The individual from Campana stated that they did not know the material the wheels were made from, but they were old stock, implying a magnesium alloy.
I all my years playing around with these cars I've never had a magnesium wheel crack. I am not saying it does not happen but I do not think it is as big of a problem as some people imply it is. I would not be concerned buying a NOS magnesium wheel. I know of two modern Maserati wheels that cracked after hitting pot holes so cracked wheels is not exclusive to magnesium. Ivan
Good morning, Gentlemen, the restauration of Bora #330 goes ahead. At the moment, the engine is going to be rebuild. The mechanic asked me for some information about engine timing an camshaft adjustment, but I could not find it in the manual. Does anybody have figures from a 4,7 litre Engine? Thank you, Christof Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
On this point Ivan I must disagree, it is a question of usage, as we have discussed here countless times in Europe these cars get driven more and harder. I have heard of several incidents with mag wheels failing. The Candinis, owners of the eponymous garage in Modena, one of the best in the world have seen these wheels corrode and fail, including on a test drive. They stated it cannot be repaired properly. Magnesium as used in the sixties and seventies (without new methods used today) has a limited lifespan. I would certainly urge caution and not to cut corners with that. Notice that they allude in both texts referenced below, to new production methods...because there were problems before. I knew the magnesium used of 60's ferrari racing cars has a limited life span. Mr Matsuda the major Japanese collector one morning found a sixties F1 Ferrari in his museum had dropped part of the gearbox casing, like part of an egg shell. Otto Bowden who owned a Ferrari 330P3 in Florida decades ago sold it back to Harley Cluxton because the oil started seeping out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnesium_wheels#Common_issues https://www.intechopen.com/books/new-features-on-magnesium-alloys/application-of-magnesium-alloys-in-transport See also my biography for Christie's Pebble Beach 2000 auction of 330P3 #0844, the comments of Otto Bowden in the retirement chapter: https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-1858505 The Ferrari is off topic to discuss here further but the magnesium issue is relevant.
I had a magnesium gearbox on a Tyrrell that had been left outside in the UK, and it developed porosity issues. Though there is a coating internally for something that also doubles as an oil tank, the wheel issue is ....something to ponder further if driving the car harder
Just listed this very low mileage Bora in the classified section of FChat https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/1975-maserati-bora-with-11k-original-miles.639479/ Ivan Image Unavailable, Please Login
Just announced: Concorso Italiano is celebrationg the 50th anniverary of the Bora, as the article states less than 600 were made and I think 50% of those are in California! So I gues we are shooting for 300 Boras? (no article was quoted) And wouldn't you know it, I have to be on the East Coast that day ? Argh...
CORRECT. As documented by E. Cozza himself. Tot Vendite (Total Sales): Image Unavailable, Please Login
Pointing to my car no less! A former acquaintance took that photo after asking to see the log, he knew of my Bora purchase, and then forwarded it to myself and italiancars. Back when the three of us were still thick as thieves ... I think the Bitsa Bora which now belongs to Pannini is on the line below. They were searching everywhere for the pieces to finish that car back in 86 when I first visited. It was finished by 94 during my second visit. It has some odd stuff on it as compared to 1044, 1046 and 1048. Even when compared with 1975 cars. Irrespective of the USA bumpers and other USA specific equipment.
What’s interesting about that picture besides the total of 483, is the dates of the build and colors. The last two Boras, #1048 (Bob’s car) and #1046 (a car that resided with me and Ivan) were twins, Rosso Rubino with Mushroom interior both built on Oct 3, 1978. #1044 that Ivan recently sold and #1042 were built on Sept 15, 1978. Of course they’re all considered 1977s.
Hi.. always wondered, as the normal quote is 524 made (1048/2 ... as even numbers only), were the RHD cars also even-numbered?? Also then... what was the s/n of the First One made? Must be stories aplenty in all this. Must have missed such in earlier threads. Thanks! ‘626
564 is another common number. A couple of years ago I also wondered about this line in the book, so I did a casual web search for my own curiosity. If 483 is right, there must be gaps in the serial number sequence. RHD cars use odd numbers and Andy Heywood of McGrath verified 42 RHD cars beginning with SN 151 and ending with 233 (233 was built after the end of production). There are no gaps in that sequence. The even sequence starts with 002. 002 and 004 were reportedly destroyed. I've wondered what happened to the red car in the original brochure. It has many differences from production cars. Maybe it was a destroyed prototype. Cars 944, 946, and 948 were reportedly destroyed in the 1976 factory fire, although SN 948 later appeared on the Panini museum car, completed in 1990. 81 became the Boomerang. We can see the last 14 cars on the page, with no gaps in the sequence. That leaves 427 cars spread across 508 serial numbers if 483 is correct. I found only 302 identifiable cars in my little search, so that proves nothing, although I did not see any gaping holes in the sequence. There are two 158s, though, one in the US and one in Germany. So - what could "483 sold" mean? There's no date on the note and it seems the page was started before production ended (serial numbers are written past the last car), so maybe the note was written when the page was started and not after all cars were built and sold (not counting 002, 004, 233, 944-948, and probably 81). "Sold" is not "built" - are cars not yet delivered to end customers considered sold? The internet is notoriously sketchy, so maybe much of this is wrong. I did notice that when Marc wrote his book on specifically Citroen era cars, he quoted 564, as does the factory now, with no indication this was controversial. Of course Cozza knows, but I would never bother him with my idle curiosity. As an aside, there was some talk about red Boras earlier. Apparently the color was more popular in period. As I collected the serial numbers, I kept pictures of the identifiable cars. I got only 69 photos, but of those, 20 were red. If the market had been awash in Euro-bumpered cars when I found mine, I might have chosen another color, but the red has never bothered me.
I've always read/heard 564 total of which 275 were 4.9s If you have means of corresponding with him, I'm pretty sure he or anyone at Maserati Historic wouldn't mind the question at all. They were apparently perfectly willing to listen and respond to the mysterious weight difference in Bora rims. - Art
Interesting how the build no.`s are "bouncing"... But I can confirm that -no matter how the exact number is- I can add minimum 1 car that used the VIN of a 2nd Bora and was sold on the same custom carné. (As of the Ghibli, I found no less than 14 cars that had a "double VIN identity".......).
Hi Walter, I am curious as to why 14 cars ended up with "double VIN identity". Please explain the scenarios that cause this to happen. You do not need to use actual VIN numbers if you refer to keep their identities a secret. Was it that Maserati was sloppy and used the same VIN twice by mistake or was there a more nefarious motive? Ivan
Id love to see a complete printout of that original Bora production notebook. I bet they could sell coffee table book versions of it. Or maybe stir up an absolute hornets nest ... let sleeping Boras lie ...
If you look closely at the Log Book listed after #1048, the Continuation Bora appears to have been built 5/1991. The chassis is listed as being #948 (written in the interior color column) As I have mentioned before that there was supposedly a Fire at the factory in somewhere around 1975/6 which destroyed a number of chassis. Whether or not they were actually completely destroyed or destroyed for insurance purposes but were really salvageable. I would guess at least one chassis was salvageable which is the chassis that was used. In somewhat normal production of the Bora which ended in 1978. Chassis #948 would have been built sometime in the 1975/6 time frame. Which fits the time of the supposed Fire. Which was also around the timeframe when GEPI "Sold" Maserati to DeTomaso after Citroen placed in in Receivership. Also remember that in 1991 was when DeTomaso was in the middle of negotiating, the sale of Maserati to FIAT.
Ivan, in the 70s, the EU was not existing. To export a car (or any other goods) needed a custom carnet. Maserati sold a car -for example- to Switzerland, got a custom carnet for it that stated the VIN of the car. Then Maserati produced a 2nd car of that type, gave it the same VIN and exported it to the USA...on the same carnet. So they argued "hey, taxes have been paid already for that car!". In fact Maserati did not pay ANY taxes on the 2nd car. It was "black" money for them. Of course I`ll keep the VIN of the "double" Ghiblis very private. Why? Let me explain: the Bora in question was originally sold to Switzerland and is now located in Germany since about 14 years. With the same carnet, a 2nd Bora was sold new to the USA. The last US-owner sold the car to a dealer in Germany some years ago. I contacted the dealer and told him, that two (!) Bora with the same VIN are now located in Germany (and EU). This means, should one of the car be involved in a crash, a criminal situation or even by a normal sale to a new owner, the insurance company would immediately inform the German Police which will impound both (!) cars. The German dealer was shocked and gave the car back. The last I heard is that the "double" Bora is back in the US now. Its color was blue with black interior. Its VIN was with 3 digits, so an early 4.7-car...
Walter, Very interesting. A custom carnet .. sounds like a document proving the payment of export duties to the Agenzia delle Entrate.. the Italian Tax Revenue Service. So cheating on taxes. The Ghibli I can maybe understand, but Maserati exported hundreds - I wonder why only cheat with 14 of them? .. although that would be consistent with the Italian style of so many things. The Bora came to market with financial backing from Citroen. This makes it hard to imagine Maserati had enough incentive to cheat for their 'black money' on a Bora. Plus, others were sure to know of this method.. any idea how many other manufacturers used this method? In today's EU and global market, I'm surprised there is any value at all in keeping the "double" VINs secret - I see greater benefit in documenting and clarifying the situation to legally protect both owners as soon as possible. Well, unless the Italian government has no statute of limitations on tax fraud, putting Maserati at risk today. The example you give shows the reasons well - There will certainly come a time when two of these 'double' export Boras/Ghiblis will unknowingly find themselves in the same country at the same time, and risk confiscation. Buyers or Dealers will now have to spend time and money to clear the VINs of Boras and Ghiblis before buying or importing them. Cheers, - Art
Walter, II'm fully aware of the "games" Maserati played with production data of their cars. In order to export my car to the USA, they back dated the production date so they could get the car into the USA to avoid meeting certain pollution standards that would have been needed if the correct production date had been listed. My situation isn't nearly as critical as the double VIN problem as time has protected me from any serious problems. One wonders what the factory will do now that they actively support their heritage cars.
