my new integrale

[fay66]

Hi Peter.
I'm over towards the coast, between Boston and Skegness.

You're right, it is a big county and Lancia owners are spread out a little!

Kev.

They are very spread out, hence why I guess it was difficult to keep a regular meeting going. I am near Newark on the Notts border, so not a million miles away, at least in the same part of Lincs.

Peter

Alan Cooper lives in Grimsby but his Volumex has been off the road for sometime now.,although he does have a (lancia)Chrysler, Delta.

Brian
8227

[Kevinlincs]

i've been in touch with walkers, who sold the car when it was new.

they have no records going back that far now unfortunately but an interesting possibilty did surface which surely must be my car.

now, first off the guy i bought the car from (original owner from almost new, purchased the car from walkers) kept banging on about the car being with rally history. not unsurprising with the integrale's history, i may have dismissed his comments too hastily..
the car is now as it was when he bought it, no engine transplants in his ownership and him being the first owner when it was a few months old i presumed it had the original motor

walkers however did throw a thought out there about the car which fits perfectly with what the car is and seems to be.
back in 1989 they were rallying an integrale in group N as i'm sure most of you guys are aware, i saw their car on many occasions including the rac rally of that year.
during '89 the 16V became available in europe but not scheduled here until 1990 so they tell me, which prompted them to purchase a new 16V integrale from germany during late '89 to use the engine to build up for their rally car.
the car from germany they converted to RHD, fitted the blueprinted 8V rally engine and sold the car on at a reduced price....which is no doubt why the gent i bought it off could get his hands on one at last...

it all makes so much sense it has to be true...

in which case my car is  a 16V car from germany originally but now has a blueprinted 8V ex group N rally engine that completed the 1989 mintex rally championship and competed (and finished) that years RAC rally.

so the dilemma is now, put it back to standard or keep with what may well be an interesting car for various reasons.


any thoughts?
the story just sounds about the only option that fits.


it's not like it's a 10+ owners car where the history gets the chinese whipsers treatment.

i'm going to have a chat with the guy i got it from about things now it's becoming clearer, i just wasn't listening correctly before i think!

[DavidLaver]

Well done with the research.

My vote is to keep as is.

David

[DavidLaver]

Another thought is to write into the magazine.

[the.cern]

I agree with David, keep it as it is .... it has been that way for so long ...... for me it is a no-brainer!!!

                              Andy

[Kevinlincs]

i'm gonna chat to the previous owner about it, see if what we presume to be the case is actually the correct set of circumstances.
if it is all correct then i am inclined to keep it as is, such an interesting story of how the car emerged it has to be kept that way, i agree.

[peteracs]

I think it all depends on what your aim for the car is.

If you aim to rally it seriously then it would not really matter I guess if you brought back to factory finish or left as is, if however you aim to keep it for normal use etc, then I am with the others, keep it as is, get it documented with previous owner etc and leave well alone. Great story which will be appreciated in years to come. Now all you need to find is the original Walkers rally car and your car's engine to complete the set......

Peter

[Kevinlincs]

the car will be a road car, no intensions of rallying it at all.
done that years back, although i'd love to again i've no intensions of rallying this car.

keeping it as is, or pretty near to, is my intention with it.

may look at a couple of changes, not sure if it has an 8v or 16V gearbox at the moment (or how to tell the difference?) so may change to a 16V one if it hasn't got one, may look at a brake upgrade if possible....do the brembo's fit the 16V hubs?
know i'd have to go for bigger wheels

[frankxhv773t]

I am with the "keep it as it is" camp but do get the documentary proof of it's provenance with statements from Walkers and the previous owner. These may be crucial to it's value in the future to demonstrate it is not just a cobbled together bitsa.

[Evo1]

If all the past info is correct then keep it as it is, great history which is important with classic motors and also adds value to the car as a bonus

[Kevinlincs]

sorted out the fuel leak yesterday, a broken pipe connector at the pump which luckily we had a complete spare pump to hand so simply swapped the fitting.
with that the car started up once fuel pressue was restored.

good news is it sounds great, no knocking or tapping and not a breath of blue smoke.

leads me to beileve the blueprinted engine theory even more.


so boyed with getting it going we swapped the wheels over for spares as a friend of mine is going to refurbish them for me in exchange for some parts he had, he's a pro wheel refurb guy and has done them for me before, a job i don't mind passing on!

removing the front bumper to see how far the corrosion had spread revealed a bit of rot.....new cross-member needed!!

had a poke around at the rear which also revealed plenty of welding needed but nothing we can't overcome.

let my 17 year old lad drive it the 10 yards back down the drive, he loves it far more than any car we've had here so i shouldn't be short of help!

[frankxhv773t]

Ah, that looks like the special light weight model..and getting lighter!

[Evo1]

That's a fair bit of tin worm, keep the photos coming always like a good resto thread

[frankxhv773t]

This might be of passing interest. I think I must have copied it off e-bay some years ago. It shows a kit to convert to RHD.

[Kevinlincs]

i've now got hold of some replacement panels, all used of course as finding a new front cross-member was a fruitless task!
also picked up a VGC RHD top scuttle panel from an HF turbo so the wipers will at least be converted to RHD spec too. did originally look for repair panels for the corners but i've got a whole panel now in great condition so will put the lot in.


thanks for the interesting pics, always useful to see them for little details etc.

been swatting up on the manual ready for when the strip down starts, clues on short cuts for getting it down to a bare shell.

on the engine removal the suggestion is to remove the transfer box, then the gearbox and lastly the engine....wouldn't it be simpler to drop the whole lot out in one? noticed there may be some parts that are in-accesible with the transfer box in place but surely leaving the engine and gearbox attached to each other and lowering them out the bottom is the easier way of doing it rather than seperating the 2 in the engine bay?