Maserati Mistral thread

Interesting that that should be the case as I have read elsewhere that some were steel bodied and some were aluminum throughout. You learn something new everyday. Thanks for the heads up Ivan.

 

Hi Elliot,
My car is No. 1032, from October 1966. Yours should not be too much older than mine?

I used to be the caretaker of the 1968 Geneva Show car, a silver 4000 with red interior, before we sold it to Germany in 2005. That one was in steel, but with hood and doors in alu.

 

Interesting. I learn something everyday. I've never seen a steel Mistral coupe.

Ivan

 

It looks like the Mistral community will have to get out the magnets and see what type of metal panels are on the various Mistrals. I'm going to try to see if I can check my car in the next couple of weeks when I go to look at it where it is stored. I get back to everyone to let them know what I find.

 

Elliot, I've had four Mistrals over the years and still have one. They range from early ones with the 3.7L and 16" wheels to later ones with the 4.0L and 15" wheels. All have been alloy bodies including doors and hood. But interestingly the rear hatch is made of steel, probably for strength since most of it consists of the glass windscreen.
Larry

 

Regarding Foot wells: during the late '70's and early '80's i had the opportunity to work on several Mistrals, I restored one for myself. My car A1*1464 had fiberglass foot wells front and back. Of two spyders I worked on, one had steel foot wells a 3.5lt car, another one a 4lt car had fiberglass foot wells.

 

I just posted an English version of the Mistral owner's manual:
http://thecarnut.com/Manuals/Mistral_english.pdf

and a manual with electrical diagrams for Maseratis built between 1964 and 1968, including the Ghibli. Lots of good information in this manual.
http://thecarnut.com/Manuals/Electrical_diagrams_1964_1968.pdf

Ivan

 

Hi Ivan,
Thank you for posting these manuals.
The electrical manual contains a lot of informations I have never seen elsewhere (by the way, schema 32 is missing).
Alain.

 

Schema 32 is missing in my copy.

Ivan

 

Ivan, I'ved had a copy of this manual for over 30 years and it is also missing Schema 32. Perhaps it was never included in the original.
Larry

 

Thanks Larry. Any other manuals you have that should be scanned and made available?

Ivan

 

I've been looking for this. Thanks Ivan!!

Has anyone ordered the Classiche kit for the Mistral? It looks like it has excellent documentation, including a bunch of manuals.

 

My car is currently missing the ignition wire tube/loom and the heat shield that sits between the engine and the fluid reservoirs (my car on the right). First, does anyone have either of these parts? Second, has anyone had to build a new heat shield? I would appreciate some guidance on that if I cannot locate a spare.

I imagine that the wire loom is primarily the Italian obsession with a nice and neat looking engine compartment, perhaps with some strain relief function, so it's not a big deal if it is missing. But what about the heat shield? How important is it that it is replaced?

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I am also missing the heat shield in mine, so am following this!

 

Hi Alex and Terry,
The heat shield is currently out of my car.
Tell me what you want to know and I'll try to help.
Alain.

 

The Mistral owner's manual in the Classiche kit is an excellent reproduction. I have noticed that some of the other kits (3500GT, Ghibli, etc) are no longer available. Not sure if they will make more or if it was a limited run. You should get the Mistral kit while you can. I ordered my kits through the local dealer.

Ivan

 

Tbigs / Alain...

I'm wondering if the heat shield surrounding the reservoirs was standard on all cars.
When I bought my 1964 Mistral, there was no heat shield. And if I remember correctly,
and I would have to recheck, there were no attachment points for a shield...

It may be possible that these shields were added later???

Mike

 

Hi Alain,
Thanks!

For me, at least, I am interested in photos of where the shield is supposed to be mounted. And also some pictures of the shield itself.

My guess is that this shield is a good thing when it comes to heating the brake fluid and so on, and I would like to replicate it before I reassemble my car after Christmas.

Thanks again!

//alex

 

Hi Mike,
I have never seen a period picture of a Mistral without that shield.
It is retained by pretty small screws. The holes could be full of dirt or tar.

There was a square section foam at the top of the shield, and this was compressed by the hood when closed.
Alain.

 

I ordered one from MIE more than a month ago. Still no sign of it. Not encouraging....

 

Hi alex,
I have done some pictures and a scheme of this heat shield for you.

- It's done from a 1.00 millimeter thick aluminium sheet.
- It's covered with a glued and riveted thermic protection on the exhaust side.
- It's holded by 2 screws, one in a chassis rail and the other in the left hand side panel of the engine compartment.
- The hole is for the steering shaft.

Hope this helps, Alain
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Thank you, Alain!

 

This is a "before" and some "after" photos of Mistral 049. Suspension and undercarriage work is just nasty ... I hate it. Much more work still to be done on the car.

Ivan
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Looks lovely Ivan, very nice!!

Are the front sway bar mounts "gold cadmium" from the factory?

How about a body shot?

 

The gold cadmium look was just me experimenting with the zinc plating kit. They were most likely silver cad plated originally but I like adding a little color here and there to spruce up an otherwise dull looking undercarriage. The only other thing I gold zinc plated was the handbrake bracket that is located on top of the differential, everything else that needed plating I did in silver zinc.

Caswell Plating makes several plating kits for home use including their CopyCad kit
Copy Cad® & Zinc Plating Kits - Electroplating & Anodizing - Caswell Inc

It takes some practice but you can get very good results. They also have a very easy to use black oxide kit for all those undercarriage bolts.
Black Oxide Kit - 2.5 Gal - Black Oxide Kits - Metal Finishing Solutions - Caswell Inc

Ivan