The Wise Men

The Lancia community has been blessed by some very wise and knowledgeable folks. However, some of these are up in the years, and we would do well to recognize their knowledge and be aware of how lucky we are to have them. 

Several of these "wise men" deserve special recognition: they have held the community together with their knowledge and contributions. Many are in Great Britain: 

• Nigel Trow, who has authored many a book on Lancias, including his wonderful The Shield and Flag
• Roland Grazebrook, who migrated to the very early Lancias (pre-Lambda) and singlehandedly knows more about them than anyone else, anywhere. 
• Ron Francis, introduced by Nigel as "the Welshman who grows Lancias", whose knowledge is impeccable, and knows the smallest details without ever an error. 
• Anthony Hussey, with his love of B24 Spiders and his constant tending to those Connolly hides....
• Mike Kristick in the US, who has provided parts to Lancia community at modest cost and quickly, without nary a complaint. 
• Peter Renou, in Australia, who has guided the Lancia community there and made Castlemaine as special as it is.
• Bill Jamieson, in Australia, who is the most knowledgeable on the Lambda, and wrote the wonderful book, Capolavoro. 
• Bill Smith, also in Australia, who has been a pivotal engineering guru to many Lambda owners for many years.  
  

Some  wise men have been lost - most recently was John Cundy, a leading design engineer in England. He may be known to some with his meticulous restoration of Mike Hawthorn's B20, which John got back into remarkable shape. Some may not know he was head of Rolls Royce Aviation Engineering back in the 1990s. But my experience with John was different: we were introduced by the generous Nigel Trow, as John would advise Nigel on complex engineering issues. Over some 15 years, John proceeded to tutor me on engineering, most notably on crankshaft designs. He (along with the also very-wise Luigi De Virgilio) helped to break the code of the V4 crankshafts (written up in a booklet found elsewhere on this site), and also contributed a detailed analysis of the De Virgilio answer for the V6 crankshaft - which was an appendix in the major book, At the Center... We lost John a week or so ago, and the world is a lesser place. 

Others lost include Guido Rosani and Beppe Regazzoni in Italy, and in the US, Bill Stebbins, Walt Spak and Bob Williams of Pittsburgh. Bill was a former Boeing engineer who could see through the Lancia complexities with clarity; Walt had been Tom Sheehan's parts manager from the 1970s, and knew every part by name and number; Bob was the best Aurelia restorer in the country, having studied Lancia originality for many years with Walt).
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Our wise men are not so young - so please go visit them, pay your respects, raise a glass, give them a hug. Treasure them for many years of Lancia love and their irreplaceable knowledge.