Lancia Motor Club

(This follows on from posts under the Retromobile thread)

Chris,

Yes, that B20/D20(?) replica was very memorable! I was busy on the track that day too, so my work was cut out to take photos, but here below are some more.

One shows my 6th Series B20 with others on the parade lap line up. The D20R (also owned by Anthony Maclean) looked wonderful, but I didn’t get to see under the bonnet or hear it run.

The D24 was quite extraordinary – the pictures show its trailing arm front suspension with inboard drum brakes, and another with the bonnet off. This car must be similar the one that Fangio drove to win the 1953 Pan-Mexico road race at an average speed of over 170 kph. The mind boggles!

Photo freaks might be interested to know that the colour photos were taken with my Olympus pocket and the B&W one was taken with an ex Roger Perry Leica that had recently been bequeathed to me.

Colin

Nice pics Colin, must get me eyes checked as cannot see the b&w piccy ??? i also have a Leica mines a Leica II 1932 ::)

Mine's a IIIc. Aren't they just the perfect camere for taking pictures of old Lancias!

Oops. Are we in danger of starting a new thread for vintage cameras?

Roger,

The B&W one is in General Chat, under Retromobile Paris – a thread I diverted here.

The scans colour above look poor quality. I can send email larger files to anyone interested.

Vintage rangefinder cameras…. yes there’s another world out there!

Colin

Ah - but with a bright line finder clicked to the top !!   I have one to match a 9cm Elmar on a scruffy IIIc with sharkskin.   Now how long a time since it saw a film...

David

Come on then!

Let’s see some photos of your old Lancias and/ or any other interesting cars taken with Leica IIIc and whatever with a 9cm Elmar lens, with or without sharkskin.

Just to encourage you, here’s a photo of my B20 that I have posted before, but it does show the crispness possible from my Leica M2. But I must say my Olympus XA from 1980 was much easier to use and would still be giving me good results had it not be stolen in Paris five years ago – since when it’s been digital all the way.

Colin   

There's a thread on the Autosport.com forum about the D40 http://forums.autosport.com/index.php?s=6e34e11d0828ed66bf34d132ccef1685&showtopic=123185&st=0&p=4114233&#entry4114233

with a link to some period photos of D24s in action at Dundrod in 1954:

http://www.motorsport54.co.uk/carpages/153.htm scroll to the right for more

More on the D24 - let’s forget about cameras for the time being!

Here’s a photo of a period Lancia poster to celebrate their 1-2-3 overall win in the 1953 Carrera Mexicana. I was wrong in my earlier quote – it seems Fangio’s average speed was 169.32 kph, covering 3077 kms in 18:11 hours.

Colin

Sorry - but it was the matt black Uno - am assuming BWE - that jumped out the photos at me.

David

Colin, the pic of your car on the track has me in my old B20 (49PE) wearing a  rather subtle jumper alongside. I have some pics of the D24 and B20 corsa from that day too. I will have to look them out and see if they show any more details. Ade.

"Not in my opinion. They had dreadful viewfinders. The M series were a great improvement, but some say still not as good as their Zeiss competitors. I favour Nikon rangefinder cameras, which copied good points from each of the German makes."

I admit the range-finding viewfinder on the Laica isn’t brilliant but the main viewfinder is much better than the Super IKonta I have used on Lambdas. The thing I like about the Leica is the feeling of solid engineering and mechanical precision. Add the ground breaking concept, trend setting design and continuing usability in the modern world and I think the parallels with Lancia bear recognising. That you can use a 2010 35mm cassette in a 1925 camera is pretty remarkable.

Still the film camera I use most is a Nikon so I guess we both came to the same conclusion in the end.

Come on Frank - let's see some of your photos!

Colin

Trouble is Colin, I can't for the life of me remember which photos I took with which camera. Also I think I need Brian to give me a tutorial on scanning and uploading photos. Still, I like a challenge so watch this space.

Frank, I know what you mean about forgetting which camera. Here’s a photo by Roger Perry taken in 1970 of my/our Flaminia – possibly taken with a Nikon FTN , or possibly a Leica M2 with long (maybe 90 mm?) Elmar lens. Either way, notice the Cartier Bresson style black-margin to show whole-frame and no cropping. I’ll also post this under Flaminia.

Yes please - I'll watch this space.

Colin

Ade,
I would really like to see some of your photos of the B20 at Castle Combe. Any chance?

Hi Chris, I had a look at them, they were similar to Colin's. I will see if I can scan them in the next few days (will have to borrow Ed's scanner) then post them on here.
Ade.

Here's a B20 Corsa replica for sale  http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C107870/

Colin, not sure if this is the time or the place but here goes to try some pictures. I am confident these are Leica ones taken with variously 3.5cm, 5cm or 9cm Elmar lenses and the nice variable viewfinder that stops down to give correct framing.

Frank,

Very nice – thanks for posting them. The Lambda (ZI 59) at Brooklands is that of John Turner. The B20 on the LMC driving test is the 4th Series car of Mike Matthews.

Colin

Hi Frank,
Nice photos, it looks like Nigel Hargreaves on the left in front of the Lambda in the first photo, I thought he was wearing a shower cap, but realised it's part of the background!

Brian
8227 8)

That B20 Corsa Replica has been for sale for a year or so.  I dread to think how much he is asking for it, sadly I can only sit & drool.

Peter

These are my photos of the D24R and B20 corsa from the same Castle Combe track day as Colin's. I think it was 1993.

Ade,

These are great photos, whatever camera you were using. I bet you have thousands more from other events that you could scan in to delight all of us! Go on, please do it.

Colin

Colin, they were taken with an Olympus OM10, and yes I do have thousands of others, trouble is I don't have hundreds of hours to scan them all, I don't even own a scanner at the moment! But I will dig out some of the best, just don't expect them all at once!
Ade.

How about this one of my old B20 on a Great Northern Weekend in about 1991 somewhere in southern Scotland.

Colin, this is all your fault, you have got me looking at all my old photos, I do have a few converted to digital, so here are a few more, another of the B20 with Ed driving and Steve Henshall as navigator on the French Rally in 1991. Then one of my driveway somewhen in the 1990's with my Aprilia and Ed's in the garage, then Tim Jewel's, Simon Lake's and Brin Edwards' on the drive.
Enjoy! Ade.

......and just one more for today, the B24 in Portugal on one of Club Vincenzos excellent rallies, overlooking the River Douro

....oh maybe a couple more, another of the B24 driving across the middle of Spain (Mad dogs and Englishmen....) and one of my favourites of my Flavia Sport taken in the heather in the Yorkshire Dales.

Anyone who hasn't been on a Club Vincenzo Lancia Tour with Frank, is really missing out on some of the best european Lancia Touring available.
Our run across Spain from Salamanca to Pamplona through the Pyrenees to France in one day was sublime.

Brian
8227 8) 

Ade,

If you are blaming me, I am happy! They are wonderful photos – keep them coming.

Colin

OK. This one is from the AGM in 1984, Yorkshire if I remember correctly.

Another couple of pics from The first Sliding Pillar Rally in 1991. Colin, you will recongise your old B20 alongside Gerals Batt's Astura Pinin Farina, which is currently for sale http://www.prewarcar.com/show_prewar_car.asp?car_id=54269 The other one shows Mike Jennings and Pete Harding's B20s and Brin Edwards and John Savage's Aprilia. I think the Lambda is Jonathan Wood's but it didn't belong to him at the time.

We are getting a bit off subject, perhaps this should be moved under general chat in a old pictures section......... when is the photo library going to be up and running?
Anyway this is again from the first Sliding Pillar, a typical pose for the event, the late Robin Antrobus, Steve Henshall and John Nicholson enjoying themselves!

If you want to get back to the initial subject, here is my contribution!

Another one!

Back on topic with some more relevant old camera pictures. (for the anoraks it was probably a Zeis Ikon Super Ikonta)

I have looked out a few more pics from the past. One of Harry Manning standing between a couple of Aprilias at the Aprilia 50 Rouen in 1986. Then one from the LMC Driving tests when they were held at Eversley.

...and some more. The Mike Spence 037 at a Castle Combe track day and an Appia GTE Zagato at a Goodwood track day. Both of these were taken in the late eighties.