More owners manual - Manfred Mineif

Guess what, I obtained another manual. It's a reprint though, thus more affordable. And it arrived today by post with a nice stamp:

The reprint looks quite Original though with a patina look:

The first page reveals it's a copy though, they wiped out the actual owner details but the dealer stamp was kept:

On the left top it does mention the written year 1978 and on the right corner it does show 3653

I figured the nr 3653 might have been the actual VIN. Meaning this must be a manual belonging to a Safari. I have not been tracking Safari VINs but do have two in archive: VIN 4711 (1978) and VIN 5074 (1980).

More of interest is the actual dealer stamp, which appears to be Autohaus M. Mineif in Neustadt (bei Hannover):

I could not find much more about this dealer, I suspect it no longer exists. As for M. Mineif, it appears he was a racing driver in the past. But again, not much more information could be retrieved on the internet.

See also my other blogs about some other Monteverdi dealers:

http://monteverdisierra.blogspot.com/2018/05/monteverdi-sales-brochures.html

http://monteverdisierra.blogspot.com/2018/04/brochure-monteverdi-safari-sierra.html

When doing some additional checks I found this article in the Auto Motor und Sport magazine (nr 6 1977):

For those who does not master the German language, apparently his garage was more well known as anticipated. In fact in 1976 he sold the most Ferrari's in Germany (thus more then the well known Auto Becker in Dusseldorf). He sold 8 in total of 80 delivered in Germany (amongst 16 dealers). Note he was originally a Lada and Saab dealer. I wonder if selling additionally Monteverdi's as well would not have caused problems (given their history).

As for the given address 3057 Neustadt 1 / Hannover I could not find much more either.

I'm slightly suprised to see so little information and history could be found about this dealer and it's owner.

Monteverdi Sierra bonnet air intake ?

The MV Sierra does have this specific air intake on the bonnet. Its size is 84 x 13 cm. Does any of you know from which car it has been sourced?

Update 13-1-2019: I also posted this question on FB and someone remarked it was sourced from a BMW 5 series E12. Upon checking I found out it was on a 525 or higher ie 528.

http://bmwteilekatalog24.info/Classic/P/E12/Lim/525/ECE/R/M/1980/06/47157/51/51_0705/51131819856

The part number is 51131819856 and labelled as Ziergitter Lufteintritt

When I checked Ebay I found a NOS, unfortunately both edge were broken off. But at least I could verify clearly it is indeed exactly the same

Monteverdi Safari / Sierra Owners manual / Betriebsanleitung

About two weeks ago someone posted in the Monteverdi Facebook group an advert about a Safari for sale. When I checked the advert I noticed the following supporting photo:

And as can be seen it has two owner manuals. And yes, the manual is shared between the Safari and the Sierra. I noticed though that one manual has the logo slightly higher printed, so I was not 100% sure.

So I reached out to the seller and he confirmed it were two manuals. And even better; he was willing to sell one. To my surprise he had another two manuals! How's that?

I was told the owner of the Safari had purchased all of them directly from Monteverdi. The other two manuals had a black binding though but I was assured it was 100% Original and not a reproduction.

So I agreed on the price which was quite hefty but I considered my changes small to find one (in mint condition) in the near future.

And it arrived today (sorry for the poor photo quality):

Very interesting to see the supporting photo's, especially the dashboard interior. Again, this is very likely our car. Also this photo has the odd automatic gearbox shifter which was used in the High Speed 375. And the radio equipped at a different location, this is only possible due to that same gearbox lever/bezel used. Later versions are using the optional Dodge Aspen automatic floor shifter. In fact our car has been modified and been adapted again to the Dodge Aspen floor automatic shifter.
And last but not least, it has still the Original Dodge Aspen steering wheel.

Typical, I think I'm now complete in collecting all required documentation (manual, brochures, books, key fob, decals). I'm getting good at this.

VIN 9161 details

Just adding this one for the records and to capture some photo details. Especially the fact this one has the manual window openers. Also it looks like the Original Dodge Aspen seatbelts are very visible. And furthermore it has the (chrome) wheels, which are similar as ours. And it's having an extra chrome strip on the C-pillar. The Monteverdi emblem is missing on the C-pillar.

Based on these details I suspect it must be VIN 9161

http://www.autopaedia.com/en/galleries/Monteverdi/Monteverdi_Sierra.php#Monteverdi Sierra 1977-1982 (1978 sedan 4d) (01)

Autosalon Geneva : Monteverdi Sierra Convertible

Genver / Geneva Autosalon 1977

Monteverdi Sierra spotted in the Middle East

A very cool spot on Facebook today:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/MonteverdiAutomobiles/permalink/10156734777763326/

It does look worrisome indeed but according to the supporting information it's a daily driver. Wow. All the specific Monteverdi bodyparts seems to plastered with filler. As far as I can Judge the Original Dodge Aspen door panels looks to be in a better state (meaning less rusty).

But what caught my attention was the Monteverdi emblem which got moved from the C-pillar towards the front fender. Although very difficult to see I suspected it is similar as ours. And our emblem is slightly different then the ones used on later models. More about this specific detail in this blog:

https://monteverdisierra.blogspot.com/2018/03/lautomobile-de-precision-press-show-car.html

As said, it's almost impossible to verify this minor detail. My guess is only based on the fact there is more metal spacing above and below the word Monteverdi. The black stripes might have been painted blue along as it's a very rough paint job.

Next the car has the unusual chrome trim which only a very few had. Just like the "2nd" produced MV Sierra which was presented as a pair on the Geneva autosalon. The 2nd produced Sierra was light blue though with a tan interior. I suspect it might have been repainted dark blue. It also has the same rims as our 1st produced Sierra. Which happened to be delivered in the Middle East as well. Potentially they have been sold as a pair.

I'm curious to learn more history about this car. Watch this space.