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2nd Annual Lucas-Marelli Rally After many years of owning both British cars and Italian cars (Austin Healey for 35+ years and Alfa Romeos for 10+ years), I decided to do some research into the background of both of the companies who supplied the electrical components for our cars. Many British car owners know Lucas as the “Prince of Darkness”, due to their legendary electrical parts. But few Alfa owners know that Lucas parts made their way into a number of Italian cars one of them being the Alfa Romeos of the 1950s. Now as for the wonderful Marelli ignition systems that appeared also in the 1950s and continued on into the 1980s. I personally believe after close inspection that some of the parts were surreptitiously copied by Marelli from Lucas. Furthermore, for us poor souls who are unaware of these facts, we do not know who to blame when we do have electrical problems with our cars. Well, I am here to tell you according to legend, there was a conspiracy between the two as they loved to play dirty jokes on one another when they were roommates at the University and this behavior continued on into their professional lives. So in recognition of this dirty trick, I have decided to put on the Lucas-Marelli Rally. To commemorate this event I have invited the Austin Healey Club, Santa Cruz British Motor Club and the Alfa Romeo Club to a day of burning up the back roads of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Those of you attending might want to bring the following; Nomex driving suit, fire extinguisher, tow rope, extra points, rotor and cap, regulator, a six pack of beer (for me), and a good sense of humor. This unforgettable event is going to take place on June 15th. We are meeting in Los Gatos behind the “Los Osos Cafe” also known as the Bears Coffee Roasting (located at 19 N. Santa Cruz) at 9:00am. We will leave at 9:45am sharp for our tour. Remember to fill your tank with gas as you enter town. Due to logistics, we are only accepting 15 cars from each club. Also we would like to have only spiders and coupes no newer than 1975 from the Alfa Club. Please register as soon as possible so we can take care of our arrangements. During our drive we will be stopping for a 15 minute coffee/pit stop on the coast and then we will go to the Alpine Beer Garden for a fabulous high caloric lunch. The cost will be approximately $15.00 per person. After lunch, we have been invited to Neil Kirkham’s house to ogle his beautiful cars (Rollers, Bentleys, MG Tickford, Mauzer] and enjoy more beer and wine. Contact information for the event is the following; Don Reichel at (408) 354-22 or acastlekeep@ AOL.COM. P.S. If you are going to Neil’s, please bring some beer or wine to share while we enjoy the cars and car talk. Palo Alto Concours Mark Sunday, June 22 on your calendar as the date for the annual Palo Alto Concours D'elegance. This year, Alfa Romeo has been chosen as the featured foreign marque and Chevrolet Corvette as the featured US make. Alas on the green will range from the great pre-war era with both racing and "touring" types on display. The Concours will be held on the Stanford University Polo grounds as usual and there will be an Alfa Corral near the entrance. The admission for the corral is $50 and that gets your car in the corral and two occupants into the concours. While this is not an ARA sanctioned event, it is an opportunity to see some fine Alfas from all eras up through the mid 1980's. Location for Monthly Meetings
Our location for the
monthly meetings is Ricky's Sports Bar in San Leandro, CA; address is:
Regular business will start at 8pm. Click here to view the Overheard Cams
Page updated: 05/15/2008
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