LAMBO FANS

The Lambo –

My first V12 was almost an Islero. I like the carburetor layout and the Air Cleaner situation over the C4. Lamborghini makes a nice engine, but when it came to the car, it was hard to describe. Could have been the goofy A/C unit, or the valve you turned for the heater. I had one up to 100 on a Bay Area stretch of Hwy 280. Seemed to do fine, but the instruments readings bounced around, it just didn’t seem right.

Looking back, I understand the S model was more refined; have to see if I can find one.
(The prices on Ferrari 456’s are coming way down to – also something to consider when if I sell the C4.)

Aaron,

I'm absolutely in love with the early Lamborghinis. A car like the Islero is waay underrated in my opinion. I just saw a picture of one JR used to work on in his shop. Nice blue color.

Very cool cars. I hear the S models are worth the jump.

I prefer the early 350GTs and 400GTs. The Miura is of course a perennial favorite. These things sound so fantastic! Have you ever heard one? If you haven't you'll be very pleasantly surprised I'd wager.

I drove JR's ex-Steve McQueen Miura close to 100 miles and took the car in excess of 220kph. The car ran incredibly well and never missed a beat. There was only one thing wrong with the car. The front right headlight was a little sluggish getting up from the lack of use (shame on you JR!). He pampers the heck out of this thing, which made it an additional privilege to take on such an extended drive. The instruments were spot on. None of the bouncing around, although I did test drive a 1976 Fiberglass 308 GTB that had that problem. The needles would sway here and there whenever I hit a bump or went onto a driveway. I don't think its typical and once sorted you shouldn't see this sort of behavior. Experts, please feel free to correct me. Given the age of the car I was astonished as to how incredibly well it ran. Even after sitting for a while. You really need to find an expert mechanic for these things though. Not too many people can make a car like the Miura run reliably, fast, and putter around in "around town" traffic without even a hint of overheating or carbs misbehaving or stalling. Just fantastic. If you're ever in the market for these cars don't believe the guy when he tells you none of them run really right because they are so old. Oh no, these things are a dream to drive, albeit a bit cramped.

280 is my personal test track when I head home to the Bay Area! Hehehe. I once got pulled over by a police officer for speeding down the 101. He politely told me. "Sir, there is a place for that kind of fast driving, and its called 280. Don't let me catch you doing those speeds in these roads again." HAHAHAHA!

Be careful with the 456s. A friend and parts supplier in Ferrari of Los Gatos went out of the way to warn me to look only at the Ms. Be very wary of the older (say, 1995) 456s. I think they had a lot of bugs in them. I do believe a lot of the fixes are in, but they still suffer from less reliability. I too thought of one when my wife asked me to get a family car. What a rocketship of a "family car"! I'd vote stickshift too, even though salespeople have told me they are near impossible to find.

Cheers

Taek-Ho


I agree – I think the old Lamborghinis are very cool, thus the reason to look at the Islero. A doctor owned it up in Woodside. I fixed his door latch as part of my “look over”. Interesting also was that the headlights were very sluggish on the Islero too. Like my C4, it was a project waiting to be started. I have read a lot about Lamborghini, and do believe that the engines are built by some of the best talent on the planet. I still wonder if it actually would have been less work then the Ferrari. I went through the engine on the Ferrari when the smoke became embarrassing.

Of course the right answer is to own both - $$

Regarding the 456 – I have very little insight into what kind of things go wrong. I typically buy the older beasties because (being the nerd I am) I like to fix and tune things. I also tend to buy those vehicles that the main stream will over look for one reason or another. (people, my daughter and her friends as the best example, are so into popular labels that they over look value.) My C4 runs really well, it has a harmony with the road that I have never experienced with any other vehicle, and I have driven a few. It’s a combination of power, smoothness, solid feel, the right noises (windows down) all applied to a high-speed mountain road - really hard to describe – you “kinda gotta do it”.

Sounds like the same thing may be achievable with the Lamborghini – Is it still possible with an older 456 and its’ apparent short comings?

Aaron

what kind of Miura did Steve McQueen have?? I know he had a Ferrari Nart Spider.. but a miura...

...Steve McQueen had an entire stable of Cars & Motorsycles...American & Foriegn of many different types and models. I suppose the most famous of the cars & bikes he had at his death, which of course gave those the most noteriety....but he wasn't a kid when he died and he owned cool cars his entire adult life.

Regards, JRV