I figure the standard fare of electrical woes, but primarily transmission and engine information. Any recommended sources of info, print or Web, would be great.
A good place to start is to join Maserati Club International www.maseratinet.com and buy some of the back issues of the club Magazine VCM. I believe issues # 50 & 86 have feature articles on the Khamsin. Other sources are Enrico's Maserati Site and Marc's Khamsin Registry. Electrical wise, there really isn't anything problematic on the Khamsin, everything is pretty straight forward. It is just making sure all the contact points are clean. The engine is a low stress torquer and very reliable when properly maintained. Overheating can be a problem if the cooling systems is not in great condition. Find someone that actually knows what they are doing with the engine. Have it tuned properly, then leave it alone. Trans is bullet proof as long as you avoid 2nd gear (common to all Italian cars) until the oil is warm. Make sure the Vulcan blood is flowing properly and none of the spheres or junctions are leaking. Again if maintained properly the Citroen system is reliable. Check for rust in the rear 1/4 behind the wheels. The drain tubes are known to pull out of their holes and drain water into the body. Also check for exhaust leaks, seals around rear hatch and fresh air intake in the engine bay. Sometimes exhaust fumes will find their way into the cabin. The biggest problem is getting used to driving it with the Citroen system effecting the Steering & Brakes. It does take sometime to get used too. A good driver will master it and love it, a bad one never will and will hate it. Joe
Bob, no, I always loved my Khamsin and had much fun with it! But to claim the Khamsin as faster on the circuits than the Daytona means now less than ignoring reality and technical facts! Definitely my MERAK SS is slower - but much more driver active on circuits! Ciao! Walter
Bob, no - Guikas "only" owns #3000! The other car still sits in its private garage near Paris in not very good condition. Ciao! Walter
I think that Khamsin was already commented upon by somebody somewhere and that it was auctioned last year with not such a great description by that ENORMOUS fan of anything Maserati Keith Martin. That Bora has been on Ebay before with "reserve not met". I think last summer but I don't remember what it got up to. So here's my 2 centavos on buying an old low mileage Bora. I bought mine with even less mileage than that one, 3000, back in 1987. The good part about that car, a lot of the mechanicals were as new. The bad part, it was still a lot of work because head gaskets and seals were bad. I ended up pulling the engine and doing a complete refurb/upgrade of engine compartment/sub-frame etc. and eliminated most of the original design flaws that I could observe for the 1 year I drove it. The entire braking/seat and headlight hydraulics were disassembled and after mostly sitting for 8 years in a museum the only thing I could find wrong was a rubber washer of hydraulic seat cylinder connection. Zero corrosion. This Bora purports to be low mileage. The problem is whether it has been properly exercised and maintained. It could be great or a huge restoration. "Original" condition engine compartments in Boras are always disgusting. The factory spent almost no money making it look good. Materials choices and finish levels were abysmal. They spent the money in a lot of other areas and that shows as well so they figured what the hey let's cover it with a carpet. Giulio Alfieri said something close to that to me back in 91/92 at Concourso Italiano. Even the Merak's engine compartment looks better as it came from the factory. That 's a very low mileage and a similar amount of miles as a year ago so it's not getting driven much. Draw your own conclusions. Me? I'd want to know a lot more. Here's a link http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/mazerati-BORA-1974_W0QQitemZ190101624794QQihZ009QQcategoryZ6313QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem Now doesn't that engine compartment scream concours? If it looks that ratty on Ebay ... They were all like that. This one has had zip spent on making it look nice. Sorry, no, I don't know anything about this car. Bob S.
The Pantera is a playground for tuning! I've seen some with twin turbos, others with big superchagers...There is so much engine room.
