Thanks, Bob, for the zip file. In that Espada photo the hoses indeed seem to be braided. I also do not like those red ignition wire sets with the white boots. I will be fitting a set to the Jarama nevertheless. I had bought such set mainly for the holders (those of the Jarama being grubby), because if you buy them separately you pay as much or even more than for such a complete set. I then thought of removing the holders and fitting the proper black leads with the proper plugs, but for removing the holders the wires must be cut, because the plugs of this modern set cannot be removed otherwise. Being hesitant to unneccesarily destroy something I will stick these awful red leads until they need replacement and will then replace them by the proper materials. Or I paint them black . Cheers, Bernhard
I had my metal wire holders plated and the rubber separators were just fine. Then I bought some 7MM wire and simply made the set myself by using 3 Bosch ignition wire sets for the VW BUG. Very inexpensive and that get's you the proper resistor connectors for the plugs as well as the rubber boots. Very reasonable but it's true a labor of love to lay everything out nicely. The company I bought the wire from Kingsborne in San Diego informed me that on these early v12s the while boot is not necessary given the quality of today's good ignition wire. I haven't noticed any deterioration as yet. Mine are solid core. Sadley, late this fall while diagnosing and repairing my ignition system, a coil failed, I accidentally leaned on one of those metal separator supports and now it needs to be silver soldered and replated for repair. That means removal of all of the connectors and ignition wires on that side. ARGH!
In case of my Jarama the rubber separators were bad. In the Espada luckily not. The metal holders can be reconditioned easily (somewhat) indeed, the rubber parts are the critical issue. I do not understand what the sense of the white boots on these red sets is? I never had something like that and never encountered problems with the normal 7mm black wire material, except that becoming hard over time and needing replacement for that reason. You can remove the metal separator support without removing all the connectors and wires, I did that some time ago when one such support suffered a similar fate like yours. Just bend the ring open sideways a little bit and pull out the rubber separator with the wires. The wires then also go out of the (open) metal ring without removal. Same procedure reverse, carefully bending back by hand (after having introduced the wires and before introducing the rubber holder) will not mark the plating ... Cheers, Bernhard
Hi, Can anyone help me with the correct colour or finish of the aluminium panels used for the instruments and centre console surrounds for the series 3 please? Any assistance will be appreciated. Thank you
Hi Bernhard, No need to paint the red wires black... The correct black CAVIS ignition wire set can still be sourced from Italy through Kingsborne, at a very attractive price I might add. Contact Kris. The markings are identical to the original and so are the physical and impedance characteristics . It comes with the correct holders and white boots, just like the originals. Luis
What are those white boots supposed to be good for? Do they have a technical effect or are they just supposed to be decorative? I do not recall having ever seen such white boots in any car of the era, say 10 years or longer ago. Cheers, Bernhard
High heat protection. As I said earlier that was when the ignition wires weren't as heat resistant as they are now. Given that these are so far removed from the exhaust headers I frankly don't get it either but at some point the factory did this and it's the standard set they offer now. If you need the rubber separators and wire holders I don't know if these are available in any other way. They weren't 8 years ago when I did mine but a lot more vintage lamborghinis are being restored now. Perhaps. GT Car Parts in Arizona or places in Europe have them separately now? I have also seen an extra pair of separators and wire holders mounted directly on the distributors themselves on some cars but mine didn't have those. Possibly lost by a PO? Mine had very old non original wires - Packard Bell.
Hi everyone, I thought I would share my first impressions at the wheel of a 330 GT 2+2 and compare them whith the Espada's driving feeling. First of all, I have to say that it is the first time I drive a vintage front engined Ferrari. I was really excited to come close to the myth! The car was absolutely gorgeaous and just came out of a nut and bolt restoration. However, right from the beginning, I felt it was completely different from any comparable Lambo I had ever driven, especially the Espada and the Islero. The engine noise and the throttle response was very nice standing still. On the contrary, all the other commands felt horrendeously heavy. The clutch felt like it was the brake pedal! Nothing as homogeneous as in a Lamborghini. Then I went on the road, I hade to make a few maneuvers, and what a turning circle!! It really felt like a truck. I was not prepared to that. The Espada is also quite a big car, but it shrinks around you after a few meters and feels very reassuring. Which was not the case with the Ferrari. After that, I went on some beautiful country roads. The engine, is really amazing, very flexible, I think with a bit more torque than the Lamborghini but maybe less power. It is very subjective. Very smooth and willing to rev. I can really understand why people can go crazy for this engine! However, all the rest was really disappointing. The gearchange was very firm and ok, but a bit less nice to engage than the Lamborghini. The roadholding was the biggest deception. I was warned that the car would behave differently with a more vintage feel than the Lamborghini, but I thought that it would be somewhat similar at regular speeds, and that the differences would be for the conoscenti daring to come close to the limit... It was not! The differences are that huge! Even at low speed, I could feel that the center of gravity was much higher, that the car didn't corner precisely and above all, felt very heavy, even though this example was fitted with power steering. After a few minutes at the wheel, I felt exhausted and I was sweating! All in all, I was really disapointed, even though the car has power and a great engine. The car was really nice to look at, felt very airy in the cabin with a lot of space, but lacked the nice homogeneity of a similar Lambo. Really a night and day feeling! I would really have thought that it would have been much more similar!
Hi Mike, I will be receiving my old covers in the next few days and will then be happy to send them to you (for the shipping costs only). See also my email of today. Cheers, Bernhard
Almost finished and all the electric stuff still works ... . Several details remain, i.e. the lower armrest covers in the doors, the "ears" left and right at the lower front edge of the center console, and a little bit of wire bending at the left window switch. So now just waiting for good weather in order to adjust ignition and carbs properly and to test the interior for rattles (there should be none ... ) Cheers, Bernhard P.S.: I own the items seen in the center console since the (late) 70s, the parking time alarm clock being restored to work properly again. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Yes (2x) I have a few of the perforated stripes and a bit of leather left over and intend to have a handbag made therefrom for my wife, so that she will be equipped with matching outfit, would seem essential ... .
There was someone in the Maserati section recently that turned his old 3500GT seating leather into a custom vintage handbag or valise? The outfit is in Canada that specializes in doing this. Kind of cool.
Ha, first outing of the car this year and after fitting of the new interior and various mechanical work (boosters, pedal box, brake main and clutch cylinder, distributor, Webers, etc.) during winter. Started immediately and after some adjustment (mixture more rich than the Weber standard initial setting) it ran perfectly. And ..... no rattles . The sometimes hesitent starter (when engine warm) seems to have been due to the old ignition switch, some voltage drop there. With the new one no issue any more (apparently). Cheers, Bernhard
Repairs and updates are coming along. I've got the A/C compressor mounted and new hoses fabricated using threaded fittings at the compressor. The system hold refrigerant, compressor comes on, and condensor fan works (a miracle!). However, the volume of air moving through the vents inside the car is almost non-existent. The air just 'wafts' out. I can hear a blower in the back running. Is this the only blower in the car. There's a fan speed switch that seems to have a dead spot in it. Could it be a switch problem or is there another fan I'm not aware of.
Hi Tyler, In my Series II the switch has three speed positions (aside "off") and even the lowest of them produces significant blow out of the two central vents. Hopefully there is something wrong with the switch or a multi-contact connector in the central console. If something is wrong with the fan motor or air distribution, you will have fun (dash-out job in the Ser. II at least). Yes there is one fan only for air distribution, this is in a housing in the middle under the dash and the housing cover comes off upwards only, i.e. where the dash is, if in place. You should clearly hear the fan and also hear the different speeds. You can test all this best and at leasure, if you pull the fuse for the fuel pump (leftmost in my car, standing at the right side of the car) and disconnect the ignition coils (I converted to plug contacts instead of screw contact plates for the wires going to the distributor; do not confuse them when recontacting). Since the fan works with ignition on only, you avoid any problems for fuel supply or ignition coil overheating by disconnecting them. The fan works (should work) independently of the aircon, i.e. with aircon "off" also. Cheers, Bernhard P.S.: You can test the fan by removing the dash lid (Ser. II) and identifying the two wires going into the fan housing (front, right side). One wire is negative (and should be contacted to a chassis point) and one positive. +12V at the positive should product maximum "wind" ...
Telling us which model you have has a big bearing on this question. But ... you should know that the blower fan i.e. circulation of the air is the achilles heel of the AC system in these cars. I haven't gotten mine working as yet but I have read plenty of info from other owners as well as talking with a few who have tried and that's pretty much the conclusion. It seems that a much more powerful blower would do wonders. Some cars got modified to add a second evaporator and fans behind the rear seats. The systems has plenty of capacity to have this added. The S1 has three setups like that in the car. One center and one on each side in the rear seat area. See the parts diagrams. I think that the consensus is that the S3 AC systems are the best. Robert Huber (BOB) is sometimes on here and he has an S3 that he knows everything about. Ditto for the S1 which he has worked on a lot. He's also service a lot of items on the S2. If you can get him to respond I bet he'd have a few pointers for you about your switch issue and the AC system in general. In a many cases the old electrical harnesses need contact points cleaning and/or supplementary busses added with the original wires acting as control wires. The windows get rewired this way to great effect. Same for the cooling fans and headlamps. Basically take the heavy loads off of the original switches and old wiring. You're reducing the voltage drop significantly. There's just so much "stuff" crammed into these ultra low exotic chariots that it's sometimes hard to get at things. You might want to think about joining having a look at the two VLG websites as well if you have not already. Good luck.
Yepp, the effect is amazing as I learned by replacing some contacts in the multi contact connectors in the central console. Rewiring is actually not necessary, if this is done, provided that the wires themselves are OK (you will see when replacing the contacts). It is a pain to work on them, even if the central console is removed. But worth the efforts. You would be jealous to see my side windows rushing down and up swiftly, on the all original wires and switches (those opened and contacts cleaned) .... . He wrote somewhere that his is a ´69 car. But this still leaves open whether Series I or II, since e.g. my Ser. II was built Dec. 1969. Cheers, Bernhard
BJJ is correct. The car is a '69, Series I. The only fan I hear is in the back. I don't hear anything up under the front dash.
On yours I think you should hear 3 fans? This is the rear diagram: Lamborghini Espada - Air-Con (Da 0 a 175): Page 021 | Order Online Eurospares This the front and there's no evaporator pictured so I guess you only have the AC in the rear on both sides. Lamborghini Espada - Heater matrix: Page 023 | Order Online Eurospares
Bob Huber has done a lot work improving things on Mike Trivich's S1 so he might have made some improvements. I wonder if you could add an evaporator up front and then have all three fans blowing cold air? I think finding the room for it in that dash might be tough. Just doing anything with that dash is reported to be an enormous &*%!. https://www.facebook.com/VintageLamboLLC/photos/a.985268198173696.1073741834.984472851586564/993791793988003/?type=1&theater
