Dear Dedra - Arch de Trimophe

[Dermist]

This is hopefully going to be a successful thread culminating in a road worthy Lancia Dedra!  
 
I have been a long term lurker, happy to read the exploits of fellow shitters collecting hopeless rust buckets and enjoying the thrills and spills of their trans European journeys. 
I'm known to a few gents on here as the one with the Beta, and it was whilst I as at Shitfest '13 that the story begins. 
Being a long term Lancia worrier, when skizzer announced that he had rescued a dedra turbo my interest was piqued.  
 
My first car was a Y10 Turbo followed by an Delta HF Turbo, i was too young and not in the right circumstances to look after the Delta properly and I have to let that go.

An Audi 80 Sport was replaced by a B5 Passat which has proved to be an incredible competent car, if not a little* dull over the past 15 years.  This germanic dullness is I fear the stimulant for the position I find myself in now!
 
Back to the Plot.
 
I proceeded to stalk Skizzers posts, looking out for for information regarding Dedra, all I knew was that it was at an Italian car specialists.  
 
View from my Minds eye.
http://Ferrari Garage- Sebring 1962 by Dave Kutz, on Flickr

 
All went quiet for about 18months, when I decided to send a speculative PM to Skizzer to if there was a plan for the Dedra, he replied to say that we should go and visit, I said yes and Skizzer made arrangements for the wettest day of the year to visit the Dedra.
 
We arrived at the specialist to see the Dedra in a typical Lanca pose, (bonnet up).  
Dedra by lee huggins, on Flickr
 
 
A look around the car revealed the topside to be surprisingly rust free, with the only rust being from a cover that appears to have rubbed the paint off on the rain gutters.  Oh and the random bleb of rust on the roof.

Dedra by lee huggins, on Flickr
 
 
 
Under the bonnet there were signs of OMGHGF and all the fasteners and Brackets are red raw with rust.
 Dedra by lee huggins, on Flickr
Due to the mud on the ground I didn't look underneath. (Sensible / foolish, delete as applicable.)
 
Skinner casually asked if I was interested in taking on the challenge of getting it back on the road.  Having been immersed in autoshite and a love of Lancia's the answer was an unequivocal YES!

 

Text book Woollarding took place

Dedra by lee huggins, on Flickr

(All comments about grey hair can be kept to yourselves)

 

Arrangements were made to collect the car and we were Go Go Go!

 

Mrs Dermist was naturally excited* about getting a basically scrap car to sit outside our house, so when my friend with the trailer arrived with a scrap Seicento on it, strong words were exchanged along the lines of where the fook am I going to store a another wreaked car!  A quick tidying up of the garage and a the scrap seicento was pushed into the garage, Mrs Dermist none the wiser.

 

Thursday came, we collected the car and arrived home safely.  I viewed my project and contemplated suicide with a broken Lancia Dedra, a scrap Seicento (hidden in the garage), another Seicento with potential head gasket failure, lancia Beta in need of a back box and a working passat (focus on the working passat).

Defeat 2 by lee huggins, on Flickr

 

So that is where the story temporarily pauses as I strip the bits from the seicento (to be gone ASAP) so that I can get the Dedra in the garage and start some of fixoration on it.

 

If you want any bits from the seicento please get in touch, all bits are free or cheaper. (See Shitecycle thread).

 

I will update the thread with some more details of the car in the near future.

 

Just to summarise, Skizzer serial crap car buyer, top bloke, Dedra to be fixed.

 

Out.

 

 

[Barry Cade]

Re: Your car history. Are you me?

 

Y10

Beta

Dedra

Delta

Seicento

80 sport

passat.

 

 

 

Spooky.

[Dermist]

Obviously, you are a man of impeccable taste!

 

I will dig out some photos of the others, heres one of the beta

Lancia Beta berlina 1300 by lee huggins, on Flickr

[HMC]

Glad to hear the Dedra is in the Dermist fleet. Have you got a timescale in mind? ( sits back and hopes it might be attending shitefest)

[Dermist]

I'm hoping that it will be road worthy by the late summer.

I don't think shitefest will be possible but I will try.

 

Having now looked underneath there is quite a bit to tend to 😳

Pictures to follow.

[Skizzer]

We had a grand day out trekking across Wessex to see the Dedra. Mr Dermist is a most excellent fellow, and brave too.

 

I hope it's not too knackered underneath. I never got it lifted high enough to have a really good look, though it seemed generally solid apart from surface corrosion on the suspension (of which there's plenty).

 

These are almost extinct now, having all been either done to death or engine-raped for Delta HF Turbos (which are suddenly valuable). I'll bet this is the last standard RHD one left.

 

I regret doing almost nothing to restore this apart from get it started and compression tested and save it from being scrapped. (I don't think I've made it much worse - the roof scuffs, HGF and slight arch bubbling were already there). Trouble is it's always been 100+ miles away from where I live.

 

So if there's anything I can do to help you get it back to health, I will. Good luck, and keep us posted!

[Skizzer]

Bump because I'm very excited about this and it's about to drop off the front page.

 

I want everyone else to get the chance to be excited too.

[midnite]

fcukin love dedra's.

[skattrd]

Yay! I'm glad to see the Dedra is going to be getting some loving.

A Dedra turbo is very high on my want list, I'm a big fan of that floorpan and turbos, so think it should be a nice drive.

 

I missed SF with yours (and BV's) Betas due to work, but it looks a cracker, unlike mine.

[D Spares & Tyres]

All I can add to this is that I used to have a Dedra and loved it.

 

It was a K reg 2.0 with cream Alcantara. Bought it in 2001 for pennies really. Nice car though ☺

 

Be nice to see yours done, I haven't seen one for years, I still regret not buying a family friends one off the estate after he died. I hope its still out there although can't remember the number or find a photo. He loved that car.

[D Spares & Tyres]

Sudden flash of inspiration!!!

 

K430 DVT

 

Just checked DVLA and it is still taxed and tested☺

[Noel Tidybeard]

oh i seem to have bumped this thread- quite by accident you understand

[Barry Cade]

Fast facts.

 

Dedra is Italian for Dedra.

Alcantara is just leather fitted back to front.

The Lancia Dedra was the first production vehicle fitted with solar hazard warning flashers.  

The starter motor,in emergencies, was designed to propel the vehicle 0.8km-  the distance between layby's in Lombardy.

 

HTH.

[UmBongo]

If I owned a Dedra, I would have a constant feeling of dreadra running through my veins.

 

I once owned a Delta HF Turbo - bought from my brother, the little bassa - so I know what I'm talking about.

 

Good luck, anyways.

[cort1977]

Great to see a Dedra getting some love.   Not only is it a fine car but you are also cheerfully ignoring the pub bores, Esther Rantzens and Clarksons of this world who think Lancias are no good.

[D Spares & Tyres]

Fast facts.

 

Dedra is Italian for Dedra.

Alcantara is just leather fitted back to front.

The Lancia Dedra was the first production vehicle fitted with solar hazard warning flashers.  

The starter motor,in emergencies, was designed to propel the vehicle 0.8km-  the distance between layby's in Lombardy.

 

HTH.

Alcantara is synthetic.☺

[flat4alfa]

Faster facts:

 

Alcantara is a polyester/polyurethane mix, invented by a Japanese person.

Dedra /de-dra/ as a name for girls. Dedra means 'broken-hearted, sorrowful'.

[Dermist]

Small update before the mother load a little latter on.

 

This post has been brought to you by the words 'Shonky' and 'Potential'.

 

The last time we met, it was a little hurried and I literally whizzed round the car taking a few shots.  Since then quite a lot has happened and I have time to give an update aimed at the more 'specialist' end of Autoshite, therefore this is dedicated to you.

 

Dealer spec number plates:

 

 

Dealer sticker (slightly unpeeled):

 

Genuine reverse leather / man made (Delete as applicable) 90's Blue Alcantara:

 

And the last one is specifically for Dollywobbler:

 

Its not all high end executive plushness however,

A visual warning to the dangers of tarpaulin, Lord Sterling take note!

 

More news to follow!

[Parky]

Oh this thread has mega potential!!

 

SD1, Pandamonium or Angry Dicky all reside near Rayleigh, wonder if Woodmans still exist?

[vulgalour]

Why are all surviving Dedras white?  I'm yet to see one in another colour, that I recall.

[Dermist]

I too thought that.  The other Dedra found in the barn next to this one was white, as was the recent Ebay one.  On a sad index of 7.5, I did check the reg no.s and they are different, so there are three white ones that I know of.

[Sudsprint]

Love the Dedra

 

Love the S2 Beta 1300 saloon too - what a cracker

[Dermist]

Regarding the beta, I can't take the credit for that. It was my dads originally. He bought it new and kept it.

He gave it to me two years ago having been 'stored' for 7 years in the garage.

Change of fluids, wash, cam belt and a overhaul of the brakes saw it back on the road and ready for shitefest!

[Skizzer]

I love that this is finally getting the attention it deserves 

 

Have you managed to score an uncracked replacement RHD wiper-spec headlamp, then?  Bloody good effort if so.

 

 

Looking forward (slightly nervously) to more news... meanwhile have an old picture of how I found it:

 

Two barn find Lancia Dedras by Skizzer, on Flickr

 

Can I also just deny any responsibility for the tarp damage, except in the general way of having done bugger all to restore this car while I owned it. 

[andy18s]

There's 1 just up the road from me,but in BMW blue/grey.

It's used as a daily so I never have time to get any pics

When it's home it's usually hidden behind an old Jag....

I'll try get pics asap

 

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

[DSdriver]

There's 1 just up the road from me,but in BMW blue/grey.

It's used as a daily so I never have time to get any pics

When it's home it's usually hidden behind an old Jag....

I'll try get pics asap

 

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

That sounds like a person who NEEDS to be on here - for our sakes if not his own.

[Rocket88]

Great to see a Dedra getting some love.   Not only is it a fine car but you are also cheerfully ignoring the pub bores, Esther Rantzens and Clarksons of this world who think Lancias are no good.

 

Clarkson is a huge Lancia fan......Top Gear did a feature singing their praises

[cort1977]

Oh OK, don't really watch TG so made an assumption.   He's still a fat, bullying Tory twat though right?

[Rocket88]

Donald Trump with a sense of humour.........................

[Dermist]

Ok, bit of a delay in the update but things have been happening in the background.

As those that are still with me may remember, the head gasket was suspected as having blown, so, having read mr. Bollocks gripping tales of K series daring do - I rolled up my sleeves, and dived in.

 

Using nothing more than blind faith and tea I gradually started removing component after component, pipe after pipe.  Trying to record on a piece of paper the order that things came off in!

 

After several days work I had the engine bay stripped to here!

Head off:


 

The optimist in me thought that that was half the job done - skim the head, replace the seals etc, new belts, oil and BOOM! back on the road.

 

As I peered into the gloom that is the engine bay alarm bells started to ring:-

 

Piston 1, that doesn't look good!


Head Gasket 0, water passage 1.


So that will be the problem then!

Closer examination of the block surface showed that there was corrosion (pitting) between the cylinder bore and the water passage.  This meant that even if I had the head skimmed, the block may still be a weak point.  Dam.

Therefore the engine block and gearbox came out and that meant I could get better access to the engine bay and the sub frame that had some surface rust on it.  This is both a good and bad thing as will be seen later on.


As I was removing the engine there was a small hole on the chassis rail (wheel side).  I had a little poke (as you do) and successfully* managed to make the hole big enough to get my finger in.  All standard stuff so far I hear you say, but, as i probed with my finger soaking wet expanding foam was inside the chassis rail!.  I pulled as much as I could out only to discover that the this has rusted though the bulkhead and the carpet / sound deadening can be seen.  Pulling up the carpet and its all soaking inside.

 

The theory is that window water drains into the scuttle and disappears into the chassis rail for it appear in the front of the sill.  The expanding foam has filled this cavity preventing the water from draining away and trapping it against the metal work. d'oh!

 

I have posed this question on the Lancia forum and the consensus is that this is not a standard feature so this 'upgrade' has caused quite a lot of damage in terms of trapping rain water and holding it against the inside of the chassis rail and bulkhead.  Rust has come through in a few places which will need to be attended to.

 

Has anybody got any good ideas of removing expanded foam from an enclosed section?, the foam eaters I have seen seem to be thick and gooey. 

 

On a more positive note I have been able to get the side skirts off and they have revealed solid sills!   

There are some more horrors to be revealed I fear but I will face those when I get to them.

I am in need of a Jack, wheel wrench, screwdriver and tool bag/tray.  All seem to be missing.
Passenger roof grab handle (Blue) randomly.

Thanks as all ways,
Lee