The Reality of Driving a Countach
Discussion
Bob the Cop said:
It has been quiet on here for a while. I expect that you are all out enjoying your cars.
Just going through some old magazines and I came across this CAR magazine from my time, August 1973.
It contains an article on Bob Wallace and the test car and concludes that, if engineering knowhow and conscientious development and workmanship and enthusiasm and (who can deny it) sheer human courage are worth money at all, then the Lamborghini Coutach is cheap at £16,000.
The centre of the magazine contains a photo of the development car in Red, before it was painted Green for the Motor shows of that year.
Perhaps we are a dying breed which can also be said for the older Ferrari's, hardly a mention of a Daytona or Boxer ,
most being more into their modern super cars,
Nothing wrong with that but for me anyway not so exciting and raw as the earlier cars,
Not saying the SVJ or the STO ,765LT and SF90 aren't exciting ,far from it they are probably tooooooo exciting for your
own good .
After watching Mr jww's video last night on the STO i would kill to own one but not enough to give up my old dears.
Yes would be nice to have a little more early Lamborghini content, Where are you" snapper seven "and" paulqv."
Bob the Cop said:
It has been quiet on here for a while. I expect that you are all out enjoying your cars.
Just going through some old magazines and I came across this CAR magazine from my time, August 1973.
It contains an article on Bob Wallace and the test car and concludes that, if engineering knowhow and conscientious development and workmanship and enthusiasm and (who can deny it) sheer human courage are worth money at all, then the Lamborghini Coutach is cheap at £16,000.
The centre of the magazine contains a photo of the development car in Red, before it was painted Green for the Motor shows of that year.
http://www.countach.ch/History/LP400/index.html
The article by Doug Blain states that the photography was by Phillip Sayer.
I assume he had the rights to the photographs and they could have been used elsewhere.
What I cannot remember is whether Phillip Sayer was the photographer on the Urraco shoot I did in London in 1973. If someone has the Car magazine article on the Urraco from that year maybe they could check who the photographer was. I was driving the Urraco but my memory is not what it once was !
I assume he had the rights to the photographs and they could have been used elsewhere.
What I cannot remember is whether Phillip Sayer was the photographer on the Urraco shoot I did in London in 1973. If someone has the Car magazine article on the Urraco from that year maybe they could check who the photographer was. I was driving the Urraco but my memory is not what it once was !
Hi Bob The Cop ,
On the subject of Countachs on front covers , last Saturday I had the pleasure of seeing in person the white Countach which fronts the Jeremy Coulter book -- a car that i had looked upon in print , and in admiration , for decades .
It is in pretty immaculate condition and still has the original blue stickers on its Carello driving lights .
Even more impressive than its Diablo and Aventador SV stablemates were the stone tiles on its garage roof -- simply beautiful .
On the subject of Countachs on front covers , last Saturday I had the pleasure of seeing in person the white Countach which fronts the Jeremy Coulter book -- a car that i had looked upon in print , and in admiration , for decades .
It is in pretty immaculate condition and still has the original blue stickers on its Carello driving lights .
Even more impressive than its Diablo and Aventador SV stablemates were the stone tiles on its garage roof -- simply beautiful .
carspath said:
Hi Bob The Cop ,
On the subject of Countachs on front covers , last Saturday I had the pleasure of seeing in person the white Countach which fronts the Jeremy Coulter book -- a car that i had looked upon in print , and in admiration , for decades .
It is in pretty immaculate condition and still has the original blue stickers on its Carello driving lights .
Even more impressive than its Diablo and Aventador SV stablemates were the stone tiles on its garage roof -- simply beautiful .
Finally managed to pick up your Countach book from the post office today. On the subject of Countachs on front covers , last Saturday I had the pleasure of seeing in person the white Countach which fronts the Jeremy Coulter book -- a car that i had looked upon in print , and in admiration , for decades .
It is in pretty immaculate condition and still has the original blue stickers on its Carello driving lights .
Even more impressive than its Diablo and Aventador SV stablemates were the stone tiles on its garage roof -- simply beautiful .
Looks fabulous upon a quick preliminary flick through! A true labour of love.
Hi CGT2 - The book's ISBN is : 9781910505632 , and its available from Amazon or direct from EVRO Publishing .
Some of my friends have received their copies , but I still haven't held a hard-copy in my hands yet !!
Ferruccio - I'm relieved that you felt that it was half-OK on your preliminary glance through .
Some of my friends have received their copies , but I still haven't held a hard-copy in my hands yet !!
Ferruccio - I'm relieved that you felt that it was half-OK on your preliminary glance through .
carspath said:
Hi CGT2 - The book's ISBN is : 9781910505632 , and its available from Amazon or direct from EVRO Publishing .
Some of my friends have received their copies , but I still haven't held a hard-copy in my hands yet !!
Ferruccio - I'm relieved that you felt that it was half-OK on your preliminary glance through .
I found it this morning and ordered a copy, looking forward to it, thank you.Some of my friends have received their copies , but I still haven't held a hard-copy in my hands yet !!
Ferruccio - I'm relieved that you felt that it was half-OK on your preliminary glance through .
Bob the Cop said:
The article by Doug Blain states that the photography was by Phillip Sayer.
I assume he had the rights to the photographs and they could have been used elsewhere.
What I cannot remember is whether Phillip Sayer was the photographer on the Urraco shoot I did in London in 1973. If someone has the Car magazine article on the Urraco from that year maybe they could check who the photographer was. I was driving the Urraco but my memory is not what it once was !
I was convinced that the Brooklands road test book covering Lamborghini from 1964 to 1976 contained the 'Car' article you mention but I've just checked and there's nothing on the Urraco from 1973 in there. The only articles close to that date are from 'Car' in March 1972 by Doug Blain with photos by Ian Fraser where they road test the fifth (silver) pre-production Urraco, and from 'Autocar' in September 1974 where they test a P250S with the reg' number 'UHO 1'. I've looked through all of my other Lambo books and can't find any reference to a 'Car' article from '73!I assume he had the rights to the photographs and they could have been used elsewhere.
What I cannot remember is whether Phillip Sayer was the photographer on the Urraco shoot I did in London in 1973. If someone has the Car magazine article on the Urraco from that year maybe they could check who the photographer was. I was driving the Urraco but my memory is not what it once was !
Carspath - copy of the Countach book duly ordered from Amazon as an early birthday present
Edited by P5BNij on Friday 30th July 12:56
I have the answer now.
It was CAR magazine July 1973.
I was driving the Urraco LYX52K. It was an article comparing the Urraco with a Porsche Carrera.
The photographer was Kim Sayer.
The Urraco roadtest had been done in Italy. CAR were doing a comparison and wanted a Urraco for the photo shoot. I don't think that they tested the cars 'side by side'. Two seperate experiences put together for a comparison.
It was CAR magazine July 1973.
I was driving the Urraco LYX52K. It was an article comparing the Urraco with a Porsche Carrera.
The photographer was Kim Sayer.
The Urraco roadtest had been done in Italy. CAR were doing a comparison and wanted a Urraco for the photo shoot. I don't think that they tested the cars 'side by side'. Two seperate experiences put together for a comparison.
carspath said:
Almost exactly 20 years ago , my first act after buying Chassis JLA 12399 ( an 88 1/2 5000 QV ) from HR Owen , the UK's then sole official Lamborghini concessionaire , was to ring Mike Pullen and ask him to service the car . For those who might not know , Mike Pullen has serviced Countachs for over 40 years now , and at some point in time has probably looked after just about every Countach in southern England .
Mike has looked after 12399 ever since , and a couple of weeks ago the car was transported up to Haywards Heath for an inspection and treatment session by its longstanding physician . Fortunately little more was needed other than a routine major service : the exhaust back box needed some welding , a clutch hose needed replacement , and we decided that all four brake calipers needed refurbishment .
The car was also running its original , Sant' Agata fitted rear brake pads ( 12399 is also on its original factory clutch ) - so we decided that after 33 years and 34,000 kilometres the time had come to replace them . More about the Countach's aerodynamics later , which partly explains the longevity of the brake pads .
For a multitude of reasons I hadn't driven the car for ages , and I was also missing it ( the service work was done very quickly , but the brake calipers had to be sent off , and there was a long delay before the calipers were sent back to Mike ) after its 2 1/2 week spring holiday chez Pullen , so immediately upon getting the call that 12399 was ready to be collected , I ignored the weather forecast and decided to pick it up myself .
Despite having had the car for over 20 years , and despite having driven it for almost 20,000 kilometres , it was absolutely not the case of jumping back onto the bicycle and gaily wheeling off into the distance . I drove up in my wife's elderly Mercedes CLS , and the contrast between the CLS and the Countach was total . And hence this thread - some owners might recognise a few things , and some enthusiasts might find what follows of interest .
As it was a Saturday , I picked the car up from Mike's home rather than from his garage . As usual Mike had performed his magic , and the car started immediately after the usual ritual - it was cold and raining , so 3 dabs of the accelerator pedal , clutch pedal in , turn the ignition key , and pray .
A slightly different procedure is needed if the car hasn't been started for more than a day , and yet another procedure if the engine is still warm .
12399 is of Mediterranean extraction and abhors the cold . Mike's driveway climbs fairly steeply upwards before intersecting with a very busy but narrow road . Which I had to cross ! Not an auspicious start to a four hour , 160 mile journey , when it is pelting down with rain - especially on a busy Saturday morning . To execute the move onto the opposite side of the narrow road without kerbing the nearside front OZ wheel demanded a 3 point turn .
2nd gear is out of bounds until the transmission oil is warm , so it was a case of using 1st gear and then short-shifting to 3rd . To give you an idea , max speeds in each of the 5 forwards gears are respectively: 60 mph ; 80 mph : 120 : 150 : 178 - or so Sant' Agata says .
To keep up with the Saturday supermarket crowd meant a hooligan like high rev scream in 1st gear , OR a bucking bronco ride in 3rd . Unwanted attention OR shaken and stirred - the driver's choice . What was definitely not yet on the menu was 2nd gear .
The Countach really , really dislikes low revs and low speeds . The drive up in the CLS was so effortless . In contrast the drive back home in the Countach was so full of effort .
One example - the car has no intermittent wiper setting ( cf the CLS with its rain detector facility !! ) , so each time the windscreen got sufficiently speckled to impede vision , you had to take your left hand off the steering wheel and depress the wiper stalk .
And with the huge windscreen set at 21 degrees to the horizontal , the pantograph wipers did an excellent job of clearing the vast majority of the screen but not the peripheral edges - which is unhelpful when there are pedestrians whom you don't want to run down in case they dent the Countach's delicate 1 mm aluminium bodywork .
The Countach's Bizzarrini V12 engine and its 5-speed gearbox carry vast volumes of their respective lubricant , so it takes forever , and many miles , before these fluids warm up , and before 2nd gear can be safely employed .
And right-hand drive Countach's accelerator cables have to negotiate a more convoluted path back to the engine bay than their left-hand drive counterparts , so there is an initial dead spot ( however well lubricated the cable is ) to the accelerator pedal which makes smooth and precise modulation difficult .
But once the car is fully warmed up , and once you have open roads , the Countach transforms from a recalcitrant brat to a thing of joy . This is such an imperfect car - it was imperfect in 1973 , and it is even more imperfect in traffic dense and speed cameras saturated 2021 . It needs wide , clear , unrestricted roads . Anything less and it is a minor nightmare .
It thrives on high revs and even more on high speeds - no , the two are not exactly synonymous .
It is not a car that anyone half sensible would choose to take to the supermarket -- why would you use a jewel encrusted microscalpel for a job that requires a bone-saw .
It was a good hour before I again felt really comfortable driving my old playmate -- so how could anyone reasonably ask a journalist to make a fair assessment of this very atypical car after just a brief half day acquaintance ?
I could go on and on , but what struck me most were the following points :
1) I would never choose to drive a Countach ( or for that matter any car ) for pleasure without first selecting the most quiet time of day and route . On this occasion i broke this cardinal rule , and the drive was hugely less pleasurable than it could have been . On a couple of very , very brief occasions the Countach had the opportunity of showing its mettle - and Wow , simply Wow .
2) This grande dame can still really pick up her skirts and move -- when given the opportunity to do so .
3 ) She is a demanding lover - The Countach wants constant attention at low speed ( to drive it smoothly , and without it screaming like a banshee at 10 mph ) , and it needs total commitment when at the other end of its performance spectrum .
4) The Countach receives so much unjustified criticism for the weight of its steering , clutch pedal , and gear-change . Once moving beyond 5 mph, and especially once the Countach's engine and road speeds are at respectable levels consistent with its 1971 design brief ( the '' ultimate macchina sportive stradale '' ) these barbs carry absolutely no substance . All 3 controls have a delicious mechanical heft , and there is a consistency of effort shared by all 3 controls .
The most pressing limitations to the Countach as a driving tool are its poor outwards visibility and its width .
5) The car's aerodynamics are dire . My wife who was following in the CLS said that for sometime she thought that the Countach's brake lights had failed because she didn't see them light up . In fact all I had to do was employ a modicum of anticipation , and lift off the accelerator pedal , and the car would slow down or come to a stop . The brake pedal is almost redundant - even in heavy traffic . A Cd of 0.42 coupled with a large frontal surface area explains a lot .
6) Driving this old car , with due respect to its age , but also without ignoring its performance potential , is literally life-affirming . I failed it on this occasion by driving it in less than ideal conditions , but in doing so I re-learnt the need to pre-select the timing and route of each drive carefully . The Countach deserves this minimum respect . It remains a very special car to drive , and a very precious ( from a historical perspective ) piece of automotive art .
Fantastic review!Mike has looked after 12399 ever since , and a couple of weeks ago the car was transported up to Haywards Heath for an inspection and treatment session by its longstanding physician . Fortunately little more was needed other than a routine major service : the exhaust back box needed some welding , a clutch hose needed replacement , and we decided that all four brake calipers needed refurbishment .
The car was also running its original , Sant' Agata fitted rear brake pads ( 12399 is also on its original factory clutch ) - so we decided that after 33 years and 34,000 kilometres the time had come to replace them . More about the Countach's aerodynamics later , which partly explains the longevity of the brake pads .
For a multitude of reasons I hadn't driven the car for ages , and I was also missing it ( the service work was done very quickly , but the brake calipers had to be sent off , and there was a long delay before the calipers were sent back to Mike ) after its 2 1/2 week spring holiday chez Pullen , so immediately upon getting the call that 12399 was ready to be collected , I ignored the weather forecast and decided to pick it up myself .
Despite having had the car for over 20 years , and despite having driven it for almost 20,000 kilometres , it was absolutely not the case of jumping back onto the bicycle and gaily wheeling off into the distance . I drove up in my wife's elderly Mercedes CLS , and the contrast between the CLS and the Countach was total . And hence this thread - some owners might recognise a few things , and some enthusiasts might find what follows of interest .
As it was a Saturday , I picked the car up from Mike's home rather than from his garage . As usual Mike had performed his magic , and the car started immediately after the usual ritual - it was cold and raining , so 3 dabs of the accelerator pedal , clutch pedal in , turn the ignition key , and pray .
A slightly different procedure is needed if the car hasn't been started for more than a day , and yet another procedure if the engine is still warm .
12399 is of Mediterranean extraction and abhors the cold . Mike's driveway climbs fairly steeply upwards before intersecting with a very busy but narrow road . Which I had to cross ! Not an auspicious start to a four hour , 160 mile journey , when it is pelting down with rain - especially on a busy Saturday morning . To execute the move onto the opposite side of the narrow road without kerbing the nearside front OZ wheel demanded a 3 point turn .
2nd gear is out of bounds until the transmission oil is warm , so it was a case of using 1st gear and then short-shifting to 3rd . To give you an idea , max speeds in each of the 5 forwards gears are respectively: 60 mph ; 80 mph : 120 : 150 : 178 - or so Sant' Agata says .
To keep up with the Saturday supermarket crowd meant a hooligan like high rev scream in 1st gear , OR a bucking bronco ride in 3rd . Unwanted attention OR shaken and stirred - the driver's choice . What was definitely not yet on the menu was 2nd gear .
The Countach really , really dislikes low revs and low speeds . The drive up in the CLS was so effortless . In contrast the drive back home in the Countach was so full of effort .
One example - the car has no intermittent wiper setting ( cf the CLS with its rain detector facility !! ) , so each time the windscreen got sufficiently speckled to impede vision , you had to take your left hand off the steering wheel and depress the wiper stalk .
And with the huge windscreen set at 21 degrees to the horizontal , the pantograph wipers did an excellent job of clearing the vast majority of the screen but not the peripheral edges - which is unhelpful when there are pedestrians whom you don't want to run down in case they dent the Countach's delicate 1 mm aluminium bodywork .
The Countach's Bizzarrini V12 engine and its 5-speed gearbox carry vast volumes of their respective lubricant , so it takes forever , and many miles , before these fluids warm up , and before 2nd gear can be safely employed .
And right-hand drive Countach's accelerator cables have to negotiate a more convoluted path back to the engine bay than their left-hand drive counterparts , so there is an initial dead spot ( however well lubricated the cable is ) to the accelerator pedal which makes smooth and precise modulation difficult .
But once the car is fully warmed up , and once you have open roads , the Countach transforms from a recalcitrant brat to a thing of joy . This is such an imperfect car - it was imperfect in 1973 , and it is even more imperfect in traffic dense and speed cameras saturated 2021 . It needs wide , clear , unrestricted roads . Anything less and it is a minor nightmare .
It thrives on high revs and even more on high speeds - no , the two are not exactly synonymous .
It is not a car that anyone half sensible would choose to take to the supermarket -- why would you use a jewel encrusted microscalpel for a job that requires a bone-saw .
It was a good hour before I again felt really comfortable driving my old playmate -- so how could anyone reasonably ask a journalist to make a fair assessment of this very atypical car after just a brief half day acquaintance ?
I could go on and on , but what struck me most were the following points :
1) I would never choose to drive a Countach ( or for that matter any car ) for pleasure without first selecting the most quiet time of day and route . On this occasion i broke this cardinal rule , and the drive was hugely less pleasurable than it could have been . On a couple of very , very brief occasions the Countach had the opportunity of showing its mettle - and Wow , simply Wow .
2) This grande dame can still really pick up her skirts and move -- when given the opportunity to do so .
3 ) She is a demanding lover - The Countach wants constant attention at low speed ( to drive it smoothly , and without it screaming like a banshee at 10 mph ) , and it needs total commitment when at the other end of its performance spectrum .
4) The Countach receives so much unjustified criticism for the weight of its steering , clutch pedal , and gear-change . Once moving beyond 5 mph, and especially once the Countach's engine and road speeds are at respectable levels consistent with its 1971 design brief ( the '' ultimate macchina sportive stradale '' ) these barbs carry absolutely no substance . All 3 controls have a delicious mechanical heft , and there is a consistency of effort shared by all 3 controls .
The most pressing limitations to the Countach as a driving tool are its poor outwards visibility and its width .
5) The car's aerodynamics are dire . My wife who was following in the CLS said that for sometime she thought that the Countach's brake lights had failed because she didn't see them light up . In fact all I had to do was employ a modicum of anticipation , and lift off the accelerator pedal , and the car would slow down or come to a stop . The brake pedal is almost redundant - even in heavy traffic . A Cd of 0.42 coupled with a large frontal surface area explains a lot .
6) Driving this old car , with due respect to its age , but also without ignoring its performance potential , is literally life-affirming . I failed it on this occasion by driving it in less than ideal conditions , but in doing so I re-learnt the need to pre-select the timing and route of each drive carefully . The Countach deserves this minimum respect . It remains a very special car to drive , and a very precious ( from a historical perspective ) piece of automotive art .
Edited by carspath on Monday 24th May 18:07
I just became the owner of my dream after 50 years: a 5000 S Bianca with carburetors!!!
Can you please explain how to start it in three situations:
- cold
- hot
- winter/summer
Thank you so much in advance.
Hi again 845ste,
I'm on a proper computer now so what follows is in response to your questions.
Starting a Countach is such a fascinating/frustrating procedure that I wrote quite a lot about it in my EVRO Countach book that was published in 2021, and have included a summary of it in my forthcoming Crowood Countach book.
You could borrow these from your local library for a fuller account than what follows.
The first thing to point out is that each car ,even of the samre Countach variant, will probably require a slightly different technique and sequence.
And this is more so for teh different variants.
And even more so for the Carburettor vs Fuel -Injected cars.
What follows is what I do for my car ( JLA12399) which is a Quattrovalvole carburettor'ed car:
Turn on the battery isolator and the interior cocpit light will come on.
Turn teh ignition key to its first stop only. You will hear the fuel pumps whirr - wait for about 15-20 seconds
Without touching the clutch or brake pedal, fully depress the throttle pedal all teh way to the floor 6 times if the car has not been started for some days, or 3 times if it has been started within the last day or so.
Depress teh clutch and brake pedals now, and leave the throttle pedal well alone
Turn the key fully on.
The started motor will groan and might or might not catch. Repeat as necessary. But i dont do it more than 3 times without going back 3 steps and depressing the throttle pedal again to prime the carbs.
Also dont labour the starter motor- ie dont keep trying to get the started motor to start the engine for more than about 10 seconds on each attempt.
When the Engine finally catches, dont touch the throttle pedal and keep the clutch pedal down for at least 40-60 seconds.
The engine starts in a manner in which not all the cylinders start and fire up at the same time - so you have to be very patient and gentle with the car and its pedals.
After about 20 seconds of rough idling , teh engine will get ever smoother with each passing second.
After about a minute it will be smooth running enoough to SLOWLY let out the clutch - I take about 20-30 seconds to slowly release the clutch from a fully depressed position to its fully released position.
And that's it - but you might need to repeat one or each of these steps repeatedly.
There is no difference for starting JLA 12399 whether its in teh summer or teh winter - the main determinant as to how recalcitrant JLA12399 is to start seems to be how long it has not been started up for.
If you have been driving the car, and it is already fully warmed up, you might be able to start the car without doing Step 1 ( depressing teh throttle pedal 6/3 times)
And dont forget starting the car is only teh first bit - you MUST now let it fully warm up.
It might bbe best if you borrow the EVRO book ( or the Crowood Countach book which will be available from August/Sept) from your library - as I have devoted a full chapter to buying, owning, maintaining and driving the Countach
Enjoy your new toy - unlike most new cars it will take the average person years to fully appreciate a Countach- and never trust reviews from people who have never lived with one for years.
I'm on a proper computer now so what follows is in response to your questions.
Starting a Countach is such a fascinating/frustrating procedure that I wrote quite a lot about it in my EVRO Countach book that was published in 2021, and have included a summary of it in my forthcoming Crowood Countach book.
You could borrow these from your local library for a fuller account than what follows.
The first thing to point out is that each car ,even of the samre Countach variant, will probably require a slightly different technique and sequence.
And this is more so for teh different variants.
And even more so for the Carburettor vs Fuel -Injected cars.
What follows is what I do for my car ( JLA12399) which is a Quattrovalvole carburettor'ed car:
Turn on the battery isolator and the interior cocpit light will come on.
Turn teh ignition key to its first stop only. You will hear the fuel pumps whirr - wait for about 15-20 seconds
Without touching the clutch or brake pedal, fully depress the throttle pedal all teh way to the floor 6 times if the car has not been started for some days, or 3 times if it has been started within the last day or so.
Depress teh clutch and brake pedals now, and leave the throttle pedal well alone
Turn the key fully on.
The started motor will groan and might or might not catch. Repeat as necessary. But i dont do it more than 3 times without going back 3 steps and depressing the throttle pedal again to prime the carbs.
Also dont labour the starter motor- ie dont keep trying to get the started motor to start the engine for more than about 10 seconds on each attempt.
When the Engine finally catches, dont touch the throttle pedal and keep the clutch pedal down for at least 40-60 seconds.
The engine starts in a manner in which not all the cylinders start and fire up at the same time - so you have to be very patient and gentle with the car and its pedals.
After about 20 seconds of rough idling , teh engine will get ever smoother with each passing second.
After about a minute it will be smooth running enoough to SLOWLY let out the clutch - I take about 20-30 seconds to slowly release the clutch from a fully depressed position to its fully released position.
And that's it - but you might need to repeat one or each of these steps repeatedly.
There is no difference for starting JLA 12399 whether its in teh summer or teh winter - the main determinant as to how recalcitrant JLA12399 is to start seems to be how long it has not been started up for.
If you have been driving the car, and it is already fully warmed up, you might be able to start the car without doing Step 1 ( depressing teh throttle pedal 6/3 times)
And dont forget starting the car is only teh first bit - you MUST now let it fully warm up.
It might bbe best if you borrow the EVRO book ( or the Crowood Countach book which will be available from August/Sept) from your library - as I have devoted a full chapter to buying, owning, maintaining and driving the Countach
Enjoy your new toy - unlike most new cars it will take the average person years to fully appreciate a Countach- and never trust reviews from people who have never lived with one for years.
I'm not a Countach owner, merely an avid enthusiast, so I'm interewsted in nwhy you keep the clutch pedal down after start up and then slowly release it.
Is it to do with thrust washers on the crankshaft, or some other mechanical component in the engine or transmission..?
And why press the brake pedal also?
Thanks!
Is it to do with thrust washers on the crankshaft, or some other mechanical component in the engine or transmission..?
And why press the brake pedal also?
Thanks!
845ste said:
carspath said:
Almost exactly 20 years ago , my first act after buying Chassis JLA 12399 ( an 88 1/2 5000 QV ) from HR Owen , the UK's then sole official Lamborghini concessionaire , was to ring Mike Pullen and ask him to service the car . For those who might not know , Mike Pullen has serviced Countachs for over 40 years now , and at some point in time has probably looked after just about every Countach in southern England .
Mike has looked after 12399 ever since , and a couple of weeks ago the car was transported up to Haywards Heath for an inspection and treatment session by its longstanding physician . Fortunately little more was needed other than a routine major service : the exhaust back box needed some welding , a clutch hose needed replacement , and we decided that all four brake calipers needed refurbishment .
The car was also running its original , Sant' Agata fitted rear brake pads ( 12399 is also on its original factory clutch ) - so we decided that after 33 years and 34,000 kilometres the time had come to replace them . More about the Countach's aerodynamics later , which partly explains the longevity of the brake pads .
For a multitude of reasons I hadn't driven the car for ages , and I was also missing it ( the service work was done very quickly , but the brake calipers had to be sent off , and there was a long delay before the calipers were sent back to Mike ) after its 2 1/2 week spring holiday chez Pullen , so immediately upon getting the call that 12399 was ready to be collected , I ignored the weather forecast and decided to pick it up myself .
Despite having had the car for over 20 years , and despite having driven it for almost 20,000 kilometres , it was absolutely not the case of jumping back onto the bicycle and gaily wheeling off into the distance . I drove up in my wife's elderly Mercedes CLS , and the contrast between the CLS and the Countach was total . And hence this thread - some owners might recognise a few things , and some enthusiasts might find what follows of interest .
As it was a Saturday , I picked the car up from Mike's home rather than from his garage . As usual Mike had performed his magic , and the car started immediately after the usual ritual - it was cold and raining , so 3 dabs of the accelerator pedal , clutch pedal in , turn the ignition key , and pray .
A slightly different procedure is needed if the car hasn't been started for more than a day , and yet another procedure if the engine is still warm .
12399 is of Mediterranean extraction and abhors the cold . Mike's driveway climbs fairly steeply upwards before intersecting with a very busy but narrow road . Which I had to cross ! Not an auspicious start to a four hour , 160 mile journey , when it is pelting down with rain - especially on a busy Saturday morning . To execute the move onto the opposite side of the narrow road without kerbing the nearside front OZ wheel demanded a 3 point turn .
2nd gear is out of bounds until the transmission oil is warm , so it was a case of using 1st gear and then short-shifting to 3rd . To give you an idea , max speeds in each of the 5 forwards gears are respectively: 60 mph ; 80 mph : 120 : 150 : 178 - or so Sant' Agata says .
To keep up with the Saturday supermarket crowd meant a hooligan like high rev scream in 1st gear , OR a bucking bronco ride in 3rd . Unwanted attention OR shaken and stirred - the driver's choice . What was definitely not yet on the menu was 2nd gear .
The Countach really , really dislikes low revs and low speeds . The drive up in the CLS was so effortless . In contrast the drive back home in the Countach was so full of effort .
One example - the car has no intermittent wiper setting ( cf the CLS with its rain detector facility !! ) , so each time the windscreen got sufficiently speckled to impede vision , you had to take your left hand off the steering wheel and depress the wiper stalk .
And with the huge windscreen set at 21 degrees to the horizontal , the pantograph wipers did an excellent job of clearing the vast majority of the screen but not the peripheral edges - which is unhelpful when there are pedestrians whom you don't want to run down in case they dent the Countach's delicate 1 mm aluminium bodywork .
The Countach's Bizzarrini V12 engine and its 5-speed gearbox carry vast volumes of their respective lubricant , so it takes forever , and many miles , before these fluids warm up , and before 2nd gear can be safely employed .
And right-hand drive Countach's accelerator cables have to negotiate a more convoluted path back to the engine bay than their left-hand drive counterparts , so there is an initial dead spot ( however well lubricated the cable is ) to the accelerator pedal which makes smooth and precise modulation difficult .
But once the car is fully warmed up , and once you have open roads , the Countach transforms from a recalcitrant brat to a thing of joy . This is such an imperfect car - it was imperfect in 1973 , and it is even more imperfect in traffic dense and speed cameras saturated 2021 . It needs wide , clear , unrestricted roads . Anything less and it is a minor nightmare .
It thrives on high revs and even more on high speeds - no , the two are not exactly synonymous .
It is not a car that anyone half sensible would choose to take to the supermarket -- why would you use a jewel encrusted microscalpel for a job that requires a bone-saw .
It was a good hour before I again felt really comfortable driving my old playmate -- so how could anyone reasonably ask a journalist to make a fair assessment of this very atypical car after just a brief half day acquaintance ?
I could go on and on , but what struck me most were the following points :
1) I would never choose to drive a Countach ( or for that matter any car ) for pleasure without first selecting the most quiet time of day and route . On this occasion i broke this cardinal rule , and the drive was hugely less pleasurable than it could have been . On a couple of very , very brief occasions the Countach had the opportunity of showing its mettle - and Wow , simply Wow .
2) This grande dame can still really pick up her skirts and move -- when given the opportunity to do so .
3 ) She is a demanding lover - The Countach wants constant attention at low speed ( to drive it smoothly , and without it screaming like a banshee at 10 mph ) , and it needs total commitment when at the other end of its performance spectrum .
4) The Countach receives so much unjustified criticism for the weight of its steering , clutch pedal , and gear-change . Once moving beyond 5 mph, and especially once the Countach's engine and road speeds are at respectable levels consistent with its 1971 design brief ( the '' ultimate macchina sportive stradale '' ) these barbs carry absolutely no substance . All 3 controls have a delicious mechanical heft , and there is a consistency of effort shared by all 3 controls .
The most pressing limitations to the Countach as a driving tool are its poor outwards visibility and its width .
5) The car's aerodynamics are dire . My wife who was following in the CLS said that for sometime she thought that the Countach's brake lights had failed because she didn't see them light up . In fact all I had to do was employ a modicum of anticipation , and lift off the accelerator pedal , and the car would slow down or come to a stop . The brake pedal is almost redundant - even in heavy traffic . A Cd of 0.42 coupled with a large frontal surface area explains a lot .
6) Driving this old car , with due respect to its age , but also without ignoring its performance potential , is literally life-affirming . I failed it on this occasion by driving it in less than ideal conditions , but in doing so I re-learnt the need to pre-select the timing and route of each drive carefully . The Countach deserves this minimum respect . It remains a very special car to drive , and a very precious ( from a historical perspective ) piece of automotive art .
Fantastic review!Mike has looked after 12399 ever since , and a couple of weeks ago the car was transported up to Haywards Heath for an inspection and treatment session by its longstanding physician . Fortunately little more was needed other than a routine major service : the exhaust back box needed some welding , a clutch hose needed replacement , and we decided that all four brake calipers needed refurbishment .
The car was also running its original , Sant' Agata fitted rear brake pads ( 12399 is also on its original factory clutch ) - so we decided that after 33 years and 34,000 kilometres the time had come to replace them . More about the Countach's aerodynamics later , which partly explains the longevity of the brake pads .
For a multitude of reasons I hadn't driven the car for ages , and I was also missing it ( the service work was done very quickly , but the brake calipers had to be sent off , and there was a long delay before the calipers were sent back to Mike ) after its 2 1/2 week spring holiday chez Pullen , so immediately upon getting the call that 12399 was ready to be collected , I ignored the weather forecast and decided to pick it up myself .
Despite having had the car for over 20 years , and despite having driven it for almost 20,000 kilometres , it was absolutely not the case of jumping back onto the bicycle and gaily wheeling off into the distance . I drove up in my wife's elderly Mercedes CLS , and the contrast between the CLS and the Countach was total . And hence this thread - some owners might recognise a few things , and some enthusiasts might find what follows of interest .
As it was a Saturday , I picked the car up from Mike's home rather than from his garage . As usual Mike had performed his magic , and the car started immediately after the usual ritual - it was cold and raining , so 3 dabs of the accelerator pedal , clutch pedal in , turn the ignition key , and pray .
A slightly different procedure is needed if the car hasn't been started for more than a day , and yet another procedure if the engine is still warm .
12399 is of Mediterranean extraction and abhors the cold . Mike's driveway climbs fairly steeply upwards before intersecting with a very busy but narrow road . Which I had to cross ! Not an auspicious start to a four hour , 160 mile journey , when it is pelting down with rain - especially on a busy Saturday morning . To execute the move onto the opposite side of the narrow road without kerbing the nearside front OZ wheel demanded a 3 point turn .
2nd gear is out of bounds until the transmission oil is warm , so it was a case of using 1st gear and then short-shifting to 3rd . To give you an idea , max speeds in each of the 5 forwards gears are respectively: 60 mph ; 80 mph : 120 : 150 : 178 - or so Sant' Agata says .
To keep up with the Saturday supermarket crowd meant a hooligan like high rev scream in 1st gear , OR a bucking bronco ride in 3rd . Unwanted attention OR shaken and stirred - the driver's choice . What was definitely not yet on the menu was 2nd gear .
The Countach really , really dislikes low revs and low speeds . The drive up in the CLS was so effortless . In contrast the drive back home in the Countach was so full of effort .
One example - the car has no intermittent wiper setting ( cf the CLS with its rain detector facility !! ) , so each time the windscreen got sufficiently speckled to impede vision , you had to take your left hand off the steering wheel and depress the wiper stalk .
And with the huge windscreen set at 21 degrees to the horizontal , the pantograph wipers did an excellent job of clearing the vast majority of the screen but not the peripheral edges - which is unhelpful when there are pedestrians whom you don't want to run down in case they dent the Countach's delicate 1 mm aluminium bodywork .
The Countach's Bizzarrini V12 engine and its 5-speed gearbox carry vast volumes of their respective lubricant , so it takes forever , and many miles , before these fluids warm up , and before 2nd gear can be safely employed .
And right-hand drive Countach's accelerator cables have to negotiate a more convoluted path back to the engine bay than their left-hand drive counterparts , so there is an initial dead spot ( however well lubricated the cable is ) to the accelerator pedal which makes smooth and precise modulation difficult .
But once the car is fully warmed up , and once you have open roads , the Countach transforms from a recalcitrant brat to a thing of joy . This is such an imperfect car - it was imperfect in 1973 , and it is even more imperfect in traffic dense and speed cameras saturated 2021 . It needs wide , clear , unrestricted roads . Anything less and it is a minor nightmare .
It thrives on high revs and even more on high speeds - no , the two are not exactly synonymous .
It is not a car that anyone half sensible would choose to take to the supermarket -- why would you use a jewel encrusted microscalpel for a job that requires a bone-saw .
It was a good hour before I again felt really comfortable driving my old playmate -- so how could anyone reasonably ask a journalist to make a fair assessment of this very atypical car after just a brief half day acquaintance ?
I could go on and on , but what struck me most were the following points :
1) I would never choose to drive a Countach ( or for that matter any car ) for pleasure without first selecting the most quiet time of day and route . On this occasion i broke this cardinal rule , and the drive was hugely less pleasurable than it could have been . On a couple of very , very brief occasions the Countach had the opportunity of showing its mettle - and Wow , simply Wow .
2) This grande dame can still really pick up her skirts and move -- when given the opportunity to do so .
3 ) She is a demanding lover - The Countach wants constant attention at low speed ( to drive it smoothly , and without it screaming like a banshee at 10 mph ) , and it needs total commitment when at the other end of its performance spectrum .
4) The Countach receives so much unjustified criticism for the weight of its steering , clutch pedal , and gear-change . Once moving beyond 5 mph, and especially once the Countach's engine and road speeds are at respectable levels consistent with its 1971 design brief ( the '' ultimate macchina sportive stradale '' ) these barbs carry absolutely no substance . All 3 controls have a delicious mechanical heft , and there is a consistency of effort shared by all 3 controls .
The most pressing limitations to the Countach as a driving tool are its poor outwards visibility and its width .
5) The car's aerodynamics are dire . My wife who was following in the CLS said that for sometime she thought that the Countach's brake lights had failed because she didn't see them light up . In fact all I had to do was employ a modicum of anticipation , and lift off the accelerator pedal , and the car would slow down or come to a stop . The brake pedal is almost redundant - even in heavy traffic . A Cd of 0.42 coupled with a large frontal surface area explains a lot .
6) Driving this old car , with due respect to its age , but also without ignoring its performance potential , is literally life-affirming . I failed it on this occasion by driving it in less than ideal conditions , but in doing so I re-learnt the need to pre-select the timing and route of each drive carefully . The Countach deserves this minimum respect . It remains a very special car to drive , and a very precious ( from a historical perspective ) piece of automotive art .
Edited by carspath on Monday 24th May 18:07
I just became the owner of my dream after 50 years: a 5000 S Bianca with carburetors!!!
Can you please explain how to start it in three situations:
- cold
- hot
- winter/summer
Thank you so much in advance.
Hi Martin350 - I too have a Toyota MR2Mk3 - mine is a red 2006 car with a black cloth interior and I totally adore it. The chassis is so ,so good, and it deploys its 134 BHP so well - although I,m very cautious in the damp and wet. My car is bog-standard and the only thing I would like more of is extra engine and exhaust noise/music. I love how narrow it is.
Re depressing the Countach brake and clutch pedals :
1) Firstly, because I was taught to do so when I first learnt to drive and it’s now a habit.
2) the brake down - in case I have accidentally left it in gear - it stops it lurching forwards
3) Ditto clutch down - disengaging the engine from the gearbox also stops the car lurching if my brain had been disengaged prior to twisting the ignition key in the barrel !!
4) Re the clutch pedal- I was instructed to do so by Lamborghini London back in 2001 when I first got the Countach - so as to reduce the load on the starter motor.
5) What I can say for sure is that if you are starting JLA12399 ( and this might be different for other cars) from cold , and you quickly release the clutch once the car has just started, the car might well stall.
If you release the clutch slowly and gently over a period of 30-60 seconds after the car has started it almost never stalls.
Enjoy your Toyota MR2Mk3
Re depressing the Countach brake and clutch pedals :
1) Firstly, because I was taught to do so when I first learnt to drive and it’s now a habit.
2) the brake down - in case I have accidentally left it in gear - it stops it lurching forwards
3) Ditto clutch down - disengaging the engine from the gearbox also stops the car lurching if my brain had been disengaged prior to twisting the ignition key in the barrel !!
4) Re the clutch pedal- I was instructed to do so by Lamborghini London back in 2001 when I first got the Countach - so as to reduce the load on the starter motor.
5) What I can say for sure is that if you are starting JLA12399 ( and this might be different for other cars) from cold , and you quickly release the clutch once the car has just started, the car might well stall.
If you release the clutch slowly and gently over a period of 30-60 seconds after the car has started it almost never stalls.
Enjoy your Toyota MR2Mk3
carspath1 said:
Hi Martin350 - I too have a Toyota MR2Mk3 - mine is a red 2006 car with a black cloth interior and I totally adore it. The chassis is so ,so good, and it deploys its 134 BHP so well - although I,m very cautious in the damp and wet. My car is bog-standard and the only thing I would like more of is extra engine and exhaust noise/music. I love how narrow it is.
Re depressing the Countach brake and clutch pedals :
1) Firstly, because I was taught to do so when I first learnt to drive and it s now a habit.
2) the brake down - in case I have accidentally left it in gear - it stops it lurching forwards
3) Ditto clutch down - disengaging the engine from the gearbox also stops the car lurching if my brain had been disengaged prior to twisting the ignition key in the barrel !!
4) Re the clutch pedal- I was instructed to do so by Lamborghini London back in 2001 when I first got the Countach - so as to reduce the load on the starter motor.
5) What I can say for sure is that if you are starting JLA12399 ( and this might be different for other cars) from cold , and you quickly release the clutch once the car has just started, the car might well stall.
If you release the clutch slowly and gently over a period of 30-60 seconds after the car has started it almost never stalls.
Enjoy your Toyota MR2Mk3
Ah, a fellow MR2 Roadster owner as well!Re depressing the Countach brake and clutch pedals :
1) Firstly, because I was taught to do so when I first learnt to drive and it s now a habit.
2) the brake down - in case I have accidentally left it in gear - it stops it lurching forwards
3) Ditto clutch down - disengaging the engine from the gearbox also stops the car lurching if my brain had been disengaged prior to twisting the ignition key in the barrel !!
4) Re the clutch pedal- I was instructed to do so by Lamborghini London back in 2001 when I first got the Countach - so as to reduce the load on the starter motor.
5) What I can say for sure is that if you are starting JLA12399 ( and this might be different for other cars) from cold , and you quickly release the clutch once the car has just started, the car might well stall.
If you release the clutch slowly and gently over a period of 30-60 seconds after the car has started it almost never stalls.
Enjoy your Toyota MR2Mk3
I think they really are an underrated gem of a car, I adore mine too.
I've owned many faster and much more powerful cars along side an MR2 Roadster, but if I'm going out purely on a drive for pleasure of an evening, I choose the little old Toyota almost every time!
As for engine/noise, the Toyota Celica 190 bhp engine is a popular conversion, and I don't think it would be too much power for the car to handle so wouldn't ruin it, I'm considering trying it on mine...
With decent tyres I've never really had a lack of confidence in the wet, although you still have to respect that mid engine cars can be tricky when they do break grip in those conditions.
Bridgestones have been the best I've driven them in the wet with so far.
Thanks for your reply re the Countach, all makes sense.
Enjoy your MR2, and your Countach!
carspath1 said:
Hi Martin350 - I too have a Toyota MR2Mk3 - mine is a red 2006 car with a black cloth interior and I totally adore it. The chassis is so ,so good, and it deploys its 134 BHP so well - although I,m very cautious in the damp and wet. My car is bog-standard and the only thing I would like more of is extra engine and exhaust noise/music. I love how narrow it is.
Re depressing the Countach brake and clutch pedals :
1) Firstly, because I was taught to do so when I first learnt to drive and it s now a habit.
2) the brake down - in case I have accidentally left it in gear - it stops it lurching forwards
3) Ditto clutch down - disengaging the engine from the gearbox also stops the car lurching if my brain had been disengaged prior to twisting the ignition key in the barrel !!
4) Re the clutch pedal- I was instructed to do so by Lamborghini London back in 2001 when I first got the Countach - so as to reduce the load on the starter motor.
5) What I can say for sure is that if you are starting JLA12399 ( and this might be different for other cars) from cold , and you quickly release the clutch once the car has just started, the car might well stall.
If you release the clutch slowly and gently over a period of 30-60 seconds after the car has started it almost never stalls.
Enjoy your Toyota MR2Mk3
You've posted some really interesting stuff, so thanks for that, and the comments about the clutch procedure are a good insight.Re depressing the Countach brake and clutch pedals :
1) Firstly, because I was taught to do so when I first learnt to drive and it s now a habit.
2) the brake down - in case I have accidentally left it in gear - it stops it lurching forwards
3) Ditto clutch down - disengaging the engine from the gearbox also stops the car lurching if my brain had been disengaged prior to twisting the ignition key in the barrel !!
4) Re the clutch pedal- I was instructed to do so by Lamborghini London back in 2001 when I first got the Countach - so as to reduce the load on the starter motor.
5) What I can say for sure is that if you are starting JLA12399 ( and this might be different for other cars) from cold , and you quickly release the clutch once the car has just started, the car might well stall.
If you release the clutch slowly and gently over a period of 30-60 seconds after the car has started it almost never stalls.
Enjoy your Toyota MR2Mk3
I've had at least one car where, when absolutely stone cold, the oil viscosity seemed to make the gearbox almost able to act like a crude hydrostatic drive, and the car could slightly creep in neutral on the flat if revved.
I wonder if there's possibly a similar issue with letting the clutch up on your car too quickly when there's not been enough time for at least a little warmth to get in there?
carspath1 said:
Hi again 845ste,
I'm on a proper computer now so what follows is in response to your questions.
Starting a Countach is such a fascinating/frustrating procedure that I wrote quite a lot about it in my EVRO Countach book that was published in 2021, and have included a summary of it in my forthcoming Crowood Countach book.
You could borrow these from your local library for a fuller account than what follows.
The first thing to point out is that each car ,even of the samre Countach variant, will probably require a slightly different technique and sequence.
And this is more so for teh different variants.
And even more so for the Carburettor vs Fuel -Injected cars.
What follows is what I do for my car ( JLA12399) which is a Quattrovalvole carburettor'ed car:
Turn on the battery isolator and the interior cocpit light will come on.
Turn teh ignition key to its first stop only. You will hear the fuel pumps whirr - wait for about 15-20 seconds
Without touching the clutch or brake pedal, fully depress the throttle pedal all teh way to the floor 6 times if the car has not been started for some days, or 3 times if it has been started within the last day or so.
Depress teh clutch and brake pedals now, and leave the throttle pedal well alone
Turn the key fully on.
The started motor will groan and might or might not catch. Repeat as necessary. But i dont do it more than 3 times without going back 3 steps and depressing the throttle pedal again to prime the carbs.
Also dont labour the starter motor- ie dont keep trying to get the started motor to start the engine for more than about 10 seconds on each attempt.
When the Engine finally catches, dont touch the throttle pedal and keep the clutch pedal down for at least 40-60 seconds.
The engine starts in a manner in which not all the cylinders start and fire up at the same time - so you have to be very patient and gentle with the car and its pedals.
After about 20 seconds of rough idling , teh engine will get ever smoother with each passing second.
After about a minute it will be smooth running enoough to SLOWLY let out the clutch - I take about 20-30 seconds to slowly release the clutch from a fully depressed position to its fully released position.
And that's it - but you might need to repeat one or each of these steps repeatedly.
There is no difference for starting JLA 12399 whether its in teh summer or teh winter - the main determinant as to how recalcitrant JLA12399 is to start seems to be how long it has not been started up for.
If you have been driving the car, and it is already fully warmed up, you might be able to start the car without doing Step 1 ( depressing teh throttle pedal 6/3 times)
And dont forget starting the car is only teh first bit - you MUST now let it fully warm up.
It might bbe best if you borrow the EVRO book ( or the Crowood Countach book which will be available from August/Sept) from your library - as I have devoted a full chapter to buying, owning, maintaining and driving the Countach
Enjoy your new toy - unlike most new cars it will take the average person years to fully appreciate a Countach- and never trust reviews from people who have never lived with one for years.
Thank you so much for your precious reply!I'm on a proper computer now so what follows is in response to your questions.
Starting a Countach is such a fascinating/frustrating procedure that I wrote quite a lot about it in my EVRO Countach book that was published in 2021, and have included a summary of it in my forthcoming Crowood Countach book.
You could borrow these from your local library for a fuller account than what follows.
The first thing to point out is that each car ,even of the samre Countach variant, will probably require a slightly different technique and sequence.
And this is more so for teh different variants.
And even more so for the Carburettor vs Fuel -Injected cars.
What follows is what I do for my car ( JLA12399) which is a Quattrovalvole carburettor'ed car:
Turn on the battery isolator and the interior cocpit light will come on.
Turn teh ignition key to its first stop only. You will hear the fuel pumps whirr - wait for about 15-20 seconds
Without touching the clutch or brake pedal, fully depress the throttle pedal all teh way to the floor 6 times if the car has not been started for some days, or 3 times if it has been started within the last day or so.
Depress teh clutch and brake pedals now, and leave the throttle pedal well alone
Turn the key fully on.
The started motor will groan and might or might not catch. Repeat as necessary. But i dont do it more than 3 times without going back 3 steps and depressing the throttle pedal again to prime the carbs.
Also dont labour the starter motor- ie dont keep trying to get the started motor to start the engine for more than about 10 seconds on each attempt.
When the Engine finally catches, dont touch the throttle pedal and keep the clutch pedal down for at least 40-60 seconds.
The engine starts in a manner in which not all the cylinders start and fire up at the same time - so you have to be very patient and gentle with the car and its pedals.
After about 20 seconds of rough idling , teh engine will get ever smoother with each passing second.
After about a minute it will be smooth running enoough to SLOWLY let out the clutch - I take about 20-30 seconds to slowly release the clutch from a fully depressed position to its fully released position.
And that's it - but you might need to repeat one or each of these steps repeatedly.
There is no difference for starting JLA 12399 whether its in teh summer or teh winter - the main determinant as to how recalcitrant JLA12399 is to start seems to be how long it has not been started up for.
If you have been driving the car, and it is already fully warmed up, you might be able to start the car without doing Step 1 ( depressing teh throttle pedal 6/3 times)
And dont forget starting the car is only teh first bit - you MUST now let it fully warm up.
It might bbe best if you borrow the EVRO book ( or the Crowood Countach book which will be available from August/Sept) from your library - as I have devoted a full chapter to buying, owning, maintaining and driving the Countach
Enjoy your new toy - unlike most new cars it will take the average person years to fully appreciate a Countach- and never trust reviews from people who have never lived with one for years.
I confess I didn't have the courage to take it for a spin.
I was very nervous, even though I'm used to a Late GTR.
It sat idle for about 20 years and now they've restarted it after a service (I need to figure out if the engine runs on 12 cylinders...).
Anyway, it started (before i read you )a bit hard when cold, without accelerating after 10 seconds of starting, pushing the clutch pedal, and then I had to accelerate a bit when it started, so I released the clutch pedal.
The brakes are very hard: it seems like it has no servo or is broken!
The clutch initially disengaged immediately, but after it had been running for a while, it began to disengage towards the end of its travel, as it should.
The accelerator has an initial free travel of a few cm: I greased the levers and now it's smoother and doesn't move jerkily.
The gearbox sticks when maneuvering if you keep putting it in first and reverse.
When it warmed up, I kept it at 4000 rpm, and after about ten seconds, it started sputtering every now and then.
I think it's all norma?l.
Sorry to ask you another thing that's driving me crazy: on the dashboard in front of the gear shifter, there's a square button (next to the fog light) with the fan symbol:
What's it for? (Max defrost, I think?)
I push it, but it doesn't stay pressed: is this normal?
Thanks a lot if you can answer.
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