Lancia Beta Forum

Thought it about time I posted something on here about my HPE.
It was orginally a 1600, hence no sunroof  :), a previous owner converted to a 2000.
I ran it last year with twin 45s until late into the year, the clutch release bearing was on its way out.
Over the winter, it finally decided to fail, engine out job to replace.

So since then I have slowly been working on various little projects, ok some rather large in an attempt to get it on the road again this summer. At the moment the engine is out to get the bay looking a little tidier. A replacement engine assembly is waiting to go in.

As I complete various stages over the coming weeks, I will reveal things as I get them fitted.

Mark

What a week, or it seems like it.

Engine bay nice, clean and tidy. On inspection of the steering rack, the gaiter needed replacing, so i decided to rebuild to pop in a coupe rack. It needed cleaning, new gaiter and bush.

Replaced the master cylinder, fitted new brake pipes, got the wiring back in.

In between other jobs, like fixing a rattle in the drivers door, i got the wire brush out and started to clean up the d/s sill. Wish I hadnt now, I ended up having to replace the rear section of the sil. Repair inner and outer sections.  I tried for the first time Wayside copper weld through primer. http://www.waysideadhesives.com (http://www.waysideadhesives.com) i must say it works far better than the zinc product i used before.

Hopefully today the engine will be back in, yesterday I replaced the water pump as there was some play in the old one eventhough it only had done about a 1000 miles or so.

Coming jobs this week, collect and fit recored VX rad, fit oil coller on it. Hopefully my new middle exhaust section will be ready too.
I will prob end up doing the other rear sill too.
Will get the car's ass in the air and sort that out too. Clean and sort out rear brakes. New pipes all round.

Ill let you know how i get on.

Engine out B4

Engine bay after

As for the sill, before and after ish........

The latest....
I did the sill the other side, needed doing but ended up being more difficult as there was about 4mm of filler iver the top plus a little spontaneous combustion, panic panic.

With the engine back in situ, all the little bits and bobs were added like carbs etc. With the starter on, we decided to see if it would turn over, well the starter clicked like made, we checked all the wiring was in right, yep no cock ups there, changed the starter not once, twice but three times, still nothing. It turned out the main thick wire from the starter to the battery was shot, changed it and over she turned.

Got the VX rad back from being recorded, god that broke my wallet, 160 quid later, fitted an oil cooler and slimline fan with a new fan switch, on at 85 degrees off at 80 if my memory is right.

And the brakes.................................
With help from Marcus aka lanciamad, new copper nickel brake pipes were fitted, a few little adjustments made, rear discs cleaned up as virtually new, proper fitting EDC pads and handbrake cable fitted.
Front brakes fitted, but a few little adjustments left to do over the next few days, which Im sure might be of interest to some people.

Can you spot a few other little mods in the background?

Undecided which of the three gear shift options i have to go for, prob not the standard one, i have a spare prototype of the very short shift but most proberly go for the medium shift so i can test that, measure the throw etc. I fitted new bushes, and short rod along with brass bushes in the pivot mounted on the subframe, Am thinking of getting a batch made along the the pivot rod itself especially as the one in my berlina is well worn, gearstick moves side to side in gear as if it was in neutral. Need to find another engineering company as my local one a tad busy right now. Suggestions on a postard please .......

Pic of linkage in place, I could only find two decent ball studs and had to fit the best of the rest , and would you believe it, my delivery of new ones arrived friday, will be on the site next week.

Engine bay pic......

Great to see parts of a Beta looking 'brand new'!

Thanks Neil, lots of time taken and over the winter it will be resprayed to match the parts.

Fitted the exhaust today, car will be fired up tomorrow if i get a chance.  If any interest I will offer this centre section on the parts website.

Great looking exhaust ;D

Can you please explain about the front brakes.....

Looking forward seeing you and the car next year

So is that a single silencer exhaust system? Looks lovely...  :-*

Mark

A quality job you deserve the huge grin you will have when driving it! As you might expect I am very interested in how you find the front brakes. Did you bypass the rear load balance set up as I suggested?

Cheers

Eric
PS still no progress on whether the VX rears will work.

Thanks, well the brakes are HiSpec 4 pot calipers with 284mm HF Integrale vented discs. I had to get mounting brackets, spacers made up and Goodridge braided hoses. Yet to see how they work yet.

Mark

Yet to here what it sounds like, loud i expect.

Thanks Eric, yes i by passed the compensater infact took it all out.

Do you have a brake bias fitted ? or are the rear brakes working as hard as the fronts ?
(always thought that rears only partially worked unless you were carry a lot of rear weight)

Geoff

Looking good... is that stainless or mild? and is the rear silencer bigger than standard to compensate the loss of the middle? Only issue for me is how loud it is, as long as it's comfortably below 98db's at 4,500rpm your have an order. Who's got an iphone or similar there willing to get covered in beta fumes? ;)
How's it shaping up for the MOT and Gaydon? :)

Hey, there's nothing wrong with 105db at 4500 revs,

I said there's nothing wrong with 105db at 4500 revs

Unfortunately there is at Castle Combe though :(

Goodwood is even lower I think.  :-\ There's no appreciation for high quality sound these days....  :-[

Goodwood is 105db which is why I was allowed on track, although I had to short shift
to keep under the limit.
They have applied to increase the limit and it looks as though they will be successful.
Most tracks are 98db these days, as far as I know, I'm just waiting for a new centre box
to bring the level down on the Gamma.

No Bias fitted at the moment, but still a work in motion.
Im not sure how loud it is so you might have to try it a gaydon, hopefully MOT end this week or early next week.

Got it started final over the weekend, but had another problem. Drivers side hud seized solid. It turned out to be a new CV joint fitted, not enough clearence between it and the hub.  Fund a spare and now sorted.

Hi Mark,

Looks good as it all comes together.

I am mightily impressed with your replacement sill work.

Are you using a std 2l engine with twin 45DCOEs?

Your exhaust looks nice. Who made it? You look like you've opted for a two silencer system - a reduced diameter transverse box and a tail box? Interesting as I ditched the transverse one as well and went for just one extended straight through silencer at the rear. The HPE floor is longer than the Coupe so this can be done. I gained about about another 6 inches IIRC. The exhaust isn't too loud although I haven't had it noise tested on a meter. Sporting is how I would describe it. There is the characteristic rasp from the supercharger at certain revs. Mine's a 2.5 inch system made by Don Pembleton in Huthwaite including manifold with 30" primaries 4-2-1 and take off for Lambda sensor. Below is a pic of the tail pipe and end of the rear silencer on my HPE. Unfortunately I don't currently have a side on pic, but I can say the silencer is as long and large as possible without obviously fouling the car body. I include a pic of the manifold as well although it is not possible to see the 4 individual pimaries or the Lambda sensor as this is on t'other side, but nonetheless I think it's a work of art. I am very pleased with it. It certainly lets the engine "breath" a lot more freely and consequently rev a lot more willingly. I've had it up to 7,000rpm with little problem. I think it will go to 7,500 - 7,800rpm no problem. But with FI it would be better .....

My car is currently buried under a mound of stuff plus I currently have scummie neighbours so don't intend getting it out this year so won't be able to take a pic at this present time to show you or others who might be interested. Hopefully by Christmas the scummies will be gone .................

I like the look of your brakes. Have you retained the dual circuit that is particular to the Beta? Are you fitting the same larger discs and Hi-Spec calipers to the rear?

Can you see the BB poly bushes in the front subframe? I went for black in the end.

You are nearly at the finish. It's looking great. Hope everything goes smoothly.

All the best,
Andy

Hi Andy
the exhaust is made by a company that makes them for the Cat page for me. It is only a 2@ ID one box system with a std style back box but Ill be getting another one made while it gets repainted over the winter. Down pipe is a modified Ansa 4 branch but if cash allows get a another one made to measure.

Brakes are a single circuit with the front pipes coming from the mixed circuit and the rear coming from what was the front circuit on the MC.
The rears will be using another Hispec calipers but with discs about the same size. IN TIME.

Just waiting for Jenvey airbox to arrive for the Dellorto 45 DHLA s with 60mm rampipes but might fit 90mm ones if everything works especially if I put SIII cams in it.

Mark

Hi there
Its been a while since i was logged on, my cookies were not working , but thanks to Tony H , ive manged to get back on here.

Update on the ole HPE , didnt pass the MOT   :'( failed on leaking brake pipe, emissions and cracked manifold.  I was not a happy chappy.

Even though the brakes were leaking just a little, the tester was impressed with their performance.  When i get it retested, Ill make a note of the efficency of them.  The emissions were way way out , and as not sure if it was the carbs i decided to replace with the DCOE's jetted to GC spec in his manual. Im just waiting for the manifold now then it will be retested.

Have fitted the airbox with a remote filter, modified the position of the thermostat to give me enough space for the TPS for the 3D ignition/coilpack conversion when the remaing components arrive.

Just got the tracking to do.

A few pics to follow.

Mark

Engine bay

Engine bay , another view. Note the heat shield for the filter.

How the discs fill the wheels, got some Rota 16" to fit, just deciding on the rubber.  either 195 50 16 or 205 50 16 based on using 185 65 14 as std.

now from the rear......and who is that ugly mug dribbling over this beast  :D

And i splashed out a little too, bought a new High Torque starter motor from Cambridge Motorsport, and now sounds good when you start it up, almost wish it didnt fire sometimes. Sad.........

Mark

Nice!! I love the radiator all feed from the left and the airbox is a masterpiece. Can you get away with 1 main beam headlight? I feel a conversation at the NEC is overdue.

Eric

Mark,

I have to agree totally with Eric's comments! I like the air intake, I have a similar arrangement but without the light removed.

Couple of questions:

1. What type of brakes are you using and did it require a different master cylinder and scrapping the "super duplex" system?

2. Is the bonnet designed to be totally removable, I see there are pins at the front?

Thanks Ian

Hi Eric/Iain

Ive wired in all the pins on the H4 , so i get both dip and main beam from it, but it would take 5 mins to wire it back to std if needed.

Yes Iain the bonnet is totally removable, its a fibreglass bonnet, thinking of adding some vents to help engine bay cooling.

Have now fitted a new CSC 4-2-1 manifold.

Mark

Oh Iain,
The brakes are something as a work in progress,
Hispec 4 pot calipers, used on Intergrale 284mm vented discs. Ive kept the original MC but altered the plumbing.
At the moment there are std discs but will be upgraded further with cross drilled/ grooved discs.

Custom caliper mounts have been made, along with custom Goodridge hoses.

Next thing to do is move battery to the back, and wire in mappable ignition.

Mark

I did a vent today.

from another view

Well some good news, the ole HPE has finally passed its MOT, so little niggles / fine tuning to be sorted but we got there.

We recorded the brake efficiencies and are as follows, front 260, rear 160 and handbrake 140 .
Not sure if this is good or not , comments please.
Bare in mind , pads not bedded in properly yet and std discs.

 

:)
Wouldn't have a clue without seeing a braking chart and comparing against something with better brakes, integrale figures perhaps? If there 100% efficient they should lock up = instant pass.

Mark

I would expect to see 75-80% front bias verses 61% now so bed those pads in. Unfortunately I have no comparision on brake efficiency either.

Cheers

Eric

Nothing much more to report , thanks to the weather and work. Got some better bits to find, get it painted and then fine tuned.\
Hopefully soon ill get the ignition sorted.

Mark

Mark,

Very nice, it's coming good. The engine bay looks grand. The wheels suit the car very well, good choice.

Can you really get away with only one main beam light? I thought that would be a no-no.

You have vented discs on the front - these weren't standard were they? I thought the stds were solid.

And you have put Toyo Proxes on the car. A good branded tyre with non brand price.

Andybeta

Hi Andy
Well it appears you can have one main beam lamp as long as it doesnt work. Therefore the Outer H4's work as main beam too.

Brakes are a conversion ive been working on, Delta Integrale 284mm disc with HiSpec 4 pot calipers.

When the car has been painted the, i have some 16 inch alloys to go on it . prob put a good quality 205/55 on them too.

Dont due to get the painting done till mid March.

Mark

Hi All
Well time for an update..........
Got the old girl home and went mad.
Plan was to get the wiring moved and ready for next little projects  So plan is to move the fuse box away from the hot exhaust area.
I have sacrificed another loom to elongate the existing loom. So Now the box can be located in the passenger foot well.
I have got to get the new ignition system loom done soon so its all wired in ready to use when the time is right.

Also located the battery in the boot area.
I had acquired a aux fuel tank, think i might need the extra capacity somehow.

This week managed to do a few things, made a bracket for fusebox, wired in battery (now in the back) . I connected it back and hey presto! SHES ALIVE!!!!!!  Also been doing the wiring for the 3d ignition . Only thing left to do is to get a switched power feed from the ignition switch. Any idea which colour wire?

engine bay seems cleaner now and easier access to the exhaust manifold.

Once wiring complete , il be putting the dash back in. I also managed to get some 12V LEDs to illuminate the dash , replacing the fibre optic affair.  Once thats all done, next job head swap, flowed, ported , high lift cams and modified valves.

Fingers crossed ready for LMC AGM .

Got rid of some wires and more appear....like my grey hairs hahaha

Got a feeling green/black is the wire after switch for ignition. Blue/black was after switch for lights/wipers I think. Looking good ;)

Thanks Marcus, i just hope it all works. I found a map for the ECU which would be a good starting point . I have emailled the place where your HPE was on the rolling road.

I'll be heading their way if/when the throttle bodies setup is complete for mine, your probably be better off ringing them up, they never replied to any of my emails so just went and saw them instead.

Thanks again Marcus, will do this week at some point.