Where to get vintage Maserati 6 rebuilt?

I'm on the cusp of buying a sad Sebring with the 3.7 version of the classic dual plug Maserati 6.

What shops would people normally recommend for getting the entire mechanicals running?

It has been parked for many years.
Barn find condition, but not in the charmingly original sense of the term.
The engine turns, but may need anything from freshening to a full rebuild.
All the systems will need attention---engine, transmission, diff, suspension and springs, gauges and wires, the works.

But I am not doing anything cosmetic at this stage.
I guess I'll clean and refinish the undercarriage and structure while all the mechanicals are being done, but that's about it.

The shop could be either in the US or Europe.
The car is in the US and I live in Europe, so I could repair-then-ship, or I could ship-then-repair.

I imagine there are two kinds of shops that can do old Maseratis well.
- The historians who know what's needed to make it "nut and bolt" original for Pebble Beach
- The engineers, who know how do use more modern parts where they make sense.
Fuel pumps, alternators, connectors, whatever.

I am more interested in the second type...extreme originality of mechanicals is not
important for me as the end goal is reliability during touring.

So, who do people like?
What shops have good reputations for successful 3500GT family engine rebuilds, doing what's needed and not doing what is not needed, and not charging the billionaires' rate?
A shop not disgusted at the idea of adding air conditioning compressor that actually works.

Note: I realize the Lucas mechanical fuel injection is a special case.
The best solution may be to get that handled by one of the few specialists in just that problem, after everything else mechanical is done.
Either one of the specialists in making it work like PowerProps, or one of the specialists in converting Lucas mechanical to EFI (eficonversions.co.uk does it for the TR6 version...)
If the existing Lucas setup doesn't work--I presume it doesn't--I might do Webers as a stop gap until either of those avenues get pursued.

Thanks in advance for any reputational information on the various restoration shops.

Jim

 

Thanks for the great feedback, folks.
I will now concentrate on seeing if the purchase can be completed...

Any other suggestions still very welcome.
Especially along the lines of "it's much better to pay 'too much' for a car that's already well sorted than to fix a beater".

Anybody have recent real world hard data on what price is real and fair for a condition 2+ (very nice cosmetics very well sorted driver) Sebring II 3.7 coupe these days?

All the old Maseratis of all conditions seem to have doubled in the last two years, unfortunately.
The higher the starting price, the more they have gone up in currency terms, except (oddly) the barn finds, which have quintupled.
Bad time to be a buyer. But I'm dumb.

Jim

 

>>Hello Jim,
>>where do you live in Europe ?
>>If you are interested in an European restoration (perfect) please PM me.

Will do, thanks.

Still looking for more advice!

 

>>Where are you located?

Car is in the US, I am in the South of France.
But I have no particular need (nor desire) to have the work done near me provided the shop has email.
Shipping is pretty cheap these days compared to the cost of restoring a car.
Restoration in Asia would be problematic, but anywhere in the US or Europe should be fine.

The bigger issues are a shop with a good reputation, trustworthy and skilled, reasonable/fair costs.
I guess I wouldn't rule out "inexpensive", but trustworthy is the big one.

The main thing is that this is NOT aimed at a Pebble Beach trophy. I want to drive it.
And if it doesn't have air conditioning, I'm putting it in, originality be danged, though I'd keep it as discreet as possible.
It gets *hot* here.

Jim

 

>>my advice- if you are not up to the challenge of a complete restoration, i.e.the mental
>>and financial anguish of such an endeavour - then you should run away from this sort of project.

Oh, I'm up for it, and know what I'm getting into in general, if not the car-specific adventures to come.
On another car I'm at the two year mark, with probably another six months to go.
I don't *like* the anguish, but I certainly expect it.

My reason for asking about mechanical-only work is not that I'm unable/unwilling to do the body and interior,
and I'm not doing the restoration because I think it will end up cheaper than buying an already-done car (ha!),
it's just that I have plans to do the "cosmetics" at a different place as the second step. Long story.

These are fairly specialized beasts mechanically, and I think it's wise to have them
looked at by a place with specific experience, and I don't (didn't!) know who those were.

That being said, I don't dismiss what you say.
It is always good when one person reminds another that restoring cars makes no
sense from any rational viewpoint (financial, time frame, emotional pain...).
But does that stop us? No.

Jim

 

>>The only issues with the Lucas injection is the people working on it with NO understanding.
>>I have refitted a couple of cars with Lucas from Webers, they run just fine when properly set up.

That's what I've heard.
It seems the secret is to make sure it's done by one of the [few] people who really knows them well.
Still, it's sobering to listen to the 3500GT episode of Jay Leno's Garage where they
describe the repeated difficulties they had despite their bottomless resources.

Though it's not really an option, I admit to being fascinated with the EFI add-on kit that has been done for the TR6, which is a variant of the same Lucas system.
Alas, nobody has done the map for the Maserati 6.
Given the choice between something that's original and something that works in all conditions, I'm on the side of "works all the time".

Jim