Voboril Party 2017

August 21, 2017

 This years Voboril party on Wednesday evening was as good as it gets! Live music, Good food, good wine and most of all great people!

 

 

 The Location at the Holman ranch is fabulous and comes with great history. The courtyard  with its grand entry invites you back in time and the night was just as last year, warm enough to be comfortable.

Jan was the perfect host together with Meredith and Michelle and all made sure we had a full glass and a plate of food.

 

Finally, after all the main courses, a home made cobbler was just the perfect way to end the meal and for us the evening.

The shuttle to and from the parking area made the hill a breeze to conquer.

We can’t thank you enough for the hospitality and for inviting us again to your group of friends and family.

Thank you again,

The ALC members

Monterey events update

Greetings,

This update cover a few items related to the Monterey Car week in August.
1) For you who missed the great party hosted by the Voboril family on Wednesday evening (8-16-17), here is the chance to enjoy a great evening once again.
Attached is the invitation so please RSVP to Meredith or Michelle as requested.
2) The Lunch gathering on Thursday (8-17-17) after the Pebble Beach cars on Ocean Ave.
We are reserving space at the Il Fornio Restaurant at 1.30pm. The space is limited to 20 persons so please e-mail me to reserve your space asap.(leifn12@gmail.com)
3)  The Friday (8-18-17) drive and lunch on back roads to San Juan Bautista. We have secured space at the local Italian – American restaurant “Happy Rooster” and will need a head count to let the restaurant know.
We will gather at the Chevron station next to Walmart just off the Reservation Road exit off Hwy 1 at 9.30am.
4) And of course don’t forget to register your car for the Concorso Italiano on Saturday (8-19-17). We are doing  a push for getting recognition in the magazine and hopefully get some renewed interest and new members.

2017 West Reunion- a Great Success

ALC West reunion a success

May 13, 2017 | Leif

The Reunion was protected by the Lancia weather God and we had a great couple of days. The Friday get together at the hotel was filled with a fun group and both stories and wine was flowing. For the ones that were still open for more food after the Pizza at the hotel, only a short walk from the hotel was needed for a great restaurant.

Saturday morning had some clouds covering us but the spirit was up and the drive started with a nice trip to the Canepa museum in Scotts Valley, we were there early and had a chance to go through the line-up of cars before the museum guide arrived. We were then taken through the museum and down into the shop and side areas were some amazing cars were worked on as well as stored.

Our cars lined up outside the museum.

 

After the tour at the museum we saddled back up and drove through back roads to the Roaring Camp as the clouds started to break up. At the camp we had the lunch served and got a chance to experience the good old times when we sat by the camp fire and roasted marshmallows!


There was also time to do some service and check-up on the cars while waiting for the train ride.

The drive back to the hotel took us om some great back roads that also took us away from any traffic jam. Again the road was great and coming back to the hotel was a breeze.

Before dinner we had a chance to talk about the days event as we gathered in the hotel hospitality room for a glass of wine.

The warning about not enough parking space at the restaurant got us car pooling and had no issues finding a spot

when arriving.

Great food and friends were abundant and every body seem to have a great time!

Sunday morning started with the Concourse and most cars were made shining in the now bright sun.

After the Concourse were The beautiful Flaminia Zagato and the Aurelia B24 Spider took top honors in their classes. Niel Pering got recognized for all his work as a representative for the club around the world.

The surprise appearance of a Lancia Scorpion was a great site during the Concourse.

After a group photo we lined up for the drive north to Pescadero. Myself and Barbara did not make the stop but headed further north as a busy week was laying ahead and I needed to be back in Lincoln in good time.

The after event arranged by Hank Koning was as far as we been told also was a great success and as soon as we get the report I will post that as well.

We want to extend a big thank you to Norman and Pauline for arranging the event that was superb and look forward to yet another year of fun driving.

Lancia Loraymo Book Review

Lancia Loraymo
And the Loewy Logic of Industrial Design
By Brandes Elitch
First a caveat-writing book reviews is not one of my strong points but when Brandy asked me to do a review of his book on the Lancia Loraymo I readily agreed. I agreed because of the ALC connection which is a fascinating tale of coincidental discovery and the way good things can happen through communication shared between people who share a mutual passion, in this case, all things Lancia. It is this story that makes this book worthwhile for ALC people, especially who may be unaware of the story.
The first half of the book is a discussion of industrial design, primarily as it relates to automotive design, with particular emphasis on Raymond Loewy’s contributions. The second part starts with a brief background of Lancia which will be familiar ground to most of you. This leads briefly into the Aurelia Blue Rays then to what is less well known, and perhaps more interesting-the design and construction of the Loraymo, and finally its disappearance, reappearance and rebirth. The book ends with a short review of the Avanti, particularly in regards to those design features that were first embodied in the Loraymo
All and all, the book reads well, holds your interest and the larger than normal type is nice for those of us with older eyes. It’s not a “coffee table book” but the layout is well done, some great pictures and it gets my humble recommendation. It’s not cheap, 128pages at $59.95 but then no book is anymore. It can be ordered at www.lancialoraymo.com

Bob Williams Passing

Sadly I pass on the news that Bob Williams died on 22 December. Bob was a longtime promoter and restorer of Lancia, often working with Walt Spak. You can find his obituary at the following link. http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/postgazzette/obituary.aspx?pid=183265470

Paul English May 23,1953-April 4, 2016

 

Paul EnglishPaul English of Chico passed away on April 4, 2016. As he remembers it, he fell on his bottom while making a pot of tea and peacefully transitioned forward. Paul was anything but ordinary. Born on May 23, 1953 in Barking, Great Britain, Paul took great pride as the eldest of the family and developed an inquisitive spirit which he shared with everyone he met. Paul was a self-taught, self-made man who became a successful businessman at a young age. He established a number of enterprises in the motorcycle industry; for the few that weren’t successful, he reflected fondly upon them as “character-building” experiences.

Paul was always keen to live his life at full throttle and take risks, on the condition that he was in control! After building their dream home in the UK, Paul fell in love with Chico and decided to fulfill his ambition of living overseas. Although he was a frequent visitor to England, he built a new set of enterprises in Chico and along with them, a large, eclectic group of friends.

Paul was at home in the garage, tending to his vast collection of motorcycles and classic cars. He was an accomplished motorcycle racer, with a career that spanned a decade. He was particularly proud of his victory at Brands Hatch in 1976, where he won the 500 production solo class on a Kawasaki. He twice raced in the Isle of Man, where he proudly finished 3rd place in the 250cc class at the Manx Grand Prix. He continued his passion for racing by sponsoring two fine gentlemen, one of whom continues to race today. Most recently, he and his wife Lily participated in classic car rallies, where they raced around the British Isles, France, Spain, Croatia and Australia.

Paul was a family man. He was immensely proud of his daughters and delighted in their adventures. He loved returning to England and catching up with family over a pint of Guinness. But most important, he adored his wife Lily; his teammate on and off the road. They were rarely seen apart, and whether a proverbial or literal push on his motorcycle, she enabled him to achieve some of his greatest ambitions.

Paul’s spirit and vivacious energy will live on through his wife Lily, his daughters Bryony and Amy and her partner Gary, his brothers Michael and David, his sister Sally, his Uncle Jim and Aunty Joan, his cousins and all his extended family.

In lieu of flowers, we hope you will contribute toward a memorial fund, available through YouCaring, which will support a scholarship fund to continue his spirit  https://www.youcaring.com/paul-english-550474

Virgins in Australia

IMG_4390After meeting Australian visitors to the West Coast of the USA over the past few years, our anticipation was high for our first ever trip to Australia.

 

Arriving in Brisbane we adjusted very nicely with Paul & Jo Doumany for a few days before flying down to Melbourne and Castlemaine.

 

The whole Castemaine Rally weekend was a whirlwind of smoothly organised fun; starting with the Friday lunch where we were introduced to dozens of new friendly Lancia cousins, thankfully the name tags helped remind us who we, and everyone else was!  The Saturday morning run and coffee stop was particularly memorable, following a great route, with some cryptic clues to keep the navigators awake. A remarkable attendance of Lancia’s of all ages was testament to the deep enduring roots our cars have in Australia. This weekend was the result of a huge amount of thought and planning, carried out by a very capable and enthusiastic team. We definitely appreciated this, as I am sure the members present did too.

 

The Tour was a less frantic time driving on our own program, often with a choice of routes, and still with a good sized group for a week long event.  As newcomers to the country we were captivated by the variety of countryside – and climate. Having lived in the UK and USA, we found the natives very friendly and refreshingly non-PC!  From sweltering heat at Castlemaine, we saw showers and some rain, and positive chill at viewpoints along the scenic Great Ocean Road. Highlights for us were kangaroos in our motel courtyard at Halls Gap – including a joey diving into mum with amazing speed and precision!

We were very grateful for Alan and Shellagh Hornsby for the loan of their lovely Fulvia Sport for the Rally and Tour. So it was all rather distressing to find myself at the roadside with no oil pressure and plenty of the latter outside the engine! My well used Book of Excuses was not needed in the end, as a fractured hose was found to be the culprit.

As a result of this I am happy to confirm that the stress test to Alan’s heart has been a total success and his blood pressure has now returned to normal. Which is 250psi.

 

The Tour allowed us to get to know many more of the group much better, which was very nice and less pressured than the Rally. We finished in fine style at Lorne with an excellent final dinner and speeches.

After returning Alan’s car to Ballarat, we enjoyed a few days with Chris and Anna Long in Melbourne seeing the orchestra and famous graffiti along with more conventional sights.

 

After nearly four weeks, we were ready to be traveling home, but full of unique memories of each different stage of our trip. None of this would have been possible without the enthusiasm of the all the Lancia Club members in Australia who organised and attended the events, and in particular our hosts (minders), Paul and Jo, Alan and Shellagh,and Chris and Anna.

 

We look forward to returning in the future,

 

Paul and Lily English

CASTLEMAINE: 1985 to 2015

Vicki and I have attended “Castlemaine” 5 times over the last 30 years.  I was somewhat shocked to realize that our first event was in 1985; mind you, I am not good at record keeping. We only know this because our program lists all the celebrity guests for each event; all 23 of them (the event is bi-annual, so say, 46 years).  The special guest in 1985 was Carlo Felice Bianchi Anderloni;  I remember riding in the back seat of a 1919 Kappa with Sig. Anderloni. In addition to having owned Carrozzeria Touring he was a fascinating and revered icon of the Italian automotive community.

 

Fast forward to 2013 where Michael Robinson was the featured guest speaker. Michael is a most unique individual. While in High School in Southern California he dreamed of designing automobiles inspired by Bertone’s  1970 concept car which led to the production of the Lancia Stratos. Michael followed his passion to become head of styling for Lancia and eventually the creative director at Bertone.  As you might imagine his life story makes for an incredible motivational speech.

 

So, finally for 2015 another American, and this time our own longtime friend Lancia collector and passionate enthusiast Geoffrey Goldberg.  But you see, I always thought Geoff was one of us and I was just slightly concerned that perhaps he was, you know, out of his league.  But no! Geoff more than deserves to be listed with the exalted company* who have been featured at Castlemaine before him.   His book Di Virgilio at the Center is a masterpiece.  Remarkably Geoff created an intimate friendship with Di Virgilio’s son Luigi, from whom he gained access to material directly from the hand of the father and also opened doors into the historical archives of Fiat and Lancia.  When Geoff spoke at Castlemaine he kept us entranced with the fascinating story of Lancia’s development of the V-6 engine as well as Di Virgilio’s personal history at the heart of the Lancia family. He also spoke of the intrigues: life at a factory that produced some of the most spectacular and innovative automobiles of the post war era.  Geoff left us with his personal theory as to why Gianni Lancia lost control of the company and a hint that this theory may lead to another book.  We all hope so.

 

Paul TulliusScan0031

JANUARY

2014 East Coast Reunion

American Lancia Club Walt Spak Fall Reunion

 

Although the Fall Reunion is a traditional event of the East Coast Club, this year was of a very different format. We usually do an eat/drive/eat/sleep/drive but this year we dropped the drive components. We focused the event at the Simeone Foundation Museum near the Philadelphia Airport. Many members had never been to the museum is spite of its being honored by Motorsport Magazine as being the best motorsport museum in the world. Fred Simeone and his catering staff hosted us to a very luxurious Saturday evening, including tours of the incomparable car collection, wine and hor d’oeures and a very, very high quality dinner in front of the gorgeous Lancia Lambda Torpedo. During the salad course Fred spoke to us about the collection and his philosophy of correct stewardship of important vintage automobiles. His philosophy is comprehensively described in his new book: “The Stewardship of Historically Important Automobiles”.East Coast reunion 2014

During the desert course, Mike Tillson, Director of The Hundred Cars of Radnor, spoke of his adventure at Sebring driving a works Lancia Fulvia HF with Innes Ireland – a great Lancia story not known by many. DSC_4380

We had a wonderful group of about thirty-nine ALC members and several guests. The club awarded Michael Kristick a gift of appreciation for his constant support of the club and Lancia owners everywhere. Member Greg Moore (Flaminia) brought cases of a variety of nice red and white wines. We consider him to be a particularly fine gentleman member! The elaborate table centerpieces were conceived and fabricated by Garnet Hadley, each including many car maintenance goodies and were given at random to eight lucky attendees.

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What an interesting bunch – these attendees. All are certifiable boffins that really enjoy each other’s company and discourse.

Of particular interest at the event was the amazing new book “Lancia and DeVirgilio – at the Center” written by ALC member Geoffrey Goldburg. It was generally agreed that this book is as good as any other motorsport book out there. You need a copy!

The Reunion was as always, a lot of fun. Many thanks to Fred, Alan, Milanee Gary, Greg, Garnet and Mike!

 

Thanks also to all who attended!!

Harlan W Hadley

 

 

JULY

Mike Space

July 9, 1948 – Dec. 17, 2013

We mark the loss of our dear friend Mike Space, who passed away in his sleep on the island of Vieques, where he and his wife Judi had retired for the winter.

Mike realized he was Not Normal at an early age, and never tried to conform. His first car was decidedly not normal, an Austin A35. His second car was a primer red Aurelia B20 (ex-Olivetti family, it turned out), followed by a brand new Fulvia 1.3 HF in 1968 (which he successfully raced), still in High School.

An ardent and tireless advocate for our marque, he introduced countless people to Lancia over the years. Mike embodied, he was, HF, High Fidelity to Lancia, though in his own inimitable style. His pride and joy was an Aurelia Convertible, fit with a Flaminia motor, that he’d gently restored after I’d sold it to him twenty years ago, as well as his barn-find Appia Berlina. His vintage racer was an ex-Bob Dudley Fulvia 1.3 that he’d made into a Faux-HF.

That said, Mike was an automotive omnivore; he owned, drove, and worked on damn near everything, from construction equipment to Ferraris. An accomplished driver, as at home on the track as he was on the road, in Sept. he’d spent a day in his all-original 1275 Cooper S leading pace car laps of both Watkins Glen courses.

A near life-long member of the ALC and contributor to Lanciana, he also belonged to a number of other car clubs over the years, and in particular was an active member of FLU. He had organized and put on the Hellertown Italian Car Show for the last two years, all for the greater glory. It has been resolved that it will be continued, in his name.

Mike was a skilled and talented artist, musician, and craftsman, with eclectic interests and an unbounded curiosity, one of those people whose infectious joy of life left others smiling, and made him friends wherever he went. He had more energy than he knew what to do with, and was always ready to dive in and give a helping hand to friends and strangers alike. Over the years he had an auto parts store, worked as an automotive line and independent mechanic, and as well as having his pilots license was a certified aircraft and helicopter mechanic.

Although most people reading this know him through cars, music was another major part of Mikes’ life. His relationship with the Philly Folk Fest dates back to the 1970’s; among other positions they held there, he and Judi still belong to the Groundz Crew that sets up and breaks it down each year. For a dozen years Mike was musical director, a board member, and a soundman for Godfrey Daniels, one of the longest running (way more than) folk music clubs in the country, and had just stepped back. He had his own radio show, the Blend, on WDIY, Bethlehem Pa. public radio station. Mike and Judi also held house concerts for musical friends at Space Mountain, the home he had designed and built. The next one had been scheduled for April, right after their expected return in the spring.

But there were times when his life’s work seemed to be reanimating automotive orphans, and in fact it continued to the very end. In spite of promising Judi he wouldn’t be doing any automotive work on Vieques, he immediately made friends with someone whose car needed “a bit of help”.

I was 17, newly arrived at art school in Philadelphia, when I met Mike, and it was through him that I met Jeanne, his ex-girlfriend, who became my wife. We are grateful to have had Mike in our lives for so long, and are the poorer for his absence. My words do him little justice. We miss him greatly.

He leaves behind his beloved wife Judi, and many friends spread across the face of this Earth.

-Steve Katzman