Miura, the original supercar

Joe,
I could not agree with you more.

 

Yes, factory.

 

Its actually not a production option, but rather a special appointment afforded 2 SVs by the factory, inspired surely by Ferruccio's P400 which he had thus trimmed...

 

A lot of "unobtanium" missing from that one.

 

It is an honor to have Miura SV #4870 in my shop for work.

Special thanks to the owner for suggesting I post pictures.

Before and after pictures to follow.

Tony
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Cannibalized to make another one!

 

Sent to me by Jeff Stephan. He restores 40IDL Webers to factory spec and difficult-to-replicate patina...
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Nice job but perhaps a bit more "gold" than new.

 

Well, most of us never saw a brand new pre-delivered Miura. But what some of us have is period photography by Coltrin, Zagari et al that shows what the cars various components were like new. Even the most well-preserved Miuras have the finish of the Weber's bodies severely faded.

I think Jeff Stephan's Weber restoration finish is spot-on in hue & texture, especially if you note how matte the finish is.

Granted, the fresh cad-plating on the hardware allows for a sparkling appearance, but this will 'mellow' as soon as the car is fired up and the resultant heat-soak begins its process of tarnishing and fading everything.

 

Speaking of restoring, anyone have an idea of what primer was used on the front frame from the factory? Some the original cars I've seen appear to have some sort of thick primer, almost like undercoating or spray-bondo, which leaves an uneven surface when painted, which is the look I'm trying to replicate. Many restorers strip and repaint to a smooth finish when restoring, which looks fantastic, but perhaps a little too clean for my personal taste.

<edit> Just so there's no confusion, "thick" in this case means 40-60 mils or so. Standard repaint is around 15-20 mills. I've personally owned 3 cars like this, and have noticed it on pretty much every Miura billed as "original unrestored".

 

Cant help with the primer, but if its the authentic look you really seek, make sure the finish of your chassis includes some of your very best brushwork...
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Yes, that's the look.

Interesting to see that water bottle positioned under the fuel filler on this early car, among other changes. Looks like lovely original un-chromed fuel hose as well. I've got the same bulky black relays, which means that mine are probably ready to crap out on me.

. . . don't know where I'm going to find a few sets of that style hose clamp . . .

 

Yes I thought that was a very clever space-saving touch...

 

"Speaking of restoring, anyone have an idea of what primer was used on the front frame from the factory?"


That primer really was a "spray bondo". Many of the hand made Italian cars used it in the 60's and 70's. The closest thing I found (and this was 25 years ago) is a product called Duratec (spelling?) which I believe is still available. It is sprayed on and uses a catalized polyester resin (like bondo) with a grey filler, so the color would be different than the primer you are talking about which was (as I recall) pink. The Italian version had more filler which would have made it an extremely high build primer by our current standards. Duretec is harder to sand than the Italian version because there is less filler. One could probably add some talc to the duratec to thicken it up and try some experimenting with spray gun tip sizes to get the texture you are looking for.

Cheers,
Paul

 

Good post.

I know spray application was used to some extent, but do you think the brush strokes would be on that undercoating, or on the finished blackout surface?

 

You can see more Lambos if you "google" Società Carrozzai Nonantola...
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Vintage Italian craftsmanship "in the white".

 

I can't resist to post it again, #3474 was yesterday at SPA ITALIA...402 hp on dyno bench and it goes like hell !!!
Olivier
LCB President
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Thanks for sharing...

 

I love visiting this thread and seeing what new posts have been made. I am a big fan of the Miura and have the Miura Bible on it's way in the mail....

I have wondered about something regarding Miuras for sometime but never bothered to ask... now I've found a picture that hastened my asking.

While looking at various Miura registrys I have often wondered about some of the peculiar color combinations that came from the factory. Some of them are difficult to visualize, especially the interior combos. One of them is reportedly Arancio with a Blue/Black leather interior. I've also read other combinations that seem odd... Skai and Mustard cloth, Black and Mustard, etc.

Does anyone have pictures of some of these combinations? It seems, at least for the Miura 400S... the combinations were more prevalent in earlier examples. Safe to say that a single color is the more 'common' look. I am using the word 'common' understanding there isn't much common about Miuras! : )

Would this picture be an example of what would be called Blue/Black w/ Blue cloth inserts?
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Yes, #3474 looked great in the sunlight yesterday. And I have to say that I also really liked your car, took some nice pics! But really, the most beautiful car out there had to be the Diablo SE, I just love that car.

 

This pic is for the interior of a car that sports blue with blue cloth inserts, however it was probably noted on the production register simply as "blu"

There are some posts way back that show the different leather/vinyl & cloth combinations...

 

Joe,
I don't remember to have read a thread about the first flat plates replacing cills around headlights & covering the holes...do you know how many SV's were fitted with theseplates before factory modified the front hood ?
Olivier
LCB President
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Yes its discussed in quite some detail in this very thread. 1st dozen or so SVs got these and then they went to standard look.

 

Very unique...
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