Scooterotica

20th March 1952

Christ- I'm 6 days older!!

Rich_T wrote:Things that would put it beyond doubt, LC has a carb flap on the R/H panel (French LD not)............ Personally, my money is on LC, and this makes it pretty rare.

I went to see it tonight, it has the carb flap on the R/H panel.....and is an LC.

It also has been stood for 48 yrs and has the 1962 tax disc still attached that it last ran with!! lol

Its is also, as expected, seized solid.

I can put an offer in if i want it.......will sleep on it and maybe make an offer later this week.

Its not my cup of tea, but if i can pick it up for a quick turnaround, then i'll do so.

Well f@@k a big fat rat!! I can't believe what this scoot just sold for!!??

So here's the full story: A pal texts me last week and says 'hey Dan, Morphets Auction house in town is putting a Lambretta through next week, you might be interested.' You can see the item here: http://www.morphets.co.uk/BidCat/detail ... 0&LotRef=1

Now i'm thinking Morphets? They deal in antique tables, watches, vases, fine art etc....but a rusty old Lambretta.....that aint their bag? So i'm thinking, maybe i will nip down, and see a bunch of 'Dave Dickinson' types......

....who are kicking the scoot tyres and saying...."i say old boy....what's this damn old tosh doing in here, where's my ming vase!" and therefore i'll pick it up cheap! Genius!

So i get a bit of feedback from guys on here and LCGB, and the common consensus is that its worth about £700, which makes me think...if i bid £350-£400 then by the time they've added buyers premium and VAT , it'll stand me at about £500-£550......so not a bad investement!

So i get down there today, expecting Dave Dickinson and pals to greet me at the door, and what do i see straight off.....these lot:

Well....not these lot specifically...but a bunch of scooter enthusiasts! lol. You can spot us lot a mile away....lol!!

So now i'm thinking, f@@k me....word gets around quick doesnt it! I may as well clear off now. But i figure i'll hang about and see what it goes for anyway. And then bugger me.....bidding only starts at £500!! lol...that's me straight out of the water!

Anyway, bidding goes on, plus internet and phone bidding! In the end, the hammer falls at £1200 !!

When you add buyers premium and VAT on, that's about £1600+ !!!

I dont know if i've really missed something here, or if someone has just been robbed! I'm really not sure!?

I did check out the number plate to see if thats any value, but it was an Irish plate i think: OZ 6455 and i think if you try to get an age related UK plate, then it is non-trans anyway aint it?

But who know's.....lol

Its obviously beyond me whatever the reason. Any ideas???

Well this story did make me smile!!
Like the model C, the LC is really quite a rare thing especially one in such good original condition as this one is. I would have thought it was worth about £1000, this is based on the grounds that a fully restored example would probably be worth around £2500-£3000. (Much more if you live in Italy).
Do'nt believe the stories that they are difficult to work on they are no different to any of the early engines and many of the parts are available from Casa Lambretta.
The one big downfall the 125cc models have is that they are simply too slow to ride safely on todays roads and for that reason, despite their rareity, they do'nt fetch the higher prices many of the later models do.
However, if like me, the new owner gets as much pleasure as I did restoring my old model C then he's bought something he will enjoy owning.

And the scooter is now up for sale again.....be interesting to see if he gets his money back!! lol

That is a funny story, a lovely opportunity for some one who loves them but I don't think they'll turn a profit on Ebay with this one.

I've built many LD engines form all series and I've built 2 LC's. I stand my my original statement, they are a very hard engine to work on (definatley not for the novice Lambretta enthusiast) and the new parts from Casa DO NOT fit, for example the exhausts are off by a country mile and although the crank looks great, in practice you'll discover the square headed cotter pin is too big to allow the crank to rotate in the casing. This means you have to substantially modify it or find an original. Provided the rest of the engine is unmolested it isn't too bad provided you have proper extractors if the engine is seized.

The real nightmare is the knuckle joint, rebuilding that is a proper headache and would require special holding tools (in both of my cases I elected to leave it alone). This joint is also the first part to significantly wear and to replace the part, let alone get it out totally undamaged is a real mission.

Restoring a siezed LC engine is a real labour of love.

i tend to agree,now dont get me wrong as i really do love these old scoots...but they are a knightmare to work on compared to later models and they are SO slow and crap to ride...
great to have and own as museum pieces though.,and would love to have another myself...just to stick on a shelf in the garage ....

I totally agree with what Sean said, I had an LD for a while and the best thing I did was get shot of it. Too slow, terrible handling and horrible to work on.

CPH Lambretta wrote:I totally agree with what Sean said, I had an LD for a while and the best thing I did was get shot of it. Too slow, terrible handling and horrible to work on.

sounds like my Missus!