Ferruccio is smiling !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hi Steve, Do you have other photos and chassis no of the 2nd S3 you had (not the yellow one). Philippe S2 7987 www.lamborghinimiura.com
Hi Kevin and Steve, There were 178 RHD produced, almost 15% of the production. Philippe S2 7987 www.lamborghinimiura.com
Way to go Gary! I see that the doors were pulled off.. I don't understand some people saying it is impossible to do this without removing the front fenders.. Philippe S2 7987 www.lamborghinimiura.com
if you dont tell the painter getting the doors off is difficult, it wont be ! for every lambo myth there is truth . Dave , who you see in the photo, said "the doors were kinda tough to get off" so i asked him how long..... he indicated about 10 mins until they figured it out! Gary 8394
Hi Bob, I ended up picking this Espada. Rather of an impulse buy for me since this is my first Lambo and I had not done any research on Espadas. The car was simply too good of a deal to pass. Over $70K in receipts during the last 4 years, and tons of records prior to this work. I felt comfortable enough with the car that I drove it back from south Florida to north Georgia .... 11 hour drive, all interstate! Just got back today. I must say the Espada is a very comfortable car for long drives. Tons of thumbs up from other drivers and especially the Florida turnpike toll booth collectors. One of them kept complementing the car and would not lift the gate! Where can I download the owner's manual for a series 3? Ivan (from the Maserati forum)
Hi Ivan, Steve in Virginia. You bought my Maserati Khamsin many years ago. I know the Espada you bought, and the gentleman you purchased it from. In my opinion, you got a tremendous deal. It is a very nice example. Did you sell the Bora? Congratulations again, Steve.
Post purchase research???? Doesn't sound like you ... I'd check out the VLG over on Yahoo. You're familiar with Yahoo so it won't turn you off like it seems to do with most Fchaters. I'm not sure if there's a series III manual over there but I know there are Series I & II manuals available. I did all of my pre-purchase research over there and I haven't found a better spot as yet. I think your new cars has a digital ignition system installed as well? You are aware that this once had a non Lambo automatic in it? The seller did a lot of work on this car. How about some more driving impressions from that long trip? Bob S.
The digital ignition apparently was very unrealible and the original point distributors re-installed. I am aware that an automatic lived in the car for about 14 months. The previous owner mentioned that he had problems finding a replacement for a bad gear and opted for the automatic. Luckily he did not like the automatic and the proper parts were located. The original gearbox was rebuilt and a new clutch installed. Driving impressions: - the power steering has the perfect amount of assist while not too light on the open road. - clutch and gearbox feel are very precise. I have driven many cars where a heavy clutch or a clunky gearbox will wear you down; that is not the case on this car. - very comfortable seat. I was tired because of the length of trip and not the driving position. - very good visibility - brakes are adequte but I would not like to panic stop with that heavy of a car - fuel consumption was lower than I had expected. I did not keep detailed records but it probably got 18 to 20 miles per gallon. There are four things that need attention (any advice would be appreciated): - I am getting exhaust fumes inside the cabin when the windows are open. The exhaust does not appear to be leaking therefore it must be fumes from the exhaust tips being suck through some body gap. - the Jaeger amp gauge needs to be replaced - wiper motor is slow and seems to wobble. - engine hessitates when taking off from 1st gear. I suspect fuel starvation. In Florida, where it is flat, that is not that big of an issue but the same is not true in the hills of north Georgia. Ivan
Congratulations! A wise buy of a real nice example. Wish you years of pleasure driving it. Send a PM I can help you with the manual. Philippe M. S2 7987 www.lamborghinimiura.com
Hi Steve, Yes, the Bora is sold and on its way to Germany. But you know me; there will probably be another one in the not too distant future. Just check my website (www.thecarnut.com) from time to time. I am very happy with this Espada. I figured it was a good car for me to get out of the "Maserati comfort zone" and explore and learn about other vehicles. While doing post-purchase research is not the smartest way to buy a vehicle, sometimes you have to let your gut instincts take over ... and my gut was yelling "buy it!". Ivan
Ivan, I promise you need to have "ZERO" doubts about buying the Espada. I almost did. I had lots,and lots, of conversations with the previous owner. He is a great guy. I told him he really needed to put the manual gearbox back in the car. I also felt very comfortable because of the extensive receipts that he had for the car. You made a great purchase. I do check your site on a regular basis. I keep a towel handy for the drool.(Ha!) Let me know if I can help with anything. Keep in touch. Steve.
You may wish to check motorbooks international (UK) for nice reprints of manuals, I bought all 3. owners , parts and service for series 2 > some info in there pertains to series 3 as well also chewck ing roddagio ( check VLG for speling and link!) I downloaded their english, german , italian version of the owners manual in large format. If you want to know what your in for or what CAN do and spend if that is your wish PM me and i will givew you my cell # > beats typing!! Gary espada 8394 Gary
Dear Gary: Whilst I must commend you greatly for your efforts to rescue "8394", and Dave for his diligence in facilitating the removal of the car's doors, I cant help but feel that something is missing. Your ascent to Lamborghini-hero status by virtue of the aforementioned repaint of 8394 begs but one important question: what color is to be bestowed upon this rare beauty? Inquiring minds want to know. The community wants to know. Even Dave wants to know. Is it to be the original "Oro Longchamps Metallizzato"? Please consider carefully before responding, and remember, it is not too late to do the right thing. You know how sensitive some of us are about these issues. Awaiting your reply. Concerned in Laguna Niguel. Joe
Joe; Not sure of the final color yet but I am sure of one thing since the windows came out and I hath seen with mine eye..... The original gold is a cross between piss and puke and now I know why only 74 were ever made . Originality or not if someone wants to paint ol 8394 gold them give me a check and its theirs other wise I am leaning towards rosso granada or once i see the sprayout as it appears a little too pinkish, a non mettalic period dark red ala rosso barchetta might fit the bill . I know your dissapointed but when you write the "Espada Bible" you can mention how stubborn and defiant those Canadians are! You can print this as a caption under the photo of said car which reads " in spite of my constant urging this damm Canuck gone and made this car uber cool by painting it this desirable hue of redness". All Lambo dudes should take comfort in the fact other than color, I AM on a mission to bring it back to original in every other way . I may even be the first guy to have brand new correct tyres if the Brits release them in March . this chat thing is always good for a laugh as well regards Gary aka (not gold) espada 8394
Original rubbers might be authentic and sound very romantic but I assure you that the best and most modern ones will be the safest. We wouldn't want any "accidents" DOC ... Bob S.
What digital ignition system was installed? A number of guys have had good luck with Electromotive on the Espada. I just did a Pertronix on the dizyy. It works just fine. You have dual distributors? Rare for an Espada. Gulp! We can fix that. 18-20 mpg. Are you sure you weren't drafting a big rig the entire way? That sounds awfully high. Yes there is a known flaw in the rear on both sides. Look over on VLG and if you can't find the thread (with pictures) let me know. It's at the rear of the gas tanks. You have to remove the interior panels unless you can spot and repair it from underneath. My wipers suck too. Don't get caught in a bad rain storm in this car. It's potentially deadly. Hard to say on the hesitation. Remember, it's a low torque motor until you hit 4-5K. It ain't no Bora/Ghibli/Khamsin motor but you'll adapt. It does rev a lot higher though. I agree, the brakes are so so. Especially after experiencing a Bora. You might want to do some testing on your boosters. Bob S.
Not sure what digital ignition it had. All the parts were in a box but I did not pay much attention to them. After all the horror stories the PO told me there was not way I was going to re-install them. It looked like there were 4 or 6 mini-coils each one firing 2 or 3 cylinders. He mentioned there was some sort of electronic pickup on the harmonic dampner which went to a control unit. I assume that controlled the spark advance. Anyhow; that is all gone now. Yes, there are two distributors. Was told there are two points in each distributor. I sense from your comments that this is not the usual setup. Did some Espada come this way? My car is a Euro version, perhaps that makes a difference. I once had a Euro version 365GTC/4 and the distributor setup was completely different from the USA version. Ivan
