Lancia Motor Club

I had my day trip to Amsterdam yesterday and I can now comfirm that the Delta has now been ordered  ;D

I left my house at 1am to get to Liverpool airport for the first Easyjet flight of the day.  By 10:30 I was at Auto Halan, where I was met by Giancarlo Stanco (Melchior, who I had been in contact with up until yesterday, is off on Wednesdays!).  After briefly discussing what I was interested in, Giancarlo showed me various Deltas in different colours and with different options.  While waiting for a 1.9 Twin Turbo to arrive for the test drive, we discused fully everything I want on the car, making a few changes to my initial options list along the way to finally get my ideal car, and for a better price than I had expected  ;D 

Once the car had arrived, a quick test drive determined that (for me) the twin turbo is the only one to have!  The car was so reponsive and the torque is phenominal.  At one point, I forgot I was still in third when going round a corner (I thought I had gone down to second).  When I put my foot down again, the car took off.  When joining the motorway while in 3rd, I put my foot down and nearly red-lined the car (it went from about 1500rpm to red-line literally in the blink of an eye)!  On the motorway, I was sat in 6th gear at quite low revs an just pressed the throttle and the car was away.  The car is such that while it has exceptional power and torque, it is also a car that is extremely relaxing to drive.  It will be awesome for the long jouneys.

With the test drive complete, my deposit was transferred online.  The transfer from my bank to Auto Halan took less than 15 minutes.  Needless to say, I am more than impressed at how quick it was by doing an online transfer.  It was almost as quick as the car!

My impressions of Auto Halan is that they could not do enough for me.  They have said that they can do all the necessary work required for the UK regarding altering the headlights and swapping over the rear fog light and reversing light.  They are also looking at the possibility if it can be built in right hand drive, especially as RHD production was cancelled at the last minute.  I do not expect it will be possible without huge cost, but I will post here if it can be done!

I will post more once I have news of how the order is progressing!

Here are a pics from Auto Halan.  Apologies for the quality, but I had to reduce the size on my camera as the originals are too big to post here!

General concensus is that the Delta looks better in dark colours and not so good in the lighter colours, but having seen the lighter colours, it doesn't look that bad.  I think the lighter colours don't photograph too well.

Interestingly, it appears that Lancia are still producing the Thesis, as there was a new one in the showroom.

A few more.

And more

And more

That comment about RHD is intriguing - but like you I doubt its possible.  However, if it is, I suspect Auto Halen may have a steady trickle of UK Lancisti beating a path to their door. ;D

To date, I am the first person to buy one for export from Auto Halan.  I did say that if it could be built in RHD, there would be a lot of happy Lancisti in the UK!

On the subject of sales, Giancarlo told me that they have so far sold 150 Delta.

I'd be very interested in hearing the rest of this story as it unfolds, Stuart.

Same goes for the rest of us no doubt :) Good stuff

well done stuart,
What's the ETA?

Does it have type approval in RHD?, as I would have thought that would govern things, if they have, then I would have expected some parts to be available even if it's only the items to make it legal in the UK, if Lancia was so inclined, LHD as such obviously doesn't worry you, but it would certainly make it easier to sell at some future date if you so desired.
Did they say how they intend fixing the headlights? are RHD ones available?

Brian
8227 8)

I was told that the car should be with the dealer in August, but I have said that I don't want to collect the car until September in order to get a new '59' number!

One of the technicians looked at parts in order to find out about swapping over the rear fog light and reversing light for UK compliance.  They looked further and said it looks as though RHD parts may be available.  As a result, Giancarlo phoned the Dutch importers to find out if RHD build is possible, and if so, at what cost.  Unfortunately, the person who deals directly with the factory was on holiday, so we couldn't get a definitive answer.  As I said in an earlier post, the question was being asked since the decision not to sell Lancia in the UK was made at the last minute, so we thought that some UK spec parts may have been produced already.  I don't expect it to be possible to build it in RHD at the present time, but as you say, LHD doesn't bother me.  Regarding headlight and fog/reversing light conversion, Giancarlo only said that they could get the 'kit' to carry out the conversion and gave a price so that I can compare to their price to quotes from garages in the UK to undertake the job. Other than that, I didn't ask how they would be converted.

As for selling in the future, I think it will be like the Lybra and I won't want to sell it  ;D

Do we know whether Fiat is producing Deltas for other RHD markets. In other words is it just UK that's blackballed?

As far as I am aware, it remains all RHD markets that remain affected.  Looking at Lancias website, there are no RHD countries listed when you go to select a country.

Think that is right.  As I understand by about October last year it was clear from those inside the industry that Fiat had not started on the tasks that would be needed to ready the car for RHD production - the work with parts suppliers to spec and agree the bespoke RHD parts, for example, and particularly to begin to place orders and schedules for those parts.  We know, because they have been spotted, that RHD pre-production cars had been made, so the engineering of the car was complete (and perhaps even the Type Approval work??), so it looks as if the halt was called just at the point where they would have begun to plan and place orders for the RHD production process.

I have just had my first update on the production for the car.  It is due to be built in the week commencing 22 June  :)  I haven't heard anything about the possibility of RHD build, so take it that it is not possible at the moment.  From my point of view, this is not a problem!

Hi Stuart, any news on the headlights and rear fogs etc? As you know it was never my intention to buy a RHD, but to wait until the price drops a bit in Germany (or Holland)

Hi Donald.  Auto Halan have said that they can do all the conversion on both the headlights and fog lights before I collect the car.  I did try some garages around Cumbria to see if they could give me some idea as to cost of doing the work, but nobody could give a positive price, so I have decided to let Auto Halan do the work.  As regards RHD, there is no news on whether it is currently possible to build it in RHD at the moment.

Thanks for that Stewart. As yours is a bespoke car, it is probably best to let the Dutch do the conversions. It is good to know that the kits are   available, so I will probably get mine done in Scotland. What are they going to about the speedo, or do we just go with the satelite one?.
I think I will go for yhe 2.0 m/j diesel 165 ps

When I get the car, I will find out how the headlight conversion is done and also get numbers for any parts that are used.  As for the speedo, I am still looking at what options are available.  I am probably going to do as you did on the Kappa and use a satellite one!

The 2.0M-Jet sounds like a good choice giving the best of both worlds with regard to the diesel engine figures: plenty of power and torque combined with good fuel economy.

There is a company near Bristol that makes mph overlays for speedos, when I imported my Y Elefantino Rosso in 1999 they quoted about £100, the problem was that you had to send your speedo asm so that they could modify it, I thought it was too much hassle, and by that time I'd got used to automatically seeing kms and without thinking converting them to mph, while it might not have been legal it wasn't a problem as the speedo doesn't form part of the MOT.

It's worth asking Harvey how his Ypsilon got over the problem, as I understand that his car has had everything done to it regarding lights & speedo to conform with Uk construction & use.

Brian
8227 8)

This is one of the options I am looking into at the moment.  The other option is getting a Road Angel type device which gives an mph readout and hardwiring it into the car.  I am also considering doing nothing to the speedo as the satnav in the car can be set to give mph although this option depends upon how the DVLA etc view it!

My Ypsi has a mph speedo disc - I think it really is just a card slotted in. I don't have the original, so I get mph only - no kph. I tend to rely on the satnav as it seems more accurate. When I'm following trucks at 56mph*, the satnav shows 56mph, but the speedo shows 62mph...

* - as all trucks do on all roads in all weather.

All vehicles under 10 years old have to conform to UK regs. It has to be proved that the neccessary conversions have been done to lights, and speedo has to be in MPH, before the all important certificate is issued by the VCA in Bristol. There was no headlight convertor for the Kappa SW, so just used beam benders. I got a Talex camera locator, hot wired in to the back of the 12 V socket. This gives MPH very clearly on top of the dash. I still use it on my Bravo 150 sport. Much easier to see than the fitted one.

Hi Donald,

According the regulations at the time I brought my elefantino Rosso in (1999), beam benders were not considered to meet the regulations and were not allowed, I didn't have to present the Y for examination just sign a decleration and have the certificate of conformity of which had to be sent off along with the other documentation, as far as the headlamps were concerned I always kept them in the low position when anywhere there was traffic which was easy to do with the headlamp control on the dash, in 4 years I was only ever flashed once.

Brian
8227 8)

 A friend has come up with an alternative for speedo conversion, a unit attached to the back of the speedo converts the signal from KMs to MPH so when you look at the speedo what you read is in mph, it also records the distance covered in miles. the only other thing required is a sticker that says mph which is placed over the legend KMS on the speedo face.
Have a look here.

www.ncs-systems.com/speedm8/

Brian
8227 8)

Hi Brian,
Yes, beam benders are 'iffy', but the ones I had on the kappa SW worked well. They were transparant plastic, hardly noticed. It used to be that you you could self certify that the UK mods had been done. Then, it could be done by  a friendly garage with a letter head. I believe now the conversions have to be confirmed by a main dealer. There is always the chance that VCA or DVLA may want to inspect the vehicle. But, it is heartening that Stuart seems to have established that rhd light coversions are available for the Delta, so just the speedo to worry about, but there seems to be ways round it. I expect to buy my Delta, on my next visit to germany, in October.

Latest update.  I have received a letter from Auto Halan  ;D  unfortunately I don't understand a word of it since it is in Dutch  :(  From what I can make out so far, my car has now been built.  When I have translated the letter, I will hopefully post more.

Stuart,

Please forward the Dutch letter to me for translation.

Guy,

I have sent you a p.m. with the parts I haven't managed to translate.

I have translated some of the letter and I can now report that the car has left Turin and gone to a central depot in Belgium where it will undergo quality control checks.  After these checks, the car will then be transferred to Auto Halan.  They expect to have the car within the next three weeks.  My plan is to go to Holland in the last couple of days in August (when I have some time off work), collecting the car at the start of September  ;D  If everything goes to plan, the cars first public outing will be Auto Italia at Gaydon.  More information when I get some!

Stuart,

I have sent you a PM with the translation.

Being on the Forum does have practical benefits - see "They don't know what they're missing".

Kindest regards,

Thnaks Guy.  Your help is much appreciated  :)

Latest update.

I had a phone call from Melchior at Auto Halan to tell me that the car has now arrived at the dealership.  The work to convert the headlights and rear fog light is not required as when the car was ordered, it was done requesting UK spec lights to be fitted.  Consequently, UK spec lights have been fitted at the factory.  Melchior offered to have the engine management system re-mapped by one of their Lancia technicians.  I decided to have this done as it will increase power output from 190bhp to 225bhp and also increase torque from 400Nm to 460Nm.  As well as this increase in power and torque, it also improves fuel consumption and makes the car much smoother.

Before I can collect the car, there is copious amounts of paperwork which Melchior needs to take care of.  This should take 2-3 weeks, so my plan remains to go and collect the car in the first few days in September.

Strewth.  One assumes they are also fitting wings and navigation lights.  Take your flying helmet...

Get them to throw in another set of front tyres too ... :)

Strewth.  One assumes they are also fitting wings and navigation lights.  Take your flying helmet...[/quote]

Don't have a flying helmet.  My flying headset will have to do!
I was having a 'Tim Allen' moment......and my Grandad always used to say it was better to have a little bit extra power  ;D

Start the queue here if you're taking it round the track at Gaydon!

just happened to come across the story. wow i am so jealous!! Hope everything goes according to plan! Keep us all updated, i'd love to import one into Ireland, but a complete lack of money is stopping me! :(

Thanks Mark.  I have booked my flight to Holland on 1st September, and my friend who is going with me has booked the hotel.  Just the ferry home to book now, which I will do this weekend.  The car should be in the UK on September 4th, just in time for Auto Italia at Gaydon.  I plan to show it there, even if it is still on Dutch plates.

Your Delta will be on Dutch export plates and legally those plates are only valid for the day you drive home. According to the UK regs you cannot use your car in the UK on these export plates other than for the journey home, after that you are obliged to keep the car off the road until you have informed DVLA and been issued with a UK reg number

And of course nobody pays any attention to that! IIRC the first time I bought a car from Melchior, it came on plates valid for a week (cannot remember the format of them, think they were yellow with the letters BN in them). The other two cars from Melchior came on the white plates in the format Z-nn-nn which are only valid for 24 hours. Drove my Lancias around on those plates in the UK for a couple of weeks each time

My elefantino came with white plates front and rear with black letters and numbers Z-54-65, I only ran around on them for a couple of days and no one took a blind bit of notice.
If I remember correctly these temporary Transit number plates were only valid in Holland anyway, and cost about £75.

At the North London Meet at the Ace Cafe last thursday there were plenty of cars with incorrect format number plates including "Fays" little Italian style one on the front, even an Alfa 164 was wearing one this size, along with a 1990's Fiat Coupe wearing silver on black number plates front and rear, I can't really see the attraction on something that age.

Someone told me at the meeting if , like "fay" has, I have the small number plate holder already fitted, it is ok to use the size of number plate to fit the holder? anyone know if that's true ???

Brian
8227 8)

Imported vehicles which have shaped spaces for number plates (usually from the US or Japan) can run smaller plates using a font size the same as for motorcycles. Think running a plate the size of a sixties Italian front plate might be pushing the regs a little and doubt a holder makes it legal when a normal UK plate could fit direct to the bumper! But there is so much abuse of number plates in this country, weird fonts, weird spacing, butchered lettering etc that you are unlikely to have an issue

The k coupe has been running "Dutch" plates (yellow both ends, dashes between the character pairs - but a UK reg number) for 9 years now, only ever run into problems in Holland where they know they are not true Dutch plates but as soon as I show them a UK V5, they lose interest

I am starting to get excited now.  I fly out to Holland with my friend on Tuesday morning and will collect the Delta on Thursday before catching the ferry home.  I really can't wait  ;D

Good luck Stuart, and we await the pics :)

I am in Amsterdam and have finally seen my new car  ;D  There was a slightly disconcerting moment when Melchior took me to see my new car....or he thought it was my car.  I thought there was a mistake and when I questioned if it was the right car he went to check and found that the car he was showing me was an argento destined for Spain albeit in the same colour and with the same wheels!  (My car had been moved earlier in the day).  Since being shown the car, I have not stopped smiling.  My friend thought he would never drag me away  :D

I can confirm that the car has been built with UK spec lights i.e. the fog light and reversing light have been swapped over.  I will try to get part numbers for the UK spec lights when I collect the car for anybody who is planning to import one secondhand.  The only job to do on return to the UK will be getting the speedo altered.  Photos will follow in a few days once I have taken delivery of the car and returned to the UK.

You're gonna be at Auto-Italia then ... ?

Yes, I am planning to be at Auto Italia on Sunday for its first public appearance!

Now don't drive too fast  ;D

Following what was the worst ferry crossing I have ever been on (Force 9 gale and 50ft waves for most of the 17 hour crossing), I now have the Delta in the UK.  Pictures will follow once I have put them on my computer.

Crikey :o from where to where ???

Brian
8227 8)

I took the ferry from Amsterdam to Newcastle.  After this experience I can definitely say never again!

Proof that the rear fog light for the UK is available.  I asked for the part numbers for the UK spec lights (front lights and rear fog/reversing lights).  These are listed below.

- 51808770 headlamp ds ( right)
- 51808797 headlamp sn ( left)
- 51808950 rear light ds ( right, foglight in stead of white)
- 51808951 rear light sn ( left, white light in stead of foglight)

A few more pics.

And some more.  The Ypsilon was painted by Auto Halan using the same nero opaco paint as is used on the Delta roof.

Final few pics of the car once I had arrived back in the UK.

Congrats Stuart on being the first uk redg New Delta owner. :) Also on a personal note, your pics to me, seem to show the car much better than all the press ones i have seen. The grille looks much more in proportion in your pics than they did in the press ones, i always thought it looked overpowering, but not when i look at your car. Thats one smart car, :o will look forward too seeing it in the flesh at a Lancia meeting at some point. Once again congrats. ;D

Great job, bet you're well chuffed - look forward to seeing it sometime  :)

Nice one Stuart ;D Looks fabulous ;)

Brian
8227 8)

As has been said elsewhere on here, the Delta is extremely colour sensitive, especially where photography is concerned.  Most of the press photos I have seen are the ivory white colour.  When photographed, this colour doesn't do the car justice.  Darker colours seem to give better proportions when photographed.  Also, it is a car which looks better in the flesh than in pictures, no matter what colour.

Cool as :) Hopefully see you tomorrow !

Congratulations Stuart!

Do you think we might cadge a lift again to next year's AGM please?  ;D

I can't see it being a problem!

It seems to have taken forever, but finally the car in on UK plates!  The last month has felt like I have been banging my head against a brick wall while dealing with bureaucrats!  I found the DVLA office in Carlisle to be the most unhelpful, inept bunch of people I have ever had the misfortune of dealing with.  Not one of them had the first clue when dealing with an imported car!

Not everbody has been bad though.  I must thank Melchior at Auto Halan for his tireless efforts before I got the car, and also being able to offer advice when needed since.  Thanks also to the staff at Thomas Cross Garage in Egremont for providing the evidence required by the VCA for type approval, and of course to everybody on here who has followed this since I ordered the car!

I now feel that I can finally enjoy her and we are both looking forward to being at the NEC in November!