Hello all, first post here. My typical toys are far less exotic than most of yours (Toyota Supra), but I happened to come upon a series II Espada. The owner had the car in storage for about 13 years, were it basically sat and rotted. A friend and I picked up the car to get it out of storage for him, and I'm hoping to work out a deal with the current owner to purchase and restore the car.

Some pictures of the car just as we picked it up are here - http://photobucket.com/albums/e136/s...0007_small.jpg

Very very rough, but almost all there. It needs a ground up restoration as the rockers are gone and there are some small holes in the passenger floor. Also has 64,000 miles and my guess is the engine has never been apart before, but I don't know for sure.

The good news is I'm a mechanical engineer and have the capability to make a lot of parts myself, and I really enjoy this type of work so this is a perfect project for me. I'm trying to decide if I want to try to get it running before I tear it down to perform some checks, or if I would be better off to just rebuild everything from the start. I'm still waiting for the service manual to arrive, but it looks like the water pump can dump coolant into the oil if the seal fails, therefore I consider that at a minimum I should rebuild the pump before I try anything.

In any case, just wanted to say hello and I look forward to learning some info from you folks.

Wow, the interior is beautiful. I can't wait to see it finished. Just do one thing for me at least. keep us fresh on the stats of your sweet ride

I think you should go for it...but there is nothing I can tell you about the Espada
Anyhow, if you restore it yourself, I would love to see the pictures...Have fun, and keep us posted...Thanks

I suggest you keep it in the original color. Way cool ! Keep us posted.

How are things going ? You've got an Espada fan on your hands here...

i say go for it as well, after restoration the outside should be as beautiful as the inside!

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*Looking Forward to my first Lamborghini, whenever I shall have her!*

Actually, I'm preparing to build a house/shop right now, so things have/will be slow for the next year or so until that is complete. However then I will have a very nice shop to begin the process (lift, lathe, milling machine, etc.)

However, engine turns over and has compression on all cylinders. Replaced all engine fluids. Cleaned/lubed the dizzy, installed new condensors. Pulled off all the carbs and am in the process of rebuilding them. Pretty simple and cheap, just time consuming. I'll probably throw together a set of cheap wires for test purposes just to get it running. The car had a non-oem fuel pump, so I need to dive into that and see what the status of the OEM pump and fuel lines are. With those things complete, it should run. Unfortunatly there is enough corrosion in one area of the chassis (behind the right front wheel well) that I don't want to drive it at all. Not worth risking more chassis or glass damage.

The interior looks better in those pictures than it actually is. Most of the leather is in restorable shape, but sadly most of the stitching has rotted and tears easily. All the carpet needs to be replaced as well. Nothing that can't be fixed, just will take some time.

I've decided the exterior of the car will be red. After looking at many Espada pictures, they just look so much better in red than they did in white. From my research, the value of the car would not change significantly, especially because this car will always just be a "driver."

Hi

I restored my Espada 7987 in the last past 5 years. A huge task, great moments, some frustrations too... Now I'm driving her whenever possible and enjoying it a lot! Good luck in your project.

Phil.

Come on, Jesse, don't give up. Keep us posted, communicate. Help is always on the way...

Hi Turbo, WELCOME TO L-Talk!!!

I've restored Espadas and worked on quite a few going back over 25 years. If you need any advice or help just ask & I'll be glad to help & share in any way I can.

Best Regards, JRV

ps: also look in the Old L-Talk Archives at the bottom of Forums section, quite a bit of Espada info already in there.

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JRV

www.PinnacleMotorsports.com