Itom Competitzione recommission...

The place to post images of your other cars.

Moderator: Bootsy

Post Reply
User avatar
KS
Nurse, I think I need some assistance
Posts: 14916
Joined: Fri May 07, 2004 3:12 pm
Location: Cornwall

Itom Competitzione recommission...

Post by KS »

Can't let 911hillclimber have all the two-wheeled fun, can we?

So, a well-known Porsche (and cars in general...) collector also has a selection of two-wheeled machinery in varying states of storage, amongst which is a pair of Itoms, one in pieces, one complete. For many years I've been in love with small European motorcycles, the products of tax and licence laws which led to a multitude of 50cc 'sports' machines coming out of France and Italy in particular (and, to a lesser extent, Germany). This helped fuel a burgeoning 50cc series at World Championship level, resulting in races which saw hoards of angry-wasp bikes hurtling six-abreast into every corner and working their way up through their eight-speed gearboxes along the straights. Names like Flandria, Kreidler and best of all Itom come to mind.

Del (for it is he) often quipped that I should take an Itom home and get it running, so this weekend, as I had driven my Golf estate up to Surrey to then head down to Goodwood, I took the opportunity to rescue one. What's cool is that there is now a three-way Porsche connection here: a 914 owner is taking charge of it, a serial Porsche owner has owned it for probably 30 years, having bought it from no less a Porsche guru than the late Barry Curtis. Barry imported it from Italy eons ago, rebuilt it and then flogged it to Delwyn Mallett. And there it has sat, never having been used.

It is complete (well, 99.9 per cent complete) but hasn't taken kindly to poor storage – some surface rust has started to show through the Barry-applied paint, and all the chrome has started to flake (it's the original Italian plating, so say no more). But it's all there bar one thing: in 'racer' fashion, it's had any form of starting mechanism removed (pedals for some markets, kickstart for others), meaning that you'd need to paddle along with your feet to get it going. But that's a bridge to cross at a later date...

The aim at this point is just to get it running – the gear change is Lambretta-style twist grip combined with the clutch lever and the cables need adjusting as I can't get it in neutral at present, and the clutch needs sorting, too. The engine turns over, has tons of compression (they were quite highly tuned for their day, giving a top speed of around 55mph+), and the brakes appear to work well.

Tonight, I unloaded it out of the back of the car (single-handedly, I might add – it only weighs about 90lbs) and popped it in the shed, and I dare say tomorrow will see me standing staring at it going "Hmmmm" and prodding the odd bit here and there. So, more at a later date... This is 'as found':

ImageImage
ImageImage
ImageImageImage

And finally 'liberated'...
Image
Keith Seume
Follow on Instagram @orange914
My YouTube channel
911hillclimber
Nurse, I think I need some assistance
Posts: 18857
Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2008 6:26 pm
Location: West Midlands

Re: Itom Competitzione recommission...

Post by 911hillclimber »

Oh yes!
Fab in the extreeeeem.
What an odd front fender!
Full thread expected. :)
73T 911 Coupe, road/hillclimber 3.2L
Lola t 492 / 3.2 hillclimb racer
Boxster 987 Gen II 2.9
Kneeslider
DDK slapper chatter
Posts: 401
Joined: Tue Oct 01, 2013 5:04 pm

Re: Itom Competitzione recommission...

Post by Kneeslider »

Yay! Well done sir! I've only just seen this. I got back last night from the Motogiro D'Italia, where I've been riding my F B Mondial. That looks like a great little project with lots of fun per £. I love the look of that, so unusual in yellow, it really suits it, and the style of the front mudguard is wonderful.

I'm not sure about 55mph however... Let us know how many mph you can get out of it!

The Motogiro was an adventure as its supposed to be. I didn't quite make it all the way to the finish, but still completed over 1,400KM in 5 days. An electrical failure did for me at the end of day5, and after replacing everything and hotwiring the ignition, I just failed to make the start time on the final day, so that was, unfortunately that. Only while sitting in the recovery truck taking me to the finish did I realise that the battery must be flat!!!! The battery was indicating 6v till I put the fuse back in, when the voltage dropped too low. I didn't know that my charging system was faulty because the vibration had taken out the charging light! Another 15 mins, and I would have been away, but for a first attempt I guess I'm happy with was achieved. I have learned a lot about the event, and how it works, and there is unfinished business to conclude next year. The special timed tests are quite straightforward looking, but in practice fiendishly tricky to get right. I didn't help myself when my stopwatch fell off after day2...

The event itself was rather lower key than has been the case in recent years due to Covid etc, and now has classes for much more modern bikes as well as the smaller 50s bikes which made up the entry in period. The historic class in particular was rather small, which was a shame. The real fun was meeting a whole load of wonderful people, as I didn't know anyone before I got there.
'65 356 SC
'91 Ducati 750/900ss mongrel
1963 Velocette Viper (mostly) with '39 KSS OHC engine
'05 997 C2
1954 FB Mondial 200 Extra Lusso
Cortina
DDK rules my life!
Posts: 1165
Joined: Tue Jan 17, 2006 6:32 pm
Location: N.Ireland

Re: Itom Competitzione recommission...

Post by Cortina »

Hmm ..... hands up all who owned an Itom 50 !!! .............. Mine was bought for £4 in 1975 - swapped for a 911 wheel rim approx 1990 ............... Think I still have a list of competition parts (with prices) for said Itom 50 !!! (I never did get it running .... mind you , I never tried !)
Royal Enfield .. still in India
GL 1800 Tour DCT, for pleasure / Fantic 240 Professional - play
Rally 911 (1966) build parked for a while
Rally 928 (work started again - inc serious weight loss programe !)
.... and now another VW Up GTI owner.
911hillclimber
Nurse, I think I need some assistance
Posts: 18857
Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2008 6:26 pm
Location: West Midlands

Re: Itom Competitzione recommission...

Post by 911hillclimber »

Bet it starts first kick, just like my Terrot did... :)
73T 911 Coupe, road/hillclimber 3.2L
Lola t 492 / 3.2 hillclimb racer
Boxster 987 Gen II 2.9
Post Reply