Photo by Debbie Earle.
Given the rarity of the model, Lancia Ardea stories should not be plentiful, but this, after all, is VeloceToday where one would expect to find such treasures. Last week we published a story by Luc van Dobben who went in search of the ideal Ardea in Italy. Judy Stropus then reminded us of the article below, her being another ardent Ardea owner. In 2013, two tiny Ardeas (one owned by the late Martin Swig and driven by his sons) participated in the California Mille. The other Ardea was entered by Stropus, a legendary figure in the car community, and her co-driver Chuck Schoendorf who has previously written about Le Mitiche Sport in Italy for VeloceToday. Below, a brief introduction of both drivers, a report from the perspective of each one, and a photo story. [Ed.]
Judy Stropus* Reports
From the VeloceToday Archives, May 2013
When I purchased this quaint – call it funky – 1952 Lancia Ardea from Donald Osborne in Palm Springs last year, I really had no idea what I would do with it until it returned to my home in Ridgefield, Conn.
Actually, I’m not sure I even knew what I would do with it once it arrived there, but I couldn’t resist. Who wouldn’t want a right-hand- drive car that is kind of a cross between a PT Cruiser and a Citroen 2CV (Deux Chevaux) with a left-hand, non-synchro five-speed gearbox, a 903cc, V4 engine and a whopping 28.8 horsepower?
Initially I had it shipped up to Campbell, Calif., near San Jose, with the intention of using it as transportation at the Sonoma Historics in May, where I would be working with Steve and Debbie Earle at Sonoma Raceway. Instead, I learned the 2013 California Mille would be run in April-May and decided it might be fun to enter the event in my new acquisition. Since numerous Ardeas ran the original Italian Mille Miglia every year from 1947 until 1953, it was clearly eligible. So, I had my friend Jerry Woods of Jerry Woods Enterprises prep the car for what I expected to be a long but fun and challenging 1000-mile trek through the hills, wine country and ocean roads of Northern California. Jerry, a longtime Porsche expert, whose garage is full of dozens of Porsche race cars from all generations, was able to do a masterful job of prepping the Ardea, which of course he’d neither seen nor heard of before.
I enlisted as a co-driver my Connecticut friend Chuck Schoendorf, a Lancia owner himself. This was probably the best decision I ever made, as Chuck took to the car with a soft heart, as he clearly loves all things Lancia, owning both a 1938 and a 1942 Aprilia. In anticipation of the Mille, he and I traveled earlier in the year to Campbell to check out the car and log some miles to develop a to-do list with Jerry. From past experience on short tours in Chuck’s Aprilia, I was confident he knew how to deal with that notchy little gearbox and click it into all the gears, which he did with style, some force, a bit of crunching, and great aplomb as we struggled to scale steep and twisty uphills. One sign actually read “16% grade”! I, on the other hand, still need some time to master the gearbox without leaving minuscule metal shavings in the transmission fluid!
At first, the horn didn’t work, and then suddenly it came to life and we were able to salute all the quicker cars as they passed us. Photo by Chuck Schoendorf.
This year’s California Mille was a tribute to the life of Mille founder Martin Swig. I had met Martin last year at the Sonoma Historics just a month before he passed away. Only after I entered my Ardea did I learn that Martin himself had purchased a Lancia Ardea in Italy which he intended to drive on this year’s Mille, an annual event he created 23 years ago. Sadly, Martin never had a chance to drive his Ardea, so the torch and the keys to the Ardea were passed to his sons David and Howard who took it on the 2013 Mille. It was the first time, I’m told, that one Ardea, let alone two, had been entered in the Mille. It made me very proud to actually own a “sister” car to the Family Swig’s Ardea.
When we drove the Ardea to the starting line at the Fairmont Hotel on Nob Hill in San Francisco it should have been a clue as to what we were in for over the next four days.
And as if 1000 miles wasn’t enough, after finishing we logged yet another 130 miles at 100-plus-kph back to JWE in Campbell for a well- deserved champagne toast to the Ardea that could!
It was such a challenging yet rewarding experience that if this is all I would accomplish as the Ardea’s new owner, I’d be satisfied.
Chuck Schoendorf Reports
By his own account, Chuck is a car fanatic gone haywire. He spends absurd amounts of time playing with and driving Italian cars and Chrysler Hemi motors and cars, including participating in numerous vintage car drives in the US and Italy. His motto is ‘slow is the new fast’ which is why he drives a 1970 Fiat 500 as a commuter car. The Fiat makes a Lancia Ardea look positively huge.
His next vintage car tour will be the Italian Mille Miglia next week in a 1955 Ford Thunderbird.
Chuck is currently organizing a Cunningham car reunion to take place at the Vintage Festival at Lime Rock Park over Labor Day weekend 2013.
I have driven some challenging roads on tours in the Dolomites and in Sicily but the back roads of California beat them all, hands down. The roads coupled with a modest 28.8-hp and a non-synchro “crash box” transmission turned a challenging tour into a real driving marathon.
Chuck at a pit stop on Route 1 en route to lunch in Boonville on Day 3.
We actually showed the route book to the proprietor of a gas stop in the little town of Elk, to which she said, “Oh, we don’t go that way. You don’t want to go that way. Nobody goes that way. I’ll show you a better way!”
But against all odds, veteran racer Judy Stropus’ 903cc 1952 Lancia Ardea, with me as co-pilota, completed all 1000 miles of the 2013 California Mille last week. Not to mention the thousands of feet of elevation changes and hundreds of switchbacks!
Not since they appeared in the original Italian Mille Miglia in the 1940s and ’50s is it likely that an Ardea has ever been subjected to this kind of torture . . . and survived. In fact, a second Ardea entered this year by the organizers was voluntarily parked on the final day to spare the equipment . . . but Team Stropus forged on.
Like the original Italian Mille Miglia there was a wide range of entries, of all power and monetary values, while the two Ardeas were practically microcars by comparison. But, despite our tortoise of a car we never missed a lunch or dinner stop. Life is good in the slow lane.
Follow us on the Mille!
Drivers Chuck Schoendorf and Judy Stropus in front of the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco before the launch. We were assigned car No. 10 among 70 cars, followed by David and Howard Swig’s No. 11 Ardea. We added the Connecticut license plate beneath the original Italian plate to be legal on the road. Photo by Jerry Woods.
Our first unplanned stop was on Silverado Trail on Day 1. Chuck is checking out the dragging brake, while Steve and Debbie Earle chat with David Swig and his co-driver, a journalist, for the day. His brother Howard would drive with him later in the tour. An elegant gentleman in a Tesla stopped to offer his help. I was sure this first breakdown was the end of our tour, but the Chubb crew saved us.
We are somewhere in the farmlands of Northern California as we headed to Redding on the first day. This was following two short crises, first for a dragging rear brake and then for a fuel pickup issue when the gravity feed gas tank was low on fuel and would not feed on a steep uphill. The good folks at Chubb Collector Car Insurance (Bill Crowley and Jeff Walker), as well as super-mechanic Conrad Stevenson came to the rescue. Photo by Debbie Earle.
We’re not sure why, but Steve Earle was intent on getting a shot of the V-4 Lancia engine when we pulled over to await the Chubb crew when a rear brake began to drag for the first time. It happened two more times during the week. When you’re the slowest car on the tour, the sweepers are never far behind.
Literally, a ‘pit’ stop in Esparto for cherries en route from Winters to Williams and eventually to Redding on Day 1. The cherries went largely uneaten, however, as we were too focused on our driving and shifting to enjoy them.
The Ardea sisters at rest while their drivers take lunch in Williams on Day 1.
The view through the Ardea windscreen, smashed bugs and all. Photo by Chuck Schoendorf.
We met up with the Swig Ardea in Williams for our lunch stop at Granzella’s Banquet Hall on Day 1.
Judy and Ardea in front of the Benbow Inn, where we were treated to a delicious lunch on the patio on the second day, as we headed down to Mendocino.
Debbie and Steve Earle prepare for the heat and sun in their convertible Porsche Speedster as they leave lunch at the Boonville Hotel on Day 3.
The Ardea in the background, sitting aloof from its competitors at the lunch stop at Keller Estate Winery on Day 4. In actual fact, it was the only spot left for the last car to arrive.
A delightful alfresco lunch was served at the Keller Estate Winery.
The Ardea returns home to Campbell, Calif., after 1200 miles, where Porsche expert Jerry Woods surveys the car and receives another to-do list for post-event repairs.
*Probably best known as a professional timer/scorer in the early days of the sport, Judy Stropus has worked with top teams such as Penske Racing in Can-Am, Trans-Am and at the Indy 500; Bud Moore Racing, Porsche, BMW, and American Motors. At the same time she has operated her own PR firm, JVS Enterprises, representing major clients such as Chevrolet and BMW. She was awarded the 2008 Jim Chapman Award for Excellence in Public Relations by the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association and is a member of the Road Racing Drivers Club, the Madison Avenue Sports Car Driving and Chowder Society, and the Public Relations Society of America. She has raced a Chevy Monza, Porsche 914, Maserati Bi-Turbo and a VW in SCCA racing, as well as a Frazier-Nash and a 1954 OSCA Maserati in VSCCA competition.