Lancia Delta Integrale specialists and enthusiasts
KEEPING
DELTAS
DRIVING
Bravery 2
Our second 8v project is in Belgium, this is also a red car. It belongs to Frederik, who is more at home working on original Minis, however Frederik has taken the opportunity to save a smart little Delta. This is quite a challenge in his home country, where Lancia parts are rare.
This 8v was a Swiss kat car, at the end of the 90s it went to Strasbourg where it drove around for 2 years, then the car seems to have been stored away by another French owner until 2013. A friend of Frederik bought the car to add to his small Delta collection, but he soon needed to sell his fleet, so the car came into Frederik's ownership.
Before reaching Frederik the 8v had been stripped down, but not with much care, many pipes and cables have been cut, making renovation more difficult.
Although Integrales are unfamiliar territory for mini man Frederik, he bravely took on the challenge of rebuilding this Delta.
The Delta had been stripped down before purchase, and came to Frederik in many parts. The previous owner has left the country, so he can't be asked what's what! You can see from the picture that the interior has been well stripped out, I hope there are labels on the wires
It's strange how each Integrale goes rusty in a slightly different way, my chicken shed car needed serious central rear cross member welding,
but Mark's 8v back panel is very rusty at either end.
This car of Frederik's has major sill troubles, but the engine bay looks great, Mark's door bottoms are shot, but Frederik's doors look quite good.
Frederik confirms that Belgium is much like everywhere else, Delta body repair panels are difficult to find, so he's had to make his own.
However, like Mark, Frederik is an ex-mini man, so they are both used to fabricating difficult body parts, and dealing with rust traps.
All Frederik's cars are named, this Delta is called Mariangela, angelic it is not though, and it should get used to Belgian swearing!
Frederik is well advanced with the welding, the front wing liners had packed mud into the wheel arches, the arches had well gone, and needed extensive repair.
If your Delta's going to decompose, this is where it'll go, underneath the washer bottle.
Our two boys have done well repairing their areas, the rest of Frederik's
cross member looks solid.
Here's a fantastic view of a well repaired inner sill, also one can see a mini resting in the background, keeping it real! And a good big bottle of gas!
Mariangela's sills were about as bad as they get, she's dedicated a lifetime to decomposing.
Frederik is digging deep and repairing this lot properly,
you can see a finished inner sill in the picture above, it'll
be a pity to cover it up!
