Still breathing thank you Mike By the way a bumper swap hit squad will swirl around your car at the next concours you do and have your car converted to the proper Euro look faster than an F1 pitstop before you set foot on the ground;-) Best regards, Marc
Hi Mike, My pictures here: http://www.facebook.com/MaseratiKhamsin435?ref=hl There are various albums for different topics, all individual photos have captions. Enjoy! Jack.
Hi Jack Great pictures was the hornets nest an option!! From what I see in the picture especialy the rear suspension shots the A and the yellow tell tail on the bolts indicates a very untouched car. If you get a chance can you measure the wire diameter on the rear springs and take some dimensions of the "A" The question earlier about the colour of the rack is in the photos. Cheers Graeme
Hi Graeme, Thanks! I'll measure th spring coil wire and the "A"; the latter is just roughly painted by hand, not a stamp or anything sophisticated. So, is that what these nests are, hornet-nests? Thanks for answering that one, it looks like something really nasty. I found quite a few of them in various places. Good thing they were empty My car is with the front up in the air, so it's a bit tricky tpo take a rear wheel off for A-measurements, so please be patient for that one, probably only when the head is R&R'd. Best, Jack.
Hi Jack A vernier will do to measure the wire and the A just a rough dimension will do. Mud Hornets Very common in western NSW, they are fairly benign , They make mud pockets for want of a better word, lay lava and then collect a spider by paralising it and closing the pocket and what you see is after the lava has hatched, The Car was not far from a place the hornets can get the mud. Cheers Graeme
Hi Graeme, Thanks much for clarifying this, the nests are all out now, there were quite a few and some quite big. So we can conclude that the same type of hornet you find in NSW also lives on the African continent! I'll go to the garage later and measure the springs. Best, Jack.
Hi Jack This is the Aussie variety Mud-dauber wasp placing spider in nest - Australian Museum GOOGLE shows this for South Africa, Black and yellow mud dauber - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Very similar ... enough wasps back to important matters. Cheers Graeme
Hi Graeme, Important matters: 10.79mm (includes paint) Ooops, just realise that I only measured the rear one, the front of the pair may be different, let me get back tp the garage...hold on. The front of the pair has a larger diameter, 12mm. I measured with a micrometer in inches, a very strange device, and it is a little tricky to get it around the windings accurately, so please don't pay too much attention to the decimals over 10th/mm. My vernier appears to have grown feet. Most enlightening, those wasps; glad they are still with the PO! Best, Jack.
Some asked to see photo's of the headers with the air-rail. I posted them here: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.160914667423487.1073741828.119309631583991&type=3 Best, Jack.
Jack Thank you for the pictures. dumb me thought the tubes faced the other direction. Considering they are purely there to lean out the exhaust they do take up some room. At least you have the Euro spec manifolds the Collector box version is I believe another of the US mods. Regards Graeme
Graeme, The air-rails are completely useless: there is no thermal reactor, so they just mix some fresh air into the exhaust to mislead the sniffer at idle. To what amount I don't know, but there is obviously no 'green' effect. As we discussed previously, just to keep the authorities happy, I still dislike the restriction in the exhaust it presents, and the loss of HP caused. Can you tell I am still in doubt? More significant to me is the difference in the diameter of the rear springs, it is quite significant. Other cars I had with 2 springs at each rear wheel (Jags and a De Tomaso Deauville) did not have different springs front and aft of the axle. It would be interesting to compare the dynamics of an equal spring set-up with the Khamsin set-up. Best, Jack.
If anyone is seeking a Blaupunkt Berlin, I am offering a like new set up. Been with me for 35+ years, stored safe and dry. Make me an offer..... ....and yes, unfortunately can't seem to locate the two 'dummy' knobs NOT seen in the photo. Gotta be available on eBay perhaps? Image Unavailable, Please Login
Finally had a chance to do the compression test. It told me nothing other than that all cylinders are within 10% of eachother, so further investigation is needed. I need to borrow a small compressor so I can do a proper leak-down test. Looking at plugs and exhaust manifold of the affected bank, it appears that 2 cylinders were burning much leaner than the other two. Compression shows normal, even with one of the cylinders showing 0 valve-lash on the exhaust valve, so I'm hoping that the damage isn't too bad. Question: Do the sodium-filled valves fail dramatically, or can the fail gradually, i.e. stretch first and then break? I'll try and find a small compressor tomorrow, otherwise I'll just take the head off and see what I find. 2nd question: Has anyone taken the small bolt out of the steering column below the u-joint behind the steering wheel? I'd like to get that steering column out of the way, just need to mark it properly so the U-joints are in correct position when re-assembled. That little bolt looks quite fragile though (perhaps intentional?) and I don't want to spend days finding a replacement. Best, Jack.
Question: Do the sodium-filled valves fail dramatically, or can the fail gradually, i.e. stretch first and then break? Best, Jack.[/QUOTE] Hi Jack, I didn't think the V8's had sodium filled valves, I know for sure that the V6 in the Merak did. If the V8's do then I've made a boo boo when I had the my engine rebuilt. Bal
Hi Bal, Now you make me doubt too All I see is that a new valve from Eurospares costs 80 pounds and a stainless one from MIE 30 Dollars. Maybe I am getting shipswright's disease, but if the head needs to come off, and the valves are sodium-filled, I'll replace all and pull the other head as well. There are a lot of stories going around aboput sodium valves, and there is IMO no reason to be scared, as the failures are not common. I used to rev my Ferrari with sodium valves to 8.500rpm, without fear. The question was asked because it could be an imminent failure of a valve, and in my head (quite a mess inside there) there was sodium. Don't worry, your engine is fine! Best, Jack.
Hi Guys Stop fretting....... Having said that I am not sure about the 5000GT series. Meraks do have Sodium filled valves. As for the cost of Valves the US made valves are stainless and because they make so many hence the price. Regards Graeme
VENDO MASERATI KHAMSIN 4900 PEGOGNAGA 46020 ITALIA (151732) Veicoli fra il 1800 e 1993 0 Interesting this car has a velour interior Cheers Graeme
Hi All I know these were discussed at some point so I though it was good MIE organised a batch. Maserati Club, Maserati Parts, MIE Corp. MaseratiNet Store - WHEEL 15 X 7.5 CAST ALLOY Regards Graeme
Late to the party but I'll add my 2 cents now if that's OK. Your headers look great compared to the thermal reactor ones Maserati used near the end. Those were just. They grossly overheated the engine compartment, melted a lot of sensitive stuff and eventually split. If it were me and the headers are off I'd cut the distribution tube off and weld the holes shut. No one is going to ding you for originality, EVER! Probably the reverse is true. It's a time honored practice to remove that junk (didn't work right anyway) and put a proper system on. Yours looks like a decent design other than the injection rail. Otherwise cap the check valve and be aware that those fail at some point so just a rubber cap isn't a good idea.
Those look really nice in the photos. Doubtless better casting quality and finish than the originals.
Heavier because they're aluminum.. Surface finish will be better but not sure if they're structuraly any stronger. Certainly newer!
There was once a train of thought that magnesium wheels had a life and there for should be discarded. I have never seen this written anywhere, and it may have origins in the race world. I have a spare wheel and will weigh one to see how much heavier they are. The quality will no dough be much better. Regards Graeme
Has this car been discussed http://www.classicdriver.com/uk/find/4100_results.asp?bsubmit=true&lmodelflag=10383&lmanufacturer=10080&whatbutton.x=0&page=0&lCarID=1875761 Regards Graeme
Looks like a very nice car, I love the colours! Question: the fabric of the door-inserts and the cantrails is different from the dash and dash-top. Is it original that way? Question 2: The exhaust headers do not have bungs in them for exhaust gas testing. How do you accurately set the carbs? Best, Jack.
Hi Graeme, all, Yes this is one of my absolute favorite Khamsin's I used to dream of that car a dozen years ago before I got mine. AM120.232 has always lived in the Zurich area, used to be owned by a couple of obstetricians (wonder what he and she talked about at dinner!) and has that superb shade of verde pino (pine green) which is one of the most gorgeous colors out there. The pumpkin interior is equally gorgeous and the car is a sight to behold. These previous owners had put it up for sale at the Maserati dealer in St Gallen Switzerland and the current owner, having sold his pistacchio green Ghibli spyder for a very strong price via a Geneva based broker consulted me about 232 a few years ago and I said yes go for it. This Zurich based enthusiast also owns another Khamsin (silver black) so decided that two is one too many. I am not involved in the sale but this has to be one of the top three ultimate Khamsins out there, certainly top five. It won people's choice at Khamsin Quaranta. During my 8 Khamsin reunion near Zurich in 2010 the owner was absent so I got to borrow it for a full day during which we shot photos for the book and lined it up with seven other K's in the 8 Khamsin reunion which also went like a dream. Highly recommended but if you change the color I will shoot you best regards, Marc
