I've been scrutinizing photos of this engine drop and others you've posted Bob and I still can't see where and how exactly the chains are hooked on the heads. My educated guess is that it's a steel piece of some sort secured by one or two head stud nuts... Am I close...? If so, is there reason to be concerned about applying that much load to just a few head studs? Thanks.
At a glance that looks like a decent S3 WO the rubber bumpers. Any idea on condition? The price seems subdued if it's a nice example.
You can see a couple hundred photos here: 1973 Lamborghini Espada Photo Gallery. This dealer sold it this summer for $90k. I had emailed him in October and asked him if he would share the sales price, which he graciously did. Apparently the buyer was not interested in long term ownership. I imagine he was hoping to turn more of a profit.
In going back and reading much of this thread, I see now this car was briefly discussed when it sold last summer. BTW, I'm enjoying reading the old posts. I'm considering an Espada purchase so trying to gather as much info as possible.
I agree. Looked reasonably tidy in the photos and had power steering too. Are S3 Espadas generally expected to fetch less money than S2 versions? Whatever the reasons, classic car buyers need to wake up to how nice to drive a really well sorted Espada can be. Having come out of a beautifully restored Ferrari 330 GTE (because it drove like a truck) I had expected to buy a Daytona instead but when I tried them, it turned out Daytonas weren't nearly as nice to drive as they were to look at either.. In the end, I bought my Espada almost purely because of the way it drove. The bellowing engine that loves to rev, the surprising lack of roll and the easy nature of the handling when exploring the outer edges of available grip soon had me hooked. I then read some contemporary road tests to see if I was imagining it but it was the same story there, with the Espada generally coming out on top in group tests. Car Magazine, in particular, seemed besotted with the Espada in period. I let a good dealer friend (who has his own Daytona and 275 GTB) borrow my Espada recently and he's been researching Espadas ever since, which kind of tells me what the story is here, namely there's only a tiny handful of people out there who have actually driven an Espada and I'm sure that's what is holding values back. Meanwhile, Daytonas and the like continue to gallop off into the ££££ stratosphere. Not sure what we can do about it but I do find it annoying, especially when I see Espadas being given away, like the one at RM this weekend.. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Harry I have a very good friend who back in the late 1970s miraculously survived a very serious bout with cancer. At that point this lifelong car guy, he had a Cord Sportsman in highschool and a Gullwing shortly after he began working, decided to treat himself to his first exotic Italian sportscar. He's also Italian. He was determined to find a nicely sorted slightly used Daytona. After driving quite a few of them he began complaining to the salesmen about how heavy and crude to drive they were. So the salesman, they were all men in those days, threw him the keys to a Bora and it was love at first drive for him. That's how we met as fellow Bora owners in the late 1980s. I haven't driven a Daytona but I was treated to a very nice one for a drive by a friend of mine. It was a cold spring morning and the transaxle synchros weren't up to the task so when asked if I'd like to drive it I decided I didn't want to be grinding the gears in his lovely Daytona that morning - opportunity missed I suppose. But I did drive his lovely, fresh Miura P400s and that is the polar opposite of the Bora and Espada. I don't really fit in a Miura well so it was a bit of work. One other comparison of note is the Espada vs Ghibli which is a much prettier car though not nearly as exotic looking to my tastes. I did these one day back to back and the difference in the chassis ride and precision is astounding. That Ghibli's beautiful old Maserati V8 wins in the grunt-for-go category for me though. The Espada's chassis still feels better on the highway and byway roads around here in Northern New Jersey than that of a lot of modern cars. The steering is truck like! Mine is an SII and yes I think SIIIs suffer in stature a bit though they do have some improvements which also make the engine compartment much more of a nightmare. This one suffered too much. Your drive with yours to the Giro was a spectacular and compelling video. The old Lamborghini V12 at full tilt in a tunnel is glorious. Fortunately I have a short tunnel on one of my regular exercise the car drives. That video alone should be enough to drag these cars up in value.
I for one can assert that Harry's Espada video played a pivotal role in me recently acquiring an Espada. Thank you Harry!
Very kind of you both to say so, that Espada video wasn't actually planned in any way but I was having such a good time I wanted to record it for posterity.. I come back to the fact the Espada is much better to drive than most people imagine and we need to get this message across, somehow. Another friend (and big car collector) recently agreed to a £120,000 rebuild on an Espada a Lamborghini restorer owned, after coming under the Espada 'spell'. He got his effectively new Espada in early December and has been regularly commuting to London in it (subject to weather) ever since. So there's hope out there for Espadas, once word gets out. Returning to my Harry's garage videos for a moment, I'm keen to do some less glowing reports, as saying car 'xxxxxx' is wonderful all the time gets a bit boring. I've got a '71 Mercedes 350 SL in the garage, which I kinda admire but is also pretty dull to both own and drive, so that might be my first victim!
Had a short stint in a Espada in the early 80s in Norway,what Harry is saying regarding the suspension and ride feeling is spot on my biggest memory from that experience.my personal ride at the time was a Jaguar xjs, wich had an amazing ride,and i remember comparing the Espada to the jag ride, not quite as silky but,very planted balanced and controlled,with the added bonus of a Carburated big italian v12, wich compared to the jags v12 gave the whole experience the perfect blend of hotrod and luxury.Like i said before,would love to park one next to my Countach,but this is a car i would not mind restoring ,from a drivable starting point.
These days it's not an inexpensive car to restore and it has gotten quite a bit more difficult in the last 6 or so years. Parts cars always were hard to find and the asking prices for the unobtanium type parts is ludicrous. Buy a complete and very decent car, I know it's a terribly overused phrase but if ever there was a car that this applies to it's the Espada.
Harry All of what you've mentioned re pricing is true for now at least . Historically S3s, were a little more refined and typically carried a higher number. As time passes it seems Aesthetics takes over and once people no longer worry about the ten tenths , things skyrocket !!!! Mangusta for example ... does anyone now really care how they handle ? another example would be a nicely restored 2 ltr Afla spyder from the 50s getting now routinely over 100k when its really half the car or less. Why ? sex, lipstick etc that's why? But for my version of sex appeal the S2 ticks all the boxes as Im sure you'll agree. wood dash knock offs etc .. Espada's shape is still very polarizing for most .. Much like an olive one either loves it or hates its shape. this has always held back its numbers I believe . That said I have put just over 16000kms on my car in 5 years and NO MAJOR letdowns just great drives and an even greater noises from both ends! For those like us that know and love them I think by the time we sell , if ever they will be priced accordingly and much to our liking. Maybe our paths will cross again at the Revival... stay well Gary Espada 8394 Image Unavailable, Please Login
Since it is a very simple calculation and data gathering exercise, I thought it would be interesting to quantify the statement. The head studs were typically made of Chrome Moly steel with a Yield Strength of 180,000 to 210,000 psi, the head studs are 11mm or .433 inches in diameter (= .147 square inches), so the load carrying capacity of one head stud is about 29,000 pounds. That corresponds to lifting eight (8) Espada cars in one head stud. Laust
I have watched Harrys videos with great interest and read the EVO article about the 50th anniversary trip to Italy as well and it is great to see that the (well-sorted) Espada gets the positive exposure it deserves. Here are just two of my own experiences supporting a couple of Harrys positive statements. 1. Early 1990s picture from turn 3 on Willow Springs Raceway, CA. This is a sharp 90 turn ending in a short uphill straight. Note the lack of roll (low center of gravity, dual sway bars and well thought out independent suspension). Btw, the Pantera was easily kept behind. 2. A couple of years ago I gave a friend of mine from China a local ride in my Espada and he unprompted noted that the car was significantly better at handling the local speed-bumps than my 1990 BMW 750iL. So that was one convert from the biggest market in the world. It may take me a while to convert the remaining 1,359,999,999. Laust Image Unavailable, Please Login
I won't second guess the voice of practical experience but I'll bet the yield strength of the aluminum threads securing the 29,000 pound bolt is far less...
Interesting points, I think you're probably right regarding the design affecting values, it's definitely a discussion point! I'll be at Goodwood again this year, as well as Pebble and Quail, so I hope we can meet up at some point again this year too.. Harry
Getting the Espada out on the Thanksgiving Friday run. And RIP Cars and Coffee, it was always a pain in the ass, but it was always worth it. Aaron Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU.............K So jealous ! I hate winter . Gary (deprived of driving in Toronto ) 8394
Welcome aboard then Luis. Be sure to visit and hopefully join the VLG as well if you're not already there. I wish I could get a drive like that with mine one day but that's a rather tall order. Bob S.
