The BORA

Bob.
Yes all figured out today.
For some reason i have an extra outlet on the bottom of the tank which i have now terminated..It had me confused but with some research and talking to a couple of my Maserati/ Citroen contacts all working fine. However i we spent hours trying to get the hydraulic system operational. The regulator wasn't cutting in and out. and the headlight pistons would raise but not retract.. It turned out we had connected the 2 high pressure flexible pipes into the light switch in reverse It's so pleasing as i replaced all the steel hydraulic lines and not a single leak has developed..Now the pressure is on to have the car completed by the 28th October to display it at our annual concorso.
Greg

 

My Bora restorations almost complete, I will post photos on completion.
I want to replace the original seat belts with the retractable type but i am having trouble find a retractable belt that can be bolted to the firewall above the seat headrests.I envisage i need a belt that can accomodate the angle of the firewall and still be able to pull the belt out with out it locking..
Has anyone change their belts with a retractable belt and if so what brand and model works?
Regards
Greg

 

The later Boras came with a retractable belt. The entire mechanism resides on the shoulder anchor point which obviously is anchored to something besides that flimsy fiberglass firewall. Look through some photos of the later American spec cars like Ivan's and mine. There are lot's of pictures of his on the internet. It's an ugly solution that didn't work very well which is why I switched to a 3 point racing harness, obviously not at all suitable for racing WO the 4th or a 4th & 5th point fastened to the floor but OK for street driving. Who's going to want to cut up those seats for that? I put in a cross bar to secure the belts and hold an extinguisher as well. I took my car to the Silver State open road race in Nevada during the 1990's a couple of times.

That's not a solution for you though.

I bet all Bora owners would like to see you solve this.

Theoretically ... there might be enough room in those side members behind the rocker panels and thus be hidden under the floor? But that would require quite a bit of fabrication and maintenance/reliability? OMG!

Clearly Ing. Alfieri didn't give a crap about this ...

 

I don't know about other Bora, but on mine which is one of the last built, #1000, the bolt that holds the seat belt retractor is quite substantial and screws into a metal mounting point that isn't part of the fiberglass bulkhead. I also found out that many years ago, Campana in Italy, still had some of the old belt assemblies in stock so you might inquire with them if there are any left. I bought a left hand and right hand assembly for myself as my original ones were all screwed up. I have also done what Staatsof has done and had a cross bar made that uses the two upper mounting points to which we made provisions for a racing shoulder and lap belt arrangement, skipping the crotch belts as I also don't want to cut up the seats. That is perfectly adequate for anything short of out and out racing but more of a pain in the neck for passengers as once you get the driver seat belt setup done to your needs you don't have to fiddle with it again and putting it on is only slightly longer than a regular three point retractor arrangement.

 

I didn't mean to imply that the shoulder anchor point was flimsy, just the reverse. But it does look like a quite unsubstantial mounting spot because of the nature of the fiberglass bulk head. A big spool with a cheap as **** plastic cover up high on the firewall is not my idea of an elegant solution.

But perhaps a nicely formed aluminum cover covered in thin matching black Naugahyde or leather could improve that a bit? Mine came cracked at the edges.

 

The bulkhead fiberglass piece ends below the rearview window and the anchor bolt is imbedded in a structural member so it is more than adequate for what it does. As for the cover over the take up reel, it is a cheap as**** plastic cover but Maserati was still being held to tight financial standards by Citroen and Maserati used what they could whenever they could. It did the job despite being somewhat inelegant. Maserati, until recently, did as much as they could off the shelf because that was all they could afford. Still, it was a better car than its contemporaries, Ferrari and Lamborghini who offered mid engine competition.

 

Thanks for the input..
I suppose i should have given more thought to this earlier in the restoration as i could have easily done some modification to the inside structure of the rocker. I will follow up Campana and check if they hold any stock. I can always fabricate a cover and get it upholstered if the original cover is so crappy.

 

I have a similar ugly situation in my Espada. The reel would sit on the floor blocking smooth access to the rear passenger area. Espada's have a complex body structure that doesn't allow for modification in that area. Early cars actually routed AC flow through the rocker panels AC doesn't really work on stock Espadas anyway ...

 

As i had to replace part of 1 side of the rocker we fabricated a mock up of the rocker as a reference. I could have easily modified for the retractable belt. Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I just took a look at my car and on both sides of the plastic cover has held well with no cracks. Not bad for 40 years. I don't think it is that bad of a solution.

Ivan
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Thank you to all that have followed my progress with the Bora restoration and again thanks to those who responded to my questions. Without these Forums the task would be much greater.
Attached are some photos of the finished project. I hope this will inspire other to handle the sometimes questionable sanity why we do these restorations.
The pleasure of displaying the car and pride at the end makes it all worthwhile.
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Congratulations. That has to be just about the best Bora on the planet. You should be very proud.
Hope she runs as good as she looks!

M

 

Not sure why the above photos appeared Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login twice . Some other below.
View attachment 3612193

 

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Wow - just fantastic! (probably even better than new )

 

After all that and you got the steering wheel on the wrong side! I thought we talked about that ...

What a gorgeous color on the car. It's also now put together much better than the factory originally did. But then you're crazy and they were businessmen.

Congrats.

Keep the stories coming about how it runs etc.

 

Greg many congratulations, great work and the car is gorgeous in that color. I hope you will also drive it a lot, in touring rallies, by yourself and track days or events like Targa Tasmania where another Bora took part a few years ago.

I love driving Boras and having driven all its first and second generation competitors it is by far the most well rounded, best handling rear middie of that period.

Have fun!

Marc

 

That is absolutely spectacular. Congratulations.

 

Looks fantastic! Enjoy in good health!

 

What an awesome thread and magnificent car.

Maybe the story has just begun?

 

Looks very nice in green ! Now it is time to drive it!

Ivan

 

She looks brilliant in green.
Great labor of love, dedication and perseverance.

Don't forget to drive and enjoy her as you now start the process of detail corrections and functional upgrades that will continue for as long as you are alive!
Trust me.
I know.

Warm regards & congratulations!

 

Now that my car has been restored i have taken it out for a couple of drives but on a reasonably hot day i am having some over heating issues.
I wanted to keep the car as original as possible as such i had the original radiator reconditioned and fitted to the car.
What I believe is causing the overheating is my car is an early car without vents in the bonnet and the hot air cant escape quick enough.
I know there have been some write ups regarding over heating on Ferrari chat but i haven't been able to search them.
Any solutions how other Bora owner have to solve this problem would be most appreciated.Also your thoughts whether its the radiator or the lack of ventilation causing the problem would help.
Greg

 

OK.
This is a very complicated issue and there is no magic bullet!

First of all please note that your overheating issues HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH HAVING AN EARLY CAR WITHOUT THOSE HIDEOUS VENTS ON THE HOOD.
NOTHING.
NADA.

Nonetheless, you have to start somewhere:

Step 1. Junk your original radiator and have a custom (min 500 bhp capacity) racing radiator built to its exact dimensions.
(Mine was built by Evans ---of coolant fame--- in the US)
Step 2. Have a custom shroud manufactured to house your two new monster Spal fans.
Step 3 Purchase 2 new monster Spal fans.
Step 4. Install 70 deg. C thermoswitch.
Step 5, Make sure system is rewired so that both Spals kick in simultaneously.
Step 6. Fill system with 70% distilled water and 30% antifreeze.
Step 7. Add two bottles of Redline WaterWetter.
Step 8. Discard your alternator and replace it with a Bosch unit in excess of 100 amps---necessary to feed your new Spals.

MAKE SURE YOU PUT AWAY YOUR ENGINE COVER FOR GOOD!

Come back and report.

Please note that these measures are not negotiable and that we can not proceed to the next steps (if necessary) until each item listed above has been
completed.

Enjoy!

B.

 

I have not been successful finding a thermostat lower than 79C. The thermostat must be the type that closes the bypass when it opens, unless the bypass is somehow blocked. Which 70C thermostat are you using? Did you block the bypass?

Ivan