International Lancia Forums

I have two problems at present that I hope someone can offer advice on.
1) The rear arches on my '89 Delta HF Turbo IE have started to rot. This is the area inside the door shut (it is actually covered by the door when it is closed). Apparently looking at the repair manual, it is where two or three panels join, obviously poorly anti corrosion treated.
Does anyone know of a repair panel to replace this area. This panel is included in the whole side of the car (per the CD-Rom from James Walkers) which is £400 -£500 if you could buy it!! I have cut two good areas out of a car with better arches, but am unsure about how to best have them stitched in without making it look bad.
Help!

2)The mileage on the car is about 87,000 and it runs on a synthetic 'Selenia' oil recommended by the local Fiat dealership, who service the car.
When the oil temperature is anything above middle on the gauge and the car is on over run (ie oil pressure still uppermost, but throttle closed) a puff of oily smoke comes out of the exhaust when the throttle is next opened. Is this the turbo that need reconditioning. Is this something for the home mechanic to do. I have a turbo which I have removed from the car which donated the arches (above) so I realise the complications of removal and reinstallation. Can I actually strip the turbo, and reassemble with some degree of reliability left after?

I would appreciate advice on both of the above.

Simon

Point1: A decent body repair shop should be able to weld these panels in without too much difficulty. The join is tapped inwards to allow a clean finish when painted.

Point2: I doubt you'd be able to service the turbo yourself. Even if you had the tools, it needs to be resealed and balanced to extreme tolerances. However, you should be able to swap 1 turbo for another.

It could be the oil seals that have worn and corroded; it's not unusual to have smoke from any 12 year old engine, nevermind a Lancia, and it's not always serious. I'd check to see how much oil it's burning and keep an eye on it regularly. By the time you take the head off, check the seals, undoubtedly find something else that needs replacing, it could be a fair few hundred quid.

Hi there,

Where abouts do you live?

I have just finished having my rear arches repaired in the same area you describe. Its a classic Delta problem, they just rot and split appart at that point.

For the ones on my GTie we cut plates and seam welded them to the wheel arch and side of car bits.

On the HF Turbo we made metal plates to weld inside the wheel arches and seam welded them in.

It will also help handling if you fit a rear strut top bracer bar.

Take your rear seat swabs out and the trim out of your boot and prepare for a shock! If you can see the split when the door is open then there is bound to be a big hole under here. Use a butter knife to remove the wax from the seams then go to the pub and cry into your pint.

If you don't want to tackle the job yourself, bring it up here and we'll do it for you. Alan of the North East Lancia Motor Club did mine. It took about three days to do both sides and cost me £150 all in (but he did some work on the sills too!)

We are up in Newcastle upon Tyne in the North East. Mail me on alfa_delta@hotmail.com if you want the work done.

Kind Regards,


Steve Matthews
www.pentagram-motorsport.com