Well I looked at the car in some detail and it's pretty sad. You name it -- it needs it. I called the seller and suggested I might make him an offer, and he did me a big favor. He hung up on me. Probably saved me $25,000 over the next two years.
Ad says: 'Bought car in California 10 Yrs. ago.' : Bidding ended on ZAMBC1103CA302008, Salvage Maserati ... www.salvagebid.com › 383797779-1982-maserati-quattr... Vin – ZAMBC1103CA302008: Bidding ended on Salvage MASERATI QUATTROPORTE on October 09, 2013. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Hi all, spent more time with the QP this week and actually drove it some after my oil change. A couple more questions. 1. Is there an alternative to the York AC compressor. Mine is disconnected, this may be way more of a job than I’m willing to do, but I am curious as to what it takes to update the AC. 2. The lower rocker cladding / trim under the doors. Was it anodized? Mine is faded, it has a nice chrome strip at the tops but the rest is dull. 3. my air horn is by passed to an aftermarket horn. Gotta figure that out. And a rev up.
Several companies make brackets to adapt the Sanden 508 rotary compressor to the York bolt pattern. Here's one:https://www.jegs.com/i/VPA/960/15815-VUB/10002/-1?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=BSC%20-%20Vendor%20Only%20Searches&utm_term=4579740809611525&utm_content=Vintage%20Air
Interesting, and while doable I’m guessing the whole system needs an update to r34. Hoses all of it. The York is not connected to the Freon lines for some reason. Which leads me to believe it’s dead. Slippery slope on this.
You can still get a 508 for R12, but R12 is now very expensive. There are substitutes - I used Freeze 12 in my old pickup and got cold air, but.... There is another problem, too. The QPIII uses Gates Polyflex belts that need a different sheave angle; 60 degrees instead of the conventional 36. Apparently the 6" Sanden double groove pulley has enough material to allow it to be machined to 60 degrees. Definitely a slippery slope! If your York is not frozen, there are seal kits available to refresh it.
Except that both will end up happening. BTW I did pass on a lot of cars light years better than that one. It's a parts car but not for that much longer.
I think it's a very ambitious project for a guy with an interest in taking it apart and gaining an understanding of how each little piece works and how the systems work together. Who has the time, the money and the place to work on it; and who is absolutely unconcerned with the market value of the thing when/if it gets done.
There was a guy on here named William from the UK. Ask him as he did exactly that. Even bought one in CA for the Monterey show. I'm not sure he ever got it legally registered there. I met him there once. Nice chap.
Hi all, Just a quick note to let you know that I just replaced the front wheel bearings, upper and lower ball joints, and inner and outer tie rods. This project was delayed by several months because I've had to try several different tools before finding the right one for pulling out the ball joints, so I'm sharing below some lessons learned from this experience: 1. The one and only tool that could successfully extract the ball joints from the knuckle is the one illustrated below. I literally destroyed 4 other kinds of extractors and pullers while (unsuccessfully) attempting to remove them over the past few months. I'm sure a hydraulic press would work too, but I don't have one. 2. The original inner tie rod needed a 27mm wrench for removal, but the new tie rod that I received from MIE requires a 30mm wrench for install. Also, access is quite limited. 3. Wheel bearings are relatively easy to replace but you need a low-range torque wrench to set the 0.45 kgm preload accurately (commonly used for bicycles). These usually come with a 1/4 square drive. Since the preload nut is pretty large (24 or 27mm hex, I cannot remember), you may have the correct socket but it will be a 1/2 drive you will need a 1/4 to 1/2 adapter (or 1/4 to 3/8 and 3/8 to 1/2 set of adapters). Also, staking that nut is surprisingly harder than expected, I think you need an air hammer to do it properly. 4. As already said above the correct seal for the wheel bearings is Timken/National 472164 but it is a super tight fit and I deformed one of them slightly while hammering it in. I ordered a new seal for peace of mind, in case I notice a leak I'll replace it. So be careful when fitting it. 5. Replacing the upper and lower ball joints doesn't entail removing the A-arms, but during reassembly, the shock absorber spring will push the lower A-arm down. You will need to reinstall the lower ball joint first, then jack it up as illustrated here: https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/posts/147554542/ - this will let you align the upper ball joints with upper A-arm so as to slide in the bolts. All in all a relatively easy job though. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Hemmings Auction - https://www.hemmings.com/auction/1985-maserati-quattroporte-iii?utm_medium=Promoted%20Listing&utm_source=Classifieds&utm_campaign=1985-maserati-quattroporte-iii
Looks like a reasonably clean example. I see some things missing and wrong parts here and there, but nothing major. I wonder if the sunroof is factory original.
Hi all, A quick one for the record. The steering rack boot for the Maserati Quattroporte III is ref. VR128 - available from a variety of suppliers, often not specified as Maserati. The steering rack is ZF so this part is also used on other cars/makes.
Hey, I saw the listing today and thought it was a cool find. Before today, I never knew about the 82 QP. I tried reaching the seller but he didn't answer. Found this thread by googling the provided vin. Any more info you can give about when you saw the car? Your comments already seems 10x more true than the listing. Any info on Driving condition, how is it under the hood, etc.? Know I'm coming from left field with this but thought id reach out. I appreciate it.
Hi Lu. I looked at it in January. Everything I can tell you about the car is either in this thread or the Maserati Offer of the Day thread. I see the advert is in Craig's List again. The car was in a yard about two miles from me in Staten Island. But it's moved now. The house was sold. and the yard has been cleaned out.
That car went to the west coast of Norway. I am not sure if it is registered in Norway or not. Norway can either register a car with european legislation (type approval), but since a US-spec Maserati does not have that, it must be registered on a «exempt-rule» and then the car must be 100% original like delivered new to the US... I believe he converted the car to be euro spec.
I've know him since about 2005 because his interest in Biturbos. He even had an Espada for a short while.
Funny how small a community it is at times. I don't know that I'll ever get to Norway to visit though. My mother's family emigrated from Norway in the late 19th century to settle in Michigan. So I'm half Viking!
Being half viking qualifies you for a trip to Norway to visit family, Bob! You'll have to pay for it, though ;-) I've lost contact with both William and Jarle these last few years of transitions, my car went to a buyer outside of Oslo a few years ago. There are a few clean and nice QP3s in Norway. Don't seem to be quite as valued here in the USA as in Europe. Been looking for something to tinker with on the side since my AMG is bulletproof, haven't found anything suitable just yet. Cheers, Thor