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Someone school me on Jalpas


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I love older cars (less electronics, more user input, etc) and I've been looking around for a good pantera gt5 for some time now. Recently a buddy of mine advised me to look into jalpas as well as they kind of share the same body lines (not sure about performance) and would be cheaper to buy. So I came across one on ebay that was located in baton rouge for 30k and every other one I've seen for sale afterwards has been 30k-45k. So why are they so cheap? Hows the reliability and are parts hard to source out or no? If any owners or previous owners could chime in it would be very appreciated. Thank you

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Still interested in Jalpa info?

 

If so let me know. I can post lots of info and links.

 

I myself would be interested. I'm ALWAYS interested in old Lamborghini cars :)

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I was under the impression that the biggest issue with Jalpas were the availability of parts, supposedly worse than Countachs and other vintage Lambos.

 

 

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Still interested in Jalpa info?

 

If so let me know. I can post lots of info and links.

 

I just bought a 1988 Carrera, but yes I am still very interested

 

I myself would be interested. I'm ALWAYS interested in old Lamborghini cars :)

 

+1

 

I was under the impression that the biggest issue with Jalpas were the availability of parts, supposedly worse than Countachs and other vintage Lambos.

 

Really? There aren't any specialty shops online (viper/xvipers, porsche/pelicanpars, etc)?

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Allan, you have owned a jalpa or two correct???

 

I will put some thought together when I have time, but all three of the drives I have owned have been ultra reliable; more so than some of my friends Hondas.

 

In eight years my current driver (411) as never needed the cam chains or timing adjusted. I have done oil changes and tune ups. I did have a throttle cable snap, but it was frayed when I bought the car ans still lasted 4 more years.

 

So in my opinion they are reliable as long as you make sure everything is running properly first. Case in Point. I was out two weeks ago in the 105 degree weather. Top up AC on high and it was 73 in the car and the car was running about 5 degrees warmer than normal. I have never had the car run hot ever. If your car runs hot something is wrong. It could be the thermostat, an air bubble (most common as the therm is the lowest point on the engine), bad fan switch, or clogged rad.

 

again cam chains not belts like a 308 so no built in maintenance.

 

Summit sell piston and rings (JE Piston set) they are exact size and are drop ins. Many parts are the same as the Countach, which also means a lot of fiat, VW, BMW, etc parts cross reference.

 

Tires in my opinion have been the hardest/most expensive part, but I have Bravo wheels so 15 inch rims are less and less common.

My engines do not burn oil, do not leak, etc.

 

Yes the cars are individuals and each one is a little different in how they like to act, but if you know what you are doing or ask the guys that do know you can do almost all the work yourself.

 

Tuning the car is "fun" and I am still working on doing it myself. FOr a 25 year old car all the gauges still work perfectly. The electronics are point to point so if something stops working it is easy to track down what is wrong and 9 time out of 10 it is a fuse that is corroded.

 

Yes I love my cars, but I have not had the issues that many people have had. The main reason IMO is I bought a good car, not a cheap car. Just like the guys who buy a CT for 70K and then end up putting 50-100K into it and hate it for how bad a car it is. If you buy a 20K Jalpa expect to put 20 plus into the car to get it running the way it should.

 

As for price I think the car is under appreciated and in time may command a higher price.... and owner can always hope.

Also many of the Jalpas have been owned by people who can barely afford them so they end up in disrepair because once the first bill comes due they stop fixing everything and sell it. Price again; I heard one guy had a choice between a Jamara and a Muira. He choice the Jamraa for about 3K less when brand new. The miura turned out to be the ultimate collector with Jamara values very low when compared. So one took off and the other did not.

 

I have not found it hard to find parts. Evans and Jacques have lots for sale and Evans Auto does tons of Jalpa restorations.

 

What are other peoples thoughts.

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Allan, you have owned a jalpa or two correct???

 

I will put some thought together when I have time, but all three of the drives I have owned have been ultra reliable; more so than some of my friends Hondas.

 

In eight years my current driver (411) as never needed the cam chains or timing adjusted. I have done oil changes and tune ups. I did have a throttle cable snap, but it was frayed when I bought the car ans still lasted 4 more years.

 

So in my opinion they are reliable as long as you make sure everything is running properly first. Case in Point. I was out two weeks ago in the 105 degree weather. Top up AC on high and it was 73 in the car and the car was running about 5 degrees warmer than normal. I have never had the car run hot ever. If your car runs hot something is wrong. It could be the thermostat, an air bubble (most common as the therm is the lowest point on the engine), bad fan switch, or clogged rad.

 

again cam chains not belts like a 308 so no built in maintenance.

 

Summit sell piston and rings (JE Piston set) they are exact size and are drop ins. Many parts are the same as the Countach, which also means a lot of fiat, VW, BMW, etc parts cross reference.

 

Tires in my opinion have been the hardest/most expensive part, but I have Bravo wheels so 15 inch rims are less and less common.

My engines do not burn oil, do not leak, etc.

 

Yes the cars are individuals and each one is a little different in how they like to act, but if you know what you are doing or ask the guys that do know you can do almost all the work yourself.

 

Tuning the car is "fun" and I am still working on doing it myself. FOr a 25 year old car all the gauges still work perfectly. The electronics are point to point so if something stops working it is easy to track down what is wrong and 9 time out of 10 it is a fuse that is corroded.

 

Yes I love my cars, but I have not had the issues that many people have had. The main reason IMO is I bought a good car, not a cheap car. Just like the guys who buy a CT for 70K and then end up putting 50-100K into it and hate it for how bad a car it is. If you buy a 20K Jalpa expect to put 20 plus into the car to get it running the way it should.

 

As for price I think the car is under appreciated and in time may command a higher price.... and owner can always hope.

Also many of the Jalpas have been owned by people who can barely afford them so they end up in disrepair because once the first bill comes due they stop fixing everything and sell it. Price again; I heard one guy had a choice between a Jamara and a Muira. He choice the Jamraa for about 3K less when brand new. The miura turned out to be the ultimate collector with Jamara values very low when compared. So one took off and the other did not.

 

I have not found it hard to find parts. Evans and Jacques have lots for sale and Evans Auto does tons of Jalpa restorations.

 

What are other peoples thoughts.

 

I have not owned a Jalpa before.. Ive driven a few of them, but never owned. Cool and under appreciated cars inmo..

 

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Allan, you have owned a jalpa or two correct???

 

I will put some thought together when I have time, but all three of the drives I have owned have been ultra reliable; more so than some of my friends Hondas.

 

In eight years my current driver (411) as never needed the cam chains or timing adjusted. I have done oil changes and tune ups. I did have a throttle cable snap, but it was frayed when I bought the car ans still lasted 4 more years.

 

So in my opinion they are reliable as long as you make sure everything is running properly first. Case in Point. I was out two weeks ago in the 105 degree weather. Top up AC on high and it was 73 in the car and the car was running about 5 degrees warmer than normal. I have never had the car run hot ever. If your car runs hot something is wrong. It could be the thermostat, an air bubble (most common as the therm is the lowest point on the engine), bad fan switch, or clogged rad.

 

again cam chains not belts like a 308 so no built in maintenance.

 

Summit sell piston and rings (JE Piston set) they are exact size and are drop ins. Many parts are the same as the Countach, which also means a lot of fiat, VW, BMW, etc parts cross reference.

 

Tires in my opinion have been the hardest/most expensive part, but I have Bravo wheels so 15 inch rims are less and less common.

My engines do not burn oil, do not leak, etc.

 

Yes the cars are individuals and each one is a little different in how they like to act, but if you know what you are doing or ask the guys that do know you can do almost all the work yourself.

 

Tuning the car is "fun" and I am still working on doing it myself. FOr a 25 year old car all the gauges still work perfectly. The electronics are point to point so if something stops working it is easy to track down what is wrong and 9 time out of 10 it is a fuse that is corroded.

 

Yes I love my cars, but I have not had the issues that many people have had. The main reason IMO is I bought a good car, not a cheap car. Just like the guys who buy a CT for 70K and then end up putting 50-100K into it and hate it for how bad a car it is. If you buy a 20K Jalpa expect to put 20 plus into the car to get it running the way it should.

 

As for price I think the car is under appreciated and in time may command a higher price.... and owner can always hope.

Also many of the Jalpas have been owned by people who can barely afford them so they end up in disrepair because once the first bill comes due they stop fixing everything and sell it. Price again; I heard one guy had a choice between a Jamara and a Muira. He choice the Jamraa for about 3K less when brand new. The miura turned out to be the ultimate collector with Jamara values very low when compared. So one took off and the other did not.

 

I have not found it hard to find parts. Evans and Jacques have lots for sale and Evans Auto does tons of Jalpa restorations.

 

What are other peoples thoughts.

 

Thanks for the insight. As I said before, I'm still looking for one and hopefully I'll come across a good one at that. The only one on ebay right now seems to be a blue rolling chassis.

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Thanks for the insight. As I said before, I'm still looking for one and hopefully I'll come across a good one at that. The only one on ebay right now seems to be a blue rolling chassis.

 

Stay clear of that guy he chops and sells cars. That car is two cars put together and the owner of one of the wrecks is on another board. He is also now trying to sell the engine separately, but it is not complete.

 

Global auto sports has one for sale as do I (Car 382)

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Kinda makes me want a Jalpa :-/

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Stay clear of that guy he chops and sells cars. That car is two cars put together and the owner of one of the wrecks is on another board. He is also now trying to sell the engine separately, but it is not complete.

 

Global auto sports has one for sale as do I (Car 382)

 

He sold the engine in another car. The engine on ebay has some kind of fuel injection system on it. The blue car is a major project missing too many parts, with the bonus of being a structurally totaled car. Salvage cars are moved around with a forklift adding to the damage.

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They are fun cars, under valued, under appreciated, and sometimes to much of a project due to low cost of entry.

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They are fun cars, under valued, under appreciated, and sometimes to much of a project due to low cost of entry.

 

As in easy to get into, not easy to maintain?

 

I've looked around at old Ferraris, and I was actually kind of surprised that the parts themselves weren't nearly as expensive as I thought. Are the parts not ridiculously expensive and kind of on the same page in that it is more labor intense due to the amount of time to work on it rather than the parts? Or are the parts crazy along with labor intense?

 

I'm rather curious because I have no issues tearing into old cars. I'm dead set on having an oldschool Lambo or Ferrari hopefully within the next few years. I still cannot reconcile what I want because finding DIY types is, well, not too common it seems.

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Jalpa is pretty cool, but not sure I'd want unless it had the Bravo rims. The Bravos with the wing I think is a nice look, particularly in red or black.

 

What's intriguing is the 3.5 liter engine which is a big displacement compared to 308/328. Wonder what kind of engine mods are available to get the HP up there in the 280-300 range?

 

Random question: they are all targas, right?

 

If so, they should have made some coupes.

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Jalpa is pretty cool, but not sure I'd want unless it had the Bravo rims. The Bravos with the wing I think is a nice look, particularly in red or black.

 

What's intriguing is the 3.5 liter engine which is a big displacement compared to 308/328. Wonder what kind of engine mods are available to get the HP up there in the 280-300 range?

 

Random question: they are all targas, right?

 

If so, they should have made some coupes.

 

 

All targas. The single best hp trick is to go to the crank trigger fire ignition. The belt drive dist is a power loss sore spot. I can't remember the actual rear wheel hp improvement, but it was big (like 50hp big).

post-4314-1374459348_thumb.jpg

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I meant low cost to buy into the car compared to most Lambos.

 

Yes the engine ignition system is an out dated and power loss portion. The MSD system is better and there are even better system MOTEC, etc out there.

 

Engine parts are mostly readily available from Summit racing and Evans Auto.

 

Yes they are all Targas.

 

There are a few twin turbo Jalpas out there getting 500+ to the rear wheels on stock engine blocks!

 

Red over tan with Wing and Bravos car 411

Red over tan without Wing and Bravos car 382

 

Some days it is a tough choice on which one to drive :)

 

I love the black with the silver Bravos... want to trade?

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All targas. The single best hp trick is to go to the crank trigger fire ignition. The belt drive dist is a power loss sore spot. I can't remember the actual rear wheel hp improvement, but it was big (like 50hp big).

 

Wow, your car looks tight!

 

:icon_super:

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Thanks, rovingtraveler. These cars are still interesting to me. I really love the sound of the Jalpa as well. Hopefully at some point I will have one :)

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All targas. The single best hp trick is to go to the crank trigger fire ignition. The belt drive dist is a power loss sore spot. I can't remember the actual rear wheel hp improvement, but it was big (like 50hp big).

That car is beautiful! Crank fire ignition made a huge improvement on my old countach as well.. Like night and day difference.

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  • 5 weeks later...

If you are still looking for a nice Jalpa, running well, no issues, and reasonably priced, I am selling mine. #223, red over black.

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If you are still looking for a nice Jalpa, running well, no issues, and reasonably priced, I am selling mine. #223, red over black.

:icon_super: times like this I wish I had cash on hand. How much are you asking? There are days I think about just selling all of my Porsche cars so I can just get one and enjoy Lambo ownership.

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:icon_super: times like this I wish I had cash on hand. How much are you asking? There are days I think about just selling all of my Porsche cars so I can just get one and enjoy Lambo ownership.

 

I'm asking $35. But I'm also very interested in a trade. Maybe we can do a deal with one of your P cars.

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I love the Jalpa! Had mine (#071) for 7 years (2002-2009) before I got the Countach.

 

During my 7 years of ownership, the biggest issue I had was getting the brake boosters to function properly. The early Jalpa's used (2) boosters, one behind each headlight. Same Benditalia units as on the 60's-era Alfa GTV's. If my memory is correct, sometime around the 100th Jalpa (30 units after mine), they switched over to the single brake booster w/master cylinder attached. Much, MUCH more reliable.

 

Never had any electrical issues with the car at all. Like most other Jalpa owners, I always had that "knocking sound" that appears to come from behind the timing chain cover and re-tensioning the chains didn't help that much. However, the car always ran, never failed to start and turned heads wherever I took it.

 

Mike

MVC_014F.JPG

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I'm asking $35. But I'm also very interested in a trade. Maybe we can do a deal with one of your P cars.

Pics? I'm interested

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