Hi Bob... Not sure.. Last nights episode was new for 2017.. There was no mention of an auction on the show that I recall... Mike
OK. Bob is referring to CCC Season 2 Episode 10. Mike must have seen CCC's current 2017 season (Season 11) Episode 1 or 2. Regards. PS I haven't seen the new one yet!
Good morning. Thinking it's time to replace tires. Is anyone running the new reproduction tires from Longstone on their Bora yet? Any impressions, experience? http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/maserati/523667-new-pirelli-tires-being-remade.html The Longstones seem like the way to go. Asking for comments from you all. Cheers, - Art
Hi Bob, Yep, I found those. So, are these tube-tires, or tubeless mounts? I'm getting a conflicting memo from Longstone's website... and with the time zone, I can't call cuz they're all gone home for the weekend. I'm pretty sure the "tube" reference is for wire rims, not relevant to our Bora's Campagnolos. Can anyone confirm that? - Art
My Espada used similarly sized and specified tires on its rims which are identical to those of the Miura. They are Campagnolos too and of a far inferior casting than the Bora's. They looked like a magnesium alloy version of playdoh. Bondo was utilized to smooth out the ruff spots in the casting and they came that way from Campagnolo! The Espada calls for tubes, high speed tube no less. My rims were original and the P4000e tires did have new tubes installed albeit improperly. I still had the original spare, very worn, and that had the originl Pirelli high speed tube in it. That tire was considerably larger in diameter than a 215-70/VR15 too. But when I restored my rims I did not utilize tubes and they've been fine. I queried our local expert tire shop here, very well know, about this and he assured me that they'd be fine so I vote no on tubes as well. Interestingly about a year after buying my Bora I developed a slow leak and it turned out to be porosity in the rim so there's always that issue. As long as it's not a structural weakness or god forbid a crack you can fix that too.
Copying this from the "How many Bora's for sale" thread, and pasting it here for future tech reference; Now we're evolving into a Bora Shift Linkage Rebuild tech report: The shift linkage on mine; I removed the whole thing, from cockpit to the ZF and rebuilt it on the bench with new taper pins and lock nuts, freshly drilled with a taper bit, through the original shafts (rotated 90degress) and replaced the worn OEM joints with 5/8" ID Borgeson joints, fit almost perfectly*. With the whole assembly apart, new boots were obviously a piece of cake to install. *a note of caution that I passed on to the Boys at MIE: The Borgeson u-joints have longer sleeves than the OEM joints. This length will impinge on surrounding objects when the shaft moves longitudinally during gear shifts. Specifically, the sleeve will ram into the ends of the rubber 'condom' grease boots at the two needle bearings running alongside the engine block. You can feel it as "resistance to shift" in the lever. The old vs new joints can be compared in this picture; New Borgeson joints are mounted on the shafts. The old OEM joints are on the bench near their respective replacements; at the bottom right in the photo, and the one closest to the vice grips towards the upper right. This entire paper template I made from pre-disassembly measurements is available if anyone wishes to borrow it... Here is the original assembly with "short sleeve" OEM joints before starting rebuild; Cheers, - Art
Thanks for your comparative information, Bob. It is clear my 'seals' are not OEM. We are talking about Table 14, Parts 29 - which are the bellows, the same bellows called for throughout the shift linkage assembly. It is worth noting on Table 14 there are no clamps on the "free" end of these one-piece bellows - and if the tolerance and elasticity of the bellow end is as loose as the old OEM's left on mine, I bet they provided a ready path for internal pressure to escape from day one. I feel we can safely conclude any kind of tube or sleeve isn't the way too go on these - a good quality rubber bellows is. They will let pressure escape and not conflict with the Borgeson U-joint. I will provide photos of my current set up to show what is not ideal, or for further discussion. - Art
I was referring to the sliding part of the shaft under the headers that's "protected" by the heat shield. When I got mine apart after driving the car home from Oklahoma City to SF it had that mileage plus the 3,000 already on it when I bought it there. Those needle bearings were bone dry. That's why I put the section of silicone radiator hose on there. between the two supports. It's a perfect solution for keeping that part of the assembly at least clean and for retaining the volatiles in the grease. It's at each outer end that it becomes a very similar situation to that of the inner CV joint boots. That's why I'm interested in those what look like stepped sliding boots. Or do they not slide? But I think they should be silicone. By the time I got home from picking the car up all of the bellows/boots on the shift linkage were shot except for the one at the very front. The replacements I used on the knuckle joints would not work there as they are too tight and not meant to slide. https://www.beldenuniversal.com/products/universal-joints/universal-joint-boot-covers What's needed I think is a way to allow for a bit of breathing just like the inner CV boots need on this car. I've had two sets explode during very remote, stressful conditions. Now that's a hell of a mess to clean up. Better heat shielding there is something I never got around to doing and I think that would help too. Figuring out clearance isn't going to be fun though. I went through some of that investigation when I at first thought they were actually hitting and tearing during high speed bumps. I thought about a rotating shield on the joint itself ... But the venting worked great there. Not many people will ever take these cars on trips like that though ... Like none these days! Crazy, fun times!
2015 I took my youngest son and the Bora for 2 weeks in NH and Maine - 600 miles, not a single problem. We got hot in traffic, but the engine stayed cool. I understand where you are talking about. Here is a photo of the area 'in situ'. Then a shot of it on the bench. More to follow. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Tose appear to me to be meant to slide. I wouldn't kink they would be much good at telescoping if they were fixed at both ends. Have you figured out where to find them? We did 1,075 miles in a single day once. That was horrible. My right leg and hamstring were on fire at the end.
Yes, the protecting material over the ends of the needle-bearing housings is stiff rubber that is fixed to the gray needle bearing housings and 'steps' down to seal lightly against the sliding steel shifter shaft. Here you can see how close the original u-joints are to the ends of the rubber 'condom' seal ends. The next pic shows the larger collar length of the Borgeson replacement u-joints. This length is what you have to be careful to avoid impinging on the 'condom' ends.. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Hm.. "meant to slide". I'll let you decide what slides and what doesn't: One end of the black condoms are obviously clamped to the fixed gray housings. The other end is 'stepped' down with just an opening and no collar or feature for a clamp. The shaft slides through this end. I haven't figured out where to find them, nor have I looked or asked MIE. Table number 14. Part number 29. Part 29 is shown as a bellowed seal with one end fixed like my black 'condoms' above. This should work well because the bellows absorb being impinged upon by the longer Borgeson U-joint sleeves. Cheers, - Art
Well none of mine even survived the drive home when I picked up the car. I don't know what MIE sells now but the originals were a very very fragile sponge like rubber and not heat resistant. It's hot as hell right there and grease doesn't survive well. If the the inner stepped rubber boots are allowing some breathing then you could put seals on the outer ones instead of boots ( that's what I did) and thus avoid any bumping at all. You could periodically inject some grease under the lips of those boots. No one will remember to do that I'd wager ... But your stepped boots seem to be intact unlike mine which were a mess so if this working OK then ... ? Or was there a problem? My two needle bearing supports also did not align properly and the shaft would bind passing through them as well as in rotation. I had to shim the mounting points and then they worked wonderfully thereafter. Maybe the factory was on strike then and a janitor finished up the last one?
I am looking for the following Bora part, Table # 1, part number 48, which is the screw on cap for filling the engine with oil. Does anyone have one? I have already checked with MIE and Campana and they do not have it. Any suggestions as to where to find on if there is none available amongst the Maseratichat group?
Do you know whether a cap from a 1985 4.9L Quattroporte is a good enough match? Looking at pics online they appear to be a functional solution, if not concours correct... If that's useful I believe I could source one for you from the owner of a local QP parts car I recently came across. Best, - Art
If anyone needs a low miles Bora engine, I just found this: https://detroit.craigslist.org/okl/pts/d/maserati-bora-cam-engine-hp/6195410487.html $8750 ask. Looks tidy, but some assembly required.
Too bad they took it apart. Now one can trust nothing ... I think this Bora engine has been floating around for a lot of years now like over 20. A guy in the Maserati club was trying to sell it back in the later 1990s and he was from the NE. An engine number would be helpful.
The time has really come to refinish the rims and put new tires on the Bora.. 1.) Do any of you have experiences / preferences / recommendations? I'm inclined to go with Pirelli P4000 SuperTourings. 2.) Is there a documented silver color for the Campagnolo rims? Tires: It's currently on 15 year old Pirelli P4000 SuperTourings. They are not worn, and I have no performance complaints, there isn't yet any sign of cracking, but I am having the rims refinished and the age alone is good reason to refresh the tires. I'm aware of the preproduction classic Cinturato and XWX's, but I prefer performance over originality. This it to vett my choice. Rim colors: I'm having the rims powder coated. The old coating is flaking off, from bad prep. Unfortunately I really like the 'sand cast' surface quality of the crappy old finish, I like the way its rough surface contrasts with the hubcaps. I'll work with the powdercoater to research possibilities for retaining the rough surface. Cheers, - Art
I wouldn't powder coat them Art. But if you do get someone who knows how to do it with magnesium alloy wheels. Prior to the 75's the lips were polished and it's not a bad look. I still have the original Campagnolo sprayed paint finish on mine. There's an entire process for refinishing magnesium alloy wheels so do some research before diving in. Zinc Chromate primer ASAP after blasting them and don't touch them. There are treatments you wash them in first as well. Think airplanes. Otherwise they'll rot under the paint. There are not many tires for these cars now except the vintage crap. Whatever you end up with will be expensive now $1,400 - $2,800. Search the forum as I know not only are there a couple of threads on wheel refinishing but also on alternative performance tires from the UK, Avon etc ... I redid my Espada wheels which are really crude castings compared to a Bora's. Those were a real PITA due to the casting design and rough original condition. I think the Bora's would be easier. Single stage enamel paint looks original and seals well. Even though my Espada came with tubes I've been running tubeless with zero leaks. For an Espada the color was Ford Argent Silver. I don't know about Maserati though. Another thing you might want to consider while they're stripped & treated but not primed is to vacuum impregnate them to prevent porosity leaking. I doubt you can do that with powder coating though but ask the imprenating company and your powder coater. People use this treatment on vintage cast aluminum heads and engine parts to stop oil/water leaks. One of my Bora's wheel ended up with this but I never fixed it. It's on my list for eventually ... 235/vr15 F and 245/vr15 R works with 1/4" spacers on the rears. I even fit BF Goodrich Comp TA R1s on the rear in 255/60VR15 which was a track tire originally designed for Corvettes. Good luck.
