It's a reflection. Bruce has an incredible collection and usually tries to get the best example of everything he collects. In fact, all the cars in the photo around his Bora are also his. The maroon Betone X1/9 behind it, has like 3400 original miles on it! Looks like it just rolled off the showroom floor. Mike
That Bora is just beautiful! Do you have any additional pictures and can you tell us more about this car?
There are two types of Loctite Resinol available. One is used via vacuum impregnation and the other is brushed on.
Thanks for posting this. It's described here on page 12. http://www.castingimpregnators.com/pdf/porosity-sealing-by-design.pdf Unless one has a serious problem with this issue I have to think a good coat of enamel if good enough? How does this affect the conversion coating process or a magnesium alloy? Questions for the tech folks at Henkel ...
Bora almost done. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Hello---Have never posted on FerrariChat but have enjoyed the discourse nonetheless. Used to be on the old Yahoo groups many years ago with the same handle. In a nutshell, 27 years now with my Bora. Both US and Euro title. Second owner. Purchased Virginia (1987) from original owner. Imported US 1972 by Randy Randazzo, father of Tony. Rame metallic; black/senape interior. Never restored; just meticulously maintained and upgraded for spirited driving in 100+ degree weather. (Engine out clutch etc etc replaced last week!) Have not had pleasure of meeting most of you so far although got to have a lot of fun with FGM on this year's CGT. Difficulty finding acceptable quality 1/4 inch slip on spacers for the Bora. Anybody out there you can recommend? BTW anybody know off hand the hub diameter of the 4x130 wheel? Thanks. Warm regards to all. B.
Wow... nine and a half years lurking before your first post...! Errr.. Welcome (sort of) to FerrariChat!
I bought over the counter, multi dimensional fitting, garden variety spacers (rear) for my Bora back in the late 1980's and used them for twenty years without incident. What are you concerned about? I'm certain a machine shop could easily make some. With 1/4" the original wheels will still be hub centric if that's your concern. Bob S.
I measured the hub diameter as 64.7mm. The studs are 14mm, but are stepped. The first 7mm above the hub are 18mm.
I'm moving this one from the "Aftermarket Electric Power Steering" thread How fun to get such a compliment! I'm not surprised, but maybe the definition of "best handling" deserves to be refined in fairness to its competition? The Bora is practically the definition of "Grand Tourer", the development of which Maserati had excelled for a decade or more. Ferraris were never (I don't think) considered Grand Tourers in the classic sense, but more like detuned race cars. I don't have the sense Ferrari had any intent to provide clients with refinement. Early Lamborghini could claim to be GT's, but from the Miura and on only the Espada fits the category. In my opinion. "..to set it up like a front engine car [with rear drive]"? I suppose the meaning is the classic FE/RWD transition from mild under- to the predictable onset of controllable over-steer? I do not recall having read magazine press coverage from the time the Bora was offered comparing the Bora to its contemporaries. But now, decades later, the "hindsight" I get from magazine reviewers is how thoroughly "sorted" the Bora is compared to the Miura, Mangusta (and the Ferrari 512BB which came a year or two later). Did Lamborghini have Bob Wallace on board for the development of the Miura (I know B.Wallace spearheaded the Jota)? He was good at his job, and supposedly did an excellent job on the Urraco. I don't know who DeTomaso had for engineering. I don't know who Ferrari employed for the 512BB either, but feel they must've had a different 'ethos' than Maserati's and assume they each employed their complement of engineers and drivers. From recent journalist columns, I've gathered the following impressions, although I can't quote where I read this stuff, just kind of accumulated it. - The Miura is said to lift its nose badly at high speeds. Later development helped, but it's never been reliably stable. - The Mangusta is described as unrefined - not developed enough - whatever that means. - The Ferrari 512BB was described as suffering from a suspension setup that didn't compensate enough for its engine's high center of gravity. I can't claim personal experience with those 'competitors', and I'm not a trained race driver, I've only driven a lot and varied cars. However, my Alfa GTV6's suspension is the same as it was in its former life as a track racer - it's like driving an f-ing go kart. For comparison; Where the GTV6 is lightened and tuned and shod with sticky tires to give you the best grip, gearing and braking possible to compete on a twisty road track, you end up working a lot, throwing it around, braking hard, shifting and stomping on the throttle to work it through the course. Sporty Fun yes. Grand Touring no. Alfa yes. Maserati no. The Bora is in my experience more like this: It accepts it's heft and uses it to give a smooth ride. Do you want to attack the country twisty turns? Then use this heft when coming to a turn. Set up your "line" in advance, stay on the throttle even go up a little, carry the energy of that heft through the turn and maintain speed, let it start breaking away if need be (just don't brake at this point!), preserve the kinetic energy for the exit - After the apex, apply throttle and use the 4.9's ample power at any rpm mode to accelerate out onto the straight. Anyway - that's all fun and games. But my point is - the more I drive the Bora the more I admire it's rock solid competency and predictability and embodiment of Maserati's Grand Touring ethos. I believe in the importance of learning a car's behavior. So far I've never been surprised by the Bora, and I've pushed it quite hard. But how it behaves when pushed to the point of full breakaway is yet to be explored. I've never had a track day yet. ..Maybe in the coming year, to celebrate #932's 40th birthday! Cheers, Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas, - Art
Art, get much, much better tires before pushing the Bora too hard. It will snap around. It happened to me on a public road, almost a 180. With special DOT tack tires on it I could actually drift the car through the infield section of POCONO. But it's no race/track car. It leans one hell of a lot too. The brakes are fabulous for a car of it's era more so at higher speeds than when going slow on wet streets for example! Enjoy it!
Thanks Bob, Well aimed and much appreciated advice. Certainly not a track car by any stretch, ill suited to anything other than something wide open like the modified oval at Pocono. And what's the infield section of Pocono like, is that the road track? Cheers, - Art
It's the slower speed set of flat road with some corners so it you do lose it and go off there's not much damage, unlike the tri-oval portion. Actually it's generally a pretty safe track.
… it's picture time, and an opportunity to Wish you all the Best wishes for the New Year... ...'Marco' and I enjoyed a very nice local drive to send off the year that was! The heater works quite effectively, fan and all.. nice and warm inside despite the bitter cold 27F/-3C outside. Cheers! - Art
Its been sometime since i posted progress on the Bora restoration. It has been a slower than i had imagined progress but slowly and surely some progress has been made. Both front suspension tower attachment have been cut out and replaced. Left side floor has been cut out and replaced although the stiffening top hats still need to be spot weld in place. All inner guards have been attended too and any suspect rust has been cut out. The motor is still with the engine rebuilder, all the required parts have been procured and assembly of the motor will commence in the next fortnight. All the hydraulics have been or reconditioned, pump, accumulators,headlight and seat switches ,headlight and seat piston cylinders, regulator and a new sphere. I now have to get around to reconditioning all the brake calipers.. Its just a big jigsaw puzzle but in the end i will have something i never thought i would ever own. Greg Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
You might want to look into adding a couple of service access panels in the double wall fiberglass bulkhead. There's some info out there about how a couple of us have done this. It's in one of the old MIE magazines. It's pretty much hidden and it makes service for some issues so much easier, they do need service you know ... Turn that rear double pane window with the crumbling pieces of desiccant in it into a proper thermopane unit. Not hard to do. Did your engine compartment and rear wheel wells have any paint under all of that undercoating? Mine was raw steel with just undercoating. Oh and here's a pleasant thing to contemplate and I never did anything about it. In a huge wreck that engine is held in place by those two vibrachoc spring front engine mounts and that cross tube attached to the tail of transaxle. That fiberglass bulkhead won't be of much help ... The Bora is such a strongly built car that I wondered if some fort a fail safe restraint could be added to keep the engine from lunging forward into the cockpit. Intrusion of engine compartment fumes is also an issue with this car especially at higher speeds. That center section of the interior is just a leather cover and the sealing is abysmal.
Bob. Thank you for your suggestions. I definitely should consider enlarging the access panel in the fiberglass bulkhead. Any assistance that can be offered will be appreciated especially if you have attempted this procedure. Now that you mention it there was no paint on the wheel wells just raw steel and a coating. Regards Greg
Find the MIE magazine(s) on the topic of the access panels. Kerry who owns MIE also currently owns a Bora that has had this modification. Perhaps giving them a call would help.
Update. The new left side floor has been almost completed. The photos show the new inner sill (rocker) completed to as close as possible to ex factory. We mocked up a section of the sill showing the upturn in the floor the 2 inner sill panels and the outer sill. Boy does it take time when you want to restore to original. Greg Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login