Lancia Motor Club

Hi Everybody!
Three weeks ago I flew out to Germany, bought a 1999 Y and drove it back to the UK - all in one day.
I need some help getting it UK registered.
I already have the forms from the DVLC and have notified the HMRC.
I need a Certificate of Conformity and some advice on adjusting the headlights (some pics might help) - the speedo needs to read MPH too.
Can anyone recommend an Insurance Company who won't throw their collective hands up in horror because my car doesn't appear on their computers?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Roger

Insurance sorted!
But I really need sight of a C of C.

Tim Speechley at Fiat UK used to be the go to guy for C of C

Nothing you can do about the headlights as no RHD headlamps were ever available, it was thought when the Y first came out that the headlamps were centre dip and ok for both RHD & LHD, but if you face a wall and shine the headlamps on the wall you will see they are definitely LHD! however, I bought a new Elephantino Rosso in 1999 and personally imported it, and I never had a problem with MOT with the headlamps, I always used to have them set on the lowest position, and on the road I never used to get flashed, so it's a case of bluffing it out, although things might have changed and I'm not sure if they insist on seeing the vehicle now, but that might be a problem for the DVLA being that they've done away with all the local offices now.
As Trevor said Tim Speechley at Fiat Uk used to be able to get you a copy of a C of C until he retired last year, I would suggest you contact Fiat UK and ask who is now doing the job and ask them, just surprised that you didn't get it from the person you bought the Y from as it must have had a C of C issued when it was first bought.
Speedo, to be frank I just told porky pies on the form and said it was MPH speedo then did the calculation in my head from KMs, I did look into getting an overlay made by a company near Bristol but I can't remember who they were, although it would have meant removing the whole cluster and sending it off to them.
You could try Demon Tweaks and see if they have a convertor that changes the impulse signal to make the speedo read as if it's mph rather than KMs, my Suzuki Cappucino was a grey import from Japan and had this arrangement fitted.
It also might be worth asking if all else fails, will one of the stand alone GPS speedos be sufficient to comply.

Brian
8227 ::)

Thank you both,
The company in Bristol wanted £185+vat to produce an overlay as it was a one off (the average, run of the mill panel is about £69 off the shelf).
I'll chase up Fiat UK early this week - it's been 24 years since I had and direct dealings with Slough, so I doubt if anyone there will remember me!
I've got the headlights on the lowest setting at the moment, when the airbag control unit has been replaced (full of antifreeze from a leaky heater matrix), I'll run it down to a friendly MOT place who tested my Jowetts for eight years.
I'll keep you posted how I get on!

Good luck with the MOT, the speedo isn't part of the MOT which is how I got away with it, re headlamps, one place I used stuck tape over the offending bit and said it was up to me if I left the tape on or took it off.
Alan Cooper who bought a  series 3 Delta HPE turbo, cut a slot in the underside of each headlamp body, then stuck a pair of beam benders on the inside of the glass as the rules say you can't use beam benders as a long term solution on the headlamp, this way you couldn't even see the beam bender unless you really looked.
As a matter of interest what model did you buy and with what engine?, the 1.2 twin ohc 16V 86 hp engine in my elephantino Rosso was a cracker.

Brian
8227 8)

Hi Roger

Chris on the Stratos site stratosec.com (prototipo is his username)  is doing some labels/overlays for the Stratos and Fiat guys, may be worth approaching?

PM me if you need more info.

See ( not sure if members only section)

http://www.stratosec.com/Forum/showthread.php/2289-Chris-J-Printed-Stickers-Decals

Peter

Peter,
I've put some adhesive figures on the speedometer face and I'll see if it raises and eyebrows.

Brian,
It's an ordinary 1.2 8v, that suits me down to the ground. I've got four weekends in Europe lined up this summer judging BBQ cook offs. A LHD Y is cheaper to put on a ferry than my Mercedes van - that's my excuse for getting one, anyway!
It will be next week before I can get it down to the MOT station now after I've got the airbag warning light sorted.
I've e-mailed Fiat UK with a message for Tims successor.
I've made three attempts to post a photo of the car, but 'an error' keeps occurring.
Roger

Check the file (photo)size Roger, you can load load a photo resizer to make it postable

P

When I did the same thing as you with my Thesis just over two years ago, I was told by everyone that I needed a C of C. I duly obtained one from Tim Speechley at Fiat, however when I went to register my car, the company that took it through this process including fitting an LCD mph speedo and adjusting the headlamps for RHD told me that the C of C was not necessary after all there are many imported cars from far and wide on UK's roads that you just can't get a C of C for.
In the end NCS Systems from Castle Donnington registered my car within a week with no C of C and had no agro either.

Thank you Paul, I'll look into that.
Roger

Some progress!
I e-mailed Mike Haveron at Fiat UK who replied almost immediately to tell me that as the car is over 10 years old, it does not need a Certificate of Conformity - I rang up DVLC at Swansea and they confirmed this.
I need a replacement airbag control unit, my local Fiat dealer could supply one - at the cost of £420.64. I've found one on ebay in Germany (s/h) for 99 Euro!

Pleased to hear that you no longer need the C of C so that should make life easier, the airbag control unit has just had to be replace on my Suzuki Wagon R, after being hit while stationary by a neighbour, prior to going in for repair it was ok, when they reconnected the battery when the repairs were finished they couldn't rest the warning light, after checking they decided it had been damaged in the accident, so it was replaced at a cost of £441, thankfully not at my expense. The hidden costs of all this modern technology!

Brian
8227 8)

I have driven with a kph speedo for years and find it no problem. You just learm what 30, 40 etc are or do a quick calculation. It's add a half and add 10%. So 50 mph gets a half added to get to 75 and another 5 (10% of the original) and you have 80 KPH. I reckon in this day and age a regular bit of mental arithmatic helps keep your brain tuned up.

Frank

I've had my 8.32 since 1999 and it's still got the speedo in KPH, you do get used to it quickly.

Ditto - your maths improved too! Just multiply Kmph by 6 and divide by 2.Roughly! Haven't had an MPH speedo on the Stratos replica for 15 years!
50kph=30mph, 70 = 40, 80 = 50, 100 = 60, simples!
Guy

120kph=80mph. 160kph=100mph. 200kph=120mph. Thats more like it!

Guy, bit of a typo there I think .... divide by 10 I am sure is what you meant.

I have not seen that conversion before. I think the 80kph is 50mph is the most accurate easy conversion, a factor of 0.625 against your factor of 0.6. However, yours is excellent for for ease and quickness and I will use it in future.

                              Andy

Given the lack of accuracy of the average mechanical speedo and 10% leeway in getting clocked by the Rozzers...then why worry!

+/- 20% seems fine by me!

P

There's a lot of this sort of stuff about now:

http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/Product.do?method=view&n=1775&p=307681&c=215&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Base&utm_campaign=Speedometers&gclid=CP6V-p7vkb0CFZShtAodcVEAuA

The issue with this one is battery life so maybe would be "for the inspection day" and/or for calibration.  If it was me I'd put some little stickers on the speedo.

David

Mine has a digital speedometer on top of the dash which transmits a bright green LCD readout onto a reflective sticker on the windscreen. I have it set to 1mph above actual speed and is an invaluable tool and much more precise than manufacturers speedos. It can be easily altered to kph too.

Actual conversion from mph to kph is multiply by 0.6214 or divide by 1.6093.

Paul, please may I stick with 0.6 please, I fear my ability to concentrate on the road may suffer if I use your figures.

                         Andy

Thanks Andy, need to wear my glasses so I can see what I'm typing and maybe take the welding gloves off too! You're right though, multiply by 6 and divide by 10!

Every wondered why manufacturers quote a 0-62mph time instead of 0 - 60? it's because 100Kph = 62 Mph!

Guy

I marked the speedo up in mph using stick on digits, but I've been swapping between mph and kph for thirty years now.
The blurb from the DVLC states that the speedo has to read in mph.

Yes, but unless the DVLA ask to see the vehicle they don't know! but it doesn't form part of the MOT .
With the digital speedos now available it's easy to get an accurate speedo, such as Paul has fitted to his Thesis.

Brian
8227 8)

I'm pleased to be able to report that my Lancia sailed through it's MOT this morning!

I just need to fill all the forms in then I can get my application for a UK reg to the DVLA.

Can anyone tell me where to find the engine number? The two chaps at the MOT station and myself looked for it on the block, but we were damned if we could find it!
(a photo of the location would be a great help!)

Owners handbook may shed light on engine number location. I dont have one though it should be a library item??

If you've a local Fiat Garage ask them as your engine is the same as the Punto 75 sx that was replaced in the UK in 1998 by the 1242cc 16v 85sx engine, it's also worth getting a copy of 'Porter Manuals' Fiat Punto Repair Manual & Service Guide, I bought my copy from a LC Motors of Newport South Wales who were Fiat/Alfa Dealers back in 1999, and who I used for servicing and Warranty work,  it's Fiat Approved, and the number is
ISBN 1-899238-27-1, this covers your engine as well as a lot of other parts; just be careful with mechanical items,  although they look the same they sometimes aren't, case in point is the rear wiper motor, at a glance it looks the same as the Y, but it is mounted the other way up and the arc of the wiper is something like 180 Degrees out, very useful if you want it to clean the number plate instead of the rear window! took me sometime to work out why it didn't fit the Y, I'd looked at the price of the Fiat Motor as opposed to the cost of the Lancia item which was nearly double, which would have been great if it had fitted!
It's a useful book to have as of course the Y & Punto were different sides of the same coin.

According to my copy it shows the 1.1 & 1.2 fire engine number as being on the left side of the engine as you look in from the front, I suspect it might be underneath the end of the exhaust manifold, there's no point in copying the sketch as it just shows an arrow in that general direction.
Brian
8227 8)

Thanks, I'll take a look in daylight!

Roger, have you  found the engine number yet?

According to the owners handbook it is on a bracket at the end of the exhaust manifold above the oil filter. That is what I can make out from the photograph in the handbook, but I no longer have a car to check against !!

                         Andy

PS do you want an owners handbook?

Andy,
I have an owners handbook, but it's in German and I don't speak German!
If you have one in English I'd be interested in having a copy.
Roger

I have just read this thread , I have been to busy with work and family to sit down and look. I own 2 Lancia Y's one is a 1997 and the other is a 2003 both different models . The 97 one is a 12.42 16v , I have for about 5yrs and find the running of it a joy . I replaced the wishbones with Fiat punto parts which I bought in my local motor factors . The same for the exhaust , a Punto sporting middle and back box with a little mod for the tail pipe . I had to change the front pipe and this required changing the flange that connects to the manifold as the fiat one is slightly different , this required welding . Brake discs ,pads , shoes ,oil filters , and all service items are standard Fiat items . I put beam benders on the lights and had no problem with the test. Compared to running my Fulvia and Flavia and Thema It's simple when you walk in to your local motor factor and ask for a part and its there ! :). Make sure the drain pipes in the scuttle beside the bulkhead are clear or it will fill with water and flow through the heater and into the car and ruin the heater fan , which can be found in any scrap yard for about a tenner if you need one . Happy Motoring  ;). David.

I am please to be able to report that the DVLC have issued me with a registration number!
Down to Halfords tomorrow morning and get some plates made up then take her for a spin.

Don't forget to check the front and back are the same! when I had plates made in Monmouth for my Elefantino Rosso in 1999 the front was correct at V267 HWO, while the back one read V267 WHO! I didn't notice when I picked them up, but my wife did when I got home, so back to the shop, fortunately they had given me back the piece of paper on which I'd written down the correct number.
I did try to get V267 LAN but it looks like one of the criminal fraternity got to it before me.

Brian
8227 8)

Roger, its in the post, 2nd class !!

                        Andy

I could of have got one last week, but I messed up the on-line forms to HMRC (quoted the German registration document number instead of the VIN), as a result, the information at the DVLC didn't match up so it got returned to me. I amended it, resubmitted, and a UK reg was issued within five days.
Over all, I'm quite satisfied with the service.