Welcome to “Building a Lamborghini Countach” these plans show you how you can build a

fiberglass Countach body on a VW type 3 chassis with a modified D.R.B Magnum steel sub frame.

You will have to see your local A.D.R approved engineer before constructing this vehicle. As the frame
was already approved by the Department of Transport you only need to submit the proposed changes
with an engineer. This is what I had to do when I was building this car.

I have also included in this manual two designs for a space frame version of this car. Please note that
the space frame is not approved so it will have to be certified by and engineer before hand.

You will have to follow these steps in order to finish the project successfully:

You will construct the body first

As you are hand making the body it will always differ in size, so once you construct the body you will
take measurements from the inside of the car and start on the frame.

The core material to make the body is going to be foam and 600g chop strand fiberglass mat with
Polyurethane resin. There are two types of foam you can use:

1. Polyurethane = Cost 2.5m x 1.2m x 20mm = $50

There are drawbacks with both materials:

To make the project as cheap a possible we are going to be using Polystyrene. To get around the
expensive Epoxy resin we will coat the body after we have shaped it with Plaster (normal wall plaster).
This will not only save you money but also allow you to shape the body better before applying the
resin and fiberglass.

Like any other projects you may have done in the past it is very important to pay attention to detail. I
strongly recommend you study pictures go to a library and hire out some books with Countach
illustrations and photos. Remember your project will only look as good as you want it to look. When I
build the first car I spent weeks looking at photos from different angles to get a feel for the car and you
should do the same.

You will need 14 sheets of foam 2.5m x 1.2m x 20mm to make the body formers.

Print out the body formers supplied in this manual, which is the last page. You will have to print it on a
overhead projector transparency paper (you can get this from any computer supplier).

Now you will need an Over Head Projector, set it up in front of a wall place the transparency on the
projector and move it back so that the from the left hand straight edge to the widest point of the car
measures 1 meter. The master template is only for half of the car, as the car is identical on both sides
we will just copy the other side, as I will explain in the next step.

Once you have measured 1 meter and the projector is all setup you can begin to stick up large sheets
of paper on the wall and trace out the formers one by one. Make sure that you leave enough paper on
the left hand side of each of those sheets so you can fold the sheet in half and trace the other side of
the car.

Once you have the 14 formers traced and cut out, place them on the sheets of come and cut tem out.

Using 35mm x 70mm pine studs make a bench frame 1.5m x 3.95m. Draw a line down the front and
back of the bench down the length at 750mm from the side, which is the center. This frame will be
used to attach the formers too.

The distances between the formers are shown in (refer to body construction diagram). Start by
marking the former spacing on each side of the frame. Screw in pieces of timber 30mm x 30mm x
(whatever height you think will be enough to hold the formers in place). Attach the formers using wood
screws, using some short pieces of foam glue the top of the formers so that they are parallel.

We are now ready to start filling in the gaps between the formers with bits of foam covering the whole
frame. You will need to cut the foam in to small sections so that they will fit in between the formers.
Make sure the foam sticks out 3-5mm out side the formers. Glue in the sections using contact
adhesive glue as used for gluing down vinyl, or leather.

Fill in the gaps (3-5mm) where the formers are with plaster or if you want to cut fine strips of the foam
you can glue the pieces in with contact adhesive glue. Remember once you apply the glue to both
surfaces and let it dry for a few minutes and you touch the two surfaces together they cannot be
moved anymore so make sure you fit the piece in before you apply the glue.

Once you have filled in the gaps with plaster apply a thin layer of plaster to the whole body and let it
dry. Make sure you don’t apply to much plaster and get it as smooth as possible. This will make your
job easier when you have to shape the body.

Now comes the fun part of shaping the body. Using 80 GRIT sandpaper on a wooden block start
smoothing out the body. Take your time refer to photos for all detail. If you make a mistake by taking
to much plaster of and you can see the foam just reapply the plaster and start the process again.

Once you are happy with the shape of the body its time to mark out the wheel arches and start
modeling the flairs.

Cut small sections of the foam and glue them to the car where the wheel archers are.

Now you will have to find either some PVC pipe or a round tin can with a diameter, which is close to
the contour of the flairs, wrap some 80 GRIT sandpaper on it and start shaping the flairs.

A good tip is to get the flairs as close a possible to the shape you desire then mix up some plaster and
apply a topcoat on the foam. Cut a profile of the shape of the flair from some plastic and once the
plaster starts to set you can easily shape it to the profile you want.

Also work on the front spoiler and all the air duct openings using foam and plaster keep referring to
photos for details take your time the detail in the body is the most important part in making the car look
nice. Make sure or he lines are straight and curves are even.

At this point in time only work on the flairs and front bumper and spoiler do not make any other parts
as they will be fabricated after we have the fiberglass body laid up.

Lets start working on the windscreen area. Most replicas fail in this area they pay a lot of attention to
the detail in the body then end up with a flat windscreen. We are going to be making a curved screen
(if you don’t want to use an original one). For this you will need a 1981 Toyota Hiace van windscreen
you can pick these up cheap enough at a wrecker or a screen manufacture.

Place 2 pieces of timber 30mm x 20mm between former 4 and 6 to make the screen pillars and 2
more pieces between former 3 and 4. This will give you a good guide to the size of the screen they will
be removed later. Now trace the opening on a sheet of paper, transfer the shape to the windscreen
place it as close as possible in the top of the screen so the top of the screen doesn’t have to be cut.
The access glass on the out side of the shape will have to be trimmed. Any windscreen manufacture
will be able to trim it for you for about $80.

You will need to get some cardboard and make a lip all the way around the screen. Using contact
cement glue the cardboard on top of the screen so it over hangs 40mm over the edge (refer to the
windscreen diagram)

Using silicon now build up a 5mm extra to the size of the screen cut strips of fiberglass cloth 80mm
wide enough to go around the windscreen 4 times for 4 layers of laminate. Turn the screen over so it’s
lying on the outside face. Using masking tape make a 40mm boarder around the screen, now you
should have a 40mm boarder on the glass where you put the masking tape and a 40mm cardboard lip
over hanging the glass.

Mix up some resin and using a brush apply the resin to the 40mm glass boarder and the cardboard.
While the resin is still wet place the fiberglass strips and using the brush press on the cloth to
saturated with the resin till it goes transparent. When you have worked your way around the glass and
you come to the end start applying the next layer. The same technique is used here you must overlap
the fiberglass mat at least 40mm for good strength.
Once the fiberglass has cured and is hard you can pull the frame from the screen. Use a Stanley knife
to cut the silicone from the screen, and now place the windscreen on the frame and it should go in
with no problem and still have a 5mm gap all around the window. Our window frame is ready to be
mounted in to the body now.

Place it on the opening where the windscreen suppose to go on the body and attach the frame to the
foam. Using foam strips glue it in and smooth out and joints on the roofline and on the bonnet. Use
body filler if need be.

When you are happy with the body shape we are ready for the painting of the body. We will paint the
whole body with acrylic paint so we can apply the wax and release agent PVA. This will allow you to
remove the foam and plaster easily afterwards.

The cheapest acrylic paint can be obtained from “Super Cheap” automotive suppliers just get any
colour that’s cheap usually white is the cheapest.

Spray the whole car few times and let it dry for a few days.

Apply the release wax to the body then spray the PVA agent over it and let it dry.

Now we are ready to start applying the fiberglass to the body.

You will need 600g chopped strand matting, cut the mat in to sections and place it on the body
covering it all making sure you overlap it about 4cm where the cloth meets the overlapping is done for
strength reasons. The windscreen are will not be covered with fiberglass its left open.

Mix up some resin in an old ice-cream container with hardener as per the directions of the
manufacture on the tin. Only make up small portions at a time as it has a very short working time,
approximately 15-25min depending on the room temperature. Have a glass jar with acetone ready for
clean up. Once you have the hardener added to the resin mix it well then using a short bristle
paintbrush start applying the resin to the cloth on the car. You only need to saturate the cloth, apply it
using a dabbing motion with the brush this will get any air bubbles out from under the matt. You don’t
want to put to much resin in to the cloth, as it not only makes the body heavier but also weaker. You
can tell when you have put enough resin on the cloth starts to go transparent. As soon as you have
finished pore out any access resin in a waist container before it gets hard and clean your brush out in
acetone.

Let the resin harden over night and in the morning go over the body with 80 GRID sand paper
removing any bumps or air bubbles. Make sure the body is as smooth as possible.

Repeat the above process until you have 4 layers of fiberglass down.

Rub the body back with the 80 GRID sandpaper again removing any bumps and any fiberglass clothe
strands that may be sticking out. You should see the glass weave over the whole body. Now we will
work on the top coat layer you have 2 options for this you may fill the body with body filler which is
resin based and it bonds very well with fiberglass or you may mix up some resin and paint it on using
a soft brush then send it back using wet and dry sandpaper 100 GRIT.

We recommend using the body filler, mixing up small portions with the hardener and applying it on as
thin as possible. Allow the filler to dry for at least one hour before you start sanding, if you don’t let it
dry properly the filler will clog up you sandpaper very quickly and you will be wasting a lot of paper.

Once you have applied the filler to the whole body its time to send back the body using 80 – 100 GRIT
paper. When you are happy with the result its time to fill in any sandpaper scratches using a two part
polyester based spray body filler. Apply two coats using a spray gun allow 1 hour between coats. After
the spray putty has dried you can wet send the car using 360 GRIT wet and dry sandpaper.

The body is now ready to be removed from the foam frame. Turn the body on to the roof and start
removing the foam. You will find that the foam separates from the body very easily because we
applied the wax and PVA agent.

You should have your body free standing now, go to the fridge and get a COKE you deserve it.

Time for cutting out the doors, start by marking out the shape then using a Electric Jig saw cut out the
door skin. Make sure to cut them as straight as possible as these will be your out side door skins.

Using bits of foam make up the inner door ledges (as per the door diagram). Once you are happy with
the shape cover the foam with plaster the sand the plaster. Repeat the process as we did in the laying
up of the body with the wax and PVA.

You should have your door ledges finished by now. Using the door ledge as your mould we will make
up the inner part of the door simply by laying up over the door ledge with fiberglass. This will give you
the inner part of the door that will be bonded with the door skin you cut out earlier. Before you bond
the skin to the door make up the intrusion bars and glass them in (as per the intrusion bar diagram).

When laying up the inner door ledge make sure that you paint your ledge before you apply the wax
and PVA agent. WARNING if you do not then the fiberglass will bond with your door ledge and you
will not be able to remove it.

The side glass used for the doors and the back window is 6mm flat laminated glass. Any glass
supplier will be able to cut the glass for you. In the doors only the bottom half of the window opens up
use standard FORD winding mechanism modified to fit in the door as well as the runners for the glass.
You can find these at any car wreckers.

The door hinge is a Bedford 1976 door hinge (refer to the door hinge diagram). Door letch can be a
standard VW or a early model Mercedes like 1973 to 1977 (make sure it’s the one with the long
guiding pin). The gas struts for the doors can be obtained from a car wrecker or from gas strut
supplier. I recommend the gas strut supplier, as they will sell you the right strut for the weight of the
door. Also you will receive a data sheet from them showing you the leverage points and angels, which
is very important. I remember buying second hand struts and spending days trying to work out the
angle and so on. At the end I just rang up and ordered a new set with a data sheet.

The same method is used to cut out and make the bonnet and engine hood.

The front head lights I used where from a Yamaha 50cc Zumma scooter with the bulbs replaced. The
headlight mechanism for the headlights can be from a Mazda RX7. The front parkers combined with
the blinker are like the original which where the Renault 12 (can be found at any European car
wreckers).

The little side blinkers on the front guards are from a GTV Alfa.

The most frequent question I get asked is about the taillights they are from a 1973 Alfa Alfetta
1800cc. It’s a one piece light with three separate lights on it like the original Countach.
Speedometer is very expensive for a VW what you can use is a early model BMW 318 1970’s models.
The speedometer will attach directly to your existing cable from the VW nice and cheap and looks
good as well.
The sub frame is built out square tube 50mm x 50mm x 2mm and 100mm x 50mm x 2mm the roll bar
is 60mm x 5mm wall thickness.

Once you have removed the body from the Type 3 VW you can start cutting the length you will need
for the frame (refer to the metal supportive frame diagram). The frame bolts to the original mounting
points for the VW body which is down the both sides of the car and over the four shocks.

Place the lengths of steel on the chassis and tack weld the structure. Then remove it from the chassis
and finish welding.

Depending on the engine you will be using weld up some engine mounting brackets using some
50mm x 50mm x 2mm box section.

A good engine to use in conjunction with the VW gearbox is a WRX Subaru motor or the 2 liter
Nissan V6. Remember that you can only put in an engine no bigger then 2 liters in to the VW chassis
in most states. The adaptor plate can be obtained from Volkswagen Conversions on the Gold Coast
in QLD. John has most adaptor plates in stock for most engine combinations also he stocks disk brake
kits to change the rear drum brakes on the VW.

When the steel frame is finished place the body over the frame. At this point you will see that you can
glass in the roll bar to the body. Take some measurements from the supportive frame to the body front
and back so you can make up some 3 mm plates, which will be welded to the frame. These plates
then will be glassed to the body.

Well this brings us to the end of the manual I hope that I have made this building exercise as simple
as possible.
All the best with your project, and don’t forget to send photos of your project.