Lancia Motor Club

Great pics in latest sportscardigest.com. Plenty of Lancias, rally won by an Aprilia against some formidable opposition. Of course!

http://www.sportscardigest.com/winter-marathon-rally-2015-report-and-photos/

Lots of Lancias. I like the early Fulvia with bumpers on and just the one auxiliary light, I'm assuming by design not that the other one dropped off.  I was surprised to like the tapered side stripe on another Fulvia.  Three Aprilias?  At least a pair of Aurelia GTs.

Some promo videos:

http://puredolomites.com/sport-events/motorsport-events/dolomites-winter-marathon-rally/

Offical site - in something like English:

http://www.wintermarathon.it/index.php?l=l1

David

Fantastic photos - the black and white Bentley shot is stunning.

David, I think the Fulvia has left the other spotlight on the road somewhere. You can see where the front valance has been beaten in to accomodate it and there's a small hole presumably for the wire.

'Back in the day', things like fog lights (and kerb feelers, width markers, etc.) were often fitted only to one side. I have a lot of 50s mags and brochures, and when cars are shown with fog lights there is usually only one - or sometimes a yellow fog light on one side and a long-range blue dot on the other.

I think people were less 'anal' about symmetry back then - the cars were being run as daily drivers by people who didn't care what they looked like, rather than by a bunch of nerdy aesthetes like us...

As a kid I remember cars having the yellow fog or the blue dot type, or both, as you say. The old London buses also just had a single nearside lamp presumably for finding the kerb in the fog/smog. I have a feeling, could be wrong, that these days it's illegal to only fit one?

I suppose increased efficiency electrical charging systems have made extra lighting equipment possible

It would be illegal to fit one, but not illegal to continue driving a car that had only had one from new, as they didn't make the changes to the lighting regs retro-active (they almost never do, which is why, when your ill-informed MoT tester tells you that you must have external mirrors fitted to your 60s car, you can tell him to f*** off).

But how would they know how long the single one on your car had been there, especially if you used a period switch and wiring?

Yes Alan,
and in those days they didn't have to be wired to come on with the main beams unlike today, so at least you didn't get blinded by the glare from the fog!
Back in the 1950's there were still a lot of cars around where when you dipped the headlights one went out altogether while the other one dipped :o

However the Police seem to have given up in taking to task the many who now run around with only one headlight along with many other laws they choose to ignore; last night I saw 3 cars one behind the other with only one headlight and it's not unusual to see at least a dozen in the course of a 6 mile journey to or from Luton.

Spotlights/ foglights are also being used on there own,(I thought it was illegal to be able to switch them on without main beams?)
And any combination headlamps, spot/fog lights and sidelights seems to be the order of the day, rather than replacing the faulty bulb, be it sidelights or headlamps.

I'm also amazed by the number of cars without a brake light or a tail lamp alight.
Oh for the days of Dedra's Thema's Delta's and Y10's that had check panels that actually told you when a bulb wasn't working, something that I believe should be compulsory on all vehicles?

Brian
8227 8)

I've got the issue of Practical Motorist from when single-dipping headlights became illegal - I think it was 1954, at the same time the swap from red interruptor rear indicators began. They made single-dipping lights retro-active, so you had to have your car changed from those, but you are still allowed red interruptor indicators, and in fact I have the lights to change both my Appias back to those, as they were updated to comply with the Italian 'codice della strada' in 1960, which did require retro-fitment of orange indicators and side repeaters.

And yes, I do need to get out more...

Yes you do Alan!
The other thing I remember about the single dipping headlamps was that it wasn't done using the bulbs as today, it was all electro Mechanical and gave an audible clang if you were standing near a headlamp when it was dipped, never had to work on one myself but it must have been a right nightmare, a bit like working on trafficator arms ::)

Brian
8227 8)

Hi Brian,

            my father explained to me that the dipping was achieved by tilting the reflector, that does not sound unreasonable to me .....

                               Andy

Yes, that's right; the reflector was moved by a solenoid.

Back on spot / for lights and symetry, of course it was common to have a pair of auxilliary front lights, one spot and one fog.

As to modern cars having one headlight out I read an article recently with somone explaining that on many cars now it is almost impossible to get access to change a headlight bulb. Combine that with dealers charging £100 plus to do the job on some cats and you begin to see why people don't bother. How about a design regulation that all new cars have to be made so the driver can change a headlight bulb in under five minutes?

Frank

That seems a damn good idea Frank!!

In France it seems you are still required to carry a spare set of bulbs, what is the point if you need to get a garage to replace them??

                          Andy