Original 1960s materials: chassis steel and carpet

I know I keep posting requests for help with my pair of 3500GTs in the Maserati forum, so I thought I should share some research back!

Been buying steel from the very nice people at Trafiltubi | Acciai Trafilati a Freddo | - Tubi in acciao trafilati a freddo. who still stock the correct elliptical profile for the 3500 chassis. Trafil Tubi are in effect the same firm that supplied Maserati in the 1950s and 60s under the name Gilco, and are proud of their product as an essential component of the Superleggera concept. The steel used had a high Molybdenum and Chrome content to deal with its use in the manufacture of aircraft, go-kart chassis and bike frames (hence the durability of the 3500 chassis); its reference is 25CrMo4 although its slightly richer big sister, 30CrMo4 (or 4130) is generally used in the USA.

Note that this steel is trickier to weld, particularly to other steels, when cracks can appear on cooling.Gas welding therefore seems the way to go..

A second titbit for you: having been very unsatisfied by the quality of aftermarket carpet for the 3500 I finally found that Andrea Maieli in Italy can weave new wool carpet to match the original very coarse and deep Wilton that was fitted in the late 50s and early 60s. He has a number of original samples against which he can colour match. It ain't cheap by any stretch of the imagination, but it is authentic. I'll report further when I receive my order later this year. Andrea has a website just up as of this week:

www.interniautomaieli.com

After spending nights researching Italian automotive carpets and trying to decipher a partly-destroyed original logo on the back of my 3500 carpet, I discovered that the original carpets were made by SAFF - Saff Tappeti S.p.A in Mortara near Pavia who also supplied/supply Ferrari.

Saff, incidentally is the name given to a type of knotted prayer rug. But the company's name is an acronym: the 'Societa Autonoma per la Fabbricazione dei Fez' founded by Signore C. Scavia.

Happy to email the firm's logo to anyone interested. Check your carpets - which were factory 'treated against moths'. The firm appears to be still in business.

K