Miura, the original supercar

Looks vaguely familiar

Joe
www.joesackey.com

 

Thanks Ray...


Joe
www.joesackey.com

 

This car still has the 7" rear wheels that Alfredo Pedretti (of Modena Racing Car Co the official concessionaire of the period) delivered the cars with. On my former 5064's bill of Sale, it noted two 9" rear wheels as if they were supplied extra. Dont ask me why - I dont know.

This car is a second series USA SV (one of the 13 split sump cars) as those came with the side-marker light bezels finished in chrome-over-plastic and they sat above the recess as opposed to the flush satin-black units in the 8 single-sump cars. Also the 8 single sump cars had the 200mph speedos.

If knew what color combination the car in your pic is I could definitely tell you the chassis number.

As for the dealer plate, Im fortunate to still have the one for my car but unless you worked for the NY DMV, how on earth do we know what period the tags cover?? Thats one of your famous question Craig I can tell you that mine says 10/71, not that it means anything to me. Personally I think that would mean when it expires..... whatever. This one looks really beaten up even in the period as mine was before I had it restored. Are you sure its not a photoshop? Im actually surprised to see one on yet another SV since Pedretti actually used my 4884 as his personal car before selling it and left the plate in 4884 when it went to Robinson. Perhaps he had more that one dealer plate, although he had a partner Alberto Caiti so multiple dealer plates wouldn't surprise.....

Joe
www.joesackey.com

 

Very cool!

Joe
www.joesackey.com

 

8 cars were the first series (single sump engines)
13 car were the second series (split sump engines)

My list of both cars is with the publisher, but it is well-defined. I shall get to it later. If I had to hazard a guess the car imaged is 5018, blue with blue interior.

Joe
www.joesackey.com

 

Craig here is one for you:

Here is the emergency triangle kit that my 4884 has. It is embossed by the manufacturer with the depiction of the rear end of a Miura, clearly made exclusively for these cars.

Were these exclusive to the 21 USA SVs? Did all 21 USA SVs have them in the trunk?

The owner of another aforementioned SV that also has this rare unit in the trunk can feel free to chime in...

Joe
www.joesackey.com
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

So mine is from 1971 and yours is from 1972?

Oh the details...

Joe
www.joesackey.com

 

I agree with your sentiments. In fact, if you're not driving it on the track you don't need it.

But if you'd like to pay a premium for one, please don't let me stop you.

Regular oil changes should be the mantra of every single Miura owner. Essential.

Having owned a few of both, I will say that in my experience single sump gearboxes appear to warm up quicker and shift more fluidly. Either that or my current originally single sump (unmodified) Miura SV has a really good gearbox...

Joe
www.joesackey.com

 

There can be starvation issues under sustained hard cornering in any Miura, but, if one is overly concerned there is a deeper sump application that Bob Wallace has often added, with additional baffles to combat oil migration under cornering and ensure constant oil pickup - to a degree.

If you're Mario Andretti on the other hand, you could always opt for Wallace's dry sump kit that uses modified components supplied by Weaver Brothers Dry Sump Pumps in Nevada. Then you can run your Miura at Le Mans in confidence!

But down here on god's green earth where the rubber hits the road, some of us have done just fine for years & years using the cars just as they were built save the addition of a magnetic drain plug. The proviso is that you shift gears properly, change the oil frequently, and for heaven's sake its not a racing car

Joe
www.joesackey.com

 

By the way let me add that I have been made to understand by men who actually worked at the factory in Miura production that engineer Stanzani mandated splitting the sump on the last 96 cars partially as a means of insulating the factory from the liability of replacing engines damaged due to oil starvation. The original Miura engine concept of a single sump was deviated from because it was thought that customers would want to drive the cars really hard - and some did, judging by the number of units that the factory replaced in the glory days! But that was in the era of non-existent speed limits in many places when young owners were eager to impress their girlfriends with top speed achievements... with what you can do to a Miura today (and not risk lives or flout the law) a well-maintained single sump unit is just fine, and we are seeing Miuras routinely running in rallies such as the Tour Auto and other events without any issues.

Also my prior comments about the gearbox in a single sump car are obvious: the shared lubrication will warm up doubly quick due to the engine's activity as the 'box is not insulated (isolated), and I find that engine oil makes for a nice slick lubrication in a gearbox of this type

A funny story: A good friend/client of mine was about to spend a million bucks on a nice SV. He said he was rather impressed by the fact that it had factory split sump unit. I asked what he thought the benefits of it were to him. He calmly replied: "Joe, I have no idea, but I know I WANT IT"



Joe
www.joesackey.com

 

Hey, you came to the right place...


Joe
www.joesackey.com

 

I know they had this P400S (lime green) 3922, and a P400 3645 but don't know what they went for... anybody? Im sure Coys will post it on their site later in the week.


Joe
www.joesackey.com
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

These are interesting aftermarket items that Ive never seen before and I have to agree they don't help the car' appearance - the Sebring units as used by the factory almost look designed for the car IMHO.


Joe
www.joesackey.com

 

Please elaborate...


Joe
www.joesackey.com