Some snapshots based on our use and enjoyment of a 1967 Lancia Fulvia Coupe Rallye 1.3.
Comments & corrections welcomed. You can leave these via Phanfare while viewing an album, or you can email me at "shaunpond at gmail dot com".
- Snowball Rally 2012
The Snowball Rally is a two day tour over great secondary roads in the mountains for interesting cars built in or before 1979.
What better way to spend a weekend?
- Berlina Register Tour
Andrew Watry organized another of his lovely Berlina Registry tours.
This time, it was Berlina-free, but a great assortment of other lovely cars showed up on a nice Autumn day.
- Mother Lode 400 2011
Josh Prentiss' ode to old cars & mountain roads.
- Berlina Registry Spring Run
Andrew Watry is good enough to organize a couple of runs each year, and eclectic enough to invite non-Alfas.
This time, an interesting mix of cars left from Fremont to explore East Bay back roads, ending with a picnic lunch at the Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton.
Good bunch of people, interesting motorcars, absolutely stunning Spring scenery, and a nice route.
Thank you, Andrew!
- Snowball Rally 2010
Jeff Guzaitis' celebration of Spring in the mountains and diverse old cars. The rally starts near sea level in Sacramento and travels on back roads over 8000'+ passes over California and Nevada mountains. As a bonus, the rally overnights at Frank Sinatra's old place on Lake Tahoe.
For this third running of the event, we had 60+ vehicles: muscle cars and micro cars and everything in between. As is becoming traditional, the only snow encountered was on the roadside at high elevations, and those driving roadsters had to worry about sunburn, not frostbite.
- Shamrock Rally
The fifth running of the Shamrock Rally, a tour of Bay Area roads organized by Steve Jackson.
This year's run was favored with stunning weather (e.g. sunshine, after a week's worth of rain) and -- as usual -- a nice assortment of interesting cars and people.
- Superdrive Sunday - Pacifica, California
The second running of a spontaneous rally tour, designed to provide motorists with an alternative to a day in front of the television watching the Super Bowl.
This year, around 25 interesting cars (mostly pre-1975) showed up in Pacifica to run a ~150 mile route on Highway 1 and through the coastal hills South of San Francisco.
With no club to handle the organization, thanks go to Jeff Guzaitis and Karyn Johnson for making it happen: pre-running the route, calculating the odometer way points, putting together the route sheets, and generally keeping things more-or-less on the road.
And thanks also to everyone who brought out such interesting cars.
- The Pedal Pushers 3rd Pullover Rally
The Pedal Pushers (http://www.thepedalpushers.com) put on the third ediion of the "Pullover rally", a one day romp through some of the nicest Northern California roads.
As with the previous two Pullovers, the rally was well organized, stylish, and fun.
Thank you, Pedal Pushers!
- California Melee XIII
The low buck, high fun rally that sets the standard for interesting cars, roads, and people.
This year, there were 270 applications for 56 slots, so a number of good and deserving cars and people were disappointed.
The diversity of entries was breathtaking. It's rare fun to run back roads with the likes of a Jowett Jupiter, an early Maserati 3500GT, a Fiat Multipla, a Citroen 11BL Legere, and an Alfa Spider with an aluminum Olds engine and Megasquirt injection. To say nothing of the slightly more usual Porsches, Alfas, Datsuns, BMWs, Healeys, Volvos and Triumphs.
- Moto Melee start, San Francisco
The start of the Moto Melee, a road event for pre-71 motorcycles.
- The Mother Lode 400 Rally
Josh Prentiss' ode to great Sierra roads, opus #3. Four hundred plus miles over two days in pre -76 sports and gt cars. Perfect weather, an excellent mix of interesting cars and people, and absolutely sublime scenery and roads.
- The Snowball Rally
The second running of the Snowball Rally, a tour starting in the Bay Area on Friday night, then heading up into the Sierras from Sacramento on Saturday.
50+ interesting cars dating from the mid Seventies or earlier (one: MUCH earlier) and 100+ interesting people (some dating, but others in stable relationships) made the event a blast.
- Pullover Rally East Bay Loop 2008, Oakland, California
The Pedal Pushers (www.thepedalpushers.com) attracted a superb selection of interesting old cars for their 150 mile run through the East Bay. There were the usual gorgeous Healeys, Jags, Alfas, Lancias and Porsches, of course, but also less often seen vehicles, including a Falcon convertible, a family of four in their very small Citroen, and two ladies and a Boston Terrier in an smaller Nash Metropolitan.
Great fun.
THANK YOU, PEDAL PUSHERS!
- SoCal TT500, Echo Park, Los Angeles
Tad Yenawine's two day event starts in L.A. and takes in the best of Southern California's mountain and desert roads. So you get palm trees, pine trees, and Joshua trees, and some great cars and people.
- Berlina/Giulia/Giulietta Register "TIs to Tesla" Tour
Andrew Watry is kind enough to put on a couple of events in the East Bay each year, and they're always great fun.
Though run under the aegis of the Berlina/Giulia/Giullietta Register, they feature an eclectic assortment of Italian, German and, this time, English machinery.
A nice route, interesting cars, good people and great organization.
Thanks, Andrew!
- California Melee, San Francisco, CA
I don't see how it gets better than this.
A one-off Fiat-engined Special. A 289 AC Cobra. A Chevrolet Stylemaster. A Shelby GT350. A V6 Ford Capri. A Renault R8. An Abarth. A phoenix-like Corvette. A Peugeot 404. Plus Alfas, BMWs, Datsuns and Fiats, Healeys, Jags, Lancias, Minis and MGs, Porsches, P1800s and Triumphs.
- Mother Lode Rally - Jackson, California
Josh Prentiss' homage to the back roads and mountain passes of the Sierra gold country.
This year, the 440+ miles of route included climbing 7 passes over 7000', taking in some of the best scenery the Sierra Nevada has to offer.
- Arcane Auto Society Run -- Penngrove, CA
Peter Engle of the Arcane Auto Society (www.arcaneauto.org) was kind enough to invite us to join them on a run from Penngrove to Sonoma.
The Arcane Auto Society is an organization devoted to the care and use of vehicles which inspire the question "Say, what kind of car is that, anyway?".
- The Snowball Rally, Sacramento, California
The successor in spirit to the Alpine 500. The inaugural event started with a night stage to the "Meet & Greet" in Sacramento on Friday night, followed by two days of great people, cars, roads and weather in the Sierra.
Thanks to Jeff Guzaitis (www.thesnowballrally.com) for stepping up to make this happen! And thanks also to all the Snowballers for coming out with so many interesting cars!
- Berlina/Giulia/Giulietta Register "Sedans to St Helena" Tour
Andrew Watry and the Berlina Registry were kind enough to allow non-Berlinas, and even non-Alfas, to tag along on their 100 mile tour.
A nice route in and around the Wine Country, a glorious Spring day, and an assortment of interesting cars and interesting people made it great fun.
- Shamrock Rally III, Dublin, CA
The third running of Team SpareTire's Shamrock Rally. This year: about 120 miles of twisty Bay Area canyons and hills, sun, rain, hail, and snow. And FOUR LANCIAS. Three of them FULVIAS.
I.e., the first driving event since I've had the car when I haven't been the only Lancia. Frabjous day!
Photos by Adam and Shaun Pond
- A taste of Lemons
Had the pleasure of attending part of the October running of Jay Lamm's 24 Hours of Lemons at Altamont Motor Park.
The Lemons rules call for a car costing not more than $500, not including safety related stuff like rollcages, tires and brakes.
This rule yields an eclectic and interesting field of contestants. Great fun to watch, both on the track and in the pits. More info on Lemons events at: www.24HoursOfLemons.com
- Berlina/Giulia Register "Berlinas to the Bovine" Tour, Berkeley, CA
A Berkeley to Point Reyes run by the Berlina/Giulia Register (www.berlinaregister.com). They were kind enough to allow non-Alfas like the Fulvia to tag along.
A scenic route, an interestin' selection of cars & nice people, early morning fog giving way to sunny 70 degree weather.
A good day.
Andrew, thanks!
- California Melee, San Francisco, CA
The Eleventh running of the California Melee, a three day, 700+ mile event for interesting automobiles built before 1976. As always, impeccably organized, routed, and run by Jeff Guzaitis and Harley Welch.
- MotherLode 400, Jackson, CA
A new event this year, organized by Josh Prentiss and featuring Gold Country roads in the California Sierra Nevada mountains. Towns with names like "Volcano" and "Fiddletown", and back roads featuring both driving challenge and splendid views.
It's a two day event, but I could only do Day One (definitely planning to do better next year). So this album ends on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere.
Thanks for a good run, Josh!
- Alpine 500, Sacramento, CA
Snaps from the Alpine 500 (April 27th-29th).
Sixty or so cars (pre-1976 vintage) on a great 600 mile plus route that included some of the prettiest scenery in California.
Everything from a Rolls Royce Silver Dawn to a Fiat 500 on the entry list, though the majority of the entrants drove sporting BMWs, Alfas, Triumphs, Healeys, MGs, Minis, Porsches and the like.
Superb event!
- Shamrock Rally II, Dublin, CA
The 2nd Shamrock Rally, this time on Saint Patrick's Day itself. A nicely eclectic bunch of cars, including an Alfa Montreal, a Citroen Ds21, and more BMW Touring coupes than I've ever seen in one place.
A different route this year, featuring canyon roads, green hills, and great weather. And swag for all. A good day!
Event info: shamrockrally@sbcglobal.net
- Superdrive Sunday, Pacifica, CA
Jeff Guzaitis conceived a brilliant way to spend a Sunday in early February: the inaugural Superdrive. His idea and effort were rewarded by a great turnout and superb weather.
Jeff, great work. Thank you!
- Anti Football Run, Sausalito, CA
A great way to spend New Year's Day. Early morning rendezvous in Sausalito (north of San Francisco) to drink coffee, compare hangovers, and admire an eclectic assemblage of nice cars. Then, a there and back again run through Marin County backroads.
The stated preference was for cars older than 25 years, and they probably averaged out at around that age. The emphasis was on interestin' sporting vehicles of any vintage. Turnout ranged from a 1925 Lancia to a brand new Porsche Cayman.
Marin County roads are a treat anytime, but running them in the company of interestin' motorcars on the first day of a new year was special.
The event was put on by Amici americani delle Mille Miglia (www.californiamille.com).
Good fun!
- California Melee X
The 10th running of this 800+ mile event in Northern California for pre-1976 cars of interest. Challenging route favoring secondary roads (some probably qualify as tertiary); interesting people; great sights and sounds.
Thanks to Jeff and Harley for all the work they do to make this happen!
- Alpine 500, Sacramento, CA
Snaps from the Alpine 500.
Two days of great roads and passes in the Sierra, overnights at Frank's place in Tahoe. Great collection of interesting cars and people. Meticulously organized by Norm and Marion. Info at website: www.alpine500.com. First rate!
- Shamrock Rally, Dublin, CA
Pictures from the inaugural Shamrock Rally, starting from Dublin (where else) the day after St Patrick's Day. Route included trip to top of Mount Hamilton (snow!), around Mt Diablo, through diverse routes back to Dublin. Great fun...
Thanks to Steve, Dana, Mark and Deb for inaugurating a great event...sign us up for 07!
- Pullover Rally, Berkeley, CA
Snaps from the First Pullover Rally, put on by the Pedal Pushers.
Great route, good stops, and impressive control over the weather (it didn't really rain until the drive was almost over).
And a very cool collection of cars, drivers, and passengers.
Thank you, Pedal Pushers!
- Fulvia motor rebuild, Berkeley, CA
Our '67 Fulvia Coupe Rallye 1.3 had started laying down a smoke screen reminescent of the destroyer charge at Jutland, so I took it to Jaan Hjorth at Eddin Motors (Berkeley, California; 510 845 9986; www.eddinsmoto.com) for attention.
Jaan knows Italian cars (a Lamborghini Urraco was being fettled while my car was in) and loves Lancias (he owns several Fulvia and a Flaminia). He did a great job rebuilding the motor and carbs and correcting past crimes and field expedients on my car.
The 1300cc V4 now revs more freely, idles better, and pulls more strongly than before.
Especially impressive: he took the time to provide regular phone and email status reports, including most of the pictures in this album, and took the time to review and explain options and alternatives with me at each stage of the project. Highly recommended!
- All Italian Car & Motorcycle Show, Alameda, Ca
This Sunday we took the Lancia to an Italian car show benefiting Special Olympics in Alameda. Had everything from new Ferraris to a Fiat camper van...Great weather, great cars and bikes, great bunch of people.
- Melee ix, San Francisco and points North.
The California Melee: a Northern California rally for pre-1975 cars-of-interest. Fifty odd (some very odd) cars and their drivers/navigators (ditto) on a two day non-competitive rally through some of the prettiest roads Northern California has to offer.
I'd heard about it and wanted to go for years, but didn't have a suitable vehicle, or at least a suitable running vehicle, until we picked up the Fulvia in July of '05.
Due to a poor career choice on my part, Candy and I were only able to do the first day and a half, so our Melee pix end somewhere on Hwy 36 early afternoon on Sunday.
Next year I'm taking vacation time (or quitting) to avoid the ignominy of another DNF...