Considering a '73 Bora

I've been considering the purchase of a Bora. Currently drive a 550 Maranello and previously had a 2002 Maser cambio coupe. I've always loved the 70's Giugiaro design and would love to have an Italian classic. Any advice here from past or present Bora owners? I'm all ears.

Thanks in advance.

 

Hi Dean,
Welcome! Do a search here on this forum and there should be a bunch of informational posts to read.

Main Points:

- Philosophically, it's a solid, comfortable Grand Tourer. It's not a race car chassis, nor is it one in spirit. I put about 1000 miles per year on mine and I love the sound and solid performance. The engine is pure joy. Redline is 6000.

- Past and present auto journalists found the Bora to have excellent ergonomics for its time. Adjustable seat, telescoping & tilt steering wheel, the pedal "tray" moves fwd/backwd to meet your feet. It is well insulted for sound and has insulted glass betw cockpit and engine bay. Contemporary press coverage rated the comfort of a Bora very highly compared to the 512BB and Miura.

- The Bora has some Citroen hydraulics which are reliable if checked up and maintained. Address any leaks promptly. The brakes are hydraulically actuated, which I have not found to be problematic or uncomfortable. I've heard rumors some drivers feel they are annoying and weird. Well, if you think about it, the whole damn car can be annoying and weird.

- They look better in person that in photos.

- Classic Maserati's have good enthusiast, parts and Club support. There is a good network of people to help, source parts, share information, etc, etc. This forum has certainly proven that for me. Very good, long term, owners here who know their stuff. If you're serious about a Maserati, even if it ain't a Bora, sign up to the Maserati Club.

General Caveat:

- Any 70's classic is going to be 40 years old, and with that comes some baggage. I recommend you determine who is going to service your classic before you buy. When something fails is not the time to have to scramble to find someone. The mechanic needs to be familiar with make & model if they are going to solve your problems, not just fix what's wrong and get you out the door. If the underlying problem isn't solved, it'll just happen again.

My Bora Story:

I bought my '75 Bora with US spec bumpers from a member here. My experience has been very good. No disappointments. But that's by my standards. Mine needed a healthy dose of wrenching & TLC to commission it for the road after sitting about 20 years. No brakes, no clutch, suspected blown head gasket, leaking hydraulics, general neglect. Very good paint and interior though. I have experience restoring and wrenching on Mopars and Alfas. The Bora was my first 'exotic'. I live close to an expert Citroen/Maserati mechanic, who I talked with pre-purchase. His proximity made ownership of my Bora a feasible proposition. Since achieving roadworthiness, the systems have been reasonable to maintain. I worked closely with my mechanic during the two month recommissioning and now I'm confident, and able on my own, to sort out most of the things that crop:
- Last week I sent out the headlight actuator pistons for rebuild.
- This week I took out all the shift linkages for refurbishing.
- Over the winter I'll replace the front passenger side suspension bushings.

Hope this was helpful.
- Art

 

Here are a couple basic "Driving a Bora" videos I uploaded to YouTube..

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNnr4GNO0F8]1975 Maserati Bora - 13 Minute Drive in Upstate NY - YouTube[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDhAPcSChEg]1975 Maserati Bora - 15 minute drive - YouTube[/ame]

Best,
- Art

 

Art,

Thanks for all the helpful info and the great videos of your car (I actually watched them awhile back). Currently I have my 550 serviced at Algar in Philadelphia. I will have to check in with them to see if their mech's are well versed in the Bora, I assume so as they were up until recently Maserati dealers as well as Ferrari. Anything in particular I should be mindful of when looking at the car I may purchase?

 

I think the same things you must be careful about in any classic car also apply for the Bora.

Get a properly sorted car, especially a car that has had its LHM citroen stuff serviced. If the previous owner was a Maseratisti, he would have taken good care of his car and the LHM system.

It is a great GT car, quite comfortable, quite fast for long distance travelling, engine in the middle, and very unique and rare.

Ideally, look for the EU version and avoid the ugly US version with the restricted exhaust and ugly bumpers.

PS:
Personally, I find the LHM citroen stuff the biggest problem (unreliable, bad for the image of Maserati, expensive to fix, too complex, doesn't offer anything extra overall). But others disagree with me

 

That would be most people who actually know anything about the system. LHM system is far less susceptible to corrosion compared with a standard braking system. People tend to ignore these systems because they can run a very long time with neglect. That's a good reason to make sure the system has been gone through. Forty years is a very long time for mechanical systems.

Can't argue about the bumpers appearance except that they do actually function as bumpers. The pretty ones are worthless in that respect.

As long as the car has european style headers there's nothing restrictive about the exhaust system regardless of the model year. USA spec cars may need to have their cams timed differently if that has not already been done and some people have their distributors advance curve modified. A properly tuned US spec boar with it's typically shorter gears is a 6 second car to 60 and redlines @ 140mph. Are you really going to go over 140 mph?

Go drive a good example and see if you like it. End of story really. They are very good cars but that matters little if you don't like it.

 

250 miles since a complete mechanical rebuild. have owned the car since 04. new carpets. RH sear damage on outer bolster when a broad butt sat in it this year new paint in 04 chips and scratches on edge of drivers door and rear edge. if interested I will send photos $85,000 I got too old and have way too many cars 30 +. S/N 1002
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I miss my bora!!

 

Cool car but where on earth you get parts for it ?

 

The Internet Google it

??????

I mean, you're already reading a devoted forum, answer seems kinda obvious.

Cheers

 

not a issue when my car was restored. shows about 36,000 miles in 07 when restored. I found a NEW transaxle! and put it in. as a result I have a spare as well as a spare std. std. crank. extra new timing gears and new, never installed euro bumper, spare carb sets. picked up a lot of spares over 8 year. one never knows. motor parts easy to come by

 

no parts problem
>>>>>>

I have also been looking at Boras lately and some do not have toolkits. This thread got me thinking- is it nearly impossible to buy an original toolkit for a Bora?

 

No, not really. They come up on EBay every now and then for about $2k. Search bora and Merak too since I think they will be the same. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong!

 

I think MIE may have a reproduction tool kit?

I've never had one in my 26 years of ownership. Are you looking for a museum piece for a collection or a car to drive?

 

80% collector car and 20 % to drive. Maybe I missed it on the MIE website. I will have to check again

 

Maserati Club, Maserati Parts, MIE Corp. MaseratiNet Store - TOOL KIT & TOOL ROLL (LATE)

 

You used to be able to purloin these from discarded QPIIIs for a song.
What an absurd amount of money for junk tools. The tool kit rolls in my Espada are even worse. They're made out of a crummy black canvas at least this one is vinyl.

 

Well I pulled the trigger and bought Bora #510. Many thanks to the advice you guys gave here especially carnutz who sold the car to the guy I bought it from! After I get done detailing every inch of it, I'll post up some pics. I suspect I'll be on here looking for advice and or help with some quirky issue..... So thanks in advance!