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Lamborghini Owner Enjoys Urraco Despite Traumatic Bond
I own a fairly original 69 Alfa Romeo spider, never had a rebuild, mostly original suspension components etc. She starts right up every time, gives me zero grief, miles of driving pleasure. This is my second spider, my other one was equally good. These comments of ‘italian cars breaking when they’re sitting or driving” is BS. The owners comment of ‘tractor building” because the Lambo has no power steering or brakes is asinine. In the late 60’s early 70’s , many cars were built this way..just saying.
BTW BEAUTIFUL car!!!
Great video. I am so glad I have a Urraco too 🙂 The yellow right hand drive one http://www.urraco.info
Great Video. Thanks.
Four weeks ago I bought a perfect series-one P250 in original color and original interior with well-maintained 30.000km on the odometer in Italy. I promise: in a few years nobody laughs about the “Baby-Lambo”. It is not a supercar like Miura but it is a good ride with good sound and good performance. I like the Urraco because it does not have these wings and plastic like the later Jalpa. Especially the early cars with the chrome bumpers have a very nice shape. Get a good one before the prices rise…..
while viewing the video, i found myself thinking i must have been at the location where it was recorded because it began looking more and more familiar to me. any chance it was recorded while driving down lake street [approaching lake hodges north shore from del dios highway]? later in the same video thought i also recognized downtown san diego in the background. please confirm if possible. thanks very much.
I just bought my 1972 Urraco P250 and I m in the process of restoring it with great love and attention as it’s one of the very few running Urraco left out there. I agree it s a legacy to keep memory for next generations and show them what a masterpiece some skilled people have done with such a great human effort
Its well known that labor strife was an issue in Italian industry. I visited some Italian automobile factories in the early 90s and while I didn’t discuss their political affiliations I can tell you the the employees were extremely proud of their work and what the Italian automobile meant to the industry as a whole. Many had been with the same company for 30 plus years.
Mr Ondrusek’s Uraco is a stunning example of that industry. I appreciate long term owners that do their own work at a professional quality level.
An Italian super car of that era is more like a racing car for the street and as such requires racing car type maintenance. i.e. When you’re not driving it, youre working on it. As I’m sure Mr Ondrusek can attest, if you ever want a real maintenance challenge try rebuilding the Uraco water pump.
With reference to “Guest TJ Martin”
He is right owning an Italian supercar is like a mistress
Periods of excitement, pleasure and enjoyment.
You can ride her when ever you want to.
Beautiful to look at with her very fine lines.
Won’t answer back or complain.
One drawback, they always require a large amount of money for general upkeep to make her looking good.
Very demanding B) Require a very high level of maintenance C ) Will cost you a fortune in the process D) And in the end let you down big time E) With a whole new level of investment needed once they do in order to renew the relationship
What you must keep in mind (and few people do) is that Italian cars are so much ahead in engineering terms that most people do not understand the demands to keep them at their best. Always has been thus.
If you have a car that outperforms all-comers in its class and often above it, it will need keeping fit. It’s not a damn Toyota, no. It’s an olympic athlete, it needs regular exercise and proper care, otherwise it will not perform.
If you understand all of the above, are able to do some of the work yourself (or able to afford someone who does it PROPERLY) and are willing to take the time to source the parts, you’ll be having the time of your life. And you won’t end up bankrupt and having frequent customer discounts at your towing service.
So please, stop comparing Italian cars to other 4-wheeled stuff that’s beyond comparison… it’s just a whole other mindset.
A little wisdom best absorbed before even so much as considering purchasing any Italian exotic .. and especially a classic one ;
All Italian exotics [ including Ferrari ] are built by Italian communists who hate your guts for the fact that you can afford to buy a car they can’t even dream of owning . With said Italian communist workers enacting a bit of vendetta upon each and every machine they build that you the buyer will pay for the rest of your ownership
Add to that the fact that you can’t squeeze that much performance out of that small a package without severely compromising both reliability as well as durability … [ seen how quickly the inner CF fenders on a 458 disintegrate even with careful use ? ]
Not to dissuade anyone mind you …. but if you must … go into it well informed … because fellow site mates .. you have been warned … by one who knows first hand and unlike most is willing to tell the tales of woe that go along with the territory *
* 99\% of all Italian Exotic/Supercar buyers .. classic or new … even after selling usually suffer from a severe case of PDVS [ Post Decision Validation syndrome ] A psychosis whereby you try to justify a decision in spite of the fact that everything you know and all the facts at hand are telling you it was wrong
Mads … more like a reality check as well as a public service announcement . Fact is .. if Mr Ondrusek had gone into this with realistic and informed expectations … he’d of known ;
1) That the timing belt/chains of all Italian motors are the weakest link on the car by far … with the greatest amount of potential destruction when they fail and that the very first thing anyone buying any used Italian needs to do is to check and more often than not change the belt/chain
2) That a good 40 – 60\% of the parts on all Italian exotics were/are originally outsourced from other much cheaper sources .. making those parts a lot less expensive to buy today as well … especially when you have all the cross referencing parts numbers
3) That buying carpeting for any of the Italian Exotics direct from the manufacture is a waste of good money in light of the fact that the original carpeting in them all was/is crap .. and that having new carpeting custom made is a cheaper and better way to go
4) That before even attempting to ‘ go for it ‘ in his newly purchased Italian exotic or even so much as buying it .. he should of checked or had all the mechanicals checked out in finite detail . These are fragile thoroughbreds .. in need of much care and attention
Which is to say . When you know what to expect and are well informed from the get go … though never painless .. it can make the experience of buying and owning an Italian Stallion a more stress free as well as a much more pleasurable and less expensive experience . Whereas not knowing will only lead from one major disappointment to another along with one major bill to the next . Which errr … may account for the fact that the typical Ferrari / Lamborghini / Maserati owner on average owns his/her exotic for less than 10 months .. driving it 1500 miles or less before selling it and moving on .
But one more bit of wisdom to share when it comes to all Italian exotics
Owning an Italian exotic is like having an Italian mistress . Sure there are periods of excitement , pleasure and enjoyment .. but the majority of the time they are ; A) Very demanding B) Require a very high level of maintenance C ) Will cost you a fortune in the process D) And in the end let you down big time E) With a whole new level of investment needed once they do in order to renew the relationship
On a purely pragmatic basis you’re right TJ but is it not also true that had Gene looked at it on that basis he might not have brought the car and instead of being enjoyed today the could have easily ended up rotting in a lock up garage under a layer of dust and rodent excrement instead. I for one am happy to see the car still on the road.
tj, with all due respect you’re a cynic. one could argue the reasons not to have any car or vehicle at all.
so if you want, argue what you feel.
but where you really crossed the line was, firstly, with your discriminatory + misplaced stereotypical references of italian fabrication workers, and, secondly, with your sexist simile of [i]’an italian exotic is like having an italian mistress.'[/i]
there’s no need for that type of thinking, or lack of it.
Really great video from you guys. After seeing this video i still want one i can tell you that much. I know it seems like this car can be a pain in the rear but that’s what love is all about. There are plenty of cars i love but their quality isn’t the best but i still would give anything to have one. You keep enjoying your car Mr.Ondruek i’m one of the few that still salute you.
As always a great video. I cannot deny that much of the time I was smiling, even laughing while watching this video.
I was not laughing at Mr. Ondrusek but rather with him. This dear man is the true car lover. His car is not an investment but rather a labor of love. Should it be that we were all this way and loved our cars with this type of passion.
Good on you Gene!
