Miura, the original supercar

Different opinions are just fine.

No, Rennsport Werkstadt did not do all of the chassis, body, paint and interior work, you were mis-informed, the aforementioned entities I mentioned in post 20124 did, we have all of the restoration records consisting of literally hundreds of pages of invoices and notes with progress images including Jeff's confirming who did the work. Howard DeHaven's Rennsport Werkstadt in Tulsa simply disassembled the car, we have documentation and images of that also. Jeff Stephan coordinated everything and completed the restoration.

Meanwhile, we are proud to have acquired the car in a deal which Blake's widow was happy with, and re-sold it into a prominent Supercar collection of our VIP client where rest assured it'll get the regular use it deserves.

By the way it came with this tool kit which Jeff Stephan helped Blake put together.

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This Miura S was sold on the basis that it was a nice restored Miura S, not on the basis that Stephan, or anyone else of repute, restored it. At the point of sale, the current owner did not have any prior knowledge of who Jeff Stephan was, nor was his name used to add a penny more in value to the sales price, all the buyer cared about was that it's a nicely restored Miura S which he's been been wanting for 12 years in the right color, so the mention that Jeff restored the car here long after the car has already sold was not stated to add any value whatsoever, it was simply a statement of fact.

I have known Jeff Stephan for 27 years since 1995 when I first visited him, I've just spoken to him a few days ago, and he's entirely fine with our deal. I might add, he's told me that the reason he wasn't happy was not with me at all but with the car's caretaker through whom he was expecting to consummate a deal with the widow. The car was subsequently offered to us and we wasted any time buying the car, nobody can blame us for stepping up to the plate quickly. Jeff now knows we had no idea of any competing interests, we simply pulled the trigger quickly. We later learned via the car's caretaker that besides Jeff Stephan, another California party also wanted to buy the car, and, 2 separate surgeons in Tulsa Oklahoma wanted to buy the car too, all this along with your own expressed interest in buying this car as confirmed by him. In this full context, your comments as stated above seem a little bit like sour grapes to me, but I'll take them as your opinion and I'm happy to differ with them.

Bottom line, it seems like everybody wanted to buy this Miura S and understandably nobody can be blamed for wanting to do so, not least us who acted, it's a beautiful specimen no matter who restored it, and we are fortunate to have gotten the job done for our client.

 

That Jeff restored the car is a well-documented fact, put it this way, he received a shell of a car with chassis & bodywork complete just as Automobili Lamborghini SpA would receive from Bertone SpA, and he did as much work as the Lamborghini factory would do to a Miura at point of production, essentially he put the car together, rebuilt the engine, finished the whole project and tested it for delivery, so saying that Jeff Stephan restored the car is like saying Lamborghini built the Miuras, a simplification because others were involved, yes, but a fact nonetheless and IMO no slight to Blake whatsoever.

Thank you for telling Roy Sinor to contact me, at the end of the day, we took care of his client quickly and as they say, seller and buyer are happy, as are we.

By the way we did source a good spare Campagnolo wheel for the car.

 

This is where we encountered 4115.

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P400S manuals and period Lamborghini embossed pouch.

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Beautiful, if it ever comes for sale for a reasonable price we promise to act quickly!

Speaking of bare bodywork, here's 4115 stripped to bare metal receiving corrective rear bodywork during the restoration process.

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Here's engine number 30384, image by Jeff Stephan upon completion of his rebuild.
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Factory engine stampings, images by Jeff Stephan.

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It truly is and he's thrilled as this has ended a 12-year search for the right car.

Not me, my son Vince flew to Tulsa, Oklahoma and then on to Owasso in early August to inspect the car.

No worries about the differing versions of the story, the new owner has a boxful of invoices, repair orders, ownership documentation, factory documentation etc to accurately tell the whole story of the car to date.

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August 2004 looking like a Miura recently arrived from Bertone SpA, this is the year that Blake purchased the car mid-restoration from Howard De Haven.

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Howard De Haven retained M&L Auto Specialists and Huber Restoration for the early work, meanwhile the documentation on file shows Blake acquired the car in 2004 around the time Jeff became involved to complete the restoration.

 

In the same post where I responded that IMO it's correct to say "Jeff Stephan restored the car as he oversaw the entire process including rebuilding the engine & transmission, and, was the one who re-assembled everything, put the engine back in the car, road-tested it and delivered it to Blake" on balance I also say "I didn't feel it was necessary to mention all the parties who assisted in the restoration, if Blake was to be mentioned, so too should M&L Auto Specialists and Huber Restoration who carried out respective bodywork & paint roles". Also, the 2004 image I posted clearly shows the stage the car was at when Jeff received it. As with a recent restoration I was very involved with, the man who put the car together in the end is credited with the restoration and I don't feel that's a disservice to me or any of the other sublets we used in any way. Sometimes people like to simplify and state the name of the person who completed the job, no harm intended.

I feel sure Howard De Haven, M&L Auto Specialists, Huber Restoration and Blake all of whom had a direct financial interest in 4115 would not be as twisted over not being always mentioned for the restoration of 4115 as you are, even though you have zero involvement with 4115 other than your confirmed desire to buy it which never materialized. Therein lies your motivation for all your comments regarding 4115 - very sour grapes - which is why your comments have moved from opinions to personal attacks. But I say, it's not all bad because at least we agree that 4115 seems like an excellent Miura, meanwhile, the seller is happy, the buyer is happy, and we are happy.

 

4115 leaving Oklahoma after many years.

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