Lancia thema 8.32

Someone on this forum has (or had) a real nice one, can give some feedback.

 

There has been one for sale on Seattle Craigslist for ages. No association with seller, no firsthand knowledge, etc.

 

Drove one back in my youth, great ferrari engine! Poor interior of those times but lots of fun!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

There was one that went cheap ($8k, if memory serves?) at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale last year. Doubt there were more than one or two interested buyers -- strange choice of venue for such a car.

 

Depending on how you classify black sheep, I've always been a fan of "odd" cars - maybe rare, but not at the top of everyone's list. 8.32 would count as one!

 

Seen it, unfortunately. This car is an absolute fright pig so terrifyingly bad it made the bile that appeared in my throat seem tasty by comparison. However bad you think it is based on what I just said, well, trust me... its far worse.

The flipper/stalker bipolar psychopath representing the car completed the package. Everything wrong with this hobby was represented fully in this car/owner combo.

I have an elderly friend that is a Citroen enthusiast. Turns out he was stalked/befriended by this Thema owner/psycho. Psycho asked my friend if he knew anyone that may have interest in the Lancia. A lunch date was set up for us all at my friends house.

Of course the Lancia would not start so instead the idiot drove his '92 Saab 9000 with GIGANTIC ENORMOUS Alfa Romeo stickers all over the bodywork and windows. At lunch he made sure we knew how busy he was later since he had an appointment to stalk/knock on some stranger's door who owned a 959.

After lunch we drove to see the car which was randomly parked on the street in front of an apartment complex. My Citroen friend tried to get the car started for at least 15 minutes before somehow coaxing it to life.

Meanwhile I politely told my new Lancia "friend" that this car was so bad I'd literally have to think about it if it were free (his asking price was $12,000). After an awkward silence Thema guy informed me in his thick Ukrainian accent that I was a "bad" guy and I should be careful since sometimes "bad" things happen to "bad" guys.

Upon further examination it turns out this philistine has been kicked out of every shop in the Seattle area he has ever stepped foot in.

 

Kie, I find it difficult to argue with you, what an experience. However, the lure of the 8.32 at some price is appealing and I don't think the styling has aged very well. The 8.32 novelty might work for me, yet the power level is tough to compete with today's standards. The full leather interior is very nice, unless it has seen too much sun, then shrinkage.

 

This rings a bell with me. I seem to remember a guy at the Italian Concours at the Snoqualmie Winery (circa 1993) who was wildly drunk, vomiting, got kicked out, could hear him shouting and cursing out in the woods. I'd recall his name if I heard it. He was Italian or Eastern European, I think. Later ran into him drunk on a Puget Sound ferry, acting like a total asshat.

 

We have owned two of these between my brother and me - one Tipo 1 and a Tipo 2. The oldest still remains waiting for "classic" registration as it's now 30 years. It's a great piece of italian automotive history and a really nice cruiser.

Feel free to ask questions and I'll answer as truthful as I can.

 

The March Thoroughbred & Classic Cars magazine has a story comparing Rowan Atkinson's MB 500E and his Lancia Thema 8.32.

 

Hi Arvid,
I have a question.
I have a series 2 and I'm trying to dig up information regrading the difference between a series 1 and series 2, mostly concerning the motor.
Any knowledge you can pass on would be greatly appreciated.

 

Hi Mike,

Nice to hear from another 8.32 owner. Where they sold new in Canada or is it imported ?

The engine differs between series 1 and 2 in many ways with the most important details being for detuning and emission regulation.
- non-cat vs cat
- 215HP vs 205HP
- 285Nm/4500rpm vs 263nm/5000rpm
- 10,5 :1 vs 9,5:1 in compression
- 240kmh/149mph vs 234kmh/145mph.
- Series 2 got different gear ratios and final drive ratio. The reason for this was trying to obtain same accelleration and top speed
- Microplex ignition module had different mapping for series 1 vs series 2

I'm sure you have seen the big difference between the plenum chambers. Series 1 with its wide and square plenum and the series 2 with its more rectangular plenum. Series 1 plenum is held to the runners with short rubber hoses and series 2 plenums are bolted directly to runners.

These are the most notable mechanical differences between the models. There are plenty of other small changes along the production and also choices in factory installed equipment. Two different colors of Alcanatara interior (brown/beige) - three different leather colors (brown/beige/black) - five exterior colors

Additional factory equipment was limited to Poltrona Frau leather interior - automatic climate control - automatic BOGE suspension,a worlds first one year before BMW - car phone in armrest - 8 speaker rear shelf and rear seat headphone set.

Arvid

 

Thanks Arvid
They were not sold here. Mine was imported.
Curious,... how did they achieve the compression ratio change.
Was it heads / pistons or a bit of both ?

 

I suspect it's the pistons as they have different part nrs. 46132995 for series 1 and 46133164 for series 2.

Where is it imported from ? Euro version series 2 or Swiss ? Swiss versions are even leaner burning then standard series 2 with some additional changes to ignition coils and modules.

 

Imported from Japan.

Don't know if it is Euro version or Swiss.

Trying to figure it all out.

Do you PT#s for S1 & S2.

Are PT# for the heads the same ?

Do you still have a Thema/some around ?

 

Yes,I still have mine - it's a 1987 series 1 in Winner Red Metallizzato and black leather. I finally got it registered last year after 16 years of storage avaiting classic registration. I use some online available part catalogues but they are fiddly to search through. The best for you would be to order a copy of Fiat ePER as the catalogue is called - it contains part nr. for all brands under Fiat umbrella.

Part nr. for the heads are also different but I'm not sure if the difference is in combustion chamber or just some outside differences. I can dig into it and se what I find.

 

My Thema is a series 2 16v turbo, also from Japan.

Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Congratulations Brian. That must be a rare bird in the US ? Looks fairly untouched and original. Nice.

 

Yes, Very nice Brian !

 

Classy car.