Finally ready to pop the head back on, only to discover that I have the wrong head-gasket. AAaaarrggghhh. Supplier is correcting the mistake, but the gasket must be made and all of Italy is closed in August. Oh well. Hope you all in the Northern hemisphere are out driving, Jack.
This dark blue Khamsin was seen in the parking lot at the concours in Apeldoorn Holland this year. The article (in Dutch): Verslag van Concours d'Elégance Paleis Het Loo: Maximaal genieten op koninklijk klassiekerfestijn Image Unavailable, Please Login
Hi AMLC, Resides in Amsterdam(ned) and was bought in Germany. If my count is correct we have 13 K's in the Netherlands. One owner has 3... another just 2... Probably more than there are remaining in the USA!?! Marc? Rgds, Bart
Hello AMLC and Bart, Unless I am confusing it with a clone it is AM120058 which I sold in March from one friend in Gernmany to an enthusiast in Holland for whom it is the first classic. Interesting car, formerly owned by Walter B. it had slightly stiffer springs and shocks making it very reactive without being too stiff, then also Lumenition electronic ignition which made it run like a sewing machine. The engine is said to be bored out as far as it willl go, 5.00 literish, it certainly was not weak when I drove it on roads and Autobahn near Karlsruhe. It is a 160000km (100000 miles) Khamsin which shows they are able to withstand a long life yet has had a lot of serious maintenance which the new owner, a very engaging enthusiast, is keeping up. I think 13 is about right Bart but there are very possibly a few more sitting: the Flemish part of Belgium next door is very similar to Holland culturally and in June I discovered another K there in a huge collection, it had sat for 20 years but was waiting for its turn there for a complete restoration, see my next post. Best regards, Marc
As mentioned above here is AM120US1254 which I discovered in a huge private collection in western Belgium in May. I was there for my next book, nothing to do with Maseratis but when I saw how many cars there were under white covers I sniffed around...and found a truffle;-)! I had never heard about this car for the very good reason that the owner, a business magnate who likes to accumulate, has bought lots of Italian exotics in the US over the last quarter century, has had this one for over 20 years...but it is just waiting in line to be restored by his own staff. I have no details of its history yet but it is one of the 100 US 5 speed and will get redone properly Best regards, Marc Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Hello Marc / Bart.. Interesting information!! Do any of us have any idea how many K's are left in the US?? I would suspect 25 - 30, but this is a complete guess... Mike
Hello Gabriel! I gather you have had some seriously warm weather up there, good Merak driving conditions;-) There was a third Bora (I hope to buy one of them for a client) a Ghibli spyder and a Miura P400 or S both being restored, there were THREE Mangustas which was very intersting for my next book on them (as was driving one in the rain, there was perhaps a Merak, there was a real GT40 and dozens of other cars I did not have time to look properly, certainly quite a few 80's Ferraris. None for sale apart of maybe a Bora. I saw another collection with TWO very nice Khamsins the same day and the man gave me the last Khamsin memorabilia item I never found before, the factory Khamsin poster, that was special He was very private but he had about 100 cars including 15 F1 cars! Will post photos (of just the Khamsins as he allowed when I have a minute. That area also has another collection I saw in 2011 with about 80 cars including a 5000GT, 500km Bora, Ghibli, Ghibli spyder, Mistral spyder, Alfa 33 Stradale, GT40 road car, Bizzarrinis, Stratos, Countach periscope, three, yes three Ferrari 500 Superfast, mindboggling. As to how many K's remain in the US that 25-30 number is as good a guess as any considering I know of at least 50 that came back to Europe and there are 10 to 30 which no longer exist but as old owners die off and cars emerge from the woodwork the answer gets a little more precise each year. We will never know exactly though. Best regards, Marc
According to this news the chassis number of the Venezuelan (if I'm correct) Khamsin was written by the factory on the inside of the doors, look at the photos: Work going on: Khamsin - DN Restorations Image Unavailable, Please Login
Hi Marc, Yes, it has been a really great summer in Scandinavia. On the verge of being too hot sometimes ... Wow - those collections sound almost surreal ... Please post some photos. Cheers, Gabriel
105F (40C) is lovely. I prefer my heat dry, or with a sea breeze. Not a fan of sticky Florida heat, but it's the humidity, not the heat, that gets me. "Summer starts at 30C." - me As Gabriel pointed out, this was the first summer in years where the temperature rose to >30C. I loved it. Most people who are from here (e.g. Gabriel) didn't. Coming originally from SoCal, I can definitely tell you that people don't move here for the weather... OBTopic: does the Khamsin share most of it's engine layout with the Bora, Ghibli, or QP3? I.e. were there any significant or evolutionary changes to the engine in each successive generation of cars?
There must have been changes, otherwise my head-gasket would have fitted. There were at least changes to the timing chest as well as to the rear of the engine block. Best, Jack.
As far as I know it is not Dutch registered. The car was discussed here some time ago because the chassis number started with AM115. Now it looks like the real chassis number is written on the inside of the door.
At the Bonhams auction at Beaulieu US1218 will be offered: Bonhams : 1978 Maserati Khamsin Coupé Chassis no. AM120US 1218 Engine no. 2122 Although they report the engine number is #2122 they say that chassis and engine numbers match. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Is that what my car is worth? 1234 Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Yes with the way prices are going even more. To find a good one in North America pretty slim. Cheers Mark
So true With temperatures having dropped down to barely 20C and quite a lot of rain lately, even I now wish a bit more summerly weather ...
Meanwhile, here in the NYC metro area it's been a very nice spring and summer has been relatively mild. It was low humidity and in the high 70's F here yesterday. Not exactly the more typical dog days of August so common for around here. Weather happens.
Hello Bart, AMLC and all, Sorry for my late reply. When conversation turns to weather it is time to get the thread pointed in the right way again. That car is the one we discussed some weeks ago which has the erroneous AM115.392 chassis number not only on the chassis plate but ALSO on the chassis itself. After emails back and forth with the ever helpful Fabio Collina of Maserati Classiche we established that AM115.392 was a normal Ghibli sold new to Rome. So...I asked Fabio which Khamsins were sold new to Venezuela...he consulted factory logs and the answer was just one AM120.136. So someone with clout in that country fiddled around, perhaps even with factory connections since an unmarked chassis was needed in the first place. So likely a politician to cheat massive taxes. This was a well documented behavior pattern in those countries. The car in question, which is now with a dealer near Utrecht in Holland, has engine number 136. Furthermore days ago this dealer posted his finding that 136 could be seen in old factory part inscriptions so obviously this is AM120.136. He sold it, don't know yet to whom but I guess they will need some help in getting it registered but no matter, one more saved! Prior to that the car was sold this winter with a large number of cars which had been in the warehouse of a French dealer for a decade. He sold it to a Belgian colleague who right away sold it to this Dutch one who just sold it. best regards, Marc
I think you need to flip the story around the other way serial number changed to smuggle a car out not in. Cheers Mark
