26.10.2001

I recently got the bug to find a decent classic scooter to restore.  Driving around asking total strangers if they knew of Lambretta's for sale (I have very little shame!) I came across a guy who owned this machine.  Since it stopped working a little while ago he'd lost interest in it, he decided to give it to me - FREE!!  He's owned it for two years and bought it off the original owner - this means that the first owner must have had it for about 38-39 years!!

The scooter's in great original condition; it's been lucky enough to have escaped the usual decades of home mechanics and self-qualified mechanics and is just an honest, sound example. The corrosion is minimal and the panels are mostly straight.   It's just missing the front Innocenti Lambretta badge and the trim from the side panels.  Other than that everything is there, lovingly preserved under a brush-painted finish!

28.10.2001

Time to source the reason the engine won't run.  My first thought was that there might be no spark so I checked the plug gap and cleaned it - the spark was huge, really impressive for such a modest machine.  So my suspicions shifted to a possible fuel blockage after I  had seen the legacy of 40 years of Maltese petrol in the tank.  I rebuilt the carb (my first time, so thanks for the supervision Chris!) and hoped for the best, but no luck.  Next thing was compression which I thought felt a bit low; I whipped of the head but that was fine and the gasket was perfect.  Then I poked my finger down the barrel and, bingo, a gaping hole in the piston crown.