1969 Ghibli Spyder Conversion and 1968 Maserati Mexico

I can't understand why some people convert such cars into spyders. So many Daytonas converted (or destroyed), and now Ghiblis.

 

Interesting isthat the Ghibli-Spyder-Conv. is fitted with a correct spyder-engine, coming from chassis #1087.


AM115*694
1969, black/red
1988 MID AMERICA EXOTIC AUTO SALES -??.KS./USA, for sale
Jan.17.,1992 BARRETT-J.-auction, sold for $ 31.000, poor condition, now red/??
later converted to Spyder-specifications, fitted with original Spyder-engine #1087
1999 with John Bookhout -Houston.TX./USA
Oct. 2002 BONHAMS -auction, USA

Ciao!
Walter

 

The VIN of the Mexico is not correct!

Ciao!
Walter

 

The VIN of the Mexico is not correct!

Ciao!
Walter

 

Back in the late 1980s and early 1990s there kits you could buy to perform a Ghibli spider conversion. Quite a few of them got done at that time.

I'm kind of surprised to see that Bookout owned this car at one time.

 

But what would be the price level of such a conversion verison?

 

This conversion is for sale too...

http://www.maserati-alfieri.co.uk/alfieri00a.htm

asking €220k, about 2/3rd the price of a genuine perfect spider I suppose. A genuine 4.9ss spider RHD was very recently on sale in the UK for at about £175k.....unfortunately I was not in the market for that either! nice to look though!! ((-:


Mark

 

What is the problem with the VIN???

Many thanks!!!

 

Correct VIN would be AM112.xxx or AM112.1.xxx(x)

Ciao!
Walter

 

Walter, the VIN could be correct: 112.1/xxx stand for the 4,7l versions of the Mexico. So the numbering of the chassis is ok ...
Cheers,

 

If you can grab a genuine Spyder for €300k in decent condition, you should go for it. Do remember: Only 125 genuine Spyders have left the Factory. For the differences to a chopped up Spyder, got to Ivan's website (TheCarNut) and look it up under the manuals; the Ghibli Guide, that Ivan and myself did earlier this year, has a special section on the Spyder particularities.

The UK car, RHD and in yellow, with very special seat leather colour scheme ("bumble-bee"), was up for grabs at £140k lately, if I am not mistaken. It is now out for the same estimate at RM Auctions for their 26 October 2011 Battersea/London auction.

The chopped up car in F is the result of an engine fire that hampered the rest of the car. Giordanengo in I-Cuneo was hired by the present owner for the bodywork conversion; interior was done in Italy, too. The colour scheme looks bold, to put it mildly; not everybody's taste, however, the car has been fully redone. The car was offered some time ago for €170k, which is closer to the market value in Europe of a butchered coupé.

A nearly perfect Ghibli Spyder SS changed hands in 2007 for CHF500k, after having been fully restored in Modena (Bacchelli, etc.) on behalf of Simon Kidston. This car (115.S49.1259), finished in Verde Gemma over tan interior, one of supposedly just 25 SS, has nearly all options (P/S, luggage set, etc.) was shown at Villa d'Este in April 2007. One year later, in 2008, it was sold for CHF650k to Austria, after some 6-7000 kms of spirited driving. Walter lately reported about having brokered a genuine Spyder in GER for €400k.

This is where the market is today for fully restored and near to perfect cars. Still only half the way a genuine Daytona goes: they reach up to $1,5m in the market today. And the numbers are equal: 125 genuine Daytonas.

Btw: Much higher than a nice Mistral Spyder would go in today's market: €200k seems to be on the high end, despite the fact that the Mistral Spyder is the nicer car, wieldier, has a huge boot (particularly compared to the Ghibli) and a convertible top closing mechanism that is near perfect: Just two clips on the frame of the windscreen, finished (try to put up the convertible top on a Ghibli, and you know what I am talking about ...)!

If someone can get better info on the FL car #694, please share it with us. If she indeed had the genuine Spyder engine of #1087, then it would be worth a closer look. She seems to sit high on her wheels, though.

Cheers,
P
...

 

You are wron:

the seller describe his car as a 4.2-version.

Then the VIN he listed does not correspond either with the type (AM112) nor with a possible chassisnumber.

Ciao!
Walter
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Since we talk about "strange" Maserati - has anyone cmoe across this advertisment?
http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/carsforsale/maserati/ghibli/1312342.html&refer=news
Oldest Ghibli? Prototype??? H. Ford?????
Your oppinion...

 

This car had been already discussed!

Ciao!
Walter

 

The seller just confirmed the VIN of the Mexico:

AM112.328 - a 4.2-version!

AM112.328
1968, grey/black, wire-wheels
delivered new within Italy
late 70ies imported in the USA
then with 3 owners in the USA and 1 owner in Canada
2003 located in Toronto/CAN, for sale on ebay, asking $25.000
Dec. 2005 located in Philadelphia.VIR./USA, 2 Dec.2005 sold on Ebay for $ 34.000


Ciao!
Walter

 

This was really, really common in the 80's when spider values were crazy vs coupe values. I saw a lot of them done.

Personally, I objected but it was most often done to increase it's profitability in resale rather than for aesthetic reasons.

 

I have a brochure of the kit somewhere, if I recall this was prior to the high of 1990 and they wanted 40K for the kit.

 

I would be very interested in a copy of that brochure. Can you scan it and send me a copy? I will then post it on my website so that others can access it.

Ivan

 

Hi Ivan,

Just posted you the scans of the complete leaflet for publication on your great site.
Always wonder how many of these choppers are there?
Just recently met with an owner of a Campana conversion who claimed the all original Spiders started as a Coupe. Confirmed by Ermanno Cozza and Fabio Colina this not true: all spiders started life as a spider with all special modifications done to them from birth.

Regards,

Bart
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Most Ghibli-Spyder Conversions were made Straman in the USA and Campana in Modena, Italy. The latter were the better ones as they made the rear cover of the hood prettier than the with the original cars.

Ciao!
Walter

 

Straman did the Daytona spyder conversions but I do not believe they did any Ghiblis. In the USA Ralph Paul sold kits (see brochure above) and also his shop converted some cars. I have seen some good conversions (like this black car) and some very bad conversions. The black car on ebay was converted by Ralph Paul's shop. The difference between a good conversion and a bad one is usually around the windshield posts, the area behind the seats and how well the soft top fits.

I do not have a problem with a conversion as long as the car is represented as such. I do have a problem when someone changes the serial number to make it appear to be a real spyder. I've already found two of those, one was done in Germany.

Ivan

 

You are correct, the original spyders were not born as coupes.

Thank you for provided the complete conversion brochure. It is now posted on my website:
http://thecarnut.com/Manuals/Ghibli_conversion_sales_brochure.pdf

Also newly posted on the website is the wiring of the Ghibli Vitaloni stalk:
http://thecarnut.com/Manuals/GhibliVitaloniStalk.pdf

Ivan

 

Well, I know of 2 cars that had been converted by Straman.

[/QUOTE]I do not have a problem with a conversion as long as the car is represented as such. I do have a problem when someone changes the serial number to make it appear to be a real spyder. I've already found two of those, one was done in Germany.

[/QUOTE]Yep, and we both know the VIN of this "Spider"...

Ciao!
Walter