From the SE QLD Correspondent: Some Italian Joy ...
Sadly, Lancia Betas of this quality and condition are nearly as rare as angels’ poop today, many having succumbed to rust. This is especially true of the model in the UK, where they corroded so badly that their engine subframes not uncommonly became loose, often when the cars were still quite new, resulting in Lancia buying them back and pretty much destroying the marque’s name in Britain. Whilst rust is the worldwide scourge of Lancias of that era - and don’t go all “yes, we know - the Italians used Russian steel” (we’ll get to that in a minute) - the problem isn’t as bad Down Under, very probably because we don’t salt our roads. In this respect, Australian vehicles are very much like the fabled “California cars” or those from South Africa, often being significantly sounder than examples from countries whose roads ice over or that are, at the opposite end of the spectrum, very humid. It's likely that today's Beta coupe - brought to us by SEQC PeteR, as are the ...