BEST OF FRANCE AND ITALY; A car show of delightfully narrow focus.(Revs)

Byline: PETE LYONS

What if you put on a car show and lots of interesting ones came-such as a racy Ariel Atom, a pretty MG TC, a gleaming old Pierce-Arrow-but you refused to let them in?

There is such a perversely exclusive event. It's held every November at Woodley Park in Van Nuys, California, and this year, it kept out exactly those apparent crowd pleasers. Officials also shunned a Cobra, a Corvair Corsa convertible, several classic Minis, an Opel Ascona, a Porsche 356, a Triumph TR6, even a Rolls-Royce.

So, what was left to make up a car show? Everything under the heading "Best of France and Italy,'' the show's name, and we mean everything. Not only were Bugatti, Citroen, Peugeot and Renault cars present, but there also were Alpine, Facel Vega, Matra and Talbot classics. With the Alfas, Ferraris, Fiats, Lamborghinis and Maseratis stood a Dual Ghia, a Chrysler Ghia, a Qvale, some Isos and De Tomasos and an OSI 20M.

An OSI? This one turned out to be a 1967 German Ford Capri rebodied by Turin's Officine Stampaggi Industriali. "No one knows how many were built because of the bookkeeping of the Italians,'' said owner Vinton Rob Henry, laughing. "We don't even know who styled it.''

Henry is exactly the kind of eccentricity enthusiast at whom this unique show is aimed. It's the creation of husband and wife Chuck Forward and Tina Van Curen, owners of Autobooks-Aerobooks in nearby Burbank.

"We started out 12 years ago as an under-three-liter show, but Ferrari and Lambo guys wanted in,'' said Van Curen. From 65 cars the first year, entries now routinely top 400. Though ...