Lancia Motor Club

I came across this but can't identify it - can anyone help ?

Looks like a wheel centre

Thanks

Well... from 1912 Zeta drawing. Note there are two different depths (front, rear). Might be interesting to measure yours and see if it is the same.

The rear one is noted as equal to that used on 20HP cars, which would be Delta, Epsilon and Eta.

Thanks Geoff , looks to be a rear one - all the dimensions correspond. The only other mark/stamp on the centre is shown below

Now - what to do with it - Buy the rest of the car ?

Certainly, get the rest of the car. Along with that enigmatic symbol!

got a similar one but with lettering raised rather than in relief

I think the letters are always raised. It's to do with the lighting!

I'd be confident it's not the lighting due to lack of a circumferential shadow for the initial recess from which the letters would be raised and the improbability of wear on the cross hatching if that area were recessed. Early touring cars with wooden spoked wheels clearly have the raised lettering but later there were similar centre caps on steel disc wheels as introduced on the 1Z truck and Theta. I wonder if the variation could arise there, even as a distinction between touring cars and goods vehicles? None of my many photographs will blow up clearly enough to check.

Now we really are in the weeds, but why not! Good points Frank. Here is a crop of a 1Z, likely at the Ansaldo plant in Genoa. Not sure it is exactly the same as the others. Any thoughts, anyone?

Attach photos of one I bought a long time ago at an autojumble & one on my Theta

photo

photo cant post more than 1 at a time

Theta 1

Theta

Between the information from Geoff and Don that seems to confirm that Simon has a centre cap from an early Lancia commercial.

Simon,  now that you have the cap, there is a 1Z project for sale here nearby!  Not that i would recommend it though....  they sort of used it for parts for a Theta project, and now try to sell of the remains, with the wrong gearbox (their theta had a Kappa box....)

I believe that's the rolling chassis of one of the two Lancia-Ansaldo 1Z armoured cars gifted to the Czech Legion at the end of WW1. They ended up, stripped of their armour, as teaching aids in a technical school in Czechoslovakia. It's particularly interesting as it would be one of the first batch of 20 produced in 1915, having internal deflectors on the ventilation slots in the front radiator armour. It could be used to recreate an 1Z autocarro all be it with the incorrect later centre change gearbox.

Surely this is enough for the basis of a full restoration?