QPIII saved from scrap yard

In The Netherlands we have a guy who breaks Maserati's and one day he told me he had found a QPIII. I saw the car, realised it had always been one of my favourite Masers (for reasons already explained by others on this forum), and decided the price (5000 euros) was a good start for a project.

It is a 1986 built (therefore road tax exempt) 4.9 l auto, 160k kms, in Dark Aquamarine ('Italver': 2.873.381 or 'PPG': 224.853) with cognac hide.
The car was used many years by a factory director and his driver and is in a very decent cosmetic condition.

In the Maserati Club Holland I'm not alone with the QPIII. I love this colour combination.

(tbc)
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I took the car for an MOT (APK as we call it) in January 2011 and much to my surprise it passed the test, except for CO - which was not a surprise. There was no double check by the APK authorities so I got the car back without any work done but with the desired certificate. While driving the car first time I noticed various non-conforming vibrations and noises from the drive train and I started to work on a list of checks on this part of the car. Mileage was 1 liter every 2.2 - 2.8 kms, which pointed to some adjustment work needed on the carbs. Today the car runs at 1:6 with properly tuned carbs and a new fuel filter and pressure regulator.

This was the initial list of major works that emerged after a view checks:
- Adjustment of the carbs needed
- Bearings of the differential worn
- Joints of the cardan and drive shafts worn
- Interior light (TEDEL and all that… hahaha) not functioning
- New engine and brake fluids needed
- Cosmetic work needed, such as cleaning the interior, adjusting the rear bumper, re-coating the rims, respraying the grill, cleaning the engine bay, repairing/replacing door and boot lid rubbers, and some more.

I always kept the car in driving condition bar the moments work was done on the drive train. I like to drive that car. I took it to Zandvoort circuit and managed to keep up with the Volkwagen Golf GTIs on a track day, drifting the car and enjoying the weight defying performance. It must be the Jaguar E type-sourced rear arrangement doing a tremendous job. It dawned on me that at least in part due to the excellent road holding this car was sold until as late as 1989 while all of its technique was already way outdated. Another reason why the car is so pleasant to drive is the auto box, which fits the car well and does not undermine the sportiness of the car. The max torque of the engine is 392 Nm but at least 350 Nm is delivered between 2500 and 5500 rpm. The Drive and 5 of a manual box are almost identical. Likewise the '2' and 3rd gear of the manual. With the wide torque band of the engine there is no need for a 4th gear.

The engine seemed to be doing fine and a dyno test confirmed it. Horse power and torque were near factory spec - assuming that the drive train losses were not over-corrected. This youtube movie shows the eventual 283 HP at 5000 rpm.

(tbc)

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9F4-pUBoqMw]Dyno run 2[/ame]

 

I respect the original design to a certain degree and I don't want a pimped car, but I look out for improvements. Not on engine performance (Maseratis have enough of that, I believe) but rather on transmission, breaks and road holding. Small cosmetic tweaks are allowed, such as replacing the hideous digital clock with the 'gold-plated' that was used in the Royale and the biturbo's.

The fairly ugly leather was removed from the ash trays. These are the same as in my F400i and they are sometimes offered on eBay for USD150-200. Ridiculously expensive, and the QP has 2 of them. I like them much more without the leather cover.

I removed the varnish from the console around the gear lever and tested if I liked the looks of it after applying oil in stead of new varnish. I liked it and so I will do the door and dashboard panels the same way.

For the time being I installed a 1980s Becker radio cassette player. It does look nice but I want a period Blaupunkt. Notice the clock on the picture below… The arrow points to the dummy switch (my car for some reason has no spare fuel pump and no switch for it) which I replaced with a working switch now used for the clock light, just like in biturbo's. Connectors are kept original in case somebody wants to put back the digital clock. Okay, nothing exciting about this but I love to spend winter evenings in the garage working on these things, next to the heater, radio on&#8230

(tbc)
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Removal of the differential for a full overhaul, including the Torsen interior. It turned out that not only the bearings needed replacement. I could locate a new Torsen component in Italy - extremely expensive!
All suspension components were taken apart and refurbished where needed. I confess I delegated the work on the differential to an indie, due to lack of time and tools.

Has a rabbit lived in the differential? After the overhaul someone told me that this kind of damage can be repaired by just polishing the sharp ends of the gears. That would have been a lot cheaper, but is it true?

I replaced the rear part of the exhaust. This piece was sourced in Italy too and it did not fit very well. I will come back to this later on.

(tbc)
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The car participated in a 'replay' of the Sicily scene in Godfather III, as part of a wedding party (not mine).

Youtube: Corleone in Sicily

(tbc)
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Rims were powder coated. Big mistake. These wheels seem to flex a lot causing the coating to crack. As I write this they are being resprayed.

Front suspension and breaks refurbished. Gold is over the top of course. Daytona coils.

Daytona coils lowered the front. Everything fits well, tyres not touching anything. This is my handling pack for the QPIII )

I was not inspired by the Las vegas Maser by the way. What's up with the door mirrors?

(tbc)
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Vibrazione!

I did a lot of work to get rid of the vibrations, in this order (with help of the indie).
1. Overhauled the diff
2. Overhauled all drive shafts and the rear wheel bearings
3. Overhauled the Torqueflite (with shift kit)
4. Replaced the drive shaft support with new
5. Adjusted the mounting of the exhaust sytem.

They all caused vibrations and it was interesting to hear and feel the difference after each of these jobs. After replacing No 4 - drive shaft support - there was a rumble that continuously changed in character. It made me crazy of course, after all the work done on the drive train. Most of that rumble turned out to be caused by the exhaust system. The mounting is a PITA to get right.

Nevertheless, there still is a vibration between 2500-3000 rpm. Other forum members here seem to experience the same. I still need to replace the support of the Torqueflite as it is dry and I suspect it transmits vibrations which are then amplified by the box-like coach. The source of the vibration is the engine. It is known that these V8s vibrate after some time due to a poor support of the crankshaft. Custom-made aluminium bridged connecting the bearings exist and are reported to remove the vibration. Any thoughts?

(tbc)
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The QPIII CO2 emission is significantly higher than emissions from biturbo's and modern Maserati's. German cars ('Duits') perform a lot better in terms of torque produced against CO2 emission.
Also the CO is known to be high and therefore represents an issue at the annual APK. I noticed that driving the car for a few hours always gave me a headache. So I decided to replace the small absorption mufflers with 2 catalytic converters. CO came down from 6% to 0.09%!

While the car was up in the air the starter engine and fuel lines of the fuel pump were replaced with new.

(tbc)
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Thanks for the kind responses! I've got more up my sleeve wrt the engine.

Jack, the Salisbury differential originally used was replaced by the Torsen in 1984. The rear suspension is identical to E-type, bar the diff. It is an interesting setup with the drive shaft being an integral part and therefore quite heavy.

 

Yes I paid much attention to this and I believe the setup should be according to specs. But I need to check if the engine isn't mounted straight - I was not aware of that possibility.
I have a new transmission mounting on the shelf and I have hopes it will yet again remove some of the vibrations. I am a perfectionist in this respect and I am preparing myself for the time I realise there will be persistent rumble that I do not like. However, when driving the car the vibrations are usually not there and only occur at certain rpm, which I just try to avoid on the motorway.

 

@ F456M:

Thanks! Unfortunately I cannot help you with the exhaust tips because the previous owner had avoided spending too much on the exhaust by welding a pair of random pipes on the spaghetti part. Very ugly and noisy indeed.

The catalysers replace the standard mufflers. A great improvement because I experience neither a change in performance nor a reduction of the exhaust noise or its pulsing character as you put it. This is probably because these are sports cats with a large flow capacity. 200 euros each and an easy straightforward job if you can weld.

Before you adjust the carb you have to make sure everything else is in order. We used a vacuum meter, not a ColorTune plug.
Ivan Ruiz (The Car Nut - Maserati and Jaguar Cars) published a narrative on carb tuning.

 

After the rebuild of the differential and before the 727 overhaul we took a break to Italy.

Campo Imperatore near Pescara. The typical raduno at ferragosto (mid August craziness in Italy). The rainstorm put a cruel end to the festivities in the valley behind us.

Passo del Bernina. Near St Moritz at the Silvaplaner See with a swarm of kyte surfers.

It's a wonderful holiday car that seats four comfortably and drives superbly on the autostradas and mountain roads. On steep roads the car refuses to shift down and stays in 3rd gear at 1500 rpm or so unless you force it into 2nd. It feels very lazy and relaxed.
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I have the same observations wrt the vibrations. However, when I go through the rpms in N or P the vibrations are there as well. I have the impression that they are amplified in 3rd due to interactions with the drive train and the body of the car. Even if I accelerate slower than normal I notice that there is some rumble in 1st and 2nd at the same rpm, but very little. Therefore I think this one is really from the engine. I hope it will be less after mounting the new support of the auto box.

I need to look up the seller of the cat converters. In EU spec the cars were delivered with neither cats nor most of that other emission stuff the US version has. (We only have the hilarious air pump but I have removed it in conjunction with adding the converters.) You can look for sport cats with the right dimensions - they should be easy to source everywhere. I'll let you know where I bought mine.

I noticed the exhaust was mounted too tight and touched the bottom thus causing a lot of noise, but not always in the same way. It depended on speed, bends, temperature. So I loosened it up by bending mounts and stretching rubbers. The problem is if you do that too much it will touch the drive shafts in bends - a balancing act.

Note on the garage on the picture: it is not mine. As I said I work together with specialists because I lack certain tools (e.g. for working on the diff) and I certainly also lack time. I am independent and can decide on how I spend my time, but sometimes work has priority. I am impatient so if my brains work on a solution for the car I want to test and implement it. I then decide to ask a mechanic to do it, while staying closely involved. My garage has space for 3 cars but usually it is only occupied by the QPIII and a biturbo spyder. The third spot is used for various works and projects. It should be occupied by the 400i but it isn't and that is a long story in itself (I might launch a thread on this elsewhere on this forum). My daily is a Porsche 968 which, like the family car (Audi A6) lives outside. In fact the rule is: Italians inside, Germans outside. LOL

I do not have a main stream choice of cars (except for the A6...). The QPIII is a very Italian thing (which I really don't mind being half Italian myself) with enormous presence on the road while not inviting hand waving, pointing fingers and shouting of other road users. Very Maserati (pre GranTurismo) too in that sense. The Biturbo's I like because of their interior and their engine. Road holding is bad but the spyder suffers less from the poor underpinnings because of its low centre of gravity and its looks are more sexy than the coupes and berlinas. The 968 I find the ultimate driving (road)car. The engine is a mechanical marvel and road holding is superior. It is also practical as a daily, because the booth is big, even a bike fits there.

 

I haven't yet told the story about the failure of the head gasket. Last fall the engine had its final exercise during a very nice tour through the polders. Coming home I noticed white smoke from the exhaust and this turned out to be water vapour. Just that moment the dash indicated there was a low coolant level.

I first considered just replacing the gasket(s) but the engine had done 160k kms, uneven compression and worn cam shaft gears. For me this would imply going for a rather more complete engine refurbishment. Looking at the prices of parts and the work ahead (I have some experience with a Ferrari 400i engine) I decided to go for a replacement engine. I found a 1986 one with 58k kms with euro specs (AM107/23/49 - the 23 stands for euro spec, USA has 22).

But not before having contacted Maserati Classiche (Fabio Collina). He kindly recommended to ask Campana because they would have engines in stock. Indeed they have. They offered a brand new engine at 32 thousand euros… Anyone interested? I can forward the details. ;D

I have prepared the engine bay for removal of the engine. I am now refurbishing the peripherals and the carbs.

Maseratisource recently offered a new water pump on ebay. I lost the bid but somehow got another chance and bought it for USD 150!

I discovered that the airco pump is not original and smaller than the York that is supposed to be present. This explains the above-normal temperatures in the car during the summer trip to Italy. The 'new' engine came with the original York which seems to be in good shape, fortunately.

To be continued...
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