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Discussion starter · #21 ·
You really should work on getting someone like Tavarish as a guest in your garage to get your subscribers and views up.
Definitely agreed. I'm in the process of reaching out to all the big guys- the trick is to make it through all the spam they get... been unsuccessful so far. My other thought is to buy some ads- but I'm just hesitant to throw a bunch of money at ads and have it not turn into views/subs when the whole point of this project is to build myself a Murci. I originally started the youtube channel as a means to hopefully help fund my project, rather than the project start the youtube channel. I think it would be cool if it takes off (who wouldn't want to be paid to do what they love doing?), but I feel like I'd be losing sight of my original goal if I don't just focus my resources on the project at hand. Thoughts?

All that aside- some techinical questions for you guys-

1) is there a part number cross reference for the front upper and lower ball joints? I know in order to get the new Lamborghini part, you have to buy a brand new control arm. I quoted out the control arm set earlier today, and am just going to have a hard time coughing up 5 grand for it when it's roughly $500 (at most) worth of material. I'm kicking around the idea of making my own (I was the FSAE suspension lead, and have made many control arms). If I can source the ball joints I'll probably give it a shot. Worst case I can always buy the CAs if my set doesn't work out.

2) kind of based on the question above- is it possible to change out the ball joints. I don't think it's possible by the book, but am interested to see if anyone has done it successfully. I ask because my front upper CA is fine, but the ball joint pulled out. I'm wondering if I can just press it back in and call it a day, or if the press fit (and entire control arm) is ruined now that the ball joint has been forcefully removed.

Finally, I'll leave you guys with a few pictures and some notes on the frame damage. I haven't had any frame guys over to look at it yet, but here are my thoughts on what I am going to do. Any feedback/input is appreciated.

My plan is to get the car on a frame machine and try and pull the rear right corner back down where it should be. The rear mount for the RR lower arm is twisted (note in the picture how the bolts are not axially aligned) so my thought is to also try and pull it back to where it was with plan B being to cut off, remake, and reweld. With the right side damage, I'm thinking about cutting the frame where the damage starts (the frame is straight until the door jamb) and replacing from there back. The other option is to cut the entire frame rail out and replace it, but I'm wondering if that is an unnecessary amount of work. For the front, it should be a pretty straightforward cut and replace.


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The kiss of death on a car like this is if the roof skin is wrinkled. If that is the case the whole car has a bend to it and that can be very difficult to repair. On a $1million dollar classic you repair anything but on a $100K car you have to think of the costs at least a little. The scariest thing here is the parts bill. If one control arm is $5K (which looks like a nothing part) imagine the number of line items and their total costs. I urge you to go to the Eurospares website and start pricing out some items you may need. Even at 1/3 the cost for used the totals may shock you. I'm super supportive of this initiative but also don't want to blow smoke either.

As for YouTube, bear in mind that 1,000,000 views for one video is worth about $1-2K and dropping. The key to revenue is LOTS of videos each bringing in their share. Most YouTubers will admit they fell butt backwards into it and the numbers needed to quit your day job on is pretty intense.
 
Maybe I just missed it, but what kind of accident was it in, any idea?
 
Definitely agreed. I'm in the process of reaching out to all the big guys- the trick is to make it through all the spam they get... been unsuccessful so far. My other thought is to buy some ads- but I'm just hesitant to throw a bunch of money at ads and have it not turn into views/subs when the whole point of this project is to build myself a Murci. I originally started the youtube channel as a means to hopefully help fund my project, rather than the project start the youtube channel. I think it would be cool if it takes off (who wouldn't want to be paid to do what they love doing?), but I feel like I'd be losing sight of my original goal if I don't just focus my resources on the project at hand. Thoughts?

All that aside- some techinical questions for you guys-

1) is there a part number cross reference for the front upper and lower ball joints? I know in order to get the new Lamborghini part, you have to buy a brand new control arm. I quoted out the control arm set earlier today, and am just going to have a hard time coughing up 5 grand for it when it's roughly $500 (at most) worth of material. I'm kicking around the idea of making my own (I was the FSAE suspension lead, and have made many control arms). If I can source the ball joints I'll probably give it a shot. Worst case I can always buy the CAs if my set doesn't work out.

2) kind of based on the question above- is it possible to change out the ball joints. I don't think it's possible by the book, but am interested to see if anyone has done it successfully. I ask because my front upper CA is fine, but the ball joint pulled out. I'm wondering if I can just press it back in and call it a day, or if the press fit (and entire control arm) is ruined now that the ball joint has been forcefully removed.

Finally, I'll leave you guys with a few pictures and some notes on the frame damage. I haven't had any frame guys over to look at it yet, but here are my thoughts on what I am going to do. Any feedback/input is appreciated.

My plan is to get the car on a frame machine and try and pull the rear right corner back down where it should be. The rear mount for the RR lower arm is twisted (note in the picture how the bolts are not axially aligned) so my thought is to also try and pull it back to where it was with plan B being to cut off, remake, and reweld. With the right side damage, I'm thinking about cutting the frame where the damage starts (the frame is straight until the door jamb) and replacing from there back. The other option is to cut the entire frame rail out and replace it, but I'm wondering if that is an unnecessary amount of work. For the front, it should be a pretty straightforward cut and replace.
Well you asked for thoughts, and you seem to care about the economics, so my thoughts are that if a pristine, super low mileage, museum quality Pre-LP egear goes for $136K on BaT, and you are repairing a salvage title car that would probably go for $70-80K in perfectly repaired condition and light accident damage, you're in trouble.

Your car has major damage, including significant frame damage, and you are now wanting to go the direction of hand-building key parts like suspension arms, instead of using OEM parts, and rebending the frame, instead of replacing the frame, to save cash. And it's all on youtube to see. So you're probably looking at $40-50K in resale value when it's all said and done, and that's assuming anyone could get the car to pass a salvage inspection with home-made parts, and actually register the car for road use.

I would say, you are already at the point that you are better off parting out the car because it doesn't look like you're going to get to 100's of thousands of youtube subscribers before this is all said and done (usually takes years to do that anyway), and if $5,000 scares you for suspension parts, you don't sound like you have the type of cash to throw down the toilet on a Lambo money pit just for sh!ts and giggles. Those are my thoughts.
 
Discussion starter · #26 · (Edited)
Maybe I just missed it, but what kind of accident was it in, any idea?
From what I could tell, the car went under the safety wires in the highway median.

Nuvolari, Stimpy- thanks for the great feedback. I knew I was going to get Stimpy's thoughts whether I asked or not :)

As far as the Youtube thing goes- I do need to be realistic about it. I'll keep it as a fun side project and a neat way of sharing progress. I won't stress out about it. Maybe it'll go somewhere someday.

So I will say, you guys forced me to think long and hard about the point of my project (I've been thinking about it pretty much non-stop since you posted). I realized that I am doing it for me. I went in to this wanting a Lambo, and I'm going to do what it takes to get one. I think it's going to be a combination of making/repairing what I can, and buying what I can't. I enjoy making things and fixing things, and at the end of the day this is something pretty cool that I can point to and say "I did that".

I get that parts are pricey, and have no problem paying for things that I can't make myself. I can always buy OEM parts in the future if my parts don't last. It's not like when I bolt a part on it's stuck on forever. The car already has a salvage title, so I figure I'll have some fun with it- do some stuff that I otherwise would never even think of doing with a clean titled car. The way I see it, money in = money out. If I'm able to save a buck with some homebrew parts then I won't expect to get that buck when I sell the car. At the end of the day, like I said, I'm doing this for me and if I lose some money on the rebuild then I'll chalk it up to cost of ownership.

I appreciate you guys helping to reel me in a little.
 
Passion is an incredible motivator, and you’ve got it. You’ll do fine just follow that passion.
 
Maybe I just missed it, but what kind of accident was it in, any idea?
Russ,

The short of it is that the car started gaining speed (no I was not speeding). I tried to get it into neutral, but didn’t work. Hit the brake and the rear wheels lost traction and slid into a cabled guard rail on the rear drivers side. It counter spun, helicoptered and landed bottom down in the grassy median of the road and slid and spun for about 50 yards (guessing; really not sure how far it was, but was close to a football field before it stopped).


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At least you appear to be going into this project with your eyes wide open but........heck when I bought my 2019 Huracan with 1600 miles I thought I was doing something that was risky and gave me pause but I guess I am risk averse. This endeavor sounds like it floats your boat, good for you........best of luck!
 
Passion is good, but it rarely works out well to go into such a big and expensive project with eyes wide shut.

Alternatively, if he parts out the car, and then uses that money to put a big down payment on a Gallardo in good condition, that would be a lot better way to achieve his ultimate goal of owning a running and driving Lamborghini.

The Gallardo is not going to cost a lot to run, and it's not going to depreciate much, if at all. This Murci is going to cost way more to repair in parts alone plus the initial auction price. Labor is the cheap part with a V12 Lamborghini, and it's not unusual for a young guy to jump into a Lambo without realizing that beforehand. Many years ago, I bought a Ferrari 355 F1 that cost all my money to buy and I didn't have anything left for repairs and maintenance. I knew nothing about the cost of Ferrari parts. Within 2 weeks, I had the F1 system go out, and the mechanic charged me $2K just to tell me something is very wrong and it's going to be very expensive. I got out of that car quick because I realized I didn't have the money at the time to live that life. Fast forward, and I am back into expensive exotics now that I can afford the parts.

Keep in mind, once he fixes the structural damage, he's going to need to troubleshoot the extreme strangeness of a car that had the engine management cause it to accelerated on its own and not allow a shift into neutral, and then clearly something was out of whack with the braking system that caused the rear to lock up and spin the car out of control. The fronts should always lock up first on a properly working brake system, and the ABS should kick in to make sure you don't spin out of control. Maybe a proportioning valve issue - maybe a huge issue with the ABS system - who knows. I really doubt the auction house gave him the info that he was buying a car that had other serious problems before the accident damage. Just wait until he prices out the Lamborghini computer needed to do some diagnostics.
 
@Stimpy, I am in complete agreement with your logic and cautionary advice, hell I break out into cold sweats just looking at the amount of work that will be needed and being unsure if there will be a "payoff"............but but apparently the gentlemen seems committed to undertaking this project.
 
@Stimpy, I am in complete agreement with your logic and cautionary advice, hell I break out into cold sweats just looking at the amount of work that will be needed and being unsure if there will be a "payoff"............but but apparently the gentlemen seems committed to undertaking this project.
If he decides to go that route, I will support anyway I can. Besides, it's a lot more entertaining than the rest of the stuff going on in this country right now! LOL
 
Besides, it's a lot more entertaining than the rest of the stuff going on in this country right now! LOL
That's the problem......there is nothing going on in this country except maybe anarchy and a lot of hate......this project may, in fact, be a welcomed diversion. Love this country, though not sure why others don't feel the same way...........🇺🇲
 
We have a lot of experience fixing salvage cars, our best advice - find a parts car or it will bankrupt you. Good luck with your project!
 
Hi Guys!

I guess it's about time that I start up a thread on my Murci rebuild. The car is a 2006 e-gear that I purchased from salvage auction a few months ago.

Just throwing it out right off the bat- I'm a mechanical engineer and a wannabe mechanic. I'm decently mechanically inclined, but definitely have lots to learn when it comes to wrenching. I spent my college years building Formula SAE cars (I was suspension lead and team captain), so I have a decent idea of the basic principles but that's about it. FSAE cars are pretty basic compared to road cars. That said, I can make just about anything given access to a mill/lathe/autoclave.

My plan is to do as much of the rebuild work myself as possible. I got ahold of the LP640 service manual, but there are definitely spots where it leaves questions unanswered- and that's where I am hoping you guys can come in.

So as it stands right now, I am still in the process of tearing everything down to find what all I am going to need and getting stuff on order. I don't expect this project to be quick or easy, but I think it will be a lot of fun and hope you guys will enjoy the ride along with me. I'll throw in some pictures of the car as she sits tonight, and will start updating as I run into questions.
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All the best in your rebuild! Looks like you have a lot of work ahead of you but sounds like you have a great attitude which will go a long way. I just subscribed to your Youtube channel and look forward to seeing your progress.
 
As much as I'd like to see this car be brought back to life, I agree with Stimpy. Makes much more sense to part out the car. If you really want a Lambo, use the profit to put down on a Gallardo or a less damaged Lambo.

I
 
Discussion starter · #40 ·
Guys- thanks for the both the support and the realistic advice. Both are much appreciated.

I haven't touched the project for a couple weeks- it's given me a lot of time to research, read, and to think about what I really want and why I am doing it. I'll probably continue to think it over for the next couple weeks. I'll keep you guys posted on what I come up with.
 
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