Auction 1974 Maserati Bora at auction now

Please tell us more about these super meraks.

 

Yes, please…..

 

Oh I will very shortly in the Maserati section. Sneak peak on this is an article, which I'll be posting shortly, that a publication in Europe wrote about me about these very engines I have developed and built. I've been humbled by this and I look forward to sharing this with the community!

 

Seems like the answer to the perennial question. Moderns dont look so great and drive artificially. 308s are kinda slow. Meraks always look great but USa spec were really slow. A high reving camy motor sorted seems the answer.,

 

Correct on all counts! A 300hp Merak with, at least IMO, an even better sounding engine note than a Dino, revs to a street friendly 8000rpm is a great thing. I’ve built 9 of these engines now


Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

looks awesome is it a bore and stroke or just a bore.
Do meraks have shortish gearing to really let those engines sing ?

 

Bored to just 92mm, stroked by offset grinding the crankshaft to 82mm. New H beam rods, cams, all that.

Stock Merak SS gearing yields 60mph at 6500rpm in 2nd gear, so yeah these rip to 7500-8000 well.

the big job (aside from this) with a US Merak SS is converting the bumpers to Euro spec. I’ve done it twice now, the front is easy but the rear requires a lot of cutting thankfully it is able to be done without having to paint the car after, just a lot of work cutting out the US spec bumper bracing.

 

I was going to ask you about the bumpers. If I remember correctly from back in the day a Us spec car weighted 150lbs more. Bumpers, emissions and I think door beams. Im guessing the chain drive for the cams is noq well sorted too.

In any event once one has looked at a euro car the USA version is fugly, not as bad as a USA 308 GT4, but not harmonious balanced art in the way a Euro one is.

Imo this is the way to go. Take quality beautiful older cars, engineer out their period faults and legislative compromises without changing/losing the essential character of the machine and enjoy.
Of course it does not make $ sense. But back in the day whether you bought a old 250 SWB or merak etc it was not for $ sense but to enjoy driving.


Modern "exotics" are bought to arrive in not drive in.

please keep us updated, it sounds like the answer.

 

You really hit well on all the key points which lead to this project. I've weighed my '80 Merak on corner scales, now with Euro bumpers and other legislative measures removed and it weighs exactly 2913lbs with about half a tank of fuel, this is the same as my steel 76 308GTB with Euro bumpers. The Merak engine and gearbox are a solid 200lbs lighter than the 308 drivetrain but the Merak makes up for that weight with a tank-like unibody build. That sucker is solid.

Both the 3.4L 308 I built and now this 3.3L Merak now are just fast enough to be an awful lot of fun, yet not fast enough to get in massive trouble in short order. Only wish the a/c were better

 

Interesting a merak can get so light and thats with fluids. Weights for modern cars are quoted dry, so add 200lbs to any of those numbers.

Just fast enough to be an awful amount of fun yet not fast enough to get in a massive amount of trouble, EXACTLY. these are all reasons why I love my BBO, plus you actually have to drive the thing and know how to drive, and work for your speed. The merak with a shorter wheelbase and being 4-500lbs lighter probably resolves the slightly ponderous feel of a boxer, plus making carbs sing out to 8k rpm thats music. One of the things older cars have in spades is steering feel, that comes not only from a manual rack, but also from by modernstadards narrow front tires.

I was going to ask about AC. Seems like were now living in an era where lightweight electric ac can be installed