Espada thread

Just yesterday I purchased a late Euro series I Espada. The car is a dark metallic blue with navy leather interior. The car was treated to a bare metal respray in 1989. It's holding up very well. The car was originally metallic gold with navy interior. I purchased it from a gentleman who has had it for the past 28 years but was just getting to the age when he wasn't up to the tinkering any more. There's a little bit of sorting to do but it's a very high quality car. I reached out to Joe Sackey who was kind enough to call me and offer some good advice. I'll include a couple of garage pics now but will post more later once I take delivery.
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Here's another
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And another
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Last one
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what a lovely car!!
enjoy it in good health .

Gary
Espada S2
8394

 

Tyler enjoy in good health, I know you'll do this car right.

 

Gratulations! That car really looks great and I in particular love the colors. Never mind that it is not the original paint color, please leave it like that (if you like it as well) .

Is the box behind the fuse assembly an electronic ignition? That make life a lot easier for all not having a distributor test stand.

Cheers, Bernhard

 

Indeed, the same over here with the (most) "concours" cars ....

Cheers, Bernhard

 

+1

Now replace that silly fuel hose that's inside of the passenger compartment (LH side) if it hasn't already been done with a hard line instead. It really makes for a mess as the fuel vapors go right through the rubber wall over time even with no actual leak.

Bob S.

 

Wonderful car, I love that color!

 

Chassis number is 7210

Yes, I'm leaving it blue. I love the color as well.

 

All too true, and if it still is "factory original" even more (if it breaks you have a fire risk). It is some pain to do this replacement, though, thats why it is not done in most cases, no money spent on things not "optically" evident. You need to rip the nice carpet and the sound proofing material off the sill ...

Cheers, Bernhard

 

Got the car in to the shop to get it ready. The fuel was stale so it was drained and fresh was added. Car would crank but not start. I had spark and was getting fuel to the carbs but upon removing the tops of them they were dry inside. Cleaned up carbs, got throttle pumps working, added fuel and it fired right up. Car runs and shifts great. Brakes are good. Got the oil changed. Need to get the other fluids freshened up. Adjusted the driver's door latch for better operation but the latch on the passenger side is still finicky. I also have a sanden AC compressor to install. Still have a bit of a punch list but it's really a phenomenal car. Just wish my arms were a bit longer and my legs a bit shorter. Here's a pic of the work in progress.
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Best Series!

 

Is there a way to tell the chassis number for the Espada from the outside?

 

#7210 isn't that late. In fact, it's probably mid-run or earlier for the S1. I used to own #7323 which was the 113th car built, June of '69. Yours is most likely under within the first 100 cars. Check the engine compartment sheet metal just forward of the windshield wiper motor for the Bertone factory stamp (it'll be under that white electric box that appears in your photos). There will be two numbers that read like this: 750*XXX. The first number is the project number which is on all Espadas, and the second is your linear build number. I'm guessing it's in the 80s or 90s.

AR

 

Well ... there were issues but with all three series for that matter. But I loved the feel of the center console in the glass roof espada when I drove it. My arm fell so comfortably on it as compared to the later cars. Rear view mirror was wonderful too.

I like the series II the best though. Ventilated rotors and the wood on the dash is nice too!

 

It took me a while to find ALL of the fuel smell sources. Virtually every connection inside the car (and there are a ton of them) was a source of leaking fumes. The gas tanks are inside the car folks in case you didn't know. 1/16" of fiberglass and some old Connolly leather is your only safety margin ...

I'm surprised my car is still with us.

Espada owners, we be crazy!

 

On most of the cars you've to open the bonnet to know the chassis number. There are some (USA) cars with a small metal plate with chassis number on the dash in front of the windscreen or on the steering wheel hub.

If you've a picture for a car with unknown chassis number, you can also post a picture in het thread. Maybe there's someone who knows
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Looking at Espadas in mobile.de it seems that things remain static, plenty of cars offered (16, if I leave the Jarama and the incomplete body away) for weeks and weeks, but nobody seems to have bought any of those. I would like to look into the heads of the offering dealers .....

 

This is the case for all Lambo models.

They see an auction for a perfectly restored or well preserved low mileage car and think: Let's try with the same price or even more. Like this the spirale turns up and up.

ON mobile you can find identical 25th Countach one for 300k €, another for 800k € - what's the sense behind...

 

Hm, but even the Espadas well below 200k do not seem to find any buyers any more. This was different last spring, I recall, e.g. from my visit to Techno Classica in Essen (the largest Eurpean in-door fair for classic cars). This makes me believe that the spirale has changed direction and rather tends to going down. The actual sales prices (if a sale takes place at all) will probably be way below asking prices.

Good that I do not mind , hopefully the parts prices, which have made these crazy price jumps as well, will return to reasonable levels again asap ....

Cheers, Bernhard

P.S.: Does anyone know a hypernerveous dealer needing money and trying to get rid of a nice (!) Islero, at a reasonable price (sub 100k), preferably non-S?

 

you should light a candle and pray... I know a GT belonging to a private but price is xtimes the amount you wrote....

 

The ones who paid far too much are always the hardest to budge.