Just pulling apart my '75 Lancia Beta coupe whilst I repaint the engine bay...
& I think it's front coils springs might have been rather badly modified.
I wonder if there's any way it could reasonably be used?
My other Beta (2-months older) seems to have 5 1/2 winds of coil spring... This one has only 4 1/2 & seems to have been roughly modified in shape &/or perhaps badly reassembled, so that it was actually OVERHANGING it's mounting on one side! a 'bend' in the top coils to 'flatten' it out having positioned less than half-a-coil around so there doesn't seem to be much coil able to locate it properly.
For comparison here it is next to the strut from my parts donor '79 HPE (with Red Koni struts) which would also seem to have softer spings to judge from the fact it has 6 1/2 coils of the same wire diameter, though I haven't checked that yet. But will probably have to use instead.
Maybe the later springs would have been a better spring to modify?
I can understand the desire to bring the front end down since they're usually a bit high at the front but am already afraid of period magazine comments they were already prone to bottoming out their suspension & though there were claims of some changes somewhere to reduce that I haven't any information. The front structure of these cars is also prone to fatigue cracking outboard of the strut- towers!
& I think it's front coils springs might have been rather badly modified.
I wonder if there's any way it could reasonably be used?
My other Beta (2-months older) seems to have 5 1/2 winds of coil spring... This one has only 4 1/2 & seems to have been roughly modified in shape &/or perhaps badly reassembled, so that it was actually OVERHANGING it's mounting on one side! a 'bend' in the top coils to 'flatten' it out having positioned less than half-a-coil around so there doesn't seem to be much coil able to locate it properly.
For comparison here it is next to the strut from my parts donor '79 HPE (with Red Koni struts) which would also seem to have softer spings to judge from the fact it has 6 1/2 coils of the same wire diameter, though I haven't checked that yet. But will probably have to use instead.
Maybe the later springs would have been a better spring to modify?
I can understand the desire to bring the front end down since they're usually a bit high at the front but am already afraid of period magazine comments they were already prone to bottoming out their suspension & though there were claims of some changes somewhere to reduce that I haven't any information. The front structure of these cars is also prone to fatigue cracking outboard of the strut- towers!
