Countach QV FI Thread

I think he agreed earlier that there are maintenance issues with DD carbs (not issues per se - requirements I guess) - but I know for a fact also that FI systems aren't free from maintenance issues either. I'm also looking at getting a 308, which has similar if not identical injectors, and they have some issues. Comments were made that the Webers don't "sit well" so need to be used or they can cause issues. But I hear the same from the 308 FI guys, complaining that if they don't use their car for a while they can have fuel issues as well. But I do believe that FI is generally more easy to maintain, but more complicated to fix.

 

Makes me wish I had a chance to get to Cats Exotics to look at his lowbody before he sold it. Curious to see 2 side by side now.

 

Not a chance with the Countach. There isn’t a single collector that sees this as valuable original.

I have one of the earliest DOT cars from 1986 (right after my DD car). You can see how the cars were taken off the production line, after the cars were painted and bodies done, originally, and the bumpers and holes were drilled afterwards. No one in the factory wanted to do this to the cars. A stupid law mandated they had to modify the car to get it in the country. It was abuse then and is abuse now.

As an analogy, of high dollar collector: the highest dollar modern supercar on earth is the McLaren F1. It’s the modern 250GTO. These collectors are the wealthiest and most mature market. If you wanted a McLaren F1 new in the US, the factory arranged to have aweful bumpers put on the car to get them in the country. The factory oversaw the modifications and approved them. Now, different than a countach, when these cars came into the country they were 1.5 million. Collectors didn’t blink. They immediately took them off and ordered the correct bumpers from the factory. It was a fraction of the car value to fix it. Today, with values at 15 million you will not find a single F1 owner or collector who will even think about saying “but weren’t those aweful bumpers original? Not a single car can you find with one

With the Countach, no one wanted these cars modified and they were only modified to get into the country.

And the market reflects this view. A DOT abomination is worth less than a corrected car. And there is not a single collector that prefers the DOT mods. As prices rise so will the disappearance of the DOTs. And no Countach owner should be put in any place by any collector saying his car needs to stay like that.

Cancer may be original to some people but they are better with it cut out.


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Remember on the lowbody it’s not just that the suspension is lower. The body itself is totally different. The tucked in front wheels, the front spats, the super tight handling and high winding 4L motor and more. It’s always great to see a lowbody next to one of the later cars, the differences are very noticible .
The Lowbody is more beautiful hands down. That would be hard to challenge . And the drive , enough said. You should take a look at Roy Cats Silver S2 to get an idea. It also will be at RM in Monterey .

One more thing ...Rarity
50 S1
105 S2

 

Terrible , thankfully these bolt on ...And man do they wake a fuelie up.
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Couldn’t have said it better myself.

 

Roy still has the S2 . Heading to RM Monterey. Not sure if it’s still at his shop.

 

Beautiful!! More pics of your triple white please!


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Unfortunately many big body cars sit even higher than stock. (As we were discussing before)

I know that the body is physically different, I’ve had both side by side, but the suspension does dramatically aid the look.

No denying that the low body looks amazing though, what a stance! I couldn’t stop looking at Roy’s, beautiful car.

 

For sure, my car sits a little high as George Evans seems to use different springs. He said it would sit high for a bit but over time they would drop. I think it still sits a little high and its been 5 years lol...
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Agreed.

By the way the works did a number of Motore Potenziato units over and above the blueprinted 470 bhp units with sports cams, the most well-known of which was the 490 bhp unit installed in the Countach Evoluzione, and the 500 bhp unit made for a member of JLOC who used it in the JGT series.

Great variant, totally understand the flat bonnet thing, my first Lamborghini was an LP500S, I went own to own another.

If there was a small fly in the ointment for me with these, it was that they are a bit underpowered relative to a QV Downdraft, and I'm not talking 20 bhp, I'm talking @ 80 bhp, which does make a difference, to me anyway.

Still, the thing to remember about the different Counatch variants, is they all have their Achilles Heels and they all have their redeeming features. So it depends on the individual's circumstances, and of course it may come down to the most obvious thing - budget.

As I posted 7 years ago in the main Countach thread, the different Countach variants offer "Something for Everyone. That's whats cool about the different variants".

In the search for a Countach, there is no right way, there is only the MYH (Make Yourself Happy) way.

We can only speculate, but let's remember, the market is both fickle and illogical.
Miura SVs are not twice a P400 or P400S but they do consistently bring at least twice the money.
LP400 Periscopas are not twice a Downdraft but they do bring twice the money.
However, as you suggest, I see some things changing, but from my view on the ground doing this professionally, I see a definite trend towards purity in terms of say, the most powerful version, or the ultimate version. As other professionals I speak with all concur, the market is getting pickier with time, because of one thing - information. Once a car is rediscovered in the hearts and minds of the faithful, it can take off, like the McLaren F1 you mentioned, not that I expect similar dynamics.

Lowbodies are fantastic cars, and I want to be the first to say that their lowness is no real problem if you are a competent and patient driver. After all, they are no more lower than say, an F40. However, the real problem I had with these is the cockpit room, it's small like the LP400, so if you are a tall guy, you simply will not drive it much in comfort. Which rules me out (I tried 3 times), otherwise they are fabulous.

Not exactly. Most here agree that both the Downdraft and the Fuelie have their maintenance issues, and in the past I said the 25th was easier to keep in-tune, no amnesia. I think that you may have to do less to keep a Fuelie sweet, but, I think you'll ultimately have more maintenance problems with the Bosch Fuelies than with the simple Weber Downdrafts. I also think that the Bosch Fuelies in current status 30 years later are running well below optimum.

 

Correct.

These are the retrofit springs that have been installed here in the USA that are too tall.

Unfortunately, they cause a serious dynamic you do not want in a Countach - they raise the rear-end's center of gravity, and the effect on the car's handling under lateral load or at speed is not positive!

A number of people who had them installed are going back to factory ride-height specification.

These will not settle.

 

Good points. Good to know - and I guess if you look at it realistically, often only a "survivor" is original, because we can't even use the same paints today as we had in the 80s etc. so if there's been any repainting, it might not be technically original anyway.

 

Just out of interest how low are they? I have that problem a bit with my M3 anyway - it's only 5" off the ground at the front splitter so I'm used to approaching driveways on an angle, however the frontal overhang is pretty short - much shorter than a Countach which would present a bigger problem, especially if lower again.

 

Roy’s car sits lower than stock in the front at least. Maybe Joe can chime in on Lowbody factory ride height? He restored beautiful the 1038 I believe.

 

I meant the beautiful lowbody 1038

 

Beautiful,just what my car needs,

 

Over the years I measured 1034, 1036 and 1038 and I do recall they were @ the same ride height at the front spoiler as my F40s, several of which I had in the garage at various points when I also owned the S1 Lowbodies, and my mental note was that they were @ 4 inches.

 

Our all-original and unmodified S1 1036 when we had it, the lowness of the car itself was a thing to be aware of, but not a problem for me, that said I had fitment issues, perhaps moot to many who will in fact fit nicely

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Not to hijack the thread in anyway, but all of this talk begs the notion that someone (not me!) should start a proper Countach Buyer's Guide thread.

I think in the future when people call me asking for guidance about buying a Countach, my first 2 questions will be:

- How tall are you?
- How much can you spend?

Back to Fuelie-talk!

 

Back to Fuelie-talk![/QUOTE]

Restoration of 1986 Q.V. #1287 has started.

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Restoration of 1986 Q.V. #1287 has started.


Interestingly, I have the Alpine Downdraft 1261 as reference. 1287 was an early FI QV, built just 26 cars after the Alpine Downdraft so its an interesting study on how the DOT mods first came about.

Look at this photo below of the holes drilled for the DOT rear quarter, and you look at the sharp edge of the aluminum. It’s obvious that they took the body of this car, AFTER it was finished and painted, and then drilled the holes. What does this tell you? The body of this car did not originally have these holes. They were drilled after the body was finished to comply with the ridiculous appendages they needed. We are correcting this sacrilege. View attachment 2567172

 

Restoration of 1986 Q.V. #1287 has started.

View attachment 2567151 View attachment 2567152 View attachment 2567156 View attachment 2567158 View attachment 2567159 View attachment 2567160


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Thank you,keep posting, i will follow closely.

 

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Exactly, thanks for sharing this, very important. Looking forward to your progress!