jfrazar

I know that I own the least desirable Countach of them all - but I love the car. Just what I wanted; Low tech, FI and pre Anniv looks. Looking back maybe I should have bought a QV but at $82,000 I am very happy. The car has turned out to be very reliable and in very good shape. Mind you that price included a recent clutch and major service ($25,000 bill) and only 19,000 miles. I have been reading some of the books that are collections of old magazine articles and I can't believe the awe that this car created. Don't get me wrong they had some minor gripes but every one of them you could feel the love of the car for what it was. That to me is the sign of a true classic. I say that Countach's and I mean all of them will follow that path of the Miura straight up, yes I know some more than others. Not making a claim as to when but for my generation this was it. Nothing came close to the Countach. If you want one get it now. 3yrs from now they will be worth more. What do you guys think?

Don't feel bad, my Countach dropped an advance bushing into the cap and destroyed my brand new rotor. It happen under full accel about 6,000 RPM - I lost half of my ingnition - black smoke from the left bank, lost power scared the shit out of me. I thought I blew it up at first. Rolled into a church parking lot - I figured out what happen and fixed it on the spot after a ride home to get some tools. Hook the vent line up and see what you have. I bet you will be fine. Joe Frazar

I had to chime in, This car is without a doubt one of the best Jalpa's I have ever seen. Mike, everyone has called tonight and told me what a good looking car you have. Congrats and enjoy. Great history, runs very well, and the metalic black paint is completely over the top. I had to wash both of my cars after you left I felt so guilty. Joe

I am currently cross ref all the parts. I have successfully completed this for my Urraco. Currently I think that the front bulk head joints are Alfa Romeo Upper ball joints - Don't quote me on this. I will let you know when I have completed and installed all on my car. I did go ahead and order them though - They look just like them when I had my car on the lift last. For the Rose joints as Lamborghini calls them I have 2 solutions I am working on. 1 is replace all joints and rods with Domestic circle track suspension parts. These will all be standard thread ect. The idea came from one of my mechanics that races on the dirt tracks. He gave me a catalog from a company called Day Motorsports. You can buy all the rods in any length you want. All this is great but I would prefer Metric joints and stock rods. I have found a supplier who just started carrying metric joints - I went ahead and orderd one of each of the factory joints to get a good look at these things in as new condition. This way I can mic them and compare to a new joint. I will share with everyone what works and what does not. Anyone have any other ideas. Joe Frazar

328matt, You are correct. I am in my mid 30's and just bought mine. It has always been the ultimate for me to. I bought mine and had never even driven one. I love the car and don't think it will ever leave. My first lambo drive was in college, I took a job at a local high line repair shop, the owner was having financial problems and I took over his books and front end management of the shop. A doctor came in with a very nice Espada. Every morning the car had to be driven if it was started. I began every morning for 2 weeks with a nice drive in that car. Oh the sound! My first Urraco sighting was in a little hick town my father was stationed at back in the 80's. I bought one of those 2 -3 years ago. I have since found the owner of that car and he still has it. He was blown away I knew the car. Small world I guess. Just buy one - you will not be sorry. Jfrazar

Some months ago, I posted that I had replaced my struts on my Urraco with Monoroe sensatrac cartridges. After some months of use I developed a problem with the rear struts. It took some time to figure out but I have a new solution to the problem = The struts were toping out. If the car was not full of gas and you hit a good bump the ride was just not quite right. The replacement and I am sure these will work, are 1990 - 1991 VW Corrado front strut cartriges. I had to machine about 1/4 of an inch down the shaft below the threads to pass through the strut mount. This has given the needed 2 inches of additional length. Guys stop spending insane money on strut rebuilds with these suspension shops. This is an easy job that any home mechanic can do with basic tools and a $19.00 spring compressor. Or your local mechanic for much less money. Sorry for the bad info months ago. The fronts are working perfectly with the sensatracs. The car drives perfect now!!!! Joe Frazar

Don't most afla's run DCOE webers Joe Frazar

Daniel, I bought standard IDF rebuild kits for mine. I assume you are reading the number on the choke barrels. These do not indicate the size of the carburator. They are selected per the needs of the motor. Remember, 4 webers is a lot of carburation for a small motor. When I am tunning a motor I always resist the popular need to go bigger and I always make more power and the car is much more smooth in transition from idle to progression to the main. 40mm is the size of the main barrels and the chokes are added to increase air speed through the carb. The smaller the choke typically means more low end power and larger more high end. We already have sorry low end power don't make it worse. I must admit that I am quite happy with carb tuning the factory has done and I have left mine completely stock and the car runs perfect. Joe Frazar 74 Urraco 85 Countach

Looks just like my car. I do think that the plastic air box lids are in very poor taste, also looks as if the engine has not been cleaned in years. I wonder if it runs and drives very well? Joe Frazar

No clue on the back. Needed two front calipers and was looking around on the internet and saw the early 5 and 6 series caliper - looked the same. I ordered to Reman ones from NAPA for $55 each and a set pads. Exact replacement. Jalpa95 are you saying that the rears are BMW 2002TII Calipers and Pads? I have been gathering parts for a suspension overhaul. I had to bite the bullet and buy my ball joints from Lamborghini- I tried to match Fiat 124 and Lanica and even BMW ball joints all of them were close but no match. Any clue on what they are? The Steering Dampner is without a doubt 70's - 80's Mercedes Benz. Cost Like $20.00. Also bit the bullet and bought the lower control arm bushing from Lambo I will post photos so we can cross those over. Joe Frazar 74 P250 Urraco 85 5000s Countach

The front are the same as a BMW early 5 Series or Early BMW 6 series - Same for the Calipers. Using on my car now. Joe Frazar

That is the car that sold down in Florida at an auction for $35,000. Joe

The only hope the Jarama or any of the front engine V12 cars have is this> Name another front engine, V12, italian sports car that can be bought for less than $50,000: less you want a 400 Series Ferrari. - In a world with 50k plus Mass Production American Muscle - It really is a deal. Think about it, Low production, A great story, Real craftmanship, Great sound. A good friend of mine just purchased that last Jarama on Ebay. The Silver one with the red interior. Apart from a few minor tweeks the car needed it is a very nice car. - No rust, great older paint, Leather that is perfect. Ect. ect. I say hold on. I think all these 70's sports cars are just getting started going up. The same goes for my Urraco as well. I deal with modern junk all day long at my dealership and I can tell you right now, I can't see how anything made these days will be worth anything. I don't car whose name is on the but of the car. My 2 cents. Joe Frazar

The gearbox is a lambo item. I am sure some of the gears and bearings are off the shelf. I had to replace a bearing on mine and did a simple part number crossref. What is it that you need?

The master Cyl. number is NAPA Part# 11-1559. This is to a VW. Drill out the threaded mounting holes on the new master cyl. Just enough to clear the threads on the mounting studs. The brake lines will line right up. You will need some line port plugs. I used some 914 Caliper plugs for the rear calipers. I think you can use just a short 10mm bolt with a copper washer. The VW master cyl. Has to many ports. You also need to get some large MC gromets with smaller ID ports that what comes with the M/C. The benaldi reservior will go right on. I have not done this yet. I was still in the hope this works mode and just mounted a stock VW reservior with the little blue feed lines ect. When the Urraco goes under for restoration I will get the proper MC gromets to install the master cyl resv. This looks completely stock and is without a doubt a low cost common sense repair alternative for these cars. Hope this helps. Joe Frazar

Remove the plate - I had to take mine off yesterday. It holds a tension pin for the shift lever centering spring. Your picture of the drain bolt - don't remove the black bolt, that is a pivot for the 2 shift rods inside the transmission. Look at the parts manual for the car and you will see what I am talking about. Joe

I went by and they have lost all of the old service history on this car and many others. They explained that they changed computer systems and lost lots of data. I did speak to the parts manager and some of the techs and they all remembered the car. I spoke to Jim w/ lambo owners club, he recalled the car as well. No one can remember anything prior to being at the dealer or who the guy was. Back to this yellow paint - did the factory use a yellow primer. My 308 and a buddy's 308 have yellow paint underneath some of the engine/suspension frame work. All of this is painted black on every 308 I have ever worked on or seen. When the black is chipped away you see yellow behind it. Does the factory offer the orginal build sheet or spec sheet on the older cars?

I emailed pics of the car and a full update - he did not seem to have any prior info on the car. My own research has led me to the following lifeline for this car. Previous owner was a gentleman in Boston Mass that never drove the car. Prior to that, it was a consignment sale @ ultimate motorworks in Orlando. The owner that had the car there was a local hotel owner. He had a lot work done at the dealer. Prior to this no info.

My wife and I took the Urraco out for almost 3 hours today. Car ran perfect. I think it is time to consider and start planning the cosmetic restoration of the car. One thing that has concerned me is the color of the car. Currently red - I really believe that the original color was yellow. I pulled the carpets from the drivers side and low and behold yellow paint. If you look in the front compartment more yellow paint behind some of the relays ect. The front compartment has been blacked out with spray paint in my opinion. Who can I contact at Lamborghini to find out the orginal color? Does anyone have any photos of Urracos in yellow. This is a very early car with body color engine compartment ect. Somtime in the cars past it was clearly restored because they did a good job putting red in a lot of places. Thoughts and opinions please. Keep in red and just fix the rust bubbles or strip and go back to what I believe is the orginal color.

Promise me no one will freak out that I just ruined my car or an old school lambo. After much searching I went ahead and pulled the master cylinder and took it apart. The last shop to rebuild the mc used too small of a seal for the last seal for the master cylinder. GT car parts did have a rebuild kit??? I bought it. 4 sqaured off orings. These are for the primary plungers in the mc not the end seal. I tried like hell to find a seal that would fit - no Luck. I got pissed and said I want another alternative. I have the ability to dig around all the local parts houses when I need somthing. They all get a kick out of it. You would be surprised what I have learned and discoverd over the years. I went to the NAPA across the street from my store and dug in all the Master Cylinders. I found one that was almost an exact match. 19mm bore - Same as the original. 1/4 of inch shorter and 5 ports instead of 3. The MC resv. mouting was the same also. Went to the counter and ask the girl to tell me how much and what it goes to. $22 and belongs to a VW Beetle. - I was shocked. This is what I had todo. The VW master cyl has 5 ports. 10mm x 1.0 is the thread size. My bonaldi mc had 3 and one was pluged off. I needed 2 more plugs. I found that Porsche 914 Caliper plugs fit perfect - also used on Ferrari 308 and Volvo P1800. I plugged 3 of the ports that would not be used. The VW MC is threaded for mounting bolts - Drill out the threads. All of the brake lines a perfect. No bending, no swaping, a perfect fit. The VW Master Cyl also uses a different push rod method than the lambo cyl. The push rod is held in place inside the MC. My original plan was to take a standard 10mm x 1.25 3 inch bolt and grind the bolt head off and make it rounded to go inside the VW MC which is very recessed and thread up to the standard lambo pedal adj. The local Home Depot was out of the bolt I needed (Surprise). I happend to have a Porshe 911 pedal sym in my garage. I robbed the MC push rod off it and bolted it to the lambo pedal asym. When I went to install the Resv. the VW MC gromet holes were to large. I made some spacers out of some other grometst hat I had. They leaked, Plan B: I went ahead and installed a VW resv. ($4.95) until I can find the right gromets. The master Cyl works perfect. - a low cost alternative to a part that I could not find at all!!!!!!!! Yes I have saved the orginal - if these cars ever become valuable I can put it all back. Until then I will be driving it. Later Joe

After no replies - clearly this is a problem that has not manifested itself to other owners. After much searching no one stocks a master cylinder for the car. I think however I have come up with a swap. I will not say what it is until I have confirmed this. Lets just say it is less expensive than a rebuild and a much better alternative.

The Brake Master Cylinder is leaking on my car! I noticed this morning when I got in the car to drive to office that the rubber mat on my carpet was super slick in places. The brakes work great but clearly the shaft seal has failed. (I have lost some fluid in the Res) - I have found various posts on the internet that suggest the following might swap for the Urraco Master Cyl. Early Ferrari 308, Various Alfa's and Fiats even possibly a BMW 2002. Does anyone have any ideas or knowledge of this. 5 years ago the Master cylinder was sent somewhere for a rebuild, I was told by the Lambo dealer in orlando when they had the car. I know for a fact the BMW 528 / 630 Calipers work on the front - exact match. Joe Frazar 74 P250

I am confused - A Fiat X 1/9 has a single piston caliper with a mechanical parking brake lever on the same caliper. The Urraco has a 4 piston caliper w/ a seperate mechanial only parking brake caliper. One at the 9 o'clock and the other at the 3 o'clock position on the rotor. The dust cover we are talking about is a 2 inch in diameter, almost cone shaped, that covers the adjustment lugs and screws for the parking brake caliper. I can't see any related part on the X 1/9 caliper. I checked my Haynes manual for Fiat X 1/9 - I save all my old manuals that I have collected over the years, great for xrefing parts. How are you making the connection to the X 1/9 caliper? Joe

I took mine apart about 1 month ago. It has these small round shoes with what looks like about a 1/4 to an 1/8 of an inch of material. If you happen to have worn yours out, take them to a local clutch or brake shoe company (a rebuilder) and ask them to resurface them for you with new material. Mine worked much better after taking them apart and cleaning the asym. Adj the handbrake cable at the same time. Just drop down the holding clamps for the cooling pipes (This will give just enough room to work ) and remove the cover under the hand brake. When you get the calipers in your end you will see they are very simple. Joe

Have you looked at them, they are like nothing I have ever seen. It is my understanding that those units were cast at the factory. Joe Frazar 74 Urraco