This car should have been made between 11/80 and 06/81, making it a MY82. one of the last batchLow body S2. Do you have the manufacturing date?
It is an 81. I owned 1121328 a highbody 81 car. There are no 82 lowbody cars. Lowbody Series 1: 1978-1979 Lowbody Series 2: 1980-1981 .
Thanks boys. The VIN/model year discussion is very helpful for the Countach newb that I am. Where does one find the production date on these cars?
In his latest book he provides his e-mail address for submittals: "[email protected]" I guess that would be a "yes" you can submit your barn find story.
Right here: Telaio (chassis) "1121252" Carozz. (production number) "276" Colore (paint color) "Argento" (silver) Interno (interior leather color) "Nero" (black) Consegna (completion or consignment date at Sant Agata) "09/01/81" (9th of January 1981) Clienti ( client or consigning dealer) "S.E.A Automobili di Roma" (SEA Rome) BTW, if you decide to re-paint, personally (in my very humble opinion) Id reccomend the original color. Joe www.joesackey.com
Joe thank you. And I thought today was going to be easy and I might get some work done. Now I have a whole new obsession. Argento... I love it! Silly question, but do most folks agree to go back to the factory color? Does my production number of 276 mean that I have the 276th Countach built?
yes, I wholeheartedly support Joe's rec. to go original, besides silver (done right of course) is breathtaking on a Countach!
So I was correct between 11/80 and 06/81. This still could have been sold as a MY82. My car is a 1985 but sold in the US as MY86 because that is when it was imported here.
Your build time was right (built January 1981) but saying it was an 82 was wrong. No big deal. We just try to keep it correct since there is so much misinformation and guessing. Tony
I hear people refer to the countach as lowbody and highbody. this might be a stupid question but what is the difference?
Joe, Where do you get this info from? Im interested if you can look up a cars info for me off the record. jp
All I know is pre-80 cars are low bodies and after that they're all highbodies, am I right? Wikipedia says this: There are three distinct Countach LP400S Series. Series One - The first 50 cars delivered with Campagnolo "Bravo" wheels in 1978 & 79. The very early 1978 cars had the original LP400 steering wheel. Small Stewart Warner gauges, 45mm carburettors and a lowered suspension (lowbody) setting is a trademark feature of this celebrated first series. Halfway through 1979's production, bigger gauges were employed. 50 cars were built and the last one is noted to be 1121100* Series Two - These cars are recognized by their smooth finish dished/concave wheels, and still retain the lowbody setting. 105 cars were built and the last one is noted to be 1121310*. Series Three - It is claimed that from chassis number 1121312 onwards, the cockpit space available was raised by 3cm. These cars are recognized by their raised suspension setting. 82 cars were built, and the last one is noted to be 1121468*
no,transiction was in 1981: all LP, S1 and S2 are lowbodies till 1121310 and so some 81 cars are still low bodies from 1121312 they are all hi bodies and so late 81 cars are hi bodies an S3 car has the same dimension, panles as a 5000S but still a 4 liter engine
Yes but I want to make sure my point is not misunderstood: It appears this car is shown as an 82 (plate) and may be on some papers. There was a discussion a while back in some other forum about the Model Year of the car and the actual manufacturing date not necessarily being in line. Some Model Years do not reflect the actual made date. My car was sold as a MY1986 model in the US while clearly it is an 1985 model (as initially delivered in France). What my papers are showing is that they used the date of import (car was new) to establish its model year. You may know better what occured regarding establishing Model Years of 400S. What I am wondering is this: In the early 80s, could the importers have turned an 81 car into an 82 model based on import date rather than manufacturing date?
Is the actualy body of the car a different shape? bigger? or is it just the suspension that makes the car look higher?
Awesome story!!! The economy today is unearthing a lot of these types of stories. (Hence the pawn shop buying two rolexes while you were there). I bought a 36" Viking Range for $900 last week under similar circumstances - not from a pawn shop though. Kevin S. Orchard Park, NY
