it has been cross threaded. Stupid mechanics try to weasle that plug in and out without the proper swivel/socket/extension.

If it's frozen, soak it with PBlaster for several hours. Even overnight if necessary. If it's cross-threaded, you'll just have to muscle it out and then you'll probably end up re-tapping and helicoiling it (or some other brand of thread insert). If you have to tap and thread it, set cylinder #4 to TDC and shove an oil dampened rag into the cylinder in order to catch the shavings, then carefully pull it out when done. The shavings should stick to the rag and not contaminate the engine.My #4 was thoroughly screwed up (pun intended) as well, so I used a "Plugsaver" type of insert that Guy Croft himself courteously recommended to me when I sent him an email inquiring about Helicoil vs. Time-Sert sizes and recommendations for this very purpose. Strangely, plug-thread repair kits of this type are sold under the Helicoil brand name, tho' they aren't actually helical-coil type inserts! :? Also sold at Autozone under the "OEM" tool brand they sell there, FWIW...

Eneywho, the Plugsaver is a solid insert (like the Time-Sert), but it has several knurled threads at one end, so it will stay put after you twist it in. Amusingly enough, when I step-tapped out the old threads to accept the insert's outer threads, I inadvertantly followed the crossed threads, rather than the proper, original threads! 8O This had me rather worried for a while, but as it turned out, it should be perfectly functional, as the top of the insert got nearly all the way down and then flattened off nicely to seal the plug, so now I'll be able to thread that plug in/out without needing a swivel joint at all. ;)