Tag Archives: Model F

Can you help get this final part for Rod’s Lambretta Model F?

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So, life has been a little chaotic at Lambrettista Towers, and I’ve got a bit behind in my blog posting. I’ve got some brilliant posts lined up – courtesy of reader Darrin – who has sent me some fantastic imagery of various Lambretta oddities, factory shots from the Eibar factory in Spain, and much more. Stay tuned for those goodies, I’ll get them up ASAP!

But I had to post this one as soon as I got it. It’s an appeal really – for my old internet pal from Down Under, Rod, who first appeared on the blog back in 2014 with a barn find Model F, which he intended to restore. (Here’s the original post).

Six years later, and after facing various challenges, Rod is nearly there… and just needs one part to get his rare Lammie over the line. He wants to finish it so his grandson Harry can ride it to Uni – starting a whole new generation of Lammie fans.

So, the part he needs is the Coil holder – pictured above… (my colouring to highlight it) so I’m putting out an appeal to all my readers can anybody help Rod out with this? Come on gang, we can do it! If you can help, please leave a comment below, and I’ll hook you up with Rod.

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F Type Progress – and an appeal…

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ModF+HarryBackWheel ModF+Harry ModF+Harry2 ModF+Harry4Regular reader may remember Rodney from Oz and his F model. Well, progress on the restoration have continued, with the help of his grandson Harry.  Some of the body parts are at the panel beaters. Once they are ready to go, they will be painted in the original grey – a perfect match to the original paint found on the front forks.ModF+Harry-FrameWhat strikes me when you see the F stripped down, is just how simple the design was… the E & the F really pared things down, even from the looped frame of the A -D’s. And it makes the DonGo “Bare Bones” scooter I featured earlier in the week look super complicated in comparison!

Rod has just about rounded up all NOS parts needed to complete the project, but one thing he is still chasing is a set of handlebars. These “F” model handlebars are proving tricky to track down… so Rod has asked me to ask my readers to see if they have any ideas about how he can come up with a set… Any ideas anybody? Can YOU help?

 

F is for Family… F is for the Future…

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Remember Rod’s Aussie barn find…  the controversial F with the D type forks? Well. there’s been a bit of progress… Rod has found an old dealer and bought their entire stock of model F parts… so he has most of what he needs for his restoration. RMF-Partsphoto 5 RMF-Partsphoto 6 RMF-Partsphoto 7

He’s also started to strip the scooter down with the help of the grandson Harry… who has been designated his chief mechanic. He’s become the envy of his classmates, helping his grandad restore a vintage Lammie.Familyphoto 2 Familyphoto 3 Family SpannerFamilyWoopsHis brother Hugo loves the Lambretta too… this means Rods F will have a great home and remained loved for the next 70 to 80 years… theirs a legacy to be proud of!Familyphoto

F is for FORKS, F is for FURTHER INFORMATION

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LambrettaModellFWhen I originally posted about Rod’s Western Australian Barn Find of a rare Model “F”, one of my eagle-eyed readers queried whether I’d made a mistake in classifying it as a F, as the forks didn’t have the distinctive ‘swept back’ look of the E’s and F’s. Check out the image above to see what I mean.

Well, you can write what I know about these early models on the back of a postage stamp… so I went back and queried it with Rod, who patiently sent me back pics of the frame and engine numbers both confirming it’s F status. Very weird. Was this some Aussie import F with D type forks? The explanation is a little simpler.

The Model F was based on the Model E… the E being a rethinking of the open frame Lambretta, with economy at it’s heart. It was stripped down, and the cheapest Lambretta you could buy, featuring an innovative, and frankly pretty poor “pull-cord” like a chainsaw or outboard engine instead of a kickstart. It was not well received by the Italian market, in fact it was a total flop. Innocenti then made some technical improvements, including reinstating a kickstart and this new model became the F. The improvements weren’t enough to radically improve sales however… and even an ‘elegant new colour’ (dark green) wasn’t enough to distinguish the F from it’s ill fated predecessor.

In 1955 a Second Series of the F was produced with many technical improvements from the first, more comfort, better electrics, and the more efficient fork and front fender from the Model D. It is one of these “Seconda Serie” with D forks that Rod discovered in a shed. The second series came in two colours… The putty like “Beige Sabbia” and “Grigio Chiaro”, a pale grey. Rod’s pics show traces of this original grey under the blue paint that was applied sometime back in the dim and distant.F1-F2

Unfortunately, although these changes had made the Seconda Serie F a much better scooter, it never shook off it’s Model E lineage. Sales figures could not justify it’s continued production, and the last F was made in early 1956. Which means one more thing… F stands for, erm, FLIPPING Rare.

Thanks Rod, for furnishing me with various articles that explain the complicated saga of the F with D forks!

F is for FIND – Aussie barn find!

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photo 5 photoOne of my readers, Rod got in touch from Western Australia yesterday, very excited about a scooter that had turned up in a shed where it had sat, unmolested for the last 35 years. It’s a Model F, The F is a pretty rare sight these days… I think by the time it was being produced in ’53 to ’54 the panelled LD was becoming the dominant Lambretta model, and they were of course also still selling the latest incarnation of the D model, one of Lambretta’s most successful models to date.

Something in the back of my mind tells me the E’s and F’s were more successful as the front end of Lambretta’s commercial range… but my knowledge of these vehicles is almost non-existent, so maybe you could enlighten me if you know more!

photo 3  Anyway, back to Rod’s F. He managed to pic it up for A$350. As you can see from the pics, it’s not in too bad condition, and Rod says everything is there, and completely original, barring the lock for the boot cover plate. So if you’ve got one of those around, drop me a line and I’ll put you in touch with Rod.photo 4 photo 5 photo 6photo 7 photo 8 photo 9 photo 10These wonderful  tax discs tell their own story… the two older older two ones were behind the top one… so the scooter has been resting in that shed since 1976… 38 years! Rod is now approaching the Department of Transport to see if he can get the original number plate; UG 322.photo RodsF1 And I know it’s superficial, but I think my favourite part of the whole scoot is the original “Aussie Rules” Shell decals on the inside of the inside of the leggies…  a real period piece!

Rod on ModCNew owner Rod is no newbie when it come to Lambrettas either… He’s sent me this fantastic pic of himself astride his first Lambretta, a C Model, in about 1960 when he was 17, which he later upgraded to a D Model, pictured below. Just shows, once you’ve got the  Lambretta bug, you’ve pretty much got it for life. I can’t wait to see pics of Rod riding his restored F in the Aussie sunshine. Keep us posted mate!ModelD

The last pic, and probably my favourite, is Rod 53 years after the shot on his “C”, obviously enjoying his new purchase…RodF-53 Years Later

F is for FORKS…

A couple of eagle-eyed readers have pointed out that the forks don’t look correct for the model F, as you can see in the pic below, they are ‘swept back’ rather than the more standard Lambretta style forks, as seen on the D, and evolved on later models. It’s being looked into! UPDATE: The forks problem has been resolved, but it warrants a post of it’s own (stay tuned). We’ll leave it at this for the moment: A) Rods Lammie is DEFINITELY an F, and B) I’ve learned something new!LambrettaModellF