350/400GT thread

alberto · May 30, 2013

jensen70 said: ↑

Hi everyone, I just joined this forum today because I was searching for the ch.# of the GTS exhibited at the Villa D'Este councours and from the threads I saw it is a conversion of a coupe.

I used to own ch.#328 for over 10 years and then sold it to Qatar Prince Althani in 1982, as stated by another member. The story of the car is as follows:

It was bought by Spanish importer Amato in 1965 at the Milan Show and was black with white leather. The car sat new for over a year in his showroom until a client bought the car but had it painted white with black interior. I bought the car in fairly poor shape in that color in 1972 from a used car dealer and fixed the things that were wrong, then repainted it in red, the color it had when I sold it in 1982. It had an original factory hardtop in black.

Ubaldo Sgarzi came to Marbella to inspect the car on behalf of Prince Althani, gave me a deposit and asked me to deliver the car 15 days later in Geneva at the Hotel du Rhone, where the Prince lived. I knew from Sgarzi that the Prince had the car restored nuts & bolts by the factory to get their certificate and assume he still has it as he is probably the biggest Lambo collector anywhere.

The (poor quality) picture added by another member of my ex 350 GTS is actually taken outside the Jarama race track and golf course. It was after this picture was taken that we moved to Marbella.

I'm attaching some pictures that hopefully show off the car in a better light. Obviously, I still regret having sold the car, but life is full of regrets.
Click to expand...

Wow, thanks for posting. Best first post in the lambo section that I can recall. Can you provide a bit on how it was to drive (flex, noise, etc.?)

Olivier NAMECHE · May 31, 2013

jensen70 said: ↑

Hi everyone, I just joined this forum today because I was searching for the ch.# of the GTS exhibited at the Villa D'Este councours and from the threads I saw it is a conversion of a coupe.

I used to own ch.#328 for over 10 years and then sold it to Qatar Prince Althani in 1982, as stated by another member. The story of the car is as follows:

It was bought by Spanish importer Amato in 1965 at the Milan Show and was black with white leather. The car sat new for over a year in his showroom until a client bought the car but had it painted white with black interior. I bought the car in fairly poor shape in that color in 1972 from a used car dealer and fixed the things that were wrong, then repainted it in red, the color it had when I sold it in 1982. It had an original factory hardtop in black.

Ubaldo Sgarzi came to Marbella to inspect the car on behalf of Prince Althani, gave me a deposit and asked me to deliver the car 15 days later in Geneva at the Hotel du Rhone, where the Prince lived. I knew from Sgarzi that the Prince had the car restored nuts & bolts by the factory to get their certificate and assume he still has it as he is probably the biggest Lambo collector anywhere.

The (poor quality) picture added by another member of my ex 350 GTS is actually taken outside the Jarama race track and golf course. It was after this picture was taken that we moved to Marbella.

I'm attaching some pictures that hopefully show off the car in a better light. Obviously, I still regret having sold the car, but life is full of regrets.
Click to expand...

What a great contribution, many thanks !!!

fabone · May 31, 2013

Agree, piece of important history. Thanks

jensen70 · May 31, 2013

I appreciate Alberto's, Olivier's and Fabone's comments. To answer Alberto's curiosity, the car was great to drive, very smooth once the six dual Webers were in perfect tune and during the trip to Geneva, the fuel consumption was a 15 l/100 km average. The car pulled strong even in 5th gear while driving slow, and being a convertible, the sound was unbelievable. A friend of mine in Marbella was Federico Magnioni, who was an ex LeMans Ferrari Daytona team factory mechanic and he was a master at tuning both the Lambo and my daily driver, a '67 Maserati Mexico 4,7 with which I even pulled my boat.

You may wonder about the different license plates in the pictures. The car was originaly registered in Spain but later also in the USA (an easy feat in those days) to escape getting the speeding tickets being sent to my home, and I can assure you there were lots of those.

I'm adding some more pix as I thought you'd enjoy seeing them. They are:

-Car as purchased in white w/ hard top in place + interior shot.
(when looking closely, you'll see the right headlamp housing is crooked due to a poor repair job done previously due to a light accident. I had it corrected before the repaint)
-On a parking lot in France checking the oil, convertible top up
-In front of H. du Rhone at arrival in Geneva, "

As an anecdote, some Italian reporter wrote, after hearing about the arrival of the car at the factory, that it was in terrible shape because the wood steering wheel was cracked. He neglected to say a new steering wheel was in the trunk.

The reason was that it came that way when I bought it and during the 10 years I had it, I was unable to get a steering wheel boss to fit the new wooden steering wheel I had purchased. Even the factory was unable to supply it at the time. They only had mechanical replacement parts, no body parts or accessories.

Hope you enjoy the additional pictures.
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Olivier NAMECHE · May 31, 2013

So wonderful...

kc023515 · May 31, 2013

jensen70 said: ↑

I appreciate Alberto's, Olivier's and Fabone's comments. To answer Alberto's curiosity, the car was great to drive, very smooth once the six dual Webers were in perfect tune and during the trip to Geneva, the fuel consumption was a 15 l/100 km average. The car pulled strong even in 5th gear while driving slow, and being a convertible, the sound was unbelievable. A friend of mine in Marbella was Federico Magnioni, who was an ex LeMans Ferrari Daytona team factory mechanic and he was a master at tuning both the Lambo and my daily driver, a '67 Maserati Mexico 4,7 with which I even pulled my boat.

You may wonder about the different license plates in the pictures. The car was originaly registered in Spain but later also in the USA (an easy feat in those days) to escape getting the speeding tickets being sent to my home, and I can assure you there were lots of those.

I'm adding some more pix as I thought you'd enjoy seeing them. They are:

-Car as purchased in white w/ hard top in place + interior shot.
(when looking closely, you'll see the right headlamp housing is crooked due to a poor repair job done previously due to a light accident. I had it corrected before the repaint)
-On a parking lot in France checking the oil, convertible top up
-In front of H. du Rhone at arrival in Geneva, "

As an anecdote, some Italian reporter wrote, after hearing about the arrival of the car at the factory, that it was in terrible shape because the wood steering wheel was cracked. He neglected to say a new steering wheel was in the trunk.

The reason was that it came that way when I bought it and during the 10 years I had it, I was unable to get a steering wheel boss to fit the new wooden steering wheel I had purchased. Even the factory was unable to supply it at the time. They only had mechanical replacement parts, no body parts or accessories.

Hope you enjoy the additional pictures.
Click to expand...

Great pictures and great posts which give a nice overview of the history and different colours on #0328 !

Your assumption that Prince Althani still has the car makes more than sense as we have no traces for this car after 1982 !

Marcello · May 31, 2013

Dear Jensen70,

This is a very nice evening!!!!!
As a 350 GT lover, I have been trying to track down all the existing 350 GT cars,
and try to find out what really happened in the good old early days of Lamborghini history,
with the help of some friends like Kevin Crauwels and Paul Cox.

I really want to thank you for the information and pictures of #0328.
Very important for Lamborghini history!!!!!

The car was original black, but had a dark green interior then, not white.

Yes, I wondered about the USA plates, thanks for clearing that up ;-)

Did you by any chance put the car for sale through Rudy Pas from The Netherlands (CCA)
as well already in april 1981, before you sold it to Althani?
Was the car ever in The Netherlands?

Ciao!
Marcel Wallenburg
The Netherlands

joe sackey · May 31, 2013

jensen70 said: ↑

I appreciate Alberto's, Olivier's and Fabone's comments. To answer Alberto's curiosity, the car was great to drive, very smooth once the six dual Webers were in perfect tune and during the trip to Geneva, the fuel consumption was a 15 l/100 km average. The car pulled strong even in 5th gear while driving slow, and being a convertible, the sound was unbelievable. A friend of mine in Marbella was Federico Magnioni, who was an ex LeMans Ferrari Daytona team factory mechanic and he was a master at tuning both the Lambo and my daily driver, a '67 Maserati Mexico 4,7 with which I even pulled my boat.

You may wonder about the different license plates in the pictures. The car was originaly registered in Spain but later also in the USA (an easy feat in those days) to escape getting the speeding tickets being sent to my home, and I can assure you there were lots of those.

I'm adding some more pix as I thought you'd enjoy seeing them. They are:

-Car as purchased in white w/ hard top in place + interior shot.
(when looking closely, you'll see the right headlamp housing is crooked due to a poor repair job done previously due to a light accident. I had it corrected before the repaint)
-On a parking lot in France checking the oil, convertible top up
-In front of H. du Rhone at arrival in Geneva, "

As an anecdote, some Italian reporter wrote, after hearing about the arrival of the car at the factory, that it was in terrible shape because the wood steering wheel was cracked. He neglected to say a new steering wheel was in the trunk.

The reason was that it came that way when I bought it and during the 10 years I had it, I was unable to get a steering wheel boss to fit the new wooden steering wheel I had purchased. Even the factory was unable to supply it at the time. They only had mechanical replacement parts, no body parts or accessories.

Hope you enjoy the additional pictures.
Click to expand...

Excellent post, thanks for sharing this car's story in detail!

rmolke85 · Jun 3, 2013

First post for me, but have been on Lchat for years. I love these early cars a lot and finally found the right car to restore!

Car pictured is #0223, found in Seattle. Original Blue Notte/Tobacco which it will be restored to. Previous owner bought it used in 1971 when he was 28. All things considered it is a wonderful survivor. Starting a full restoration now. It will be done to spec as it would have left the factory. I will try to post some photos of it during the process. Enjoy!
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a57robert · Jun 7, 2013

joe sackey said: ↑

Excellent Bob! This thread has come alive with useful information, generated by a few questions.

Don't be so sure about the 'wheel' being rectified. I have seen a number of very special one-off Lamborghinis restored to less than correct original spec. Once restored, they seem to stay that way, unfortunately. But the important thing is they are being preserved.

This is the 1965 Turin Salon again. Miura Prototype Concept can just be made out in the background.
Click to expand...

Hi All,

Here is 325 being used in a Ragu sauce commercial in 1968. There is an album produced as the ad states. And I do have that album. On the back of the album. There are several pictures during the filming of a commercial. I have not found the commercial. If anyone has a copy of that commercial please contact me.

Bob Huber
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Marcello · Jun 7, 2013

a57robert said: ↑

Hi All,

Here is 325 being used in a Ragu sauce commercial in 1968. There is an album produced as the ad states. And I do have that album. On the back of the album. There are several pictures during the filming of a commercial. I have not found the commercial. If anyone has a copy of that commercial please contact me.

Bob Huber
Click to expand...

Very nice Bob! Thanks for sharing.
I assume that the car was already painted from gold to cream then?
Did it had Italian plates from Milano or already GTS-350 from USA?
Ciao!
Marcel

alberto · Jun 7, 2013

rmolke85 said: ↑

First post for me, but have been on Lchat for years. I love these early cars a lot and finally found the right car to restore!

Car pictured is #0223, found in Seattle. Original Blue Notte/Tobacco which it will be restored to. Previous owner bought it used in 1971 when he was 28. All things considered it is a wonderful survivor. Starting a full restoration now. It will be done to spec as it would have left the factory. I will try to post some photos of it during the process. Enjoy!
Click to expand...

Please post regular updates. You might consider creating a separate thread for your restoration, like I and a few others have done here.

EarlyCat · Jun 7, 2013

alberto said: ↑

Please post regular updates. You might consider creating a separate thread for your restoration, like I and a few others have done here.
Click to expand...

Please do. That is an incredible find.

jensen70 · Jun 8, 2013

Marcello, you are correct as I did advertise the car with Rudy Pas in april 1981 but had not one bite. I also did Hemmings and some guy from the Secretary of the Navy's office offered to take it in part payment for a 30s Packard. I just laughed and said no thanks. The Americans overvalue their US cars quite a bit in my humble opinion as the must have been thousand s of Packards and only two 350 GTS Lamborghinis. I wouldn't have accepted even by swapping even but the guy, if I can remember correctly, wanted $100K on top !!!

As an anecdote, I was at the factory a couple of times and they didn't even remember having built the 2 GTS' but Sgarzi (I'm not sure if his name was Ubaldo or Ugo, long time ago) finally sent me a letter certifying that fact. I must still have it somewhere and will look for it if someone is interested.

Re chassis #325, I have the suspicion that Prince Althani may have bought this car also as it has never appeared anymore. The last I heard of it was it being advertised in 1984 in Florida for US$ 925,000.-, a princely sum.

Cheers to all.

vectorfiles · Jun 8, 2013

a57robert said: ↑

Hi All,

Here is 325 being used in a Ragu sauce commercial in 1968. There is an album produced as the ad states. And I do have that album. On the back of the album. There are several pictures during the filming of a commercial. I have not found the commercial. If anyone has a copy of that commercial please contact me.

Bob Huber
Click to expand...

Enzo Stuarti in the Ragu commercial?
The same guy that built this ugly Enzo Stuarti Sonata?
http://www.lambocars.com/archive/highres/sonatar.htm

a57robert · Jun 8, 2013

vectorfiles said: ↑

Enzo Stuarti in the Ragu commercial?
The same guy that built this ugly Enzo Stuarti Sonata?
Lamborghini Cars : High Resolution images
Click to expand...

Yeah...The same guy!

Bob Huber

EarlyCat · Jun 8, 2013

Apparently he was also frequent guest in the Tonight Show. Ed Sullivan suggested his name change to Enzo according to a quick google.

a57robert · Jun 9, 2013

EarlyCat said: ↑

Apparently he was also frequent guest in the Tonight Show. Ed Sullivan suggested his name change to Enzo according to a quick google.
Click to expand...

Hi,

He also made a TV commercial. Of course, all about Ragu in the GTS #325. This would've been 1968. His son was looking for this commercial also, but could not find it.
So, who will be the 1st one to find this gem of a commercial and of course, I mean the gem being the 350 GTS!

I will look for the album and upload some scans of the back cover. The photos are very small, but anyway, the car is there on the back of the album

Bob Huber

Jasperlambo · Jun 9, 2013

since there seems to be interest in Enzo Stuarti and his Sonata here is a cross reference ...
There is some discussion going on in this thread:

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/lamborghinichat-com-sponsored-lamborghini-houston/411375-wtf-thing.html

a57robert · Jun 9, 2013

a57robert said: ↑

Hi,

He also made a TV commercial. Of course, all about Ragu in the GTS #325. This would've been 1968. His son was looking for this commercial also, but could not find it.
So, who will be the 1st one to find this gem of a commercial and of course, I mean the gem being the 350 GTS!

I will look for the album and upload some scans of the back cover. The photos are very small, but anyway, the car is there on the back of the album

Bob Huber
Click to expand...

Here is the album

Bob Huber
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fabone · Jun 9, 2013

I recently visited Cecil Cars ( Cecil Cars - La référence de la voiture anglaise de collection ) and thanks to the manager, I could spot two 400GT2+2 under restoration.
This garage is beautiful, very clean and work being done is huge.

Here's #1135 :
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fabone · Jun 9, 2013

and here's #694 :
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fabone · Jun 9, 2013

And here's 400GT interim #412 and 400GT2+2 # 649 (photos copyrighted Cecil Cars )
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Olivier NAMECHE · Jun 9, 2013

fabone said: ↑

I recently visited Cecil Cars ( Cecil Cars - La référence de la voiture anglaise de collection ) and thanks to the manager, I could spot two 400GT2+2 under restoration.
This garage is beautiful, very clean and work being done is huge.

Here's #1135 :
Click to expand...

Ah Fabrice,
I didn't know it ended to that workshop... last year when I had it, I released many pictures of it here in L-Chat. It now belongs to a Swiss collector...

Olivier NAMECHE · Jun 9, 2013

fabone said: ↑

And here's 400GT interim #412 and 400GT2+2 # 649 (photos copyrighted Cecil Cars )
Click to expand...

Sorry to correct you, #0412 is NOT a 400 GT interim.

It was delivered with a 3,500cc engine.

Later it had its engine replaced by a 3,929cc... so not done while on the "Linea Montaggio"...

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