Blimey. The engine bay appears to have been completed using a unusual mixture of Aeroquip and Meccano!
A lot of work went into modifying the car for racing. The workmanship seems pretty good but I have doubts about the anti-sway bar fabrication. Welding one up like that makes me nervous. On the other hand, the tubular "A" arms for the rear suspension are quite nice as is the Weber setup for the engine. If the engine is in good shape it, alone, is worth $30,000 or more. No question, if the cars were fully prepared it'd would be a beast.
I knew a couple of guys in California, father & son, who had a rock crushing equipment mfg company in Sacramento. The son liked to race. They modified their Bora quite a bit but not to that extent. They too did an intake manifold of that style for different carbs, might have been DCOE webers too? I never heard them claim they got any outrageous HP level though. Back then, early 1990s, the worry was that the OEM crankshaft would snap. This one could have all the internals redesigned if it's really making 500 HP. But what's the point of this car? You can do way better for a lot less money now by using some American V8 based crate motors in aluminum.
Well known project stalled for years due to lack of funds. There are only two good Bora Group four evocations apart of course from the two real ones which would cost 2M Euros to buy from Jean Guikas and the estate of his late business partner but neither is for sale. The two very well made evocations are in France and Sweden. The French one is right now in the booth of club Maserati France at Retromobile in Paris, not for sale, the other one, unrelated, was made by my friend Johan H in Sweden super competent engineer and huge Bora fan. Special camshafts, bespoke pistons huge amounts of engine work, acceleration comparable to a Diablo yet very driveable, torquey, not peaky. I saw it again in October in Stockholm, fabulous beast and road legal. It's current owner asked me to find it a new home as his life priorities are changing.
Sounds like it would be fun as a road car and it looks like it does at least try to deal with the engine heat and radiator exhaust flow issues. What's the point of the headlamp treatment ... Mimicking to group four look? Retaining the SS roof might have been nice.
Hello all, Fun to read the Bora's latest market action.. BORA PARTS NEEDED: I have a need for some Bora parts if anyone has any information to source the following: - Hood safety latch behind the grill. Table 35, Parts 82 & 83. Does this come from any other car, perhaps exchange with a Merak? - One single OEM windshield wiper blade. Table 30, Part 59. Exchanges with Khamsin, maybe Indy and Merak. Thanks, - Art
Here are the full details since you are curious about it: Bora AM117-47-024 Sold new in Brussels Belgium in Marrone Colorado/Senape (brown with mustard interior). Sold on to England early in it´s life and there modified to a Le Mans Replica, with the intent to do club races in England but the project was stillborn, it was not completed at the time. Notes by Johan Helenius former longtime owner who carried out the tuning. His engineering expertise is of the highest level: ”This unfinished condition is how it was when it was imported to Sweden in the eighties. I went to a workshop in the south of Sweden to inspect another Maserati and there it was, I had to have it. I bought the car as a restoration project in 1991 and then completed it in subsequent years. I first registered it in 1996. I owned it for 26 years until 2017 when it was sold to it´s present owner who lives just outside Stockholm. The engine is where most of the work took place. One important aspect was the cam design. They were machined out of solid steel billets to a much more modern profile emphasizing a linear torque figure from 2700rpm to 5700rpm so it is not cammy at all like other cars of that era, it just goes. I am sure that you could get more power from an even more drastic cam profile, but I wanted a very driveable car so we settled for about 100hp more than the standard engine, which incidentally pulls stronger under 2500rpm but not above. The reason for that is that this car uses a specially made inlet manifold, quadruple Weber 48IDF’s, has matching porting of the heads and specially made matching exhaust headers. More work than most would realize. It runs very smooth and turbine like and is seriously faster (yes, I’ve tried...) than a standard Bora, so I guess it all paid off. I also used special order high compression (10:3:1)forged pistons with special seal rings, bespoke larger valves and specially made con rods. Finally there were a few more tweaks to make it steadier, easily usable in real world traffic rather than more powerful, maximum power per se was never the goal. ENGINE DETAILS Original matching numbers engine totally restored by Rosso Corsa AB (owner Peter Juhlin, known for his over-meticulous restorations, beyond words). Later checked by Spezialmotorer AB (owner Micke Svens, overly competent mechanic, not just a restorer, also engine component constructor) In addition to all parts normally installed in a restored engine (like chains, chain guides, valve guides, bearings, gaskets etc) the engine contains the following high quality special parts made especially for this engine: * Ross racing pistons. Forged, specially designed for this engine as regards to position of piston rings, compression (10.3:1) etc. * Piston rings. Specially adapted piston rings from TOTAL SEAL. * Con rods. Specially made state of the art AUTO VERDI racing con rods. * Camshafts. Designed and machined from solid steel billet by the legendary engine constructor NISSE HEDLUND. With the purpose to give the engine a more linear power curve. The camshafts breathe perfectly between 2.700 - 5.700rpm (tested on dyno). * Studs for main bearing caps screwed in extra strength steel liners. (as opposed to just screwed in the aluminium engine block) For extreme safety measure. * Crankshaft/clutch balanced. * To mention a few more improvements: Enhanced combustion chamber design, specially made/angled valve seats, specially made larger valves, exhaust/intake ported for larger valves, larger diameter exhaust pipes and larger diameter inlet ports. * Specially made inlet manifold for WEBER 48 IDF. * Specially made stainless exhaust headers and silencers by HAYWARD & SCOTT. * Every part is carefully checked before assembly to racing tolerances, in other words blue-printed. *MSD electronic iginition. The original gearbox restored by CHARLIE PERTZ (worked at the ZF factory’s "meisterklasse division" back in the days) Original steel chassis with original suspension. Naturally a bit stiffer than standard due to lower weight, 1375kgs vs 1600kgs, a serious weight improvement. Car is equipped with original Le Mans Bora racing magnesium wheels, 13 inch wide at rear. Only this car and the two Le Mans Group 4 Boras are so equipped. Unobtanium. The wheels have been carefully painted to eliminate contact with air/oxygen. I can add that the biggest weight gain is probably the rear engine cover with the deletion of the glass, the headlight buckets etc, etc. The plexi glass was installed by me in order to save weight, also the front bonnet louvres were added to aid cooling. Note that the original glass comes with the car. Non hydraulic brakes (all hydraulics were removed before Johan bought it). The interior has original seats and interior, refurbished in black leather. The car is substantially lighter than a standard Bora and is therefore already stiffer sprung and does not need stiffer springs. It is now very precise in steering and roadholding. End of quote. Maintenance Petrol/Gas: 98 octane Engine oil: 10 l, AGIP Racing 10/60 synthetic. Gearbox oil: 3,3 l, Castrol syntax Cooling system: Paraflu 50% Oil filter: UFI 23.113.00 Air filter: UFI 27.853.00 Johan has measured the acceleration at a spot he knows well and it equalled that of a Lamborghini Diablo he worked on. For reference a Diablo does 0-100kmh in about 4,5 seconds. He gave me a ride on back roads during the summer of 2015 and it was truly mind blowing...and I have driven both the factory Bora group 4’s (AM117-3000 and AM117-3001) on track albeit without quite pushing them to their limit. It is an amazingly impressive piece of work, equal to his decades long passion for Boras. See also attached interview extract in which he mentions his work on the car. The car is and was in impeccable condition, immaculate. Currently the odometer reads 85125km. The engine was rebuilt 19000km ago to the racing specs. The car got a full service done 500km ago including a new water pump winter 2020-2021, the car passed the Swedish Vehicle Control inspection with no remarks at all spring 2021. Here some shots taken by a pro last year. It made the cover of a Swedish magazine as well, Johan and his late father with their Bora and 365BB. I already sold the BB to Belgium in 2016. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
For the record the other Bora Group 4 evocation, the one owned by a major French collector and just shown at Retromobile is AM117-47-812. Note that the two are entirely unrelated to each other in any way. Here a couple of photos from when I first visited the owner in 2009. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
1975 Maserati SOLD $198,000 USD + 15% Buyer's commission:$228,000 USD Bora 4.9 EST. PRICE $180K-$220K USD Image Unavailable, Please Login EXTERIOR Yellow RM SOTHEBY'S INTERIOR Black Lot 2121 Fort Lauderdale CHASSIS Nº AM117/49 936 March 26, 2022 3:32PM (EST)
That sounds like a great hot Bora build. I am not surprised a huge amount of power was found whilst keeping the engine close to the original power band. Elgin camshafts just completed measurements on a series of stock Maserati camshafts I sent, all from this era. We found what I suspected, which was that the flank of the cams resulted in a razor sharp peak and medium lift durations (a bad thing). Meaning even though for example one cam has some 11mm lift with 238 duration @ .050”, the flank design and ramp is so thin/not aggressive that it almost doesn’t matter. It is easy to pick up some 2o-30bhp (in a stock V8 Maser) simply by using a cam profile that maintains same lift and duration, but with optimized medium lift durations on the flank. These V8s peak on the dyno at 4900-5000rpm in stock form. Give one an appropriate profile cam with good medium duration ramp speed and it retains same stock power band but revs to closer to 6k. Minor rejetting is required but man they run better. A great example of this was completed recently by David Burnham’s shop which built a 3.3L V6 build (stroked) for his Citroen SM using high compression and a reground cam profile, which has largely the same figures as a stock SS cam, but a much better ramp and flank profile, and picked up gobs of power. Car made some 250bhp at the wheels, which translates to 300+ crank, while maintaining same stock power band. Granted it’s a 3.3L, not stock 3L. Like for like would be around 270bhp for 3L. Impressive for an SM/Merak. Equivalent era ferrari cams have this same issue, but not quite this bad!
$198,000 was including buyers fees. Hammer would have been around $172,000. Then subtract at least 10% seller’s fees plus other expenses. Seller put about $150,000 in his pocket. That’s the real price the owner got for the car.
So I'm curious if you think a set of cams designed this way could yield considerable additional power AND not have a lumpy idle? I had a friend, fellow Bora owner, who was an engineer and he was astonished at just how hand made these cams were once he started measuring them. Anything over 5500 rpm on a 4.9 for any length of time was always a no no per Ing. Giulio Alfieri. I specifically asked him in person. I guess changes in pistons, rings and rods might change that, perhaps even a better balanced and stronger crank too? This all sounds like a lot of money to me?
Lumpy idle is experienced with cams that have very long duration and lots of overlap. With large cams at idle, more mixture is being spit out than sucked in, which is why many high duration cams don’t like to idle either at all or have to be idled a little higher. My twin plug 911 2.8L idles at 1100rpm just fine and has quite radical cams (DC65) with high compression, but not as smooth as stock of course. A very mildly worked 4.7 or 4.9L cam would idle the same as I don’t see the need to make one of these rev too high, as then the gearing might be wrong. Adjustments to the mid lift duration, without altering overall duration would yield a lot with one of these. A 5000gt engine was built by Capricorn not long ago doing just this. Little bump in compression, better cams, different valve springs, electronic fuel injection (all hidden under the box!) and I believe it made some 450bhp or just under, all in the stock power band. As for Alfieri, I can’t help myself but wonder why he states one of these can’t be revved a bit higher or make much more peak power, on a Bora I believe there was a guy in Texas years ago who made a pretty hot but not too crazy build and made some 400bhp or so. It’s been done very successfully before as is evidenced by the dozen or so master lobe profiles Dimi Elgin has of Maserati V8s he’s altered over the years, it’s just not been done by Alfieri and maybe that’s the rub. Old Italian engineers, albeit even brilliant ones, can be wrong too. As a side note, mind you none of the classic Maserati or Ferrari racing cars still being run in historic series have any totally original spec factory internals in them. GTO engineering, Capricorn, or Rolofs and the like make new cranks, cams, pistons, all with different specs, and guess what they run better and are more reliable. Ferrari classiche could care less as long as they can’t see it and they get a taste ($$$) of the build.
What the owner finally got into his pocket is not important. The market cares only about "all in".....
The Bora is a rare bird. Therefore I struggle to see one of them with these modifications. And you can clearly bet that none of these replicas (and thats what they are!) will get the blessings from Maserati in their planned certification program.
As discussed here many moons ago and as clearly noted in my text posted above in #1108 the car was already modified when Johan bought it so he finished the job to very high standards. I would love to own it for track days and intense drives. Never mind the Classiche certification in this case.
I think the new owner and seller might disagree. If this were real estate 6% would be the maximum on something in that price range and even that often gets discounted. This is 25%. Such a deal ...
what the owner puts in his pocket “IS” the market. Everything else is superficial layered money that makes headlines. What it took for the owner to part with the car is the market.
Is it though? Oh compared to an Jag E-type why of course but if you want one you can easily find one just not easily in concours condition. The one in that auction wasn't. There are plenty of authenticity problems but it presents well, has a nice looking yellow paint job and looks to have been cleaned up a bit. You have to wonder about that mileage though as that's "time capsule" territory and that car certainly isn't one. So maybe $150K is a decent price for a better looking than the average Bora example. If a person wanted to turn that into a concours winner that could easily cost another $100k if there are any hidden irregularities. Even making it a reliable driver might cost $25K if there's more than just the hydraulics to attend too. The description really isn't very specific and complete restoration doesn't quite jive with the mileage of less than 1,000. Back in the mid 90's a friend and I contemplated picking up a ratty $20K Bora and doing this but we certainly weren't going to authentically replicate ta Group IV Thenpenier Bora, just a make it a go faster and handle better. Boras have never been scarce over here. Perhaps that' because they've never been particularly prized in the USA marketplace? That would also explain the scarcity of top notch restorations here. Wilson Werhan's (RIP) green car was one of them. I think it's Greg G from Australia did what looked to me like the best restoration of a Bora I've ever seen, also in green. Unfortunately most Bora's do not get lavish restorations so finding a really spectacular one truly is a rare bird.
After an auction sale nobody asks "and how much has the vendor got?". In return to your post then it is not the market what the buyer paid, or...? hmmm......
The higher number gets the headlines It’s wholesale vs retail. When a pro athlete signs those 100 million contract, it’s the headline for the media but the athletes never get anywhere near that number.
I agree with Walter on this one. When you buy a new car it does not matter how much is made by the manufacturer and the dealer. The only number that matters is what the end user had to pay. The same goes for used cars and collector vehicles. Ivan
But as long as nobody never will now how much the athletes will make, its the official figure that is communicated. And thats the market. As an ex-fashion photographer I was paid by a day-rate. That was my "market price". How much my then-time agent got, nobody knew other then me (and my tax-adviser). You can not establish a market on a secret figure.
