Zagato/Beta history questions..

[Ryan]

Was the Beta Spider ever offered with fuel injection in Europe?  Was it an option offered?  I can see here that the injected variants of the Beta range are pretty rare on this forum.  I've also noticed that the majority of fuelie cars here are HPEs.  Why is that?

Its surprising to see so many cars here that have the cloth interior.  Was the leather option availible in European cars?

What years did Lancia offer the Spider over there?  We (NA) had Zagatos from 79 to 82.  This brings up the question: What series is the of Beta is the 82 Beta Zagato considered?  The one with the more modern grill.  FL2?

[Neil-yaj396]

Only the 'ie' cars (Coupe, Trevi and HPE) were sold with fuel injection in th UK. Leather was never a factory option here on the standard cars, but not sure about the Spider. Spider production ran from 1974 to 1982. The FL2 only went to the US 81/82 so yours could be one of those?

[rossocorsa]

leather was optional in Europe but I don't think they ever offered it on the price list in the UK, strangely Trevi was never offered in UK with injection. Spider was discontinued at the end of S2FL in Europe only NA got S2FL2 cars

[Ryan]

Thanks for the info.  Were any of the beta series offered with air con in Europe? 

It seems like all the later US Betas that I have seen, like the 81-82 Coupe/Spiders, were all "fully loaded" from the factory with the Black leather, A/C, power windows and steering.  I wonder if they equipped them as such to simplify things.

Also, did the UK and elsewhere get the "Limited Edition" Spiders?  The black and gold painted ones.  Seems like they are the most common Beta spotted on this side of the pond.  Aside from the 82 Rossa Corsa Zagatos, which I have.  For some reason the red 82s pop up on fleabay US regularly despite the fact that only 700 odd were imported.

As a side note, the only difference between the 81 and 82 Zagato was the grill, steering wheel center and the wheel center caps.  I wonder if some of the more shady dealers just swapped them out on the remaining 81s to make it one year newer.

[rossocorsa]

I don't know much about NA market cars but if it followed a similar pattern to S2FL2 in Europe there are more detail differences than you think. No limited additions over here for the spider that I am aware of, air con was an option on some cars in Europe but doesn't seem to have been offered in the UK. In Europe the S2FL2 coupé/HPE first appeared in 1981 so I think it is possible that some of the late spec zagatos were built that year(?)   

[WestonE]

I have removed AC from a late UK S2FL Beta Spider so it obviously made it here as an option all be it a rare one.

Eric

Sadly they never factory installed power steering in the Beta Spider which would have transformed the car.

[rossocorsa]

I suspect RHD cars destined for South Africa and maybe Australia/NZ had air con at least as an option

[MattNoVAT]

So places with the kind of climate you would actually need aircon then? 

[Ryan]

In Europe the S2FL2 coupé/HPE first appeared in 1981 so I think it is possible that some of the late spec zagatos were built that year(?)   

I think you are right on this one, RC.  I just went out to the garage to check the door VIN plate for a build date.  It shows April 81 as its month of birth, although it is clearly a 1982 car (modern grill, ect)

Does anyone know if Lancia sequentially numbered the cars as they rolled off the assembly line or if they just assigned random numbers? 

[Ryan]

So places with the kind of climate you would actually need aircon then? 

A few years ago I thought I'd take a stab at getting the A/C to work in the Zag.  I invested 30 bucks on a 134a conversion kit.  It didn't take long to install and half hour later, damned if cold air wasnt blowing out the vents! Keep in mind, its not like ice cubes are shooting out the dash.  It does take the edge off the hotter months though.  From what I gather in talking to a local ex Fiat/Lancia dealer, thats the best I can expect from the A/C that was equipped from factory.  He mentioned that they installed a extra fan in some (behind the condensor) and that helped matters considerably.  Something I may consider down the road. 

The A/C does have the compressor pump cut out switch, so when you are flogging it about the vents start to shoot out warm air.  Guess this is to help increase engine power when in demand.

[Ryan]

Sadly they never factory installed power steering in the Beta Spider which would have transformed the car.

That's a shame.  The ZF rack is pretty slick especially at slow speeds.  Makes me wish Fiat installed PS in my Strada when it left the factory.  I've got wider tires on that and it seems like I'm always wrestling with the steering wheel at low speeds (esp. parking)

[MattNoVAT]

I just went out to the garage to check the door VIN plate for a build date.  It shows April 81 as its month of birth, although it is clearly a 1982 car (modern grill, ect)

Does anyone know if Lancia sequentially numbered the cars as they rolled off the assembly line or if they just assigned random numbers?  

Not sure if the cars were numbered sequentially, but my 1981 S2/FL was registered Aug 1st 1981 but according to Fiat/Lancia records it was built in May 1978!

[rossocorsa]

I think they were sequential but the actual logic of the late style chassis numbers defeats me. Matt how did you get the build date info off Fiat I thought they didn't have reliable records for the Beta period? I'm not surprised at the time it spent in a field I had a berlina on an X plate (1981) that can't have been built later than '79. Also seen another late registered S2 FL coupé with a Fiat chassis plate added stating no warranty, heard this was for substandard cars that had stood around a while sold cheap to staff but don't now if it's true.   

[MattNoVAT]

I contacted Fiat / Lancia UK in Slough and asked their Lancia Guru Tim S.

[rossocorsa]

I contacted Fiat / Lancia UK in Slough and asked their Lancia Guru Tim S.

he helped me a lot when I imported a Delta HPE back in 1999 was really helpful