My special trip to buy a Countach in South Africa
Discussion
AndrewD said:
Thanks folks, will definately post pics, and change the tyres no question.
Anywhere I can buy a set of rims to keep the old tyres on? I'm attracted to the idea of keeping the original P7's even just as a piece of the history stored in the garage
didn't you keep the old gto rims ?Anywhere I can buy a set of rims to keep the old tyres on? I'm attracted to the idea of keeping the original P7's even just as a piece of the history stored in the garage
carspath said:
congratulations on the purchase
the countach steering is very heavy until you get up to 5-10 mph , but the clutch and gearlever movement should not be
Thanks. It's all relative, all the controls are much heavier than my gto for example. VB was happy with gearbox and clutch, but did say they were heavy and that is normalthe countach steering is very heavy until you get up to 5-10 mph , but the clutch and gearlever movement should not be
AndrewD said:
JonathanE said:
AndrewD said:
Thanks folks, will definately post pics, and change the tyres no question.
Anywhere I can buy a set of rims to keep the old tyres on? I'm attracted to the idea of keeping the original P7's even just as a piece of the history stored in the garage
Eurospares should be able to order the original rims:Anywhere I can buy a set of rims to keep the old tyres on? I'm attracted to the idea of keeping the original P7's even just as a piece of the history stored in the garage
http://www.eurospares.co.uk/searchResult_one.asp?S...
Make sure you are sitting down before you read the price!
Jonathan
Thanks though
As promised here are some proper pics of my trip last week to Joburg to inspect the Countach and seal the deal. I was extremely fortunate to be able to take Valentino Balboni along with me to inspect the car. He said it was one of the best he has seen, like new. A combination of the warm, dry climate there and the supreme fastidiousness of the previous owner. He drove it 500km in the last 14 years, got it serviced each year by Lamborghini who came to his house, and otherwise he used to polish it, apply wax and silicone to various rubber bits etc to preserve them, and just stare at the car in his garage. Everything on it is original, even the oil and water hoses (which will be replaced). He's changed the spark plugs to be fair (as well as oil and fuel filters) but has kept the original items - Valentino is going to clean them and reuse them. The original 31 year old tyres are still on the car, they are cracked in places between some of the treads, and the left rear has a bulge in the tread, but I was surprised they did not fall completely to pieces when VB took me out for a test drive. Fortunately, he decided not to drift it in Joburg traffic. There was one previous owner of this car, who bought it new from Lamborghini Portman Sq in London and shipped it out to SA. His name was Johan Meyer, a rather colourful character involved in shady nuclear bomb deals back in the day.
It was a total adventure and absolute pleasure to spend a few days with VB. He still has a huge passion for these cars, obviously they are a part of his life's work. When we met the owner of the Countach he said he hoped our trip all the way to South Africa wouldn't be wasted, and VB replied, quite genuinely "why would it be, we are coming to see a Lamborghini?". He has so many stories he shared about how he got a job with Lamborghini as a young lad (in the service dept) and how this job led to him becoming a test driver (he used to move the cars around the outside of the factory and drive somewhat enthusiastically which led to the secretaries complaining he was making a lot of noise and raising dust - to their credit the management said well you'd better be a test driver then!), etc etc. These days, he doesn't have much to do with the factory and 3 or 4 of his mates and him run their own version of Ferrari's "Classiche" dept. My car's going to him in Italy once I've imported it, as I want him to set it up exactly as it would have been back in the day in all respects. It was awesome listening to his first impressions when he saw the Countach many years ago. He said he was a little worried about the reaction of people in the little villages around Sant'Agata, but he needn't have worried as he was mobbed with smiling incredulous faces the first time he drove one. His favourite Lambos are the Miura and the Countach. He is still connected to the factory in some way, though not officially as he is retired. Hopefully the archive will let me have copies of the car's build sheets and also his test drive notes when he did the post-production shake down all those 31 years ago. Can't wait. He was also gracious enough to chat about his personal life, which is fascinating though obviously I would not relay that. I was so very fortunate he made the trip as his second son's wife was about to give birth to his grandchild.
Another funny moment from the trip: we were in an Italian restaurant having lunch on the final day when we heard a couple talking about cars and the bloke said "Lamborghinis are just tractors". He had no idea Valentino was there, until VB jumped up and rushed over to his table and started making theatrical "what did you just say" etc. He said to the guy "if I wasn't in such a good mood I would take you outside for a fight". But he said it with a smile and it was very good natured. The guy looked gobsmacked. Turns out he used to own a Daytona and is a Ferrari fan. That'll teach him
Anyway, here are some photos as promised:
It was a total adventure and absolute pleasure to spend a few days with VB. He still has a huge passion for these cars, obviously they are a part of his life's work. When we met the owner of the Countach he said he hoped our trip all the way to South Africa wouldn't be wasted, and VB replied, quite genuinely "why would it be, we are coming to see a Lamborghini?". He has so many stories he shared about how he got a job with Lamborghini as a young lad (in the service dept) and how this job led to him becoming a test driver (he used to move the cars around the outside of the factory and drive somewhat enthusiastically which led to the secretaries complaining he was making a lot of noise and raising dust - to their credit the management said well you'd better be a test driver then!), etc etc. These days, he doesn't have much to do with the factory and 3 or 4 of his mates and him run their own version of Ferrari's "Classiche" dept. My car's going to him in Italy once I've imported it, as I want him to set it up exactly as it would have been back in the day in all respects. It was awesome listening to his first impressions when he saw the Countach many years ago. He said he was a little worried about the reaction of people in the little villages around Sant'Agata, but he needn't have worried as he was mobbed with smiling incredulous faces the first time he drove one. His favourite Lambos are the Miura and the Countach. He is still connected to the factory in some way, though not officially as he is retired. Hopefully the archive will let me have copies of the car's build sheets and also his test drive notes when he did the post-production shake down all those 31 years ago. Can't wait. He was also gracious enough to chat about his personal life, which is fascinating though obviously I would not relay that. I was so very fortunate he made the trip as his second son's wife was about to give birth to his grandchild.
Another funny moment from the trip: we were in an Italian restaurant having lunch on the final day when we heard a couple talking about cars and the bloke said "Lamborghinis are just tractors". He had no idea Valentino was there, until VB jumped up and rushed over to his table and started making theatrical "what did you just say" etc. He said to the guy "if I wasn't in such a good mood I would take you outside for a fight". But he said it with a smile and it was very good natured. The guy looked gobsmacked. Turns out he used to own a Daytona and is a Ferrari fan. That'll teach him
Anyway, here are some photos as promised:
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