This picture, sent by Paul Cox of England, shows all five Isleros lined up with a Vickers VC-10 jet. Weather for this get together was wet and not the best but a good time was had anyway. This year the event will take place later in the summer on July 8th and 9th. The English group is a very enthusiastic bunch. Plan to attend if at all possible. The Isleros shown above are #6435, #6036, #6249, #6564, and #6156. for questions about this event send Paul Cox an e-mail.

The above picture is a good lead-in for this newsletter, as it features the Isleros of England. Our friends in the UK certainly take their cars seriously. There are sources there for parts and repair that are only a dream in many other parts of the world. Good leads and information are often found in the English magazines, Classic & Sports Car and Italian Car. These are distributed in the USA by EWA.

Restoration continues on many Isleros at this time as interest in these cars is definitely on the rise. (Not investment speculation but enthusiasm for the mark.) Following the sudden decline in prices of exotics at the beginning of the 90's, many Isleros were stored or neglected by their investor owners. Now they are coming out again and being made roadworthy by new owners. For evidence, just look to the pictures above and below, and there are at least five more English cars that are being refurbished at this time.As parts and services are always a challenge, please feel free to write in with any tips you might have that would be for the benefit of all. E-mail me anytime at LuigiDVM@aol.com.

Also in this issue is the conclusion of my tach drive epic, updated Isleros known list, and some great new links at the bottom of the page.

Ciao,

Lou

P.S.-- To send pictures or information by regular mail, please send them to me at:

Islero #6036 is the 3rd oldest Islero known to still exist. It was completed by the Lamborghini factory on 04/23/1968 as the 12th Islero made, and was probably the Geneva show car rather than #6000 as is often claimed by casual writers. Many interesting circumstances surround this car, as it probably was loaned for use by Ferruccio to his friend Bridget Bardot and then was owned by opera singer, Luigi Sutera. After being located in Monaco for many years, this Islero is now a prize of its owner in England, Paul Cox.

Islero #6156 has undergone an extensive restoration over the past five years. It had been unused for 20 years before its present owner, John Britton, acquired it. He had to find or make many missing parts and completely redo the engine. This very good looking car is now set off by Borrani wire wheels. A few Isleros came from the factory with this option.

Gerald Wellesley owns #6249. It had been in Portugal for nearly 30 years with the original owner. After being in storage in England for some time, it is now in good condition and being enjoyed.

This Islero,#6435, has been in the same family since it left the factory in 1969. Owned first by Sir William Garthwaite and now by his son, Sir Mark, it has had excellent care and factory service as needed. It is one of the rare right hand drive cars -- 3 went to Australia and this one to the UK.

This great picture of #6462 is before reassembly. No glass and no engine installed yet but a great picture anyway. The color, verde aqua, is as original when it left the factory. The restoration is now complete.

#6564 has a black interior with red velour door and seat inserts. It was featured once by a Japanese magazine which did a comparison road test against an Aston Martin DBS V-8. All concerned were very impressed with the Islero. This car also allegedly won a run off with a 20 year newer Ferrari Testarossa!

This late series II Islero has been featured in several Lamborghini books. It was converted to right hand drive and is in very good condition. #6612 has recently changed owners and hopefully it will be at the Lamborghini day event at Brooklands next year.

Technical Tip:

• Past readers know that I have been exploring solutions for a ruined tach drive. One, of course, is to send your tach to Palo Alto Speedometer and have them convert the innards to an electric unit. The other is to try to continue the spirit of the original and remake the mechanical tach gears. Since new originals were long gone by the 70's, a machinist and I made a new housing and modified a set of Alfa Romeo tach drive gears to work. The results are very good, as the drive ratio is the same as original, the gears are far more robust, and the new unit bolts up to the back of the cam cover looking very much like it belongs there and not calling attention to its minor differences in appearance from the original. In the picture below, the gear set and housing on the upper right is the original and the parts in the lower left are the ones we made or modified.

A few production notes:

Although there are Isleros out there that are listed as having been made in the years 1967 through 1972, in reality, they are nearly all 1968 and 1969's. All the bodies of the first series Islero were completed and delivered to the Lamborghini factory by Marazzi during 1968 and all the series II bodies were delivered during 1969. The first Islero was completed by the factory March 6, 1968 and all the rest of the first series were finished by Christmas except for #6375 which was finished February 17, 1969. Of the series II cars, the first was completed February 8, 1969 and the rest were finished in 1969, except for #6671 and #6674, finished January 8, 1970. Initial registration of the cars may account for discrepancies, as those were the years of beginning safety and emission control and many loopholes were sought by owners and importers. Some cars were probably claimed to be made before the rules and others were first registered long after production due to prolonged efforts to make them fit the new rules for the country they were going to.

Don't forget, the Lamborghini Owner's Club is a great source of information and news. Subscribing to Jim Kaminski's newsletter will certainly increase your enjoyment of your Islero experience. Contact: