Lamborghini Espadas are a rare sight on craigslist under most circumstances, but finding two of them as part of a package deal is unheard of. This listing features two Espadas, one with its original twelve cylinder motor still installed and the other a roller that the seller recommends making into a V8 conversion. How would you rebuild them? Find the pair here on craigslist for $65,000 in what sounds like a firm price.
I can’t quite tell which one retains its motor, but since the green Espada still has its glass installed in the rear hatch, I’d assume it to be that car. The gray is more of a looker, in my opinion, and the purist inside of me would have a difficult time at least not attempting to source a Lamborghini-built V12. The bodies on both cars look quite nice, if not somewhat incomplete, which begs the question as to why they were stripped so far down.
The green Espada, if I had to guess, was originally a verde chiaro car, which is a very striking shade of lime green paint. The sun has clearly caused what was likely a single-stage paint job to fade, but that’s OK – you’ll be repainting it anyway if you want perfection. The original wheels look surprisingly good on both cars, and I see no evidence of major structural damage from my distant armchair. No glass is a bugger, though, as I imagine spares are both pricey and hard to come by.
The seller does not reference an automatic transmission in the listing, but it’s clear at least one of these cars is. Further, someone has swapped out the stock automatic shifter handle for something out of a 70s-era domestic coupe, so that begs the question as to whether it already has a GM-derived slushbox installed. Regardless, assuming the other car retains a manual gearbox, that car should absolutely be restored, and the other could become the standard-bearer for the LS swap all the things army.
Great looking cars. Had a customer car we used to crank up in the morning with a cup of coffee and just listen to the sound coming out of the four exhaust pipes. Cars have a 10,000 rpm tach with no red line… Wow!
These are hugely complex cars in both body and mechanical items. Expensive to the extreme and so beautiful and wonderfully rich in feel as per Bobhess above that they are worth bringing back to the factory specs. And update of electrical wiring would be a nice touch but leave the rest alone.
There was a ice blue one in Kansas City when I was young and a metallic chocolate brown one as well. I was behind them both at a traffic light one day in my old Giulittia Alfa. Like an Italian Mechanical Opera. If I had the funds I would send both back to the factory for their restoration back to new. Expensive but few machines will mean so much. I am not certain but I think for the longest time this was Lamborghini’s most successful car in terms of numbers sold. Kept the company alive during some hard times.
That U shifter was very slickly integrated, I’ll take that one for the LS swap, you can keep the other one.
I really don’t know that much about these cars but for two Lamborghini’s I think that might be a fair price to get into a restore job if you had a ton of money lying around .
Think a Viper V-10 would fit in the engine bay.
I’d be game to try something like that.
And Lamborghini developed the alloy Viper V10 for Chrysler to start with, using the truck iron V10 as a base.Nice circularity.
Neither car still has its engine installed. The Espada is FR layout.
The ad on Craigslist says one of the cars COMES WITH its original engine. Neither car currently has an engine in it.
layout
Posting on Bring a Trailer in 5, 4, 3 …..
Where do you begin?
Twenty-five years ago I met a fellow with a Lamborghini Jalpa. Come to find out it was the #001prototype for the series. He had seen it in a photo from a magazine article about the Lamborghini shop. The Jalpa was stuffed into a corner under some random parts. So he called the factory, and with his broken Italian said he wanted to buy it. Only problem is he couldn’t pay right away. He left his info and figured that was the end if it. Five years later he got a call from the Customs agent in Boston, asking if he was going to pick up his car, otherwise it was going to be auctioned off. He went down and sure enough, the Italians had shipped it to him! The engine was partially disassembled, and he soon discovered there was no crankshaft. Since it was a one-off, it would be very important to have. So he called the factory again, and after enduring plenty of Italian cursing they dug it out and sent it over. It was a running, driving vehicle when I saw it. I can’t imagine anything like that happening today.
Looking at the two of them, I’m sure the buzzards have plucked a few parts off them and at best you have enough to “maybe” make one good one. So now you’re sitting with one at 65k that needs restoring. You can find a real good one for 115-120k (Gullwing Motors has one at 120k in my new Hemmings today)(Been sitting a couple years and “top” needs freshening). Then you have to wait until some one wrecks one before you can sell extras. Pick any 5 small parts at a grand a pop and you’ll see the direction you’re heading in. Not at all like restoring a Model A or Belair. Sorry to be a realist…….
too much