rs125

Hi there...

Ive got the chance to buy a G plate lancia delta hf integrale 16v thats been p/x'd in at the garage that i work at...Now i know jack all about these cars and have been franticaly searching the net all night for info on them....

The car has a binder 2 inches thick of recipts and has a full service history.. ive driven it about 15 miles and the thing flies , problem is it smokes when warm at idle (suspect turbo) and there is a bit of rust around the screen but apart from that its not to bad (Done approx 60,000 miles)..they want £3000 for this car and i must let them know by tommorw morning or its off to auction... Has anyone had any experiance with these cars ?? what are parts like to get hold off ? are bits expensive etc etc... Please anyone who has had one of these cars can you give me your opions / advice on them.....

Ive put this thread on a few forums as i need advice fast...

Many thanks..

gavin..

zoog

I owned 2 grale evo's thru the 90's. There's no pretending they're cheap to run and maintain. That will offset the cheap price of £3000 fairly quickly. You need to check for rust round tail gate and front/rear wheel arches boot floor etc as they are prone big time. Specialist servicing is of course needed but fairly easy to find - where u from? If London theres Barry Waterhouse for example. He' ll inspectit for you pre buying and give a realistic cost to put right.

Bushes go regularly and at 60k the engine may need a rebuild and turbo. Leak down test and pressures need looking at .

Having said all that they are truly charismatic cars, the like of which you just don't seem to get these days. I still hanker after one again, but finding a decent one is nigh on impossible now.

Forum for them is called Evocorner - look it up.

Nikolaus

Hi Gav,
I had one around 5yrs ago, they are a bit rust prone, also the electrics are not the best (temperamental), I had a front end bump, needing amongst other things a rad & oil cooler (£500), jeez they were hard to find, had to get the rad rebuilt coz I couldn't find one anywhere..... & that cost £200!
I also blew the engine (it had done approx 55,000mls!), bottom end & it took me about 10mnths to find an engine for it, it never went the same again.
It cost me £7000 & I sold it for £800!
If I was you mate (unless you've got enough money to run it!) I'd spend your money on something else................. IMHO of course
Don't let owning a pretty rare (& damn mean looking!) car cloud your judgement mate.
Nik

brybusa

I too had a look at both the 8v and 16v back in the late 90's

i was put off by the cost of maintaining it .and I heard they ALL suffered a mid life crisis around 50K, which seems to be accurate by the above posts!

Gorgous cars though and a good 'un will be worth a mint in another few years( I reckon anyway!)

Dracoro

If you do go for it, just go to wherever it's being auctioned and save even more cash

Nikolaus

not a bad idea Dracoro......... you'll most probably get it for under a grand!

New To Scoob

The mate had one a few years ago, apart from the rust bug his was ok until the timing belt gave up the ghost and wrecked a few valves (luckily no pistons got it) from what I've heard this is pretty common. IIRC it has two belts, the main one from the crank and an idler fed from one cam to the other, this is the one that goes. Try and get a look at he service bills berfore it goes, if it's been done by a specialist it should be ok.

John.

Paulo P

iTrader: (42)

I've owned one too and although they are great cars buying it was my biggest ever mistake in life financially I had the car 4 & 1/2 years and did 4,000 miles in it and it owed me £15,000 by the time I sold it and I got £3,250 for it with 38,000 miles on and a freshly built engine

Nikolaus

so c'mon, did you buy it then........ we all want to know!!

scrappydog

Gavin,

<< and there is a bit of rust around the screen >>
Check the base of the A pillars for signs or rust and repairs. Unfortunately if it's bad rust around this area you'll never get rid of it and it'll be a write off in a few years time. 'Grales are the best Lancias the UK ever got in terms of rust protection, but they still share faults common with FIAT group cars of the time.

My advice is to check the body work thoroughly! IMHO, in years to come a good 16v with tidy bodywork will appeciate in value. The engines are easy to fix, but bad rust is terminal!

Hope you find a good un!

Andy