Cars – No 7

Cars - No 7
Eventually the 1976 Ford Escort Ghia fell victim to my second great “lust” car, a 1975 Lancia Beta Coupe. And let me tell you it was a very special lust from the moment I saw it sitting in a Fiat dealer?s yard … all nice and clean, looking fast just sitting there … begging me to take it home! The Escort was only about 4 months old … but, shit, who was counting!

So, I did. At around $8800 (from memory)! Now, back then, Italian cars were known to be pretty dodgy in terms of how well their bodies stood up to Oz conditions but by then it was becoming clear to me that no car was going to be a really long term proposition anyway!

But, body longevity aside, what a bloody wonderful little vehicle this was. Rated at a genuine 120 miles per hour, that’s about 200 kliks for the young ‘uns, it went like you would not believe, although it did need to be stirred along a bit. By far its best feature was that one could easily double the advisory speed sign on every bend between Adelaide and the Bridge and still be very comfortable. It just plain went wherever you pointed it.

The interior was as beautifully styles as the exterior, lovely body-hugging seats, great instruments etc although you were lucky to get a six-pack in the boot.

Mine was yellow in colour with tan interior, unfortunately this is another vehicle that I can’t find a photo of. Nevertheless that car above is exactly like mine, bar the colour, although mine did have wiper blades!

If I could have any car back again, in perfect condition of course, I think this would be the one … just perfect for the weekend away for the two of us!

Of course it did have its drawbacks. The biggest problem was that the bastard thing would not stay in tune. It needed a trip to Adelaide for a sit on the dyno every six weeks or so and nobody could find a thing wrong with it.

The other problem was no aircon … and although I did have a genuine unit fitted I quickly learnt that the airconditioning needs of your average driver in Italy are vastly different to those experiencing 30 plus days for a few months each year.

Still, it was bloody great to drive between the toll-gate and Crafers!

There you go … car number 7 was a 1975 Lancia Beta 1800 Coupe. And, guess what, the next one wasn’t a Ford either … in fact another European.

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Comments

One response to “Cars – No 7”

  1. bello…molto bello!!