"OFFICIAL" MASERATI BI-TURBO ERA ENTHUSIAST THREAD | FerrariChat

"OFFICIAL" MASERATI BI-TURBO ERA ENTHUSIAST THREAD

Discussion in 'Maserati' started by 3500 GT, Sep 5, 2013.

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  1. 3500 GT

    3500 GT Formula 3

    Nov 2, 2008
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    Gentleman Racer
    PLEASE LEAVE YOUR POSITIVE COMMENTS AND RELATED INFORMATION HERE!

    THE GLASS IS ALWAYS HALF FULL! :)

    MANY THANKS!
     
  2. TBigs

    TBigs Formula Junior

    Mar 23, 2010
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    Terry
    Meh, maybe they're not completely terrible.
     
  3. wbaeumer

    wbaeumer F1 Veteran
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    Mar 4, 2005
    8,826
    From a distance (10 miles or so) they look nice....:)
     
  4. bikz

    bikz Formula 3

    Mar 2, 2012
    1,043
    Malaysia
    i test drove one yesterday and i am smitten.....why are they loathed so much at all??!!?i read some of the views of some members in some past threads.....i still don't get it... i test drove a '89 222E.....love it
     
  5. vaholtorf

    vaholtorf Formula 3
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    Jul 7, 2006
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    Victor Holtorf


    Well, '89 is the best year for these cars. They got all the bugs worked out by '89 and imo any '89 Maserati is a very good car that keeps its Italian character! But, they decided to kill the US cars off after they finally got it right with the '89 model year!
     
  6. staatsof

    staatsof Nine Time F1 World Champ
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    Bob
    #6 staatsof, Sep 6, 2013
    Last edited: Sep 6, 2013
    The reason for that is how DeTomaso mishandled the introduction of the car to USA and his subsequent behavior. In short, he created too big of a mess than could be cleaned up except by exiting the market. The factory did not backup the warranty properly and could not legally fix the real issues with the car which was the horridly designed emissions system. They had never had a decent emissions system on any of their cars anywhere in the world and that included the Merak, Bora, Khamsin and QPIII. The QPIII caught on fire too for the same reasons. You can't put cats on carb cars with a manual choke and not expect disaster.

    My Bora almost caught fire and burnt to ground when I first picked it up due to a screwy emissions system. So it's not just the Biturbos. Maserati was clueless about how to execute emissions systems until much later on.

    You can modify the earlier cars with not so much work to operate just fine but most of the examples out there in the USA were just abandoned first by Maserati then by the dealers and finally the owners so that today they ARE for the most part just junk. That's what happens to any Italian car once it's abandoned. Mine is still a very nice looking original car that's been modified properly, owned since new by me and drives very nicely thank you.
    I'll have it out this weekend at a local show as long as my allergies settle down. It's been a horrific season for allergy sufferers here in the NE USA.

    Now would a moderator please just merge the two threads because it's clear that certain folks just won't behave and insist upon burnishing their own sullied reputations for boorish behavior by not sticking to the proper thread. :rolleyes:
     
    jjmalez likes this.
  7. velocetwo

    velocetwo F1 World Champ

    Dec 11, 2006
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    Left Coast
    Seriously?
     
  8. staatsof

    staatsof Nine Time F1 World Champ
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  9. rdefabri

    rdefabri Three Time F1 World Champ

    Jun 4, 2008
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    Rich
    I like 'em - let's see some pics.
     
  10. 3500 GT

    3500 GT Formula 3

    Nov 2, 2008
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    Walter,....you are a funny guy!

    Fact: Walter likes the Maserati Bi-Turbo. From 10 miles distance! :)
     
  11. Mexico074

    Mexico074 Formula 3

    Aug 14, 2008
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    Michael Demyanovich
    #11 Mexico074, Sep 6, 2013
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Here are some pictures of my 85 Biturbo...

    Seems to be running good, and is still extremely comfortable...

    I should add that it has been pretty well cared for, like any Maserati should be.
    At one time it was my daily driver. I bought it with about 7000 miles or so on it
    and ran it up to about 40000 in a year and half... IT WAS VERY RELIABLE... I
    liked the car so much that I stopped using it as my daily driver, and it has been
    one of my fun cars ever since. I will add that it did sit for a few years waiting
    for ME to do some things. Certainly not the cars fault, but rather the owner!

    Mike (Mexico074)..
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  12. staatsof

    staatsof Nine Time F1 World Champ
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    Mike I did the same thing and I took it everywhere including all over Nevada to the Silver State race and it's been a lot of fun. Most comfortable seats of any car I've ever sat in. Not good for the track though, no side support. But then this is not really a track car even though I used mine like that for quite a few years with an MIE suspension kit on it and I embarrassed a lot of Italian cars in the mid 1990s to early 2000s. I still get asked about where its when I go to the track at Pocono. No one expected it to be so fast there.

    BTW, I sent you my email for your questions.

    Your's is looking pretty nice there. You know what most of them look like today.
     
  13. nick11

    nick11 Rookie

    Aug 19, 2010
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    Nicolas Di Cristofaro
    #13 nick11, Sep 6, 2013
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
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  14. staatsof

    staatsof Nine Time F1 World Champ
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    Biggest problem for the later cars is parts prices and availability. It's not good. The earlier cars have a better mechanical parts availability and at much lower prices.
    I own and 84 and a 96 Open Cup EVO. I've had both engines completely apart and with the GOC the entire car disassembled because it's a track car. So I'm pretty damn familiar with them.

    Anyway good to see you're enjoying them. Best of luck.
     
  15. MK1044

    MK1044 Two Time F1 World Champ

    Nov 6, 2011
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    As far as I can recall, I've only seen and heard one running in my entire life.

    But on that one the engine sounds were absolutely fantastic. I could here some mechanical sounds, (maybe the cam timing chains?), as well as the deep throaty exhaust. Definitely a world class sports car engine.

    I must say that based on that one sample: I like BiTurbo's.
     
  16. rdefabri

    rdefabri Three Time F1 World Champ

    Jun 4, 2008
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    Red one is hot. I tried to find a Biturbo a few years back, but couldn't find one nice enough. I'm not in the market now.
     
  17. TBigs

    TBigs Formula Junior

    Mar 23, 2010
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    Terry
    #17 TBigs, Sep 7, 2013
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Here is a slightly modified biturbo that is a real crowd pleaser! A really smashing car with devastated good looks.

    .....and with a little luck and a lot of leaking fuel, this facelift could result in a really hot car!
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  18. nick11

    nick11 Rookie

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    #18 nick11, Sep 7, 2013
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Yes this car has a lot of presence on the roads. Way more agressive than the black one.
    (the gransport is stunning too)
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  19. staatsof

    staatsof Nine Time F1 World Champ
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    #19 staatsof, Sep 7, 2013
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Gosh you're clever. Did you work all night to find that?
    Here's another great looking Ghibli also caused by someone really stupid.
    You're in the wrong thread but then I guess your reading isn't one of your better skills or is there another reason you posted this here?

    Thanks for helping make the Maserati section such a convivial place. :rolleyes:
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  20. staatsof

    staatsof Nine Time F1 World Champ
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    No chains in the ones over here Carmine and even the ones with chains only have a small one at the rear of heads. The exhaust cam is driven by the belt up front and the intake is then driven off the rear of the exhaust cam by a chain. It was done as a compact way to upgrade from a two cam 3 valve per cylinder design to a 4 car 4 valves per cylinder design. A lot of the engines block remained the same. Cosworth designed and cast heads. That way everything fit the same small footprint of the engine compartment of all their existing models at the time. They also repeated this design on the Shamal, QPIV and 3200GT engines. Though those had the valve shims on top of the bucket which I guess made for much easier valve adjustments? Never worked on one myself though.

    You probably were hearing valve a bit of lash, that and their ZF gear boxes sing in low gear going up and down hills too.
     
  21. wbaeumer

    wbaeumer F1 Veteran
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    Mar 4, 2005
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    ...nice photo! :):):)
     
  22. mamamia

    mamamia Karting

    Dec 14, 2010
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    Henry Jameson
    I am often puzzled by the criticism levelled at the Biturbo era cars by the so-called self-ordained Maserati cognoscenti. It seems that not content with celebrating the merits of the Maseratis they own, they seem to gain great delight in denegrating the Biturbo cars.

    They remind me of an old 78 record when the needle gets stuck and just plays the same passage over and over again. Why don’t they just enjoy the Maseratis they have and let us enjoy ours. Let’s never forget our cars all bear the same trident and are powered by engines built by Maserati engineers in the same red brick buildings at Viale Ciro Menotti in Modena.

    So I ask myself who are the more passionate Maseratisti, the ones who invest money into their cars knowing they will appreciate in value, or the ones who do so knowing that they may never see a return on their investment.

    Of course you have to admit that one could be considered a wiser enthusiast that the other, but you could never say that one is more passionate about the marque than the other.

    I have never heard a Biturbo owner denegrate any classic Maserati, I’ve only heard them share their admiration for the cars. I am sure there are many Biturbo owners who would love to own one of the more desirable classics, but may not be in a position to do so, the Biturbo being their only alternative.

    Over the last few years all would have seen the rise in the value of most classis Maseratis, especially the Spyders. The same cannot be said of the Biturbo era cars, but their owners continue to sink ever increasing amounts of cash into their cars, not in a deluded hope that they will increase in value, as there are no signs of this ever happening, but because they enjoy the buzz that driving these cars gives them.

    Even the classics have their problems, and I’m sure a quick glance through the invoices ammassed during ownership, will confirm this.

    Make no mistake, if De Tomaso hadn’t stepped in when he did, Maserati would not exist today. Nobody else wanted it, neither Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Lancia or Ferrari or any other car manufacturer were interested in saving the marque.

    There would be no factory at Viale Ciro Menotti for the cognoscenti to visit, no red brick buildings, no central historic archive, as the contents would have been sold off to various collectors.

    In the late Seventies, when Citroen abandoned Maserati to the dogs, it wasn’t the construction of the 3500 GT, Sebring, Mistral, Mexico, Quattroporte, Ghibli, Indy, Bora, Merak or Khamsin that saved Maserati, IT WAS THE BITURBO !!
     
  23. TBigs

    TBigs Formula Junior

    Mar 23, 2010
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    Terry
    hahaha, LOL

    Don't take it too seriously! It's all in good fun.
     
  24. staatsof

    staatsof Nine Time F1 World Champ
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    No Terry it's not. At least not by some folks here. I don't know you at all so I can't say.
    I don't spend any time in the Ferrari model specific threads but I doubt these sort of comments would be terribly welcomed their either. Not of dumping on specific models of Lamborghini either just flaming of specific people by each other. I try to avoid that stuff too.
    Please don't take the repeated comments of a couple people on here as a signal for open season.
     
  25. thecarnut

    thecarnut F1 Rookie
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    Apr 22, 2006
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    The Car Nut
    I am ready to try one of these cars out and come to my own conclusions.

    Send me a PM if you know of a well sorted 1989 model, 5-speed of course, for sale. Prefer if it is not red and located in the East coast, USA. Must be a very nice car, please no "it has not started in 5 years" type of car.

    Ivan
     

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