Maserati Enthusiasts' Page

The Enthusiasts' Page

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	All things 'Maserati'. News of forthcoming models, owner's cars, tips, 'Marque' reunions and the odd touch of humour! In fact anything of interest to the 'Maseratista'. So if you have any news about Maseratis or have anything owners and enthusiasts should know, send details to maserati123@btopenworld.com	Grille trident on a Maserati A6G/2000 by Allemano

You can click on some pictures for a better view!!





From Autodromo in the UK 1/8TH SCALE MASERATI BIRDCAGE TIPO 61 CHASSIS After careful research taking many hours the Maserati Birdcage Chassis from Autodromo is finally here. From the initial designs to the final production prototype there have been many sleepless nights, and scratching of the head in order to see this Edition produced. We hope you will enjoy this model and it provides you with as much contemplation as it has for us. We would like to thank all those involved in the restoration and involvement with Maserati and their invaluable help to us during this project, with special thanks to Jon, Steve and George. Each chassis is handmade using heat resistant jigs in soldered brass section. It takes over 50 hours of careful soldering to produce each chassis which includes suspension mounts and other components. The model Includes a Corian base with an individually numbered chassis plate. A Museum quality display cover and axle stands to display the chassis. The Birdcage chassis will be an edition of only 50 examples worldwide. The model is about 17 inches in length , with the model base being approxiamately 19 by 8 and one half inches. HOW TO ORDER Unlike our existing Ferrari models, the Birdcage Chassis will only be available direct from Autodromo, at GB £1,850.00 plus tax and delivery. Each model will be made to order only and we will require a 50% deposit before construction will start - we hope to build two or three models per month so delivery should not be more than six to eight weeks - full payment will be required before dispatch. Please contact Harriet Addyman or Andy Cann for further information at: Autodromo Ltd Unit 7 Parkway Trading Estate Minto Road St Werburghs Bristol BS2 9YB Tel: +44 (0) 117 955 3234 E-mail: sales@autodromo.co.uk www.autodromo.co.uk





"A Chariot for the Gods!!" This beautiful rare 1971 Ghibli Spyder, #AM 115S*1227, was recently sold on eBay for US $97,000. "This Maserati is no doubt one of the finest money can buy. Only 125 were built. It has been in my private collection of 60 plus European sports cars and has been driven monthly since I purchased in 1997. It has very low mileage and is correct. It runs and drives great and is flawless. Notice the beautiful interior, red with black inserts. It has a new tan Hartz cloth top, Borrani wheels and Borrani knockoffs. No rust anywhere that I can find. This car can be taken to any show with pride. I am upgrading my collection toward Bugattis and very rare one of a kind cars. I welcome anyone to come and see and drive."





From The Healey Werks in the USA Currently for sale on eBay is this exciting restoration project, a 1960 Maserati 3500 GT (carburettor model). "This car has been out of circulation for over 20 years and is ready for restoration! The car is complete, but engine and gearbox (4-speed) are out (we will reinstall for shipping purposes). The body is incredibly straight with no signs of any collision damage ever or significant corrosion....it is one of the best original bodies we have seen. The frame is rock solid and the only areas of any significat rust are the lower trunk floor (uppers are fine) and the rear lower passenger floors. Both are very straight forward repairs. The early 3500s have become highly sought after and the available pool of good unrestored cars in surely becoming shallow. As values for these continue to rise, they will only become harder to find, don't miss out if you have been looking for a great restoration candidate. If you're seriously interested, please call +1 712.944.4900 or e-mail sales@healeywerks.com with questions regarding this car, it's restoration or even the restoration of your own special project. Or you can always visit The Healey Werks on the web."





From Edy in Italy "Hello Enrico, I’m writing you because it’s a long time a have to do, but I never found the right moment. I’ve bought my first Biturbo, 1983 in 2001. Very good car, two positions. One o two, like binary system. After one year I had to sell it, but 2 week ago I bought another one, a 1985 model (but looking on your website I’ve found that it’s a 1984 model - ZAM 331 BOO EB 111 909). If you want to download some picture to put on your website, do it. You can find on my web site at www.autoepocanordest.it. In the “my car section” there is the new one. In the “friend’s car section”, in 2002, there is the sold one. Take any pictures you need. Thanks for the conversation, bye, Edy. PS: Could you tell me where can I found the engine number? I need to take some pictures for the historical registration. Thanks in advance."



"Ciao Edy,

Re: Finding the Ghibli/ Biturbo engine number: Here are two photos kindly sent in by David Askew showing the location of the engine number on all Biturbo engined cars. Is it siuated at the rear of the left-hand side (looking from the front of the car) cylinder bank, where the engine meets the gearbox bellhousing. Enrico."





From a friend of Maseratis in Italy "Ciao Enrico! Lo scorso week-end si è corso a Imola il Trofeo Maserati Vodafone e la gara del Campionato FIA GT. Al termine delle 4 ore di gara, molto combattuta, tra le GT ha trionfato la Chevrolet Corvette davanti alla Ferrari Maranello e alla Maserati MC12 del team Vitaphone. Solo quarta la Maserati MC12 di Bertolini e Wendlinger, team JMB Racing, penalizzata da ben 70+10 kg di zavorra... Nel Trofeo Maserati Vodafone, al termine di una gara tiratissima, ha vinto ovviamente... una Maserati! Ti spedisco alcune foto. Ciao!" "Hi Enrico! Last week-end the Trofeo Maserati Vodafone and the FIA GT Championship races took place at Imola. At the end of four highly contested hours of racing between the GT 1s the Chevrolet Corvette finished ahead of the Ferrari 550 Maranello and the Maserati MC12 belonging to Team Vitaphone. Only fourth place for the Maserati MC12 of Andrea Bertolini and Karl Wendlinger in the Team JMB Racing car, penalised by 70+10 kg of ballast... In the Trofeo Maserati Vodafone race, after a well fought out race, the winner was obviously, a Maserati! I an sending you some photos. Ciao!"

Final preparations on the grid		The start

The winning Chevrolet Corvette on the pit straight		The second place Ferrari 550 Maranello on the pit straight

An MC12 in the pit lane		A Maserati MC12 on the pit straight

Two GT2 class Porsches		A JMB Racing MC12 arrives for a pit stop

JMB Racing pit stop		A Ferrari 550 Maranello on the pit straight

Ferrari 550 Maranello in the pit		Roaring down the pit straight

The Podium		The Park Fermé

One of the Team Vitaphone MC12s		The Maserati Trofeo GranSport hangar

MC12 cockpit		MC12 front disc brake





From Alessandro in Italy "Dear Ernrico, A lot of compliment for your fantastic web site,the state of art for Maserati lovers: I am an happy owner of a 4.18v of 1991, a rare Biturbo quattro porte with the ABS. Now I convert it to petroleum gas (GPL) equipment and the car can again run on the streets of Rome. Here in Rome now you can find some 2.24v and 4.24v non catalyc version in good condition for only 2,000 Euro (the property passage cost around 400 E more). Greetings, Alessandro."





From Glenn in the USA "On March 20,1957 the 3500 GT was announced as the first production Maserati at the Geneva Auto Exposition. The car was bodied by Touring of Milan with Superleggerra (extra light) construction. Aluminium panels were hand formed over a steel frame. In addition a few "one off" cars were produced by various coachworks including Bertone and Allemano. This car was targeted as it is today to a very discerning audience. Power came from a race proven 3.5 litre in line six with an aluminium block and dual overhead cams. A unique feature is the use of dual plugs per cylinder and dual coils. This 3500 GT is fitted with its original factory 42DCOE-8 triple Weber carburettors and a 4-speed gearbox. Maserati was always interested in grand touring, as such this model sports its original leather interior, probably needing reupholstering but is usable, and its attractive combination of chrome trims, gauges, switches and levers, all in beautiful working condition. Performance is rated at 235 bhp @ 5800 rpm. Only about 2,000 coupes and 245 spyders were built between 1957-1964 for the series run. The paint is original needing a respray, looks better in pictures than it is. The fine aluminium body is in excellent shape, exhibiting no corrosion, though has a minor dent in the front around the grille surround, and driver's side rear panel, as shown in the pictures. The car is particularly sound and solid, with the exception of a some rust on the passenger floor. The chrome is also in excellent condition, though the bumpers which aren't too bad, could use rechroming. With only 37,000 original miles, the engine starts right up and maintains the correct oil pressure and the car runs great and is a blast to drive. The clutch works and the gearbox changes gears without noise or grinding. New tyres (just needing air in pictures). The car is amazingly 99% complete including the often missing and expensive front grille surround."























The car is currently available for sale on eBay at www.ebay.com and I would like to thank Glenn for allowing me to publish these photos.





From Gert in Belgium "Hello Enrico, One question for you, maybe a difficult ... one maybe not!? Me and my girlfriend will be staying in Bologna for our holiday and of course there is one thing I want to see. THE STATUE (NEPTUNE) ... That's a must and our hotel is very near to it, so far no problems! But now it comes. I want to visit the old Bologna based factory, can you give me the address. I searched for it for a while but without any result. Maybe it is not there anymore? Gert."

Reply from Claudio in Italy "Le officine originali dei fratelli Maserati erano situate a Bologna in via Ponte Vecchio. Credo però che non ne resti assolutamente più nulla, che le abbiano demolite. Ti allego però una foto dell'epoca di quelle officine. Ciao, Claudio." "The the original workshops of the Maserati Brothers were situated in Via Ponte Vecchio, Bologna. But I believe there is nothing left of the original buildings and that they have now been demolished. I attach this old photo of the original workshops. Ciao, Claudio."



Reply from Enrico "I can confirm that both the buildings at 1/A Via dé Pepoli and 179 Via Ponte Vecchio have been demolished. Incidentally the telephone number at Via Ponte Vecchio was 2435. I do not know if any commemorative plaques have been placed on these sites but I do know that on the centenary of the birth of Alfieri, a group of enthusiasts placed a commemorative plaque at the Maserati Brother's birthplace in Voghera, province of Pavia, by some enthusiasts. There is also a college in Voghera named after Alfieri, the Istituto Tecnico Industriale Statale "Alfieri Maserati" at Via Mussini 22 and that there is also a Via Maserati. I am trying to find out the exact address of his birthplace. Hope this helps, Enrico."





From Peter in the USA "Comes this beauty!!!"















MASERATI. Often called 'The Thinking Man's Ferrari' or 'The Gentleman's Ferrari' , the name evokes images of great cars - the A6GCS, 250F, 450S, Birdcage - and great drivers like Moss, Fangio, Shelby, Gurney, and Salvadori to go along with all their championships. Here is an example of the first DuePosti (two seater) GT car ever produced by Maserati - a 1965 Mistral. With performance of 150mph and 235 bhp, the Mistral is no slouch. This Mistral had a complete cosmetic restoration a few years ago, and just recently completed a major mechanical restoration, including a complete rebuild of its original numbers-matching dual coil, twin plug 3.7 litre engine, at no small expense! Everything was done to the engine, from milling the head, to grinding and balancing the crank. The car has gone through its post-rebuild checkup, to have everything re-inspected, valves set, etc. to insure no surprises. The troublesome Lucas Fuel Injection has been upgraded to the preferred 3 Weber configuration. Tyres shaved, and wheels trued and balanced by Hendrix Wire Wheel. Brake booster rebuilt by White Post. Changing circumstances dictate that now that I've spent a fortune getting this car just right, I have to sell it, so my loss will be your gain. The car, often called the masterpiece of Pietra Frua's career, is a straight, accident-free example executed in aluminum. The car rides on rebuilt Borrani wire wheels (including the spare). The magnificent engine drives through a 5-speed gearbox, which shifts effortlessly, and is complete with 4-wheel disc brakes which really perform up to the level of the car! And a good thing, because this is one fast Italian masterpiece! Electric windows, electric fan, electric antenna for the AM/FM/CD unit. The paint is very nice, but not show, as there are some small paint chips and a few small bubbles, but from 10 feet these are all unnoticeable. There is also a small cracking in the dash from the sun. The black leather interior was also redone, and is beautiful. This car is meant to be driven, and it's a head-turner. The speedometer and rev counter have just been rebuilt and recalibrated by Nisonger. This is the perfect car for any of the vintage rallies held around the country, including those limited to Ferraris and Maseratis - an exclusive gathering! Great all-weather car, the heating actually works well (unlike British cars), and there's plenty of flow-through ventilation for warmer weather. The car even retains it's original cargo-cover roll, very rare. Included with the purchase will be the Dustop car cover, original jack, original keys, extra oil filters, manuals, original advertising brochure, and technical articles so the new owner has complete information on enjoying the car. The Mistral is a very hard example of Maserati to find in such nice condition, and is the culmination of the straight-6 DOHC masterpiece that powers the car. Maseratis have always been undervalued, but are climbing steadily, so at $57,500, about the same price as a dime-a-dozen Healey 3000, or half the price of a comparable Ferrari 330GTC, here's your chance to enjoy the car for years with little or no downside. For questions, pictures, or anything else, serious buyers can email me at bowmanpj@hotmail.com Will only be sold to an enthusiast who will give it a good home! This car will not be going down in price, as these early Maseratis are really starting to climb in price. If you've been watching eBay, you've seen the less desirable 2+2 models (3500GTs and Sebrings) that need total restorations selling for $20,000-$25,000 and they didn't even have wire wheels! If anyone thinks they can do a cosmetic and mechanical rebuild to the standards of this more desirable Mistral for the difference in price between a project car like those, and a finished one like this, they are in for a shock, even if they do all the work themselves at $0.00/hr, not counting the length of time it takes! So why go though the agony when you can be driving this car tomorrow??





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