Recap of the West Coast American Lancia Club Reunion

The 2019 ALC West Coast Reunion was held on May 17-19 in the town of Oakdale, California. The hosts and organizers for the reunion were our illustrious club VP, Leif Neuman and wife, his Barbara. As always, the event kicked off with a meet and greet around the motel pool area where we drank wine, chatted with one and another and where many Lancia enthusiasts shared their progress and…frustrations, with Lancia projects. Barbara and Leif surprised us with an array of Barbara’s home-cooked dishes, a complete dinner meal appreciated and enjoyed by all. It was a lovely evening spent eating, drinking and chatting. The weather, at this time, was very cooperative for our outdoors event.

Following Breakfast on Saturday, we met with Leif for our rally instructions. Our destination was Ironstone Winery in Murphy’s for Lunch with a prior meet-up at Columbia State Historic Park. (I think that “most people” made it to either Columbia or the Ironstone Winery without getting lost)

The return trip back to the motel suggested a stop in the historic mining town of Copperopolis and also afforded a more “adventurous” drive for map challenged navigators. Our automobiles had two great opportunities to line up for photographs on the lovely grounds of the winery (See photos).

The chatting and commiserating of mechanical issues continued at the motel prior to meeting for dinner at the Firenze Ristorante in Oakhurst.

I forgot to mention that our Saturday drive was accompanied by rain as we maneuvered the twisty, meandering roads returning to the motel. Rain continued intermittently through the late Sunday morning. However, the rains did not stop “the People’s Choice Car Show” and mini lunch planned at the Oakdale Cheese Factory. It was not surprising that the People’s Choice Award went to one of the club’s newest members, Carol Athanasiu with her beautifully restored Lancia Flavia Pininfarina Coupe’. Carol is understandably enthusiastic about her car and we hope her enthusiasm will continue as she promises to be a valuable asset to our club.

The reunions are always an enjoyable event for meeting up with individuals who share our interest in Lancia automobiles, many known to us for many, many years, and new members who, we hope, will continue to share their interest at these events for many years to come. We would like to acknowledge the ongoing dedication to attend the West Coast ALC Reunions by our friends from Australia, Shellagh and Alan Hornsby. Thank you both for your friendship and support to our club.

Finally, we encourage more members to join in the After Tour that immediately follows the ALC Reunions. Hopefully Hank Koning will continue to be our “Tour Master” for future rallies. He adds humor to the tour, seeks out the most exciting, beautiful and (sometimes) challenging routes, and he is always there to make sure the caravan is intact and that no one is left behind. Thank you Hank!

Submitted by Vicki and Paul Tullius

Photos of Luca Spensieri’s 1961 Appia For sale

Contact Luca :lspensieri@aol.com

718-938-9173

(Received this report from Phil after visiting this years Retromobile)

I just returned from a quick trip to the City of Lights for this year’s opening of Retromobile. It is hard to put in words the sheer scope of this event-there really is no equivalent in the U.S. It’s part celebration the golden age of French motoring (deDion-Bouton or Gnome-Rhone anyone?), and part vintage car fantasy-land, with all marques and eras well represented. The organizers really pull out the all stops for this one, and the entry fee is a very reasonable 19€ per day. While you could likely run across just about any model of Lancia scattered among the various clubs and dealer displays, if you want to cover the whole event some planning is required. Two days is barely enough time to give the show justice. Three is better. Should you linger too long in one area (easy to do, with curiosities to delight your motoring fancy at every turn) , you are in danger of missing another display entirely  I almost missed what would be the highlight of the show for any Lancisti. In a large space to the far right of the 1st pavillion is an amazing  private collection of no less than 30 Lancias, many iconic and rarely seen, and all in show condition. The display itself is prominently placed beneath illuminated Lancia signs and behind a black velvet rope manned by a pretty hostess (in a smart Lancia uniform, no less!). The rope is there just for an entry point-the cars are directly accessible. For a moment I thought Lancia (?) itself might be involved, but that was just a fantasy. I believe the collection was based in Germany, but unknown to me-perhaps other members are familiar with it. Another highlight was the Lancia Stratos Zero Concept car which the Lancia Club of France had managed to free from its hiding place for display at their stand.  Some personal favorites were the 1955 Alfa Romeo 750 Sports Racer prototype (based on Giulietta running gear) at the FCA Heritage stand, and the many beautiful and rare 60’s  DS19 and DS21 Chapron convertibles, all impeccably restored,  at the Citroen display. The show runs through this Sunday(2-10-19).

Phil Anderson

It was a beautiful day in Walnut Creek when family and several friends from the NorCalLancia Group gathered at the Creekside Grill to celebrate the life of former ALC member, and our friend, John Cecil. John’s life ended on October 31st, just a week before he and his wife, Becky, lost their home in the Camp Fire in Paradise, California. Family members in attendance included Becky and her Granddaughter Shiobhan (Tracy), Son Tony and his friend Robin (Red Bluff), Granddaughter Becky and her husband Steven (San Jose), Grandson Sam and his girlfriend Lauren (Tracy) and Grandson Chris Tracy).

NorCal attendees included ALC vice president, Leif Neuman and wife Barbara, Elsa and Neil Pering, Jean and Steve Katzman, Vicki and Paul Tullius, Tom Gilmore, Kent Emery and the event organizer, Steve Snyder. Becky commented, “It was  lovely luncheon and thank you to everyone who came to acknowledge John”. Steve Snyder did a great job of pulling people together and in finding a reasonably accessible location for all to meet. Becky also added, “John would love to have been there with us”. He was certainly there in spirit! We miss you, John.

Vicki Tullius.

Todd is selling his 1981 Beta Coupe Track car.

The list of improvements on the car is long and the price he is asking $ 3500.00 does not cover the parts installed.

Here is a list:

The Calendar as well as the artist drawing on the back of the calendar is of the 1967 Flaminia Sport owned by Ari and Kristin Baron.

Lancia Heaven –John Campion’s Aladdin’s Cave
Jacksonville,FL
John Campion , co-founder and Chairman of APR Energy, graciously opened the
doors of his pristine and private showroom in Jacksonville, FL on Monday,
November 12 th ,2018 to his fellow Irishman ,Tom Gilmore ,wife Barbara and their
good friends Dale and Debbie Newcomb all visiting from the San Francisco Bay Area
and proud standard bearers for The American Lancia Club.
I had heard of this Lancia collection for a few years and with a vacation planned to
see the wild horses on Cumberland Island in Georgia a quick look at the map
confirmed that Jacksonville was less than one hour away. A few emails back and
forth with John’s executive assistant , Stacie Mirabella, and the visit was on!
John and I grew up rabid rally fans watching Paddy Hopkirk , Roger Clark and Billy
Coleman compete in the International Circuit of Ireland Rally held annually over the
Easter Holiday on closed sections of public roads…racing against the clock on
tarmac !…needless to say the speeds were barking crazy.
Billy Coleman was an Irish privateer from Co.Cork ‘showing up’ the Ford ‘works’
drivers in a tatty Ford Escort twin cam in 1969 when I was spectating and by 1977
when John was watching, Billy Coleman was driving a Lancia Stratos sponsored by
‘The Chequered Flag’ of London. Billy was driving with house money at this stage of
his career and the memory of this Stratos sliding through the early morning mist
seared the Lancia shield on to John’s brain.
Leaving Ireland in the mid 80’s to seek his fortune John started a mobile power
generation company to supply the needed power for the massive amplification and
light shows of U2 and David Bowie as rock concerts moved into arenas and
stadiums.
‘ShowPower’ ,co-founded by John, was acquired by GE and so having faith in their
business model John and his buddy went a few rungs up the ladder and founded
APR Energy the company that today provides mobile peak and off- grid power
around the world.
Yup!..with a wee bit of discretionary income coming his way “It was time to ditch the
Ferraris and get some real cars…competition Martini Lancias! “ said John.
The lobby of John’s showroom is furnished with aluminum shelving made from
aircraft wings , automotive posters beautifully framed and lit and the nose cone of a
Michael Schumacher Ferrari mounted on the wall and wonderful seating…..it all
looked so cool and not in the least ‘over the top’
‘Thanks for coming” says John bounding towards us giving us all a very warm
welcome. A brief discussion about the various artifacts on display and then “let’s go
and see the cars’!
Well I was not prepared for what we saw.
We were shown into a magnificent showroom and if the lobby was a ‘wee bit busy’
the showroom was an exercise in Italian minimalism.
The cars were presented against a red wall complete with recessed lighting on a
grey epoxy polished floor and are all beautiful prepared and in full running
condition.

We were captivated by the following Lancia
competition cars:
LC 2 ..chassis # 0001

Beta Monte Carlo
S4
037
Fiat 131 Abarth –Alitalia
Stratos
Fulvia ‘Fanalone’
Fiat transporter.
Out of picture was a Delta and out of the shop was a Martini LC 1 and a few odds and
ends….Ford GT, Ford Escort Twin Cam and a Mazda Sports Racing Car for John’s
wife,Suzanne.

John’s cars are featured in the October and November 2018 editions of Italia
magazine out of the UK.

I was delighted to present John with an honorary 2019 membership of our club, a
forty-five year old Lancia key fob and a model of a Martini Delta….he was most
pleased.

Shannon , another assistant, presented each of us with shirts and jackets
representing CJJ Motorsports that promotes and sponsors young drivers in the US
and Ireland. ( thanks to Leif Neuman and Steve Snyder for the certificate and the
key fob)
John has done an incredible job in collecting these Lancias and has now started to
show them at major events around the US…Amelia Island and The Quail in 2018.
But there is more!…John is a major philanthropist in Northern Florida giving
extensively to local schools ,universities and to cancer research.
He is a complete and very nice guy and a fabulous host and now a member of our
club!
A great visit.
P. Tom Gilmore
Lafayette, CA

Dear Lancia Friends: We have sad news to share with you regarding the loss of a long-time friend and Lancia enthusiast, John Cecil. John died suddenly in his home in Magalia, California on October 31st. John has not been a recent member of the club but attended and supported the Lancia Reunion’s in 2014 in Graeagle and again in Lone Pine. John was 84 years at the time of his death.
We first met John and his wife, Becky, in the early 70’s when we attended our first reunion in Carmel Valley. Both John and Becky were living in Sunnyvale at the time and worked at Lockheed Martin Corporation. John retired from Lockheed 26 years ago and moved to the mountain area of Magalia, with Becky soon retiring and joining him there. One wonderful anecdote about John: During one of our rally’s, several members were trying to assess the problem with a disabled car. John cleverly diagnosed and resolved the problem, to which he said, “Well, you know it isn’t rocket science, although . . . I am a rocket scientist”. He was extremely bright, loved his Lancia Automobiles and we will miss him so very much.
A celebration of life for John was planned for October 16th. Unfortunately, his celebration was cancelled due to the Camp Fire in Paradise. As you all must know, the town of Paradise has been about 90 percent destroyed by this horrific fire storm. Unfortunately, John and Becky’s home in Magalia, a community also destroyed by the fire, was one of those totally lost in the fire. Becky is safe and presently staying with her daughter in Tracy, California. She has been hit with 2 major life crisis in just a week’s time. I would encourage those of you who know or do not know them but would like to acknowledge this difficult time, reach out to Becky and to share your condolences, memories and/or history with John. I know that she will be touched by your communication with her as will her family.
Becky can be reached at: Rebecka (Becky) Cecil C/O Siobhan Edgar Cecil 233 E. Carlton Way Tracy, CA 95376

ADDENDUM: Please note that Lancia member, Todd Radke, was also someone who lost his home in the Camp Fire. Todd was the owner of the beautiful blue Fulvia (original owners were Judy and Dick Buckingham) recently restored by Todd. The fire erupted and spread so quickly that Todd was able to leave the fire with only his life but none of his possessions, including his valuable and loved automobile collection. Todd is presently safe and staying with a friend in Chico. If you would like to acknowledge his loss and appreciation that he is still with us today, you can reach Todd on his cell phone, 530-570-5169.
Vicki and Paul Tullius

The photo of the 1923 Lancia Torpedo was taken during the 2007 ALC Reunion!

Owner: ALC MemberTina Bird

Second picture taken at the French-Italian car show

November 4 2018