Espada thread

P.S.: Just once more annoyed about all the crap coming up upon a specific search and waste of time looking through this rubbish in the faint hope of finding something useful. In the meanwhile I rarely visit this platform. Don´t know why today ... .

 

Yes eBay is a complete mess because of all the sleazeball sellers they allow to link "merchandise" to Lamborghini, Maserati and Ferrari. I think you need to dins a wreck being parted out for your odd interior pieces. Have you tried Eurospares? Gulp ...

 

I am looking for original used seat covers for an Espada as well as other interior trim items including door panels.

If anyone can help please send me PM

 

This is going to be very tough. I went through this process the last two years and after having mine rebuilt I can tell you that not much is left of the old ones once the trimmer finishes.

The factory made the seat faces out of a single piece, perforated it and then sewed it in horizontal strip fashion. This causes some geometrically unavoidable distortions with the final result and although I think the guy in Italy associated with the factory still does it that way the interior shops I dealt with opted for sewn together horizontal stips instead.

I wonder if one of those has a set of patterns? Don't ask about my shop ... very long story.
Bernhard's interior guy probably has the knowledge. But sharing ???

You might contact DEW motors in the Washington DC area. They're completely private again now (Dupont family) but they ended up helping me out when I started. It's how I found someone to perform the perforations accurately. Their interior guy at the time had done several Espadas to very high standards.

 

Hi Mike,

I have inquired with my interior shop, whether they have kept the old leather covers. If so, I will be glad to send them, charging the transport costs only.

The seat covers, if removed carefully, can be reused, as I know from my own experience. My drivers seat was "lowered" in a crude manner, by cutting the steel body, "relocation" of rails (additional holes in the floor panel ... ), etc. One of the first things I did was to remove the cover and foam material and to reshape the seat body and welding all this to recover the original form and setup. Refitting of the (old) cover was just as straight forward as the removal.

With respect to the door panels, I would suspect that the removed leather will be junk only, because they will likely not have taken the efforts to remove it by releasing all the glued regions carefully.

Cheers, Bernhard

 

This weekend I finished removing all remaining electrical gremlins. Everything is working now, and I mean everything. It makes sense to check all this in a provisional setup (see photo), so that you must not take things apart again and again, which would presumably not do good to the new leather.

Yesterday I spent hours finding out why the drivers door window did not work (it did previously). The switch could be ruled out, since I had restored it internally, nice those old school components, which can be disassembled completely. After taking the door panel off, just to find out that the fault was not there, I located the fault in the multi-contact connector between the air outlets in the center console region. Several contacts were heavily corroded. Great fun to replace them, somewhat acrobatic . Amazing how the window works without any voltage drop ... .

Topic electrics: Forget about wiring diagrams, wire colors or even fuse plans. I have two fuse plans and non of them resembles the actual situation in my car, although it seems that the wiring at the fuse terminal has not been messed around with ....

Cheers, Bernhard
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Great job Bernhard, appreciate yor detailed interior restoration. By the way, Hubert will most probably show his Silhouette 40080 in primed condition at the classic car fair at Stuttgart....


Saluti,

Jürgen

 

Ah, his actual (optimistic) intention (last year) was to show it completed and with new interior ... .

One is always again amazed, how much time is consumed by apparently minor "side issues" ... . I indeed had believed that I would have the interior fitted in two weekends *loool*, silly . If I were doing that for a customer, I would have serious problems explaining the apparently "excessive" number of accumulated hours ... .

Cheers, Bernhard

 

Very few places will do the work as carefully as one will themselves , assuming one is any good at the job. The thought of paying for that level of work is mentally bankrupting. That's when it becomes a labor of love.

We see it in your work Bernhard. Good that you are enjoying it so!

 

Looking to sort out a few items on my Espada. I've searched the interweb and this thread but haven't really been able to come up with conclusive answers. Currently, my car is fitted with an aftermarket ignition system. The coils are yellow. My belief is that they would have originally been red. Does anyone know this to be true? Second, the fuel lines running to the carbs. Mine are braided fuel hoses with red fittings. I know this is not correct. Would it originally have been hoses with clamps or something else? Finally (for the moment), would the original radio have been an AM/FM Blaupunkt unit? My car is a '69. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. I'm not restoring the car but just wanting to sort out some of the easier details. Thanks in advance to all the knowledgeable folks on the forum.

Tyler

 

Tyler, in addition to looking here I'd suggest googling Vintage Lamborghini Group. You'll find a couple of websites with plenty of experts on them.

Aftermarket ignition covers a wide swath as a description and is not terribly technical.
Yes the original coils would have been Marelli and red along with the red block resistors and capacitors.

The original style hose securing fixtures are NLA and not advisable even if you find them.

The top restored early v12 engines all use SS braided hoses with a crimped connector these days.

These appearance variations are minor issues really. There are plenty of photos of Espada engine compartments in this thread too.

 

Hi Bob,

The ignition resistors in my cars are ceramic and not painted. Neither were the (presumably original) capacitors.

I would prefer the normal fuel hoses over the braided ones, not just because of the more original appearance. In most ss braided hoses the rubber hose is not reinforced with a fabric, like the "normal" ones. Thus, it is important to use the crimp fittings intended specifically for braided hoses. The normal fuel hoses (reinforced) easily cope with the fuel pressure, which must be rather low in order not to override the needle valves (a common problem with modern Facet pump replacements, which generate rather high fuel pressure). And allow for use of whatever kind of clamp deemed reliable (never overtighten) and "correct" looking.


Tyler,

The radio question will be difficult to answer in the sense that this or that is "original". Depending on the market various makes will have been fitted.

If very original appearance is important (or you desire to avoid any discussions in this respect), then I would take a contemporay Voxson radio (Italian make, used for various super sportscars at least in the Italian market). As to my knowledge, however, Voxson radios made about 1969 will be AM only (no FM). At least in Europe almost all radio stations have discontinued transmission via AM, leaving you with a nice looking and beyond reasonable critics "correct" radio, by no entertainment therefrom .

I decided to go different and chose a Blaupunkt radio built around 1975, with stereo FM . Not too many people will notice (I hope at least ) that this is actually too late for my 1970 Espada.

P.S.: The earliest Voxson radio with FM appears to be "Hockenheim 70" believed to have been introduced 1972. I would have loved to have "Jarama" for my Jarama, but this is AM only ... .

 

Thanks to all for the feedback. I'll probably install the Blaupunkt from an aesthetic standpoint even though probably not 'correct'. Seems I should just leave the SS braided fuel hoses on from a functional standpoint. If I'm feeling adventurous, I might paint my ignition coils red but may just leave the yellow alone.

1969 Lamborghini ESPADA by Blythe Winslow Photography

Here's a link to some recent photos for those that would care to see the car currently. I should take more pics on a sunny day. Not happy with all the tree reflections.

 

Ah, lovely! And in blue, that suits the car very nicely (imho).

The radio looks perfect in the car, I would leave it. The only thing I would consider changing are the exterior mirrors, which presumably are aftermarket?

One great disadvantage of the ss braided fuel hoses is that you will not notice, if they become bad/old. You will notice only, if they fail (not funny with the exhaust headers underneath). From my experience with that material (long ago though) replacement of these hoses every about 5 years should be considered.

Cheers, Bernhard

 

The current radio is functional and seem fairly 'period correct'. As a plus, it works! I guess I should just leave it in there. I think that's a good point about the fuel hoses. I might consider that change.

I assumed the mirrors were correct and original. On the interior driver's door panel there's a switch that adjust both the left and right mirrors. It's a little joy-stick with an outer switch that allows you to select the left or right mirror.

 

It might be difficult to state "original/non-original" with respect to outside mirrors anyway, alone since no outside mirrors were required by Italian legislation. So plenty cars left the factory without any outside mirror, and presumably importers and/or customers fitted outside mirrors in countries, where at least one mirror was required by law (e.g. Germany). Or if they found them practical, in absence of legal requirements.

Would be interesting to learn which mirrors were fitted by the factory (upon request), if at all. Does anyone of the experts know that?

Cheers, Bernhard

P.S.: I am still searching for a correct interior mirror (the one seen in my photos above is incorrect and fixed with a home made adapter piece, for avoiding additional holes in the roof), if someone happens to have a superfluous one ... .

 

I think that probably the paint has just flaked off of your ceramic resistors or you got a naked set? That they were painted red is pretty well documented.

Mine which are no longer in use and are partially painted, it has flaked off a bit. It's the same color that coils were. Capacitors were never painted that I have seen.

My car came with it's entirely original fuel system intact except for that line inside the cabin. It's why I had to refurbish the entire fuel system. That it never caught on fire and exploded during the 3 POs time is truly miraculous IMHO. There were so many fumes leaks in the interior when I pressure tested it. Way too much of the fuel system is inside the car IMHO.

The original fuel line WAS braided steel over rubber hose. Mine had no rust but it wasn't SS either. It utilized thick slip over aluminum collars that went on the fitting first. They have a beveled interior edge to assist in insertion of the hose as the manifold fittings are screwed into the interior of the rubber hose. NO crimping. Not terribly safe either IMHO.

I have two complete manifolds like this. I bought a second one from Chad for the replacement of that long rear fitting that sits on the RH bank. My original had too many repairs attempted and it leaked.

I added a FP regulator inside the engine compartment at the connection point of the manifold to fuel line. It's necessary with replacement pumps and just common sense.

I'm not a huge fan of this original style fuel manifold with its archaic fittings and fiber gaskets so I fully understand if people want to put more modern and reliable fuel connections on it.

SAFETY FIRST! I always check my fuel rails when I start the car and before I go out after it's warmed up. I also carry a 10lb halon extinguisher. I had to use it once in my Bora for a hydraulic oil fire that was entirely my own fault. That saved the car, just a bit of sooty smoke really!

Did I mention SAFETY FIRST yet?

 

Dealers installed mirrors over here but there is a supposed standard factory mirror as seen in the parts catalog. Gary McGillvray The Doc ordered them and installed them on his beautiful Espada. I think you'll find exterior mirror choice all over the map.

I think those aren't so bad. I'm surprised that they're powered?

I have period correct plastic chrome Sebrings and while they look cool on the fenders they work like crap.

That Blue S1 looks very nice and reasonably preserved as is.

The ignition wires are not original correct of course but that's what is sold now and generally accepted by everyone.

Those hose clamps are the el cheapo look alike ones that make it seem like a professionally constructed set of hoses has been installed. I think modern crimped silver colored ones look just fine as a substitute. SAFETY FIRST! It's close enough to the originals for me.
Look at some of the cars Bobileff does. He's a judge at Concourso Italiano and his cars appear at Pebble beach.

If you want just good quality fuel hose and clamps that works too. It's what I'm currently doing. I haven't sprung for the entirely modern fittings conversion yet.

BTW the interior mirror on the S1 I drove was far superior in operation to the one on my early S2. I've never seen any interior mirror come up for sale though.

 

Which brand and model are those power mirrors?

 

Bob, yes, checking for safety frequently is so essential. This is not a modern Jong Li, which needs to be looked after every 15k miles only and runs reliably 70k miles even without any service .

In former times at least the ss braided hoses used to employ comparatively inferior rubber qualities. I use only normal hoses of best todays specifications (and this includes the specs being printed on the outside, as legally required), including improved resistance to ethanol.

I also have a halon extinguisher in every of my classic cars. And do not mind if I get a ticket, because they are banned in Germany .

Hm, resistors, mine were/are all "nacked" (in both cars) with no remainders of paint anywhere. Why the heck should someone go and paint such ceramic resistor elements? Actually having to expect that the paint will flake off in parts quite rapidly?

OK some things sometimes are more than strange. I remember that in the Jag E-Type the rubbers on the locking pins of the hood have to painted in order to be "original", something you would buttkick any restorer for, normally *looool*.

Cheers, Bernhard

 

tav15

Here is a period magazine article photo in color.

Note red coils with red resistors and also black ignition wires without white silicone booties!

Red air horns and red hose also have been blasted with black paint so that they disappear when looking in front grill.

Fuel hose is visible as well.
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Hm, interesting. With respect to the fuel lines, I cannot really recognize whether they are braided or not, I believe to see printing on some of the short hoses and that would speak for "normal" hoses?

Less enlighting the text: ".. the oil radiator on the far right at the front has its own fan ..." . In my car some fool must have rewired the oil cooler fan to the temperature switch of the air conditioning ... .

 

Just looked up a few photos, got upset once again about the lowered front. Thought I might share this. On one side the inner semirings had jumped out so that the coil end was supported by the shock bracket of the frame rather than the shock end. On the car show, where I bought the car, the front was not so low, presumably lifted provisionally. What some people do to these nice cars as "improvements" ......
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My copy of the photo is a bit higher quality though not that much than what gets uploaded here.

I'll send you a zip file.

But here's a green very original Islero photo.
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