The classic scooterists club magazine

Only One Owner (A lambretta 150 'd' story)

Peter has had a project in his garage for many a year – his much loved, but a little neglected, Model ‘D’. The ‘D’ is, in the opinion of some enthusiasts, the high watermark of excellence in design and reliability in the pantheon of the Lambretta before they dispensed with the refined shaft drive of the original Lambretta engine concept and decided to revert to a simpler, but infinitely more primitive, chain drive as used on the Li series engines. Peter’s take is far more personal – his ‘D’ had never had another owner and deserved a spruce-up.

The project

Peter’s first task was to resurrect the paperwork to make the ‘D’ road legal once more. This he achieved successfully using advice gained from past articles in Scooterist Scene. Having made the ‘D’ above-board, there was the next hurdle: Do you restore the scooter and to what extent? Peter’s choice was a very wise one. He had an original scooter and decided to keep it that way. He didn’t in his own words want to ‘let the side down – it was to be a de-rust and smarten job, nothing seriously mechanical’. He doesn’t see it as ‘a controversial restoration’ from the purist’s point of view, as he had retained some of the glorious patina of age that’s nice to see in a scooter of this vintage.

One part showing signs of neglect was actually a period accessory – and a very desirable one, at that – an Abarth silencer. This classic twin tailpipe Abarth was originally finished in chrome and had deteriorated badly over the years. This part Peter had chrome plated and superb it looks too! Peter feels that the old Abarth doesn’t sound too bad, ‘but the Abarth note is not there’, he, somewhat amusingly, puts this down to his hearing ‘which isn’t anything special these days’. More likely, compared to the sports silencers of today, the Abarth actually has a very mild tone to it (and always did).

One non-factory touch is the application of underseal under the footboards, the adjacent frame and the mudguards (on the grounds that he employed this finish in 1958 and this had ‘definitely kept the serious rust at bay, but interesting how the bare metal, although shiny, had veins of rust working its way under the sealing’).

End product

The only slight problem that Peter has identified with the engine is that he knows that one of the posts holding the advance and retard weights is a bit loose. He intends to fix this, depending on the problem, but has left this, as you can’t just remove it without removing the silencer.

Peter’s only slight fall from grace, as viewed from the Model ‘D’ purist point of view, is in the fitting of a very non-‘D’ rear light and stoplight unit. This substitute for the manufacturer’s tiny rear light is Peter’s nod to modern safety practices. The other item that may also involve a sharp intake of breath is the yellow and black rear number plate – an item that Peter might change in the future, as he does, incidentally, have the original rear light and number plates.

Original paperwork

The ‘D’ was first seen advertised on the front cover of a GPO telephone directory for the Eastbourne area while in the RAF stationed nearby and this caught Peter’s imagination. A friend had a ‘D’ but Peter thinks that it was a 125. The friend then purchased a Vespa 125, but he liked the good handling under braking of the Lambretta which the Vespa lacked (apparently it tended to veer to the right when the front brakes were applied one-handed).

Peter purchased his 150 ‘D’ from Vaughan Motor Works at 287, Main Road, Sidcup, Kent, on 9 July 1958, as a 22nd birthday present. From the original receipt, the total ‘on-the-road price’ was £124-7s-3d (£124.38) including road tax of 9s-3d (46.25 pence), number plates at £1-5s (£1.25) and licence holder at 3/- (15p). With weekly pay of £5 at that time, it was an expensive buy in real terms. Incidentally, also retained are the Model ‘D’ owner’s manual and a spare parts booklet.

Another surviving piece of Lambretta history on paper is the guarantee for the ‘D’ signed by Peter Agg on behalf of Lambretta Concessionaires. This warranty was for the not-very-generous period of only six months, so the Concessionaires were not taking a big risk at this time. There were also a number of ‘get-out’ clauses in the small print that excluded from the guarantee such items as tyres, electrical equipment and speedos, not of the company’s manufacture – even when these had been supplied by the company. The offer of cover was, also, not transferable.

Reliability With the grand total of 23,889 miles on the clock, a certain amount of maintenance would be expected, but –apart from cable replacement, general servicing and a worn small end bush being fitted – the only other problem occurred in 1962 when a partial piston seizure necessitated a barrel rebore. With respect to this work, Peter has kept a letter from Lambretta Concessionaires (at this point in time having moved to Trojan Works, Purley Way, Croydon) ‘extending to you, the complete and full facilities of our Service Department’. The letter also ‘takes the opportunity of congratulating you on the wonderful appearance of your ‘D’ model’. This letter, signed by J A L Bennett, Spares and Services Controller, is yet another remarkable survival of an original document from Lambretta Concessionaires. Interestingly, the printed paper letter header lists: P James Agg as the Managing Director – the Chairman being A James Agg.

Many thanks to Peter for sharing both a piece of his life and also a fascinating slice of history into the bargain!

Lambrettista