Maserati Khamsin

The electronic media opens up the market for sure, however Auction results like this do affect the prices often not nearly to this sort of money but they set a precident and effect values even by small amount.

It happened here in Australia with local Muscle cars and the Falcon GTHO Phase III that went for 683,650 Australian Dollars and now settled back to half that. Having said that the valve of GT HOs has remained at about 330,000 Australian Dollars for a correct car.

So even after this it pushes the price of a Khamsin to 70, thats double recient sales.

Cheers
Graeme

 

The market has spoken, I can't really see the fuss. In comparison, K's are still way undervalued, in general exotics prices are on the up, and the K won't be an exception.

Comparing the Swiss car, with all its' red painted details that used to be black or silver, and that going for 100K USD more than the black auto US car, it makes the latter look like a steal. It looks okay, it drives, has some issues (rust, interior, auto) but from the first discussion I didn't think it'd be a 30k car. We need to stop talking our own cars down, as they are the last of an era, they are beautiful, fast, hand-built rarities. It is fast becoming aparant that really good examples are getting hard to find, and fetch money that makes restoration of a lesser example a feasible proposition. All I see is a situation that is a little more realistic.

Off my soap-box into the garage, I finally picked up a box this morning containing my overhauled hydraulics

 

Well said.

 

Please allow me to vent some frustration!

How do you guys get the regulator/main sphere combo bolted back in place? Do you get a baby from the street to get that pesky little bolt from the back in? Or do you actually take your wiper mechanism out?

I know I fought this bolt taking it out, nice to be flexible, but getting it back in is even worse. Maybe I should just put a stud in the regulator, so I can simply pop a nut on it in the back.

Must have been the first thing they fitted to the bare shell during production

 

Hi,

I already asked this question some time ago without any result. However, as the problem is getting more serious I decided to raise the question again and see if I have more luck this time. Does anyone know where to find rear shocks for Khamsin? or Does anyone know where we could have the shocks reconditioned?

It seems to me that the ride height (chassis clearance) has decreased on my car. Does anyone know what should be the correct height or clearance and which point of reference it is measured from.

Regards,

Armaz

 

Hi Jack
Is you car LHD or RHD? I could do a search but I am slack.
If its RHD I know a good surgeon!

Cheers
Graeme

 

You may want to install the regulator first and the screw in the main sphere once that is done. It will cut down on the weight and perhaps give you better access to the bolts.

Ivan

 

If the car is sagging in the rear I would think the problem are the rear springs and not necessarily the shocks. I have not studied the Khamsin's rear shocks but typically shock absorbers do not affect ride height.

Ivan

 

Hi Armaz,

For the parts, try these guys:
http://www.maseratinet.com//c-452-suspension.aspx
(although they don't seem to have the rears in stock just now).

Possibly also:
http://www.varishock.com/vas_home.html
although this will likely require more "figuring" than the direct replacement.

About the ride height I don't know. Perhaps Marc has some information, or you might contact Sr. Collina at Maserati factory classiche to see if he has any technical details.
http://www.maserati.com/maserati/en/en/index/passion/Maserati-Classic/Letter-from-Maserati-Classic.html

Best regards,
Carmine

 

Hi Carmine,

Thank you for the information.

I think I did not make it very clear. The ride height is of course depending on the springs. That is the reason why I wanted to know the figure in order to examine my car. I do not plan to change the shocks because of this issue but rather the damping behavour. In order to examine the springs I thought the ride height would help.

best regards

Armaz

 

Haeme, Ivan,

Thanks
Yes, RHD, and the solution is not difficult. Ivan, the bolt is so in-accessible, the sphere itself actually helps in guiding the regulator, but the space where the bolt sits is really, erm, quite impossible. I am very flexible, and usually, if I can't get to it, no one can. I fought with it for quite some time to get it out, and have all the tools I could possibly need for the job.

I am going to replace the bolt with a stud. This will aloow for much easier fitting of the whole unit, as the rear is now guided too, and it is also much easier to thread a nut on a stud in a blind and reversed position, than to do the same trying to put a bolt through a plate into a threaded hole that can move around.

Going to get a threaded rod or a long bolt to cut of, of the correct size tomorrow, as the thread is not a normal metric thing: 11mm head is odd already, thread is not M6. Does anything like M7 exist in an automotive application?

I would advise anyone who has to take the regulator out of a RHD car to do the same thing, or you are forced to take the complete wiper-drive out to gain a little more access, but it will still be very difficult.

More tomorrow.

 

I haven't been in my rear suspension yet, but aren't the spring-landings on the coil-overs adjustable?

Best,

Jack.

 

Hi Jack

7mm and 9mm are very common french Bolts.

I need to read back on the thread to understand your delema sadly I havnt time just now.

Graeme

 

If you have Konis back there you can send them to True choices in USA for a full rebuild

My buddy Philippe from Mtl (posts here on lambo chat ) sent his there and was pleased with the results!


Gary
Espada
8394

 

By the way, Armaz, maybe you should slow down a little:
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9r51NAeZ5lI[/ame]

 

Thanks, I will check it.

 

Hi,

That is not me, he is the previous owner! But also to my understanding these cars were made to drive fast or not?

 

Hello all,

While the doughnuts by the previous owner of Ermaz's car are a bit infantile these cars as you yourself agree carmine were not meant to be tinkered on endlessly to then be put on a concours lawn but to be driven: the attached photo with AM120US1046 is a good illustration of the "excitement" I find in a concours (that is not the owner sleeping) even though Concours have their valid purpose as well. The linked video is more like it: enjoy it safely but spiritedly or miss the whole point.


[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkpiAG81-xc&feature=my_favorites&list=FLWHELoxXTId_feA3Jp39OtQ[/ame]

best regards,

Marc
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Marc,
I've seen that video before. It is among my favorites. Thanks for posting it.
As far as displaying the cars rather than driving them I agree. It's like having a very attractive girl friend merely to show her off.

Armaz,
I was joking about the 360 burnouts. I recall that a while back you had written that that was the previous owner.

Carmine

 

In the various photos (not only Khamsin) I see Maser V-8's with bare aluminium and others with black painted heads (between the cam covers, even on cars from the same year.

Is there any logic/sequence, or is it just the luck of the draw?

 

I've never seen an original late Maserati V8s (Khamsin, Bora QPIII) that wasn't completely painted. The QPIII Royal's had red cam covers.

The earlier QPI, Indy and Ghibli I'm not as familiar with.

I have seen plenty of owners do their own thing though.

The castings can be quite rough and one way to hide this is with a heavy wrinkle coat using larger wrinkles via heavier coats and controlled heat drying. If done properly it's also very durable. At least it was with the paints available when I did all of mine twenty years ago. I think the modern power wrinkle, which I've used, probably won't hide as well.

 

I usually like events with more associated with them than just the Concours. It's also about meeting people and turning the drive to and from into an outing. I've always been a driver and sadly that's now so very difficult where I live. I really the miss the open roads of America's west. There's nothing like this on the east coast. But we do have some track events though those are so new car or race car oriented now.

Marc, I think your typical vintage car owner is not really interested in driving and using the cars. They want asset appreciating jewelry and having sampled a few of those of late I'm astonished at how some of them look good but don't completely drive right.

Beautiful women who are bad in bed.

 

It seems to me that the ride height (chassis clearance) has decreased on my car. Does anyone know what should be the correct height or clearance and which point of reference it is measured from.

Hi Mark
The The Khamsin springs were a bit hit and miss with the heat treatment process.
I have the free legth dimensions here for the springs I will endevour to find when I get a miniute.

Please note for everone after a sertain Chassis number the rear springs changed. There are paired and have different rates one at 100 ponds inches the other at 70 and lots of preload.

There may not be any thing wrong with you rear shocks.

I had KONIs Made and they used an ASTON MARTIN X 4

Graeme

 

On my Khamsin the covers are natural aluminum. I had them of last summer and could see no signs of paint, even under the nuts. I think they where never painted, but if so a previous owner must have acid dipped them. My right cover also have filler neck for oil, so it's the same as Indy and possible Bora. I have seen this on other Khamsins as well, and think it could be original. My car is the first production car, #008. It could be that Maserati used what was in the shelves, and no real plan on how doing things?

Still I consider painting the covers like on "regular" Khamsins. I like the black crackle finish.

Best regards
Marius