Cameron's LD is nothing short of a miracle!
The
point of posting her on this Blog is to show you how pretty she is, how
good to look at. She looks no different to when Cameron bought her at
auction - but is a testiment to how NOT to be tempted by shiny paint! It was only Patrick's expertise, determination and a little bit of luck that's brought this scooter back from the
Lambretta grave in the sky.
She has had to have a complete engine rebuild and it's been a real challenge to get the engine to even run. The engine was only the beginning, everything was wrong with her.
It's not known how the Vietnamese 'restorers' got hold of her or what
her history is. They clearly had a ‘donor’ machine to which they added many 'hand-made parts'... tin cans, bits of scrap metal and other machines (not Lambretta) - just
anything to produce something to sell, that would run, although
if it did... it was only briefly.
Buyers often fall for these restorations because superficially the scooter looks 'restored' but in reality it's often superficial! the paint work hides a nightmare.
I asked Patrick why he agreed to do her when she was so
bad? Essentially he didn't realise the magnitude of the problems until he started to take her
apart, once he had, he just had to keep going. Patrick's now riding her and when he drove up this morning she
sounded sweet! She is back in the workshop for adjustments - everything in her is new and has to be run in.
It's a miracle that she's been saved! Thanks to a lot of luck Patrick was able to source the
various parts that are no longer remade.
A video of her running will follow soon.
