Countach Downdraft 1985 to 1988.5

Engine cover with vents and heat-panels affixed
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Center caps clipped in place and wheels balanced.
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Moving along, the current status is:

- Completion of fitment of interior upholstery. We weren't happy with the fitment of the dash against the base of the windscreen, so we pulled it out again to make adjustments so that it sits flush with the 'screen's base, before final installation.

- Engine bay hardware completion, and tuning of the Webers.

- Exhaust adjustment and final fitting so that the unit is perfectly straight.

- Door-locks adjustment.

- Suspension final adjustment.

- Detail fitment of badges etc.

It may look like 2 steps forward and 1 step backwards, but its all towards meticulous work, and we are making good progress.

More updates next week.
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Thank you Edward.

You have a good eye, yes the color has a very reflective quality, affected by the lighting of its surroundings.

We are anticipating it being in the sunlight, whereupon the gold flake should reveal itself better.

Once complete, our photographer Webb Bland who shot the GTO https://www.flickr.com/photos/joesackeyclassics/ for my Octane article will shoot it at the same location, and I think his images will reveal the car's character much better than restoration images Ive been posting here which are restricted to whatever camera (or cellphone) I'm carrying that day, and the prevailing space & lighting conditions in the shop.

In a way, I can't wait for the day when the car can be professionally shot in the sunlight, because I'm not exaggerating when I say it needs to be seen to be appreciated, as those who have already seen it will concur.

 

Thank you as always Rich.

Once the engine cover gets some heat in it, the weave will be visible.

 

"Beautiful work" is how Patrick Mimran responded to the latest restoration images I sent to him yesterday, and we appreciate his encouraging sentiment very much.

 

We used a stripper for both sides.

See the underside showing the weave clearly because of the single-stage thin paint application.

Naturally the topside weave will become visible only after a few heat-cycles, same as we have seen with composite-material F40s and F50s.
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John I love all the impeccably original touches your car till has, they should be preserved!

Thanks for sharing.

Speaking of the weave on topside, here is the engine lid that belongs to Downdraft FLA12830, you can just about see the effects of many heat-cycles in the paint as it recedes into the texture of the composite material and reveals the weave (see especially bottom left-hand corner of the image).
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September 1985 issue of CAR magazine South Africa has a peice on the new Downdraft entitled "Outrageous Power: 48-valve Countach"
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Just figured out that HLA12065 is the featured car in Octane magazine's 115th issue, August 2012.

Both cars cost a similar amount in 1987, of course they made many more TRs and it was never Homologated like the Downdraft, so going forward I look for the value delta to widen much more
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As far as future Downdraft values go, a much more appropriate comparison in future would be the F40, and even the 288 GTO.
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We are having to replace the shift-gate's snake-eye security bolts, not easy to find.

Unless Raymond knows where the original 3 are!

Image taken in 1986 by Aron Kiley of the red/tan Car & Driver magazine Downdraft.
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Yes, we may resort to manufacture.

 

Personally, I have only see 3 colors for the top of a Downdraft dashboard - black, dark brown, and dark blue.
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This is an awesome image, an iconic automotive feature.

We should point out that the weave is only seen on the engine lid topside at the lower level of the unit.
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ZA9C005A0HLA12132 is UK-registered D 111 HUV, and was first registered 23rd of April 1987.

Seen here @ the Windsor Castle Concours D'Elegance
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We know that at least 3 F1 drivers took delivery of a new Downdraft whilst they were active in the Championship.

Pierluigi Martini is linked with Lamborghini by virtue of the use of his 'quick' red Downdraft in Tony Dron's 195 mph Fast Lane magazine story, he drove almost his entire F1 career for the Minardi F1 team, but his real motorsports success came when in 1999 he won the Le Mans 24 hrs driving for BMW.

Keke Rosberg took delivery of an early white Downdraft, and he is of course a dominant F1 World Champion whilst driving for Williams.

Gerhard Berger took delivery of a red Downdraft the same year he won his first F1 Grand Prix in Mexico - 1986. He went on to be a celebrated Ferrari F1 driver.

I am thinking it would be really cool to interview one (or all) of these guys about their impressions and adventures in their cars. I bet there would be some stories! Also, it would be great to put them back in a car today and re-live the past.

Piero Martini in 1985, below.
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