I have decided to bite the bullet and have one of the best restoration companies in Florida completley restore the exterior of my Jalpa. The company is Special Cars Only, located in Tampa and I feel very fortunate that they will be doing the work as they usually deal with cars that are worth several million dollars. They are currently working on a 6 million dollar Ferrari. They did a thorough inspection of the car for bondo or lead filling and feel the car should not have any hidden surprises. As it was a one owner car and garage kept since new, I hope all goes well. The work will take approx 2 months and will cost just over $18,000. They can receive the car in early Feb 08. Many of you will think I'm nuts because with the my purchase cost plus engine rebuild plus this next step, it will put me over $70K on the car. Sure I'm upside down big time on the Jalpa, but It will be one of the nicest Jalpa's around and I plan on keeping it. Below is a scanned copy of their quote. As I respect the opionion of many on this board, comments are always welcomed. Hope everyone has a healthy and prosperous new year.

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Lambotsavy
Jalpa #ELA12100

i did not know it needed paint, as it looks nice in the pics. my hats off to you, your Jalpa will be king of the breed for sure!

Thanks,
My Jalpa was never repainted from new and has many cracks (crows feet) and faded areas on the front, roof and rear trunck. The car looks OK from 10 feet out, but the paint issues are very noticable up close. The good news is this company will do it right so that the car will not look as if repainted, but as it was when new.

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Lambotsavy
Jalpa #ELA12100

I think the Jalpa's are worth it. your Jalpa is going to look good when its done.

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Lamborghini Jalpa #DLA12024
Christopher Mclellan

My advice, question or tip for things to consider about the paint are concernig if it is really worth going to Florida to the ultimate paint shop? Restoring cars is a huge trend right now and a lot of people are restoring and re-painting cars. It seems like you could find a great shop to do the work closer and cheaper. A specialized mechanic is one thing, but a re-paint is far less specialized car to car. How much of a difference is going to the ultimate paint shop in Florida going to make, and is it worth the cost and trouble? By all means use a good painter, but do you need Picasso to paint it a solid color? I am sure the Florida team is great, but it seems like overkill. MOST important is to get what you want! If you are after the ultimate and feel those are the guys for the job, go for it. I would just advise looking around a little and consider what you are after.

I am only a couple steps behind you. I spent a year and 10,000 getting mechanicals rebuilt and sorted. Now I need an enginie rebuild and hope to start this spring. Next year I plan to do the paint and exterior.

I get tired of the bad investment line of reasoning. I love my car and want it to be as nice as possible. I don't plan to sell it. I think V8 ownership has a very different mind set than the 12s. More passion and less investment concerns.

I would love some advice and stories about your rebuild. I have been planning to use Evans for my rebuild. Your thread worries me. 18 months!! I would love to hear about costs to expect and why on earth it took so long?

I sent you a PM

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Lamborghini Jalpa #DLA12024
Christopher Mclellan

Can we have some pictures of your Jalpa?

I think its a good idea, and if your going to do... do it RIGHT (not that you need to be told)

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Lamborghini LP560-4 Commercial Video

I am all for it buddy!! I would definitely take it to the shop you are most comfortable with. You can get anything cheaper but that is not always better. Cheaper usually means to cut corners. We are not talking about painting a 1991 Ford F150. These are rare cars and will eventually be very valuable. The funny thing is that I also never plan on selling mine either and I would spend my last dollar on it. They are very underappreciated except by their owners.

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1986 Jalpa Twin Turbo
http://www.d2our.com

i didn't receive your PM.

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Lambotsavy
Jalpa #ELA12100

Well Gentleman,
Thanks for all the input.
I was able to negoiate a slightly better deal with Special Cars Only and got them down to 15k. the car will be going in on Mon Jan 28th. They document the restoration by digital photo's, so I will post all before and after pics approx 2 months from the 28th of Jan. again thanks for all the input.

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Lambotsavy
Jalpa #ELA12100