Hand-Made Lamborghini Countach Built In Basement!

[lfot]

http://jalopnik.com/5065896/hand+made-lamborghini-built-in-basement-finally-sees-light-of-day

From the link:
"Seventeen years ago, Ken Imhoff watched Cannonball Run and became so enamored with the Lamborghini Countach in the film, he hand-built his own, in his basement. In what we imagine might be the most Jalopnik build ever undertaken, Ken designed and fabricated his own tig-welded frame, installed a thoroughly massaged 351 cubic inch V8 with a ZF-25 5-speed transmission, hand-formed the aluminum body over a meticulously measured and accurate body form, and finished it all off in a beautiful metallic gray. It took Ken 10 years to complete the project, and the results — as you can see both in the gallery and in the video below the jump — are amazing. There's only one problem, when you build a car in a basement — how do you get it out? Find out below."

[M.D. Holloway]

Stunning! Love the color. When it is all said and done he prolly could have baiught one for the price of materials and time spent - of course you can;t put a price on the pride he has in it. He is a nut, but the best kind of nut!

[legion]

Wow.

And he probably ended up with a better car than a real Countach in every way.

[911pcars]

Nice project.

Unfortuately, the car he picked wasn't all that great of a supercar in the first place.

He could have done a Ferrari of the same era. Now that would have been a nice piece, but in either case, not with a domestic V-8 no matter how much it thumps.

Sherwood

[legion]

Ahh, I think the Chevy V8 was a great choice. Parts are widely available and cheap. He can easily make that a 500 hp monster without much work.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Yep. The Chevy V-8s are simple and crude, but they can produce enormous power for very cheap.

[imcarthur]

A labor of love & a work of art. Great story.

Ian

[legion]

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

Yep. The Chevy V-8s are simple and crude, but they can produce enormous power for very cheap.

Speedracing944 is putting a Chevy engine in my old 944S.

I think he figured out that the Aluminum SBC weighed LESS than the aluminum 944S engine and produced double the horsepower.

[lfot]

351 is a Ford engine. With the 351 and the ZF tranny, he basically has the drive train of a Pantera.

[varmint]

was expecting something made of LEGO.


got to hand it to the guy.

[tcar]

It's a Ford, not Chebby.

Oops, IFOT beat me to it.

[dd74]

Cool. I was expecting something built with hobby store supplies. Glad to see the guy is serious. Good for him.

[legion]

Okay Ford. IIRC, Panoz and Zonda use Ford-based engines.

[onewhippedpuppy]

WOW! I was expecting a POS, but that is impressive. He should have built it in his garage though, a door is easier than excavation.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by 911pcars

He could have done a Ferrari of the same era. Now that would have been a nice piece, but in either case, not with a domestic V-8 no matter how much it thumps.

Sherwood

From the article: "S.S. 180 degree headers GT40 design "bundle of snakes" Boss 351 bored stroked to 377 515hp 48 IDA Webbers."

I doubt he has many regrets.

[masraum]

Sounds pretty sweet. It's probably much more reliable than a real Lambo would be.

Unless he's a serious Mech Eng, I'd be a bit scared of his wheel centers.

[Blanco]

noice!!

[gassy]

Tough choice between that and the corduroy Porsche.

[TGTIW]

Horacio Pagani would be rolling in his grave if he found out people thought he used Ford engines. The Zonda has a 7.3 ltr Mercedes V12.

[GG Allin]

He should have built a garage first.