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vor 37 Minuten schrieb luigi bertolotti:

Ronald... I was in Pontedera, for strictly professional reasons, at the times when young Alberto was still alive and active in the firm... 18-20 years ago... : what I remember well is that my contact (the VP of design) who was a typical funny/joking guy Tuscany-style , making a tour in the factory at a certain moment told me "now let's do a diversion to go to give a look at Mr. Agnelli secretary !"  she was worth, indeed...

 

I was there in 2003 maybe too late to have a look at her 😞 Fortunately a lot of most beautiful Vespa scooters and a look into the companies archive possibly compensated that partly 😉

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4 hours ago, stuny said:

So, between the letter clues, and the Bond woman named Vesper, is this a Vespa 400?  I don't think I've ever seen one.

You might just not have noticed as they are so small......

Yes! Congratulations, Stuart (and everyone else who had a go), it is a Vespa 400. Despite very encouraging initial sales-figures it couldn't really compete on the home market - unusually for a Piaggio/Vespa France and not Italy - with the likes of the Citoen 2CV and the Renault 4 and the factory was closed after just 6 years.

Few last images to wrap-up the poser;

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...finishing off with the bonnet badge; P(iaggio) / ACMA;

Over to you for the next one, Stuart!

Philip.

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Thank you, Philip.  Let's try this one:

 

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Without any further research or checking of references & archives, my first reaction would be that this is an Italian carrozzeria creation built for an English client sometimes in the late '40 or '50s,  based on the r.h. steering wheel location, although the folded top, the mirrors and other hardware look a bit German to my eyes.

It's that hooked chrome strip that throws the whole identification of this obviously elegant cabriolet into a cocked hat......haven't  seen that before, although there are many french pre-war custom designs that utilized similar brightwork to emphasize certain character-lines..

Merry Christmas to everyone

JZG

 

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You got it, Philip - Your turn again.  BTW:  this particular one is from 1948, and I saw it on viewing day before an auction house car auction.

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Impressive-looking machine! I don't remember seeing the rear-view before. Must have been quite something to be driving such a car a mere 3 years after the end of hostilities.

OK; strange one this next subject-matter. There are many areas where the beast would be instantly recognisable so I'm going to have to play cannily...

First might not initially appear to have much to go on but there should still be enough to narrow down certain thoughts;

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Philip.

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vor 5 Stunden schrieb stuny:

You got it, Philip - Your turn again.  BTW:  this particular one is from 1948, and I saw it on viewing day before an auction house car auction.

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Lovely car!

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59 minutes ago, John Z. Goriup said:

Allard ?

Crikey, John! That was quick!

OK; yes, it is an Allard. To win the coconut I will ask which model? This should make it fairly easy;

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No takers? Ah, well; Perhaps everyone is still out at Santa's Grotto.

What about this view? I don't quite know why I 'removed' the Allard badge...

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1 hour ago, Charles Morgan said:

Tis an Allard K2. I should look in more often, especially as the former owner of an Allard (M type drophead).

T'is, as you rightly say, an Allard K2. Made in 1951 according to the owner and he should know!

General view and the lovely bonnet detailing;

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Interesting you had an M-Type, Charles! It would be interesting - if slightly off-topic - to hear a brief summation of your views of these fairly rare beasts!

Over to you, Charles, and a Very Merry Festive Season to all!

Philip.

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Right, while I hunt for an apposite photo (the list gets ever shorter not having been to an event in ages), a little bit about Allard owning. They are crudely built (Sydney Allard was a racer first and foremost) with the chassis being that of a Ford Pilot but with the front axle cut in two to provide independent suspension, which mostly led to a very crabby stance. The models made for the UK were mostly Ford Pilot 3.6 V8s - a decent slug of low down torque with 85bhp top end, so not exactly fast, which was good as they handled quite poorly. My block cracked when returning from collecting it from the broker who sold it, and in the end it was a nose to tail rebuild of a car that had been described as suitable for driving daily. Virtually every single replacement needed replacing too - the replacement French army 4.2 litre flathead had a scratched bore, so out it went, the rebuilt 3 speed Ford gearbox failed too. The gearboxes were originally from the Model A and were just not up to the job, but you could still get parts (engines and boxes were made in the tens of millions). When my fuel tank failed, yes a stem to stern rebuild, I got a replacement from Allard Engineering, still run by the family. They had restored a Palm Beach show car and in the rebuilding had found the body to be spaced with woodbine packets and the wood was from rough floor timbers!

Once I had mine ready, I had it repainted as what was suitable for a runner was unsuitable for a good car, and then I sold it at a massive loss. I met some wonderful people - Billy Rowe at the ever bankrupting Namco and various racers, but also some total knobs. No fun to drive, insanely hot when stationary, and there was always a sense of something about to go wrong - I think when the clutch master cylinder went was that moment when I decided to move forward in time. But I did learn a lot about the classic car restoring community. For months, substitute years...

 

 

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OK, another day another challenge. Name the car! (M3, Summaron 35mm f2.8, Portra 400)

 

 

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