What do you when you find equipment abandoned at one of your factories? Sell them? Dismantle them? For Fiat Chrysler, they saw this as an opportunity to make lemonade out of lemons.
Known more for making performance parts and aftermarket accessories for Jeep and Dodge vehicles, MOPAR through FCA Heritage will soon start offering heritage parts dedicated to its classic cars thanks to the tracing of original equipment.
The first to benefit from all this? One of the most iconic hatchbacks—the Lancia Delta Integrale and Integrale Evoluzione.
Unlike alternative options, which include using rarely-available original parts or fiberglass copies, the heritage parts range uses the original materials to produce Lancia Delta Integrale front and rear bumpers.
The bumpers are created through the use of four pieces of original equipment that were found abandoned at the San Benigno plant. Having undertaken extensive maintenance to check all moving parts and electric and hydraulic circuits, the equipment is now used as the standard molding process for the bumpers.
The process starts with a plastic granulate, which is injected at high temperature through the presses into the cavity of the die to produce the parts.
The Lancia Delta Integrale bumpers are created using a polymer thermoplastic (POCAN S1506) which is non-reinforced with improved impact strength. It offers a high heat resistance, strength and hardness, low susceptibility to stress cracking and low moisture absorption.
For the Delta Integrale Evoluzione version, the bumpers use a different type of polymer thermoplastic (Xenoy CL101), which has excellent solvent resistance and is extremely malleable even at low-temperatures. It also has a proven track record in off-line exterior paint applications.
All parts are street legal and can be purchased through MOPAR’s e-store or even through some FCA retailers in Europe. If you happen to own a Lancia Delta Integrale, these “Lancia Classiche” parts don’t come cheap. They’re priced at £ 1,170 (~ P 79,000) for the front bumper and £1,035 for the rear (~ P 70,000).
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