He's selling one in the USA as well and for anyone thinking about buying the other car and bringing it here that's an issue. Capice?
The car is a Euro Swiss delivery in the UK. It is listed in pounds and I did publish a guide to pricing which is much higher for Euro cars. I think in the US I have only seen cars for sale needing all the work done and they seem to be around $8 to $12. I am not sure what a good one would sell for. I bought my US car which was a nice example for around $10 or $11 with tax. Great car but still needed exhaust, white wood fixed, cracked headlight surround replaced, carbs rebuilding, full tune up and set up, valve cover gaskets repainted, door latches inside, new A frames which had been damaged, full motor check over, 727 serviced and parts (there are some things that need doing after 30 years) etc etc. Probably another $10 to $15 in on top in basic renewal work. The euro cars are listed in the 20s to mid 30s in Euros for a fully sorted 5 speed. A low mileage "barn find" Auto was mid-20s in pounds. Rolling, running cars needing refreshing are around 10,000 to 12,000 pounds but can sit for some time. I agree that the US market is not there. People are buying $5 to $10k cars and then giving up or are mechanics that can fix up themselves. The US specs are less desirable but they are still lovely cars……. There is no US market for them so you only have the rolling restorations at $6 to $12 and the real value will be if there is someone who looks at the work done and sees that it will save them something moving forward. Otherwise all the US cars will be scrapped for parts for the Euro cars….. Not a great solution. I originally bought my US car for parts but it was just too good for that fate. Thats why I kept it in full CA compliant specs… but I can't have 3!!
I understand and you're obviously someone who cares enough to try and do these cars in the right way. Good luck with that. I think you originally bought the CA car for use at Concorso in 2012 etc. So why not keep it throught the 100 year celebration in CA this year? They are magnificent to behold and make quite a statement.
Yes I am selling the UK Auto which would make it feasible to perhaps keep the US one. However, either way is fine. I think a Euro version in the US is a nice alternative too.
Hence my preference for this completed car in the UK - William already did the hard part. Easier to convice a wife that you can buy a classic and maintain it, than buy a classic to restore it. Trust me, that is my household experience, and the dynamic I'm working with. We're past 25 years, so I don't really see any issues to bring it stateside. Furthermore, I've got things happening in my professional life that might take me to Europe on a semi permanent basis, which means that my "options are open".
I am sending some details I got from ALSA. It may be relevant for others having a starter issue. Clearly all the pumping and priming and AA tweaking the carbs has pulled them out of synch. So it will need to be adjusted to run smoothly but they have been rebuilt. Hi Mr Abraham, sorry I haven't updated you sooner but I wanted to be absolutely certain the problem starting has been resolved. Early this month I paid to have the car transported to Rob at Tintern Garage and he has been working away at the problem. The issue was the starter motor having worn internally - there is apparently a mini gearbox in the starter and a bearing had collapsed/worn to the extent that the starter electrics were 'shorting out' internally against the main body of the starter motor. He has rebuilt the starter with a new starter unit body and it now works perfectly. He also noticed that the alternator had the incorrect pulley fitted - he has corrected this also, I hope I have made the correct decision/s in doing these???? The car is still with Rob as he has ALSO identified a carburation issue - do you remember when I first got the car running again post the fuel pump issue I mentioned that she wasn't running smoothly and I shut her off? There is an issue there that REALLY requires sorting out. I have told Rob NOT to investigate further at this stage as obviously his costs are mounting and also as you have already paid to have the carbs rebuilt then really this needs to be rectified by that company . The leads, coils etc all appear to be fine.
Congratulations William, if he has indeed found your starter issue, that's great. Thinking over the problem I've been having starting, I wonder if there may be several problems all giving the same symptoms. Both of my starters were completely rebuilt by an automotive electrics specialist, and they didn't report of any problems with wear. Tony found that his problem was due to a poor connection - I had the wiring to the battery redone by the electrician while the car was at Alsa, so am at a loss as to why it should still be giving me problems when both the wiring and the starter itself have been gone through and rebuilt. Maybe my ignition switch or relay is causing the problem, we'll see. At any rate, it's good to hear you found and fixed the problem! Hope the shop that did your carbs stands behind their work and gets them sorted out.
chaps, i may be wrong but when i had my quattroporte (they were not called 3 or whatever then) i also had starter problems only to find it was a chrysler starter motor. i seem to remember that we put in one of these smaller high output chrysler units and that cured all issues. best P
There is a discussion about some of the smaller units earlier in the catch all thread. I would definitely put one in and put the original one in the boot for the future. No one has given the confirmed unit though. If you look on Enrico's pages they have some cross references to Dodge units. Yes the unit is definitely Mopar and the same we think as a 91 Dodge truck!! The unit in the Maserati is rotated around for some reason. In the 5 speed it is worse as it is located in a manner that dust etc gets in so has a short shelf life.
i remember now, after checking. we had a small high speed winder to fit into my dad's old interceptor which i inherited and still had and just put it into the QP. it is about half the size and weight of the mopar lump. this was for a 727, not a 5 speed.
well there you go. on the interceptor the two massive chassis rails are a pain. i believe the QP is more accommodating. i buy most standard stuff for my US engines at Summit Racing.
Chrysler 4091950 1.8 HP. For reference, its a 1.8HP Chrysler starter, part number 4091950, also used in the 1980 Dodge 1/2 pickup truck I am told. Rebuild kits and solenoids at Alternator & Starter Parts WholesaleAlternator & Starter Parts Wholesale, part no: 66-302 (solenoid) and CH-79-1100 (brush holder, rings, washers, brushes, the whole kit).
Over 1100 view and 47 watchers…… lots of looks but only 2 stink bids. I think one of the bidders is an auto breaker
A lot of people wait until the last day to place bids. You should see a lot of bidding activity in the final minutes of the auction.
1611 views and 62 watchers but no real bids yet. Not even what it was when I bought it. Maybe not the season
OK a reboot - the 86 was sold to someone in northern England. A bit of a bad time and a huge loss all around. The shop I would not recommend cannibalised the motor from the 81 to get it on the road without telling me so the 81 is still in ALSA waiting for them to get a window to complete the work. I have not been in a rush so it keeps getting bumped. So I have a 12,000 ish mile original car which needs motor and gearbox. Seems like this thread will eventually become the restomod thread.....
Quattroporte III Shocker story - ALSA Automotive theft - wow - never thought I would be in this situation. My beautiful Maserati 4Porte was in with ALSA getting painted. He was fully paid up but was very busy and I was not in a rush as I did not have store. So we left it for a few years and I kept asking for it to get done with promised dates like next spring. I had about £20k worth of rare parts and extras there also including front and rear windows, extra doors and a host of parts. Anyway, I have had no luck getting them for a long time and finally did a lot of searching and found reference that he was gone and his daughter had no knowledge about missing parts or cars! Reported it stolen today and really do not know what Al Wilsher or Sarah Wilsher have done with my car or the parts. ALSA Automotive seems to be no more either but if anyone knows anything they can reach out to me. What a mess.
So sorry to hear of your predicament William. I had an email exchange with Sarah Wiltshire probably about 8 or 9 years ago regarding the possibility of having restoration work done on my Ghibli. She told me then that they could not take the car because they were finishing off the last jobs and then shutting the auto business down. I really hope you get to the bottom of things. very best regards. Mark.
Hi. I haven't read the whole thread, which I happened upon because I love this model of QP. I saw a mention of Alsa, and I'm very sorry to hear that you seem to have been done over. I had a narrow escape because I just got my Mercedes out of their shop in 2016 before they vanished, but a lot of the work - engine out respray - had to be redone. I was subsequently contacted by someone in your position who took court action over an Alfa Romeo, with a similar story to yours. If this is still relevant, please let me know.