Hello there one and all

[Stefano]

hello there all,

 

I've been asked to introduce myself, a pretty emabarrassing thing to do at the best of times, so here goes...

 

Born in London 1965, and a diet of my dad's war stories (Royal West Kent / 56th London Div. - subsequently Royal Berkshire / 8th Indian Div. - N. Africa and Italy) and series one Airfix kits - remember how they used to come in plastic bags? - meant that I really didn't stand much of a chance and was smitten with MV's as well as anything that had an engine in it from an early age. Went to live in Italy in '79 and worked as a mechanic from the age of 17. Came back to England for two years ('87 - '88) to do a course in classic car restoration in Colchester. Worked for a company that specializes in restoring classic cars until '00 and then set up on my own restoring classic British Motorcycles (note capitals!). First MV I restored was a friends Universal Carrier back in '84 and since then I've accumulated:-

 

Canadian Fox armoured car (half share with same friend)

Chevrolet C15 Cab 11 (ditto)

'42 Triumph 3HW (brilliant bike)

'43 Matchless G3/L (almost finished)

'44 James ML (used at Anzio)

'45 BSA M20 (haven't started on it yet)

'42 Bianchi 500M (looong way to go on that one)

'41 Morris Commercial CD/SW L.A.D. (am currently restoring)

'41 Morris Commercial CS8 (will do that after the CD)

25pdr Field Gun and Limber (will restore if I find a Quad)

 

...and if I'm lucky (!) I might be getting my mitts on a Humber scout car soon

 

...In a perfect world I'd also have a Humber Super Snipe, a Ford WOC 1, a British 6x4, a Fordson WOT 2, an Albion CX 22S, a Fordson WOT 6 and, of course, a Cromwell

....but it's not a perfect world

 

A combination of work and the fact that Italian women have turned nagging into an art form means that I don't get about as much as I did, which means that it's as much as I can do to make it to Normandy every five years but I live in hope...

 

On this domestic note, a big hello to everyone and I hope I haven't been boring your brains out.

 

All the best,

 

Stef

[abn deuce]

Welcome aboard and a fine collection you have there. Perhaps you would add to your perfect list an American mv of some kind ? not that I d try to turn you to the dark side and suggest a Jimmy < you didnt hear that>. Mind the flowerbed they just got the Dodges off the lot just before you got here, parking is a bit limited .

[Tony B]

Cor Stefano, you must have some size of garage.Welcome to the nut house. Where is the 25 pounder and is it live? there are a couple of Quads about. Also just started doing some research on the Royal west Kent for someone. Enjoy the club house but no loaded 25 pounders on the tables.

[Mark]

Welcome Stefano to this large cauldron of nutters, i think you will fit right in here :-D is there any chance of you sharing sime pictures of your fine collection on one of the threads her especially the bikes.

 

Mark

[Rick W]

Hello, be good to see some pics of your Morrises! Its nice to know there are more of us out there, and its a very "British" collection youve got there, unless Im much mistaken! 8-)

[Stefano]

OK...

 

Cunningly spotted there, I must admit to having no great love of things olive drab, although I've been fighting a running battle with myself for longer than I can remember to not buy a CCKW-352, which is a splendid thing to drive. Besides, my mates collections pretty much cover the whole US spectrum so I get a turn at the wheel (or the levers) when I want (an excellent state of affairs)

 

I bought the 25pdr about 12 years ago when the Italians decided to cut a load of them up, I remember more than a hundred in the scrapyard near Livorno (Leghorn to you lot) where I got mine, although most of them had been modified to accept Skoda barrels. The Limber on the other hand was thrown in when I bought the CD ( the seller took pity on me I suppose, he couldn't believe that I was going to try and restore it)

 

A few pics:

 

The Fox at a rally near Firenze (Florence to you lot)

The CD/SW (it's moved on a little bit since)

The Triumph in Normandy '04

The Triumph with yours truly after I drowned the mag crossing a river (deeper than it looked)

The 25pdr.

 

[andreadavide]

Benvenuto Stefano!

 

Are you based in Tuscany too?

 

Andrea

[Stefano]

Ciao Andrea,

 

Nope,

 

I'm in Emilia, on the other side of the mountains from Pontremoli.

 

Stef

[Simon Daymond]

Hi Stef,

 

welcome to the forums, is it really true that Italian women have turned nagging into an artform? - I thought it was a universal thing :whistle:

[Stefano]

Hi Stef,

 

welcome to the forums, is it really true that Italian women have turned nagging into an artform? - I thought it was a universal thing :whistle:

 

Yup,

 

I think it's the "Catholic Guilt" thing, they're very good at that. They lull you into a false sense of security and then Zap! you're the worst person in the world

 

AND YOU MUST PAY

 

Full of redeeming features as well, naturally, every now and then..

[abn deuce]

A great looking group of O.D. .You got. As well as a really good friend if he will share his U.S. vehicles with you so you get the best of both . Nice you have a open mind still.

[Stefano]

A great looking group of O.D. .You got. As well as a really good friend if he' will share his U.S. vehicles with you so you get the best of both . Nice you have a open mind still.

 

Hiya,

Well more than a friend, there's a loosely knit group of four of us (of which I'm by far and away the junior parter), that between us count more vehicles than we can realistically handle. Including the stuff that still needs sorting, between them they've got two Shermans, a Priest Kangaroo, a Stuart, a Grant ARV, an M8 Greyhound, M2A1, M3, and M13 Half tracks, an M3A1 Scout car, Diamond T 969 and Ward La France Wreckers, two Diamond T M20 Tank transporters and M9 Trailers, A Pacific M26, CCKW 352-353 in various forms, a Chevrolet G 7100, the whole Dodge cross section and a couple of jeeps. Add to that a Chevrolet C30, a Dodge D60, a Universal Carrier, a Matchless G3/L and a Dakota(!) - no, it doesn't fly - so you can see what I mean when I say that I'm never short of a drive.....

 

All the best,

 

Stef

 

Here are a couple of pics.

[Snapper]

Belated greetings to you Stef from over here. My dad was in the Royal Berks and the 56th London Div. He was a pre-war Territorial in Stoke Newington.

 

Lovely fleet you and your mates have got there. Is there any interest in Italian vehicles from the period?

Those Lancia artillery tractors in Bart's books always look great to me; but then I've always been a sucker for a Lancia - tinworm, pantomime electrics and all.

 

Does this bring the Italian branch up to two members. Good. You'll get your list of clubhouse duties soon. You obviously suffer from enough nagging - in the universal language we blokes understand - so no need for too much hectoring from the Moderator squad.

 

MB

 

 

[Stefano]

Belated greetings to you Stef from over here. My dad was in the Royal Berks and the 56th London Div. He was a pre-war Territorial in Stoke Newington.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello there,

 

Quite a coincidence there, my dad was called up in Sept. '42, and to this day the words "Mark" and "Clarke" still drive him ballistic (as well as the words "Italian" and "Partisan", but I won't get started there)

 

There is quite alot of interest in Italian WW2 vehicles out here, although ownership was a bit of a hush hush activity until quite recently, being deemed a bit politically incorrect, I agree that the SPA artillery tractors are splendid, although their four wheel steering make them a bit of a handful at anything over 30mph on tarmac.

My personal favourites are the Fiat / SPA dovunque (probably because it looks alot like a Morris CDF) and the Lancia 3RO, which was a great lorry by anybodys standards, although it's probably got the most draughty cabin in the world..

 

I must confess to a liking of things Lancia as well, I've got a 3C Flaminia Touring which drives me mental and that I love to bits - perhaps the two are not entirely unconnected?

 

As far as clubhouse duties are concerned, I'll do the cooking.

 

All the best and thanks for the welcome,

 

Stef

[Stefano]

Ooops,

 

I forgot, The photo above is of a friend's SPA TM40 artillery tractor

[LeeEnfield]

Hi Stef,

 

Amazing,.............I only posted on another thread that I'd found the remains of a Fox, and lo and behold, you post with a pic. :-) :-)

 

All the best,

 

Don't take TOO much notice of the olive drab brigade, ........they don't know what their missing by NOT having British vehicles. :whistle:

 

Cheers,

 

Andy

[Great War truck]

I like the SPA. There was one of those quite recently just down the road in Dorset. Running but poor bodywork. It has been saved though.

 

Interesting to hear about the 25pdrs. I saw a photo taken in the 1980's of yard just full of hundreds of 25pdrs and 17 pdrs. I was hoping that they had all been saved. I guess i was wrong. Did any 17pdrs make it into preservation?

 

My understanding of the MV movement in Italy is that it is really taking off now, so i guess that there will be a lot of barn finds to be rescued and restored in the near future. I think that we have just about ran out of barn finds over here and the way the property market is booming, we will run out of barns soon as well as they keep being converted into houses.

 

Anyway, thanks for posting the photos. Very interesting to see them.

 

Best regards

 

Tim (too)

[GoranWC51]

Hi Stef,

 

Quite a collection, congrats. I've been involved with the Swedish MV scene since the late 1970's. I was one among the founders of MFHF (Swedish MV club) that started in 1981.

 

I own a 1944 Dodge WC51 that I'm setting up as an ambulance of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force, Italy 1944-45, (like this one in the picture)

 

I will be going from Sweden to Italy in April 2008, together with a bunch of Brazilians bringing their vehicles by ship to Livorno. This is the same port where my Dodge WC51 will be shipped to. Driving all the way was not really an option :clap: I am confined to a wheelchair since 2002 and riding in the back of the WC for God knows how many kilometers - nah! I don't think so...

 

The trip is planned for the two last weeks of April and will coincide with the celebrations in Italy on April 25th. Maybe we'll bump into each other?

 

Kind regards

 

Goran Norén

Sweden

 

Ps. My e-mail if you would like to get in touch is goran_noren@yahoo.com

[Stefano]

Interesting to hear about the 25pdrs. I saw a photo taken in the 1980's of yard just full of hundreds of 25pdrs and 17 pdrs. I was hoping that they had all been saved. I guess i was wrong. Did any 17pdrs make it into preservation?

 

Tim,

Yes, a few 17pdrs have survived, but you're talking about single figures. Unfortunately I missed out at the time, but you never know, the italian army still has a few here and there..

Italy was awash with old MV's once, Dodges, GMC's, 1-1/2 ton Chevys, Jeeps and CMP's apparently everywhere in more or less advanced states of decay, after having worked for their living until the end of the seventies. Unfortunately during the eighties most got scrapped. It was tragic to see C30's, D15's and Chevy's disappearing whilst I had no way to garage them. Of course, now that there's nothing left, people are starting to look for old MV's, and I've got room...

[Stefano]

Goran,

There is a Brasilian reenactor group in Italy, they usually take part in rallies. the internet site is:- http://www.reenactors.it

Then click on F.E.B. (Forca Expedicionaria Brasileira) and you can contact them directly.

All the Best and maybe see you in April

 

Stef

 

if you need any help just drop me a line at samruggeri@interfree.it

[abn deuce]

Thanks for posting the new photo's of some of the verity of HMV's in your groups collection they look like they have been well taken care of .