I'm not sure what you are referring to regarding "rust and crappy workmanship". The hidden areas of a 24 year old handmade Italian car don't look too unusual to me.
Notice the rust in the originals. The fabricated ones are gonna look nice especially when the lights come in from Italy. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Perhaps my comments are a tad harsh. But, per my mechanic's report, the heavy American bumper was put in place by someone who did not do so according to factory specs. The bumper was drilled into the rear body through where the tail lights are supposed to be and held on by huge bolts. You can see one of the holes in the lower inside corner in the pic showing the rear taillight opening close up. I don't have pics of when they took it all off so I cant show you. The plastic tail light lenses are supposed to be clear with square holes to let the red square lights fit through and cover the red textured looking material underneath. But these were some fabricated black plastic pieces that were not stock. The American bumper is supposed to be removed and the tail lights should be complete as on the Euro versions. I'm not sure who did the conversion, but the whole tail assembly was not factory spec.
Normally these brezel metal pieces are aluminium not metal, it should look like this Image Unavailable, Please Login
I remember slobering over this when i was about 18. Lamborghini saves the world! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dogaUWwKpAU
Raymond is correct, those parts are in aluminum and not in material that can rust. Actually the only rust that you can find around the back end of the car is the screws treading of the tail lights, frame, shocks or exhaust. While you are at it check the grounds to your rear lights, a bad ground can cause poor functioning of the flashers, signal lights and brake lights. Also check for small cracks in the corners of the rear fender around the lights. The factory used a lead base sealant (stagno is the Italian word). Actually the build of the Countach was well done, I took apart my lights and replaced some threading that had rusted around the nut. I replaced them with machined threading in stainless steel. Remember these cars are 25 years old +. it is more than likely that someone stateside messed it up, or the car had rear accident damage. Alex
Is the old taillight panel made of metal something done after the car left the factory? If you take off the US panel, it should be a aluminum panel correct? To change it to the euro look you would only need the reflector parts?
That aluminium piece is under the red plexi and is structured, that's the effect of the brezel, it's a standard aluminium plate you can buy at every metal shop. How the american variant was done I don't know since we don't have them here.
You and Raymond are correct. Bobileff showed me how it was supposed to look. It's true that if you remove the American rear bumper, the complete Euro light cluster should be intact. That's what we were anticipating when I decided to convert to the much better looking Euro version. We were surprised by what we found underneath. It went from a simple job and turned into a complete back end repair job complete with fabrication of the aluminum pieces. The thought was that someone messed up stateside as the rest of the car is as it should be. It has the correct, complete fuel injection system and emissions stuff intact. The entire red plexiglass cover and the textured material is on order and should be here soon. I was at his shop yesterday and everything is done except for the placement of the red light surround pieces. I'll post pics again soon. Thanks for the input!
Awesome exhausts Emilio! Do you have any leads on an Anza exhaust for a '78 308 GTS, USA version with the two cats setup?
Did you see those: http://cgi.ebay.com/Lamborghini-Countach-Rear-Metal-Light-Frame-LH-74-89-MY_W0QQitemZ140308800736QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item140308800736 http://cgi.ebay.com/Lamborghini-Countach-Rear-Metal-Light-Frame-RH-74-89-MY_W0QQitemZ140308800755QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item140308800755 http://cgi.ebay.com/Lamborghini-Countach-Rear-Perspex-Light-Frame-LH-74-89_W0QQitemZ380111785759QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item380111785759 http://cgi.ebay.com/Lamborghini-Countach-Rear-Perspex-Light-Frame-RH-74-89_W0QQitemZ140308800782QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item140308800782
This is a article from SUPERAUTO Illustrated, July 1985. I used to stare at this article for hours on end when I was in high school. Any idea which LP500 S this car is? and where it might be? Murph Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
This is a pic from the same SUPERAUTO Illustrated article on the Turbo Countach. The article states that this is from L & L International in Wilmington, NC back in the mid 80's, I guess they were an importer for Lamborghini. Cool pic I thought. Murph Image Unavailable, Please Login
#1034 S1 more beautiful than ever! i found its proper sebring mirrors for my good friend M.B. (the owner) he takes great care of this car and as you can see it has been freshly detailed more to come in next months Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
That was max' first Turbo, a LP400s http://www.lamborghiniregistry.com/Countach/CountachLP400S/1121160.html The LP5000s Turbo developes 720bhp and resides with a friend in Germany.
Some pics from the early 90s for you... Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Looks familiar! Note the 5 rain-gutter slots on each side of the trailing edge of the roof. You wont see hat on any other LP400S S1 with a flat roof...
Oh crap! I have been on vacation all this week so I didn't see them. The car is completely done and getting all the fluids changed since it's been sitting for 8 months when I was trying to sell it. Well, now I know how to find the parts if I ever need more. Thanks for the info!