Engine cover and rear trunk latch delete?

Dan Sarandrea (Phila) said:
I don't see Lamborghini Countach owners complaining about their latches!
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That’s because the rest of the Countach captures the entirety of their attention. When and if it runs...

My only beef with the latches is that I once left one of the handles slightly up (as they didn’t properly retract) and closed the door on it which shattered the housing. That was in 1982, I have been very careful to keep the cables lubed and the handles flush since.
 
That whole mechanism seems overdesigned. As I recall, the 850 had a simple push button for the engine cover.
 
kmead said:
My only beef with the latches is that I once left one of the handles slightly up (as they didn’t properly retract) and closed the door on it which shattered the housing.
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The exact same thing happened to the prior owner on a X I purchased. Fortunately it came with a decent used replacement part. Other makes of cars have a relief indentation in the corresponding area of the door to clear the handles if they are left open (maybe the Lambo does? I'm not sure). Yes, they "should" retract on their own and no such relief "should" be necessary. But when do these cars ever do exactly what they "should"? :p

In another current thread the plastic surround for the handles is also discussed. In that case it has to do with repairing the cable retention area on the back side. That often breaks due to the tensioning bolt that secures the cable sheath to the housing. Issues with the cable sheaths not being held in place correctly will also contribute to the handles not retracting and sticking open.
 
Dr.Jeff said:
In another current thread the plastic surround for the handles is also discussed. In that case it has to do with repairing the cable retention area on the back side. That often breaks due to the tensioning bolt that secures the cable sheath to the housing. Issues with the cable sheaths not being held in place correctly will also contribute to the handles not retracting and sticking open.
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I think the twin cable housing is aluminum, not plastic on mine (87) - is the earlier (Fiat?) version plastic??
 
Hi Carl, I was thinking of deleting the Scorpions plastic handles, mine are not broken... yet. I think the electronic kits from SPAL are pretty nice. The rear would be pretty easy, the front with the two latches, I'm not so sure.
 
lookforjoe said:
I think the twin cable housing is aluminum, not plastic on mine (87) - is the earlier (Fiat?) version plastic??
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The ones on all three of my X's ('79 through '85) are plastic. I did not realize there were any metal ones. Sounds like they realized plastic doesn't hold up and finally went to a better design?

Will the X's cable housing fit in the Scorpion? If so that might be an option to upgrade the dual holders in the Scorpion to a single aluminum one?
 
lanciahf said:
I was thinking of deleting the Scorpions plastic handles
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That's another possible change. I believe some X's and/or Scorpions have plastic handles and others have metal ones? Note the difference between this comment and the ones in my last post; referring to the housing assembly vs the handles.
 
Dr.Jeff said:
The ones on all three of my X's ('79 through '85) are plastic. I did not realize there were any metal ones. Sounds like they realized plastic doesn't hold up and finally went to a better design?

Will the X's cable housing fit in the Scorpion? If so that might be an option to upgrade the dual holders in the Scorpion to a single aluminum one?
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I will have to double check now :D - Maybe it's just the lever that's metal, now I'm unsure...
 
kmead said:
The metal housings were a aftermarket reproduction. I meant to pick up a couple while they were available but missed out on them.

The factory ones were always plastic.
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I think the fact that the same housing was used on the Countach assured some enterprising person that there would be a market to support the very high price of having a short run of them CNC'd from billet aluminum.
 
Dan Sarandrea (Phila) said:
CNC'd from billet aluminum
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Ahhh, now I remember those "custom" housings. Yes, they were pricey.

Was there ever any metal ones that were not 'billet', such as a cast metal item?

Also, are the ones on a Scorpion interchangeable with the X's? I believe the Scorpion used two individual boxes placed side by side? Although I'm not sure why?
 
Dr.Jeff said:
Ahhh, now I remember those "custom" housings. Yes, they were pricey.

Was there ever any metal ones that were not 'billet', such as a cast metal item?

Also, are the ones on a Scorpion interchangeable with the X's? I believe the Scorpion used two individual boxes placed side by side? Although I'm not sure why?
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If different, perhaps Pininfarina, designer and coachbuilder of the Montecarlo/Scorpion, had a different selection of parts in their parts bins, or different suppliers in and around Torino.
 
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