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 the 2005 Maserati Quattroporte

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





"And now for something completely different!"
From David in the UK "Hello Enrico, How are you? My name is David McCalium, Ii spoke to you some time ago regarding a modified Maserati Ghibli that I was building. I have now finished the car and have attached some photographs pictures at its first show that we attended at Santo Pod in the UK. My apologies for the delay in this as my company has become very busy with work, I hope that you will still be interested in featuring the car on your site as it is also a complete conversation available to all Maserati Ghibli owners. Before we even touched this Maserati we fully appreciated that we were dealing with a classic supercar. This particular Ghibli came straight from Italy with the usual twin turbochargers built in as standard! We know that most Maserati owners love to see them restored to their original beauty, but we had other ideas for it! You can see we have colour coded the intake manifold and the rocker covers, and had new polished aluminium pipes specially made for it. We fitted twin racing air filters and had new silicone hoses made. The car's exhaust system was made by an F1 exhaust specialist who created a straight through system to which we fitted two twin 3.5” pipes on either side of the new rear bumper. The lights you see here are Honda S2000 rear lamps. We fabricated new bodywork around them and the tailgate has been de-locked and de-badged apart from the central badge (to keep the essence of the original car running through the project). It is running on 19” split rims from ANTERA with low profile TOYO tyres fitted 8.5” wide at the front to a huge 11.5” wide at the rear. We used specially made billet aluminium hub adaptors at the rear and reworked the original hubs at the front to fit them nice and snug. We wanted to create a wild look on this car without detracting from the cars original lines, this is why we left the cars standard headlamps in place. The front bumper we made only helps to accentuate the cars original features, yet by building a power bulge into the bonnet we feel it has a more aggressive look. Being made of fibreglass the bonnet is now less than a quarter of the original weight!! (Which was a lot!) We have also made a rear wing for this car from fibreglass, and as you can see from this picture taken at Santa Pod raceway USC show, it finishes the look off a treat ... most spectators seemed to find it pretty impressive too! The Maserati is painted in ‘House of Kolor’ sunrise pearl yellow (which our painter loves!) and topped with a clear show lacquer. The whole car is totally stunning under bright sunlight as House of Kolor paint is designed for show cars out in the Californian sun. We even colour coded interior! Our future plans for this car are, we will shortly be applying a fine coat of gold micro flake to the car for extra dazzle. We are also going to completely change the interior. The dashboard will be removed and replaced with a custom made binnacle to incorporate new dials and will possibly feature a little bit of airbrushing and the installation of a totally amazing ICE In-Car entertainment system is also on our hit list! Watch this space! Please find attached some pictures of the Maserati Ghibli during the conversion and after its completion. I have also attached a conversion PRICE LIST. Please feel free to contact ME for any more information. Many thanks, David McCalium."















"HI, Thank you Martin and welcome to the World of Maserati! Regards, Enrico."





About the cars on eBay!!! "Hi Enrico, I just thought you should know about a couple of cars recently on Ebay that were also shown on your website. I went and looked at one of them. It was nothing like the condition presented in the Ebay listing. It was totally misrepresented and I wouldn't be surprised if on that occasion, the chap got sued by the buyer. In fact some of the people that bid on that particular car withdrew their bids following an inspection. It had a salvage title which was not disclosed in the description. On another occasion, a Maserati that I had checked out after reading the description on eBay appeared to be a very nice car. I was interested but I felt it got bid too high for what I knew about this particular car. I had already spoken with the previous owner as well as having an inspection performed. This particular Maserati needed a some electrical work (not that bad) . The A/C control panel was broken (a bit more expensive) but ... it also was fitted with those motorized retractable shoulder safety belts seen in the USA during the late 80's and early 90's. Very few Maseratis were imported into the USA with these on them and as a result there are no parts available. They were broken. They are required to work properly to pass the safety inspection. None of these items were disclosed by the seller in the description. So ... it would have to have been converted to a fixed point shoulder harnesses (not impossible) but still some work. It was still a very nice car! In some cases Ebay listings can be very misleading and I thought you should know. Makes me wonder about all the ones I never check out? Regards, A concerned Maserati enthusiast."





From Rossano in Italy "Happy New Year Enrico, Ti invio alcune foto che un appassionato mi ha spedito, riguardano la MC12 che la Maserati utilizza come Press-car. I am sending you a few photos sent to me by an enthusiast, regarding the MC12 that Maserati will use as a Press-car. Rossano." MODELLO/MODEL: Maserati MC12 CILINDRATA / CUBIC CAPACITY: 6000 cc. IMMATRICOLAZIONE / DATE OF REGISTRATION: 03/2004. NUMERO TELAIO / REGISTRATION NUMBER: ZAMDF44B000012081. COLORE ORIGINALE / COLOUR: Bianco/Blu livrea CAMORADI (CAMORADI livery). TARGA ORIGINALE / LICENCE NUMBER: L4 13259. STATO / COUNTRY: Italia. PROVINCIA / PROVINCE: Modena. NOTE: Vettura test di proprietà della Maserati S.p.A. / Test car, the property of Maserati S.p.A.





For sale on eBay in the USA A VERY RARE 1974 MASERATI BORA Low mileage - one owner. Aerodyne twin-turbo Coupe with Tec-2 engine management system with hi-performance tyres and wheels. This beautiful example comes with Recaro heated seats, Driver's Handbook and records. Performance crank trigger with custom twin turbo kit with twin Aerodyne ball bearing turbochargers. Custom twin exhaust system with enlarged coolant system with two engine oil cooling radiators with direct fire ignition system with twin alternators. Custom air-to-air 1200cfm intercooler. Custom direct port efi manifold with 480cc hi-flow injectors. Custom forged pistons and a dry sump oil system and all systems rebuilt using original parts.





































I would like to thanks Jim Watkins for granting me permission to publish these photos.





Recently sold on eBay in the USA This well maintained 1990 Maserati 430 with leather interior sold for US $7,300.00 (the bidding started at only US £500.00!!!). Milage: 40,991 miles. Engine: 2.8-litre V6. Transmission: Automatic. Interior: Ivory. Chassis number: ZAMBN1200LB328939. I publish these photos so that prospective sellers can see the advantage that can be gained by the use of photographs when trying to sell a car. In a country as big as the USA, this seller is able to demonstrate the excellent condition of their Maserati by these informative photographs much better than any written description!! Up for auction is a 1990 Maserati 430, sedan. It is bright red and appears to have been very well maintained. It has very low miles, 40,991. There is no visible rust on the vehicle anywhere. There appears to have been some paint work done on the car, it looks like just the front hood was painted, perhaps due to some fading. The exhaust is fairly new, the tires are in excellent shape with about 75% of the tread remaining. There are some dings on the exterior. There are three door dings on the drivers side & door and a couple on the passenger side. Other than that the exterior is good including rubber mouldings & bumpers. The car has wagner halyon lights and fog lights. The interior has been well maintained, is clean and has rich looking wood trim and a nice interior clock. All the options work, including windows, radio and power seats. The car has a good PA inspection sticker on it and is totally road worthy and ready for a trip home! Any questions please call Kathy...(+1) 724-309-3184. To check it out for yourself CLICK HERE!





Recently sold on eBay in the USA for US $8,100.00. 1989 Maserati 228 Milage: 26,000 miles. Engine: 2.8-litre V6. Transmission: Manual. Interior: Tan leather. Chassis number: ZAMAN1108KA340337. This 1989 Maserati 228 is one of 97 cars officially imported to the USA according to Maserati S.p.A. out of a production line of only 469 cars. The engine, is an all aluminum, three valve per cylinder, twin overhead cam, hemispherical combustion, 90 degree V6, blown by not one but two turbochargers, that are cooled each by it's own Intercooler. The engine has been maintained religiously, with regular oil changes of only Mobil 1 full synthetic or Agip Synt, whichever was more available. The Getrag 5 Speed gear box also has Synthetic oil in it; as does the Ranger Differential (Specific Agip oil for this racing Diff has to be ordered through the dealer) The car has had all of it's Bulletin upgrades performed at the dealer (Absolute temperature sensor, Vacuum Sensor, T-belt pulley with new belt). This car needs nothing mechanical done to it what-so-ever to be used right away; all you have to do is just go by the check-up, and maintenance procedures that are well described in the Owner's Manual. This car is CRAZY FAST! The Exterior: Silver Blue Metallic "Celeste Metallizzatto" Polychromatic paint. The Interior: This might just be the most Extravagantly designed interior of Any car Ever (I know this a sweeping statement but even MASERATI themselves say that this is the most incredible interior they ever did, and you'll agree too when you see it). Light tan and brown leather and suede cover every inch of the interior. The dash, the door trims and the headliner are all rolled and pleated suede. Front and back seats, steering Wheel and top of doors are all rich Italian leather. The original Nardi steering wheel is breathtaking!!! All this is accented all around the car with authentic heavy burl walnut.





Did you know? European automobile manufacturers paid over US $32,000,000 in fines last year for failing to meet the strict US fuel economy standards, an annual penalty for some luxury brands. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration levies the fines against any automobile manufacturers whose vehicles fail to meet the fleet-wide fuel economy average for a given model year - currently 27.5 mpg for cars and 21.6 mpg for commercial vehicles. Luxury car manufacturers such as Mercedes, BMW and Porsche typically fall foul of these standards as they manufacture models with high-power, low-mileage engines and very few smaller engined models. BMW paid $12 million last year, while Daimler-Chrysler paid $8.5 million for its Mercedes unit and Porsche paid $6.4 million. Other automakers tagged for penalties included Volkwagen, with $3.4 million, and Ferrari/Maserati, which paid $1.5 million. Asian and US automobile manufacturers rarely pay such fines.





From Maserati MASERATI – THERE ARE SO MANY STARS Back in July 2005, the glamorous world of Maserati was celebrated at an exclusive photographic exhibition, ‘Egli Ci Ha Tante Stelle’ – ‘There are so Many Stars’ – in London. The exhibition, staged at the Michael Hoppen Gallery in Chelsea, illustrated the colourful history of this prestigious, sporting marque through a series of superb photographs, whose subjects ranged from the Grand Prix victories won by Juan Manuel Fangio, to astronaut Walter Schirra taking delivery of his Maserati Bora supercar in 1971. Over 30 evocative images were on display, all of them selected by exhibition curator and design guru Stephen Bayley.

A Maserati Motorbike takes pride of place in the Michael Hoppen Gallery

Present at the opening of this exhibition were racing driver Stirling Moss – who starred in several of the images – supermodel Jodie Kidd, who will be racing in the 2006 Maserati Trofeo GranSport Championship, 5th Gear TV presenter Vicki Butler- Henderson and the Italian ambassador Giancarlo Aragona, who were all entertained by host and curator Stephen Bayley. To commemorate this exhibition, Maserati produced this signed boxed set of 12 postcards recalling the celebrated memories of Maserati.

The boxed set

Set 937 out of 1,000		Photo content description on the rear

Carlo Maserati - 1900		Alfieri Maserati - 1922

Tazio Nuvolari in a 6C 34 at the Italian Grand Prix – Monza, 1934		Rodrigo Videlliranda in a Maserati A6 GCS – Petropolis, 1949

Juan Manuel Fangio in a Maserati 250F at the Argentinian GP – Buenos Aires, 1957		Omar Orsi, Ing Giulio Alfieri and Aurelio Bertocchi – Modena, 1958 © Maserati

Maserati cars at the factory, lining up for the Mille Miglia - Modena, 1955		Stirling Moss in a Maserati 250F – Modena, 1956

Stirling Moss with a Maserati Birdcage Tipo 60 – Modena, 1959 © Maserati		Astronaut Walter Schirra with his Maserati Bora – Modena, 1971 © Maserati

Luciano Pavarotti with a Maserati Kyalami – Modena , 1977 © Maserati		Jodie Kidd with a Maserati Trofeo GranSport – Fiorano, 2005 © Pirelli P Zero





From Miguel in Portugal News of a previously unknown Maserati Barchetta that has surfaced in Portugal. "Dear Enrico, Indeed you were right. The chassis number matches. It is *......LAF. I'm sending you some pictures. You can see that it is a factory transformed car. It is 93 built with static ignition. No Fiat Coupé head lights. The tyres are still the original Michelin MXX, it has 300 kms on the clock!! It is absolutely in new condition no scratches or paint jobs. What do you think? Regards, Miguel. P.S. I think it is a interesting issue to post in your pages."





From Hugh in Australia "G'day Mate, Love your Maser site. Thought you might to see the latest Maser, the picture is from the agent's Xmas card. I have 3 cars: 1) 1984 Biturbo 2.5-litre (under restoration) 2) 1995 Shamal (80km?). 3) 430 2.8-litre auto (79km). My business supplies automotive tools to workshops so I have a good mechanical background. I have my own workshop 2-post hoist compressor etc, I love working on the cars. I carry my own spare parts, because the local distributor doesn’t carry them, and have found may substitute parts - Volvo, BMW, Fiat etc. I have a few parts – workshops manuals to suit most Maseratis even the old ones. Maybe I can be of some help, as Maseratis are like all the other cars when it comes to parts usage ! Look forward to viewing the site on a regular basis. Hugh Zions (Captian Shamal)."





From Ed in the USA "Hi, This is Ed from the USA and saw your Forum on Google and thought to drop you an email. I currently own a 1983 Porsche 944 and have run across a 1975 Merak for 20 thousand dollars US that is in pretty nice condition and the owner has had it for some time. It is a driver with no known current problems. The water pump was done recently and I was told she runs a little rich. Is this type of vehicle a fairly dependible car or known to major problems the older they get just like us humans? Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks, Ed from USA."

From AB in the UK "Dear Enrico, Likewise may I return belated seasons greeting and wish you a very prosperous and wonderful year. Re: Merak. Earlier Meraks ...were a 'pain in the neck', ignition problems, brake distributor valve, timing chain, clutch ..etc. Post 1979...the Meraks became SS.....timing chain was replaced with helical gears which were more reliable but made a clattering noise - the rear brake calipers were replaced having small pistons and the the braking distributor valve to proportion the braking was got rid of - a Bosch distributor was installed for the USA ..... - the 7.25" diameter clutch was replaced with one of a 9.5" diameter, much better than the earlier models. To summerise your client's query .....I would not consider 1975 to be a reliable and trouble free vehicle, post 1979 would be more desirable. Once again a pleasure to be of some help . AB."





From Menno in The Netherlands "Dear Fellow Maserati-Fan, I own a Maserati Merak, which was imported from California (USA). However I don't know what type (SS?) the car is. I wonder if you can help me to find out. The data I have is from the import-forms: Maserati Merak 2-door Coupe. Year of construction: 1977. Engine: 3.2-litre 6-cylinder. Chassis No: AM1220124. Thank you for your efforts. Kind regards, Menno."

From Enrico in the UK "Hi Menno, Just received this reply from Maserati. I can confirm the AM1220124 is a standard 3-litre Merak, NOT a Merak SS. It has the oval instruments similar to those fitted to the Citroen SM. It was constructed in May 1973, colour blue with a light grey interior. The car was sold by Rome Concessionaire Sport Auto to Sig Domenico Pacifici of Rome. The Merak SS had the chassis number beginning AM122/A. . . ., and although it had a 3-litre engine could be ditinguished by the round instruments as fitted to the Bora and was fitted with a leather interior. If the car was later registered in the USA it should have been fitted with the rubber bumpers to conform with their homologation requirements. Hope this helps, Enrico. PS: Don't forget the photos!!!"





From Bob in the UK Hi Enrico, Hope you are well, Happy New Year to you. Can you help me find some history for my car, it's a Maserati Biturbo Spyder 2.8 Zagato, chassis/frame number ZAM333B28JA190163. I have been the proud owner now for nearly 4 years it has been fantastic, I have been told it was the only one of its model in right-hand drive made in the year it was produced and it was built for the UK Motor Show. I do know who the the two previous owners were, but I have been unable to contact the first owner as I have been informed he passed away so a bit difficult you see. Do you have anything in your files that can help, the log book indicates the date of manufacture as 12/05/1989, but I think it may be a year older at least ? Kind regards, Bob."





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