05/25/10 Update: This scooter was bought by a Scooterlounge reader. Hopefully he'll keep us informed of his progress!
Here is a (possibly) good project scooter which is for sale right now on Ebay with no reserve. This is a Li 125 Series III which looks to be in neglected, but original condition. There is some rust evident, but my guess would be that the rust is primarily surface, and could be fairly easily cleaned up.
More below the jump...
One interesting thing about this scooter is that it was originally sold by Montgomery Ward. Back in the 60's Montgomery Ward (now bankrupt) was the primary competitor to Sears in selling everything anyone could need via mail order. Sears had been very successful in selling the Vespa scooter, so it was only natural the Wards would try to sell the Lambretta. From any indidication, Wards did not have a hit on their hands, and relatively few Lambrettas were sold. I have been told that Wards originally sold the LD, but I'm not sure of that. I am sure that they sold the Li 125 Series III, and they are easily identifiable by the "Riverside" badge on them. Riverside was Wards' in-house motorcycle brand, akin to Sear's Allstate brand.
The fact that this is a local-pickup only sale limits the possible buyers. With no reserve, someone who lives close to the seller could come away with a scooter for little money. Make no mistake, this scooter needs a lot of work to revive, but if it can be had for cheap enough, it is a solid basis for a fun scooter.
Please keep us updated on your progress on this scooter. It sure looked like a good restoration candidate!
-Paul