Guest Posted August 21, 2009 Posted August 21, 2009 Bit of a busy day this Thursday, got back from work and turned up at Vicsmith's joint in order to assist in the collection of his brother's new motor car. Had some coffee and then we all set off down to South Yorkshire to pick it up. Nice innit! Lancia Dedra 1.6 i.e., quality Italian shite if you ask me. Needs a wash but it's a minter, I believe these were galvanized (the equivalent Alfa 155 was) so there's not a bit of rot on it. Diamond-cut wheels look mint too and the owner was pleasant and slightly eccentric like you'd hope. The whole car seems pleasingly free of faults, just wants a small service and a good exterior clean really. Car drives absolutely spot-on, the engine is a beauty - can't believe it's only a single-cam, I was sure these were a twin-cam. It has that superb Italian "throaty" noise to it - how do they manage that with a fuel-injected SOHC 4cyl? It baffles me. The ride/handling is top-quality, lovely and smooth, pretty confidence-inspiring to boot! I floored it around a 90 degree turn in 2nd gear and it just went, lovely stuff. It's an ace car to just floor around in, I cut through an industrial estate as a shortcut and just went around in 3rd throughout with the engine growling away. It's typically Italian in that it likes to be driven "angrily", I can imagine a hairy man in a white suit storming around Palermo with the horn held down. The interior is pretty bonkers, loads of strange switches in odd places, nearly everything is lit-up, including the dials to open/shut the individual air vents. Some lovely faux-wood adds a touch of class, not seen here sadly. The weird gauge next to the clock is an enormous "ECONOMY" gauge which presumably works off vacuum or something. Also some rather randomly-picked numbers marking off the fuel/temp gauges. And the interior doorhandles are like a flap you pull up, that's a bit mad. In conclusion, a lovely car - bit jealous really.
Guest Posted August 21, 2009 Posted August 21, 2009 Fantastic stuff. I have the launch brochure for the Dedra, I always fancied the Turbo one with Alcantara seats.
AlsoMike Posted August 21, 2009 Posted August 21, 2009 It has that superb Italian "throaty" noise to it - how do they manage that with a fuel-injected SOHC 4cyl? It baffles me.From what I've seen, Italians drive all their cars around above 4k rpm all the time, so perhaps the sound is to suit their driving 'style'? (i.e. attempting to emulate Gabriele Tarquini at every opportunity.)The Dedra is a nice looking thing though.
MrRegieRitmo Posted August 21, 2009 Posted August 21, 2009 How did the Prisma & the Dedra differ? I believe the Prsima was the Delta saloon, but what of the Dedra? Prisma replacement?
Mash Posted August 21, 2009 Posted August 21, 2009 Always liked them but never been brave enough to buy one, though I did come close to getting a 155 once. Tempra estate would do nicely too.Also a bit jealous
Guest Posted August 21, 2009 Posted August 21, 2009 I wouldn't worry about it too much to be honest! I'm sure it's just a Fiat engine in there. Mate's had the related Alfa 155 for 10 years and the worst of his problems was a perished hose and a flat battery, so hopefully this should be the same. We'll see!
Pete-M Posted August 21, 2009 Posted August 21, 2009 When I had my first Integrale I bought a properly knackered Prisma just to pinch the rear electric windows from. Mine is still the only Integrale I've ever seen with all round lecky windoze.Dedra looks amusingly interesting. Nice inside aren't they?
Milford Cubicle Posted August 21, 2009 Posted August 21, 2009 That's bloody lovely. Was this the one on eBay with terrible photos? Check out this incredible digital dash available on some versions
Gompo Posted August 22, 2009 Posted August 22, 2009 Class, always liked these - very rare now I reckon?..Admittedly cant ever remember them being particularly prolific.
vicsmith Posted August 22, 2009 Posted August 22, 2009 The last one I remember seeing was 10 years ago. Anyway this one has just got it`s inspection sticker so hopefully it`ll be part of the traffic for a while to come.
Albert Ross Posted August 22, 2009 Posted August 22, 2009 That's Sainsbury's at the foot of the M18 link road no?
Guest Posted August 23, 2009 Posted August 23, 2009 Yeah, bad luck for the guy selling it, not thinking to run it down for an MOT - it passed with no bother. Yes Albert, think it was that Sainsburys. Not sure now! Anyway, here's some more shots of the ITALIAN STALLION: Still needs a good wash, but it turns out to have been a pretty shrewd buy for "Bruvvasmith".
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