Beretta.net

Hi folks. My name is Harlan, and just found this site. I figured I'd introduce myself.
My '96 base Beretta was purchased 2 years ago from the Hagerstown, Md. area when I was back east. She's a solid stocker, and I will be doing some upgrades this year. I'm currently in the west Denver area of Colorado, and will post up some pics soon.

basic info: --stock 2.2, 5-speed at 186K // Lt. Adriadic-Anthracite-Atlantis Met. blue on blue ( you know the one )
--She was hit up front at some time in her life, but was well repaired before I purchased her
basic goals: -- I will be applying a Black 2-tone over factory paint in the next few weeks. I'll do "befores" and "afters"
-- I'm looking for my chosen wheels as we speak ( factory GM 16" - you'll have to wait to find out ).
-- I will likely do a few performance and body updates as well.

questions: -- So am I the only Beretta owner out there with uncomfortable seats???? Any drive over 45 mins. just kills my back. My stock buckets aren't very worn, but I need LUUUMMMBBBBAAARRR. I'm looking into good candidates for a seat swap at the yards-- grand ams, etc. any advise??
-- I've read a few things about the DRL fixes. My biggest complaint is that they switch from hi to low way too much. Is there a relay I can just pull to avoid the switching, or must I wire in a switch of my own or tape over/disable sensor. I don't mind DRL's at times, but I like to run just parking lamps at times as well. I can only do this by setting the headlamp switch carefully between the headlamp/parklamp settings. I don't like to "click-up" a notch on the brake handle.

Thank you all for your time and help. Good luck at the Fest and Happy Motoring!!!!! --HARLAN

Odd place to put an intro.
Anyway welcome to Bnet. On the seats the best bet is Z26 seats. There are no other bolt in seats for these cars.
The 2.2 is known to have headgasket problems, so money is best spent on that. With that kind of mileage a timing chain replaement is a good idea too.

z26/GTZ seats they have a pump up lumbar support.

unsure what to do about the drls, have yet to have that problem, they always worked fine on my 95 2.2 5 speed

Thanks for the info. I wasn't sure where to post an intro. I just submitted pics in the member rides section. They should be posted and viewable soon. Thanks again. -- Harlan

Welcome to the site! All of the questoins I had about the car were answered above. You will like the Z26/GTZ style seats. 2.2 5 speed cars don't seem to have as many headgasket/head issues as far as I have seen, but it's always something to keep an eye on on any 2.2. My father owned 2, 2.2 auto cars, and both had head gasket and head issues, which is why my username is what it is. Automatic cars I think have more issues due to the heat of the trans. Good luck with the car!

Welcome to Beretta.Net!!! And I can vouch for the Z26 seats... they are great! I've had lower back problems most of my life - an old football injury - and these seats are just perfect. Can't wait to see some photos!!! Enjoy your time here.

Echoes71 wrote:Welcome to Beretta.Net!!! And I can vouch for the Z26 seats... they are great! I've had lower back problems most of my life - an old football injury - and these seats are just perfect. Can't wait to see some photos!!! Enjoy your time here.

-- Awesome!! Thanks for the help. Can't wait to find a set at a yard. -- Harlan

Just after 8" of wet snow.

Welcome to the site. Nice looking car -even with the 2.2, that 5-speed should be fun to drive, and I bet you get awesome MPG. These are great snow-cars, too! I agree with the consensus about the GTZ/Z-26/Indy (since no one else mentioned them) seats -two of my five Berettas have the base seats, and they always feel weird and uncomfortable until I get used to them again. Grand Am seats (~'92-late '90s at least) are incredible, they fit me like a glove, but they don't bolt right in. There was a board member on the 'other' site (bstuff -now gone) that had grafted in a set with great success, but I don't know if it is worth the effort for you.

If no one else comes up with a good DRL solution for you, I will look into it, but none of my Berettas had that option, and the DRL setup on my '97 Z-24 is a little different -but there should be a relay you can ditch to just get rid of it if nothing else.

Looking forward to seeing what wheels and other mods you are planning on.