Gentlemen, Can the friendly banter go into another thread? This thread will be muc more readible and the flow of info on topic more effective when it is without interruptions. Just my opinion.
Hello Wil: C & SC cannot be read online but you can contact them and buy old issues... I am only 1/2 French (half swedish) and by no means a flag carrier and yes Noe Yawkers and Parisians win all the rude contests. I was not referring to you when I cooked up the "sinister plot" expression but aiming at the general and all too common misperceptions that I aimed to defuse with that post. Re de Tomaso he certainly had the known flaw of always moving on to the next big project before finalizing and ensuring the reliability of whatever model had just come out. Chrylser Maserati...ugh...no comment. I agree that the Merak initially using SM dashboards was not something that went down well, in fact it is after client complaints that the gave Meraks bespoke interiors. The thing is the whole idea of the Merak was to use an oversupply of SM engines and make use of lightly modified Bora bodyshells. Malleret decided the birth of the Merak to make an entry model but the dash was rejected by clients...and Maserati did listen. I am certainly not out to justify everything Citroen did trust me You are right that the 308GT4 looks like the Khamsin a little bit but Gandini confirmed what I had always thought which is that he started the Khamsin design from his previous design of the Lamborghini Uracco. Bertone did do a prototype for Lambo which was half way between the 308GT4 (which they of course designed as well as you say) it can be seen in the more complete lambo books dumped in a corner of the Sant'Agata factory covered with dust but it was rejected by Lambo so Gandini/Bertone then came up with the final Uracco design. I ws in a London garage 24 years ago and parked together were Khamsin Uracco, Stratos, Espada and it struck me that you could really see the DNA... best regards, Marc PS: Jack: hope you are well. Any news on "that" matter? Oh and sorry for "talking in the virtual garage" here MS
Of course this is very serious stuff. Humor has no place in the in the Maserati 4.9 V8 deconstruction thread.Maserati's were often named after hot winds reminds me of this thread.
I agree that there is a strong DNA with Gandini cars. I have four just now; Countach, Khamsin, Espada and X1/9. Had a GT4 before the Khamsin. there is a very clear DNA when you see them all together! Interesting as this may be it has little to do with the OP thread! lol Marc, you are meant to be the sensible one here, bring them back to order!!! Paul xx
Hello Paul: I have neither the aspiration nor the time to be a moderator here plus this is a good crowd anyway We may need sticky threads that stay at the top of the thread list...of course I am entirely unbiased when I think the Khamsin thread should the top sticky Coldwater thank you for your much appreciated comments a couple of days ago. best regards, Marc
I wasn't complaining about humour nor about the crowd! Will, the weather is great, we have close to 30 C. We'll be driving the F-car, top off, this afternoon. There's a hot south-easterly wind, but I don't know its' name. It feels good though Yes, I am one of the apparent minority here that has a mechanical interest, and the original thread is valuable to me. There is a number of people here with great expertise, and the information forthcoming from them will be so much harder to extract. We could all benefit from a thourough discussion on these engines, improve on their weaknesses and in some cases, save ourselves a good bundle of green or sterling. As I said in my earlier post, just my opinion.
Jack, you were absolutely right about sticking to the subject. I just couldn't resist a little tease. I wrote to Dr. Hans Doll in Germany and he kindly wrote back with some interesting information and some photos which included the block stiffener he developed. I've been very busy and still need to thank Dr. Doll and also to share the information with you guys if you haven't seen it already.
I have enjoyed reading this thread, some good and interesting information here... One thing I don't think I have seen discussed here are head gaskets... I am in the process of restoring a '71 Ghibli SS which will hopefully be out of the body shope in the next 2 -3 months (we are taking our time)... When the weather gets nice I will be turning my attention to the engine (since it is out of the car)... What head gaskets are good to use on the 4.9 engine? What should I stay away from? Any experience with replacement head gaskets? Who sells them? And, of course, how much?... Mike D..
The last time I checked there wasn't a whole lot of choice in head gaskets. Machining a grove around each combustion chamber and installing Porsche type crush rings would be an improvement I think. Although I should ad that the average SS Spyder owner usually doesn't flog his car too badly and a professionally and conscientiously installed standard head gasket shouldn't have any problems. Don't let the car overheat and re-torque the head bolts (easy on this engine) after a few warm-up cycles. MIE should have what you need.
Great thread! It certainly covers the spectrum of Maserati history to gearhead issues. All of it important and relevant. Elliot your work on the Bora is tremendously interesting. When you get a chance pictures would be great. If you could PM me about your Koni fully adjustable coil over units I would be most greatful. You know where I'm going with this! LOL Thanks in advance. Ciao, George
George, Those Konis are going to be quite expensive. If you have the money, they're a great shock. Otherwise take a look at Varishocks. They're sold by Chris Alstons Chassis Shop. They're USA CNC made, have billet aluminum bodies and spring perches, they're ride height adjustable and come with one knob or two for adjusting bump and rebound. I have Varishocks on the front of my Mazzer roadster and on the front and rear of my 308, which I track, and it handles great. You can probably buy all 4 Varishocks for the price of one Koni race shock. Wil
Thanks Wil, I still have the info you sent me about Varishocks. I didn't realize that the Koni shocks would be that shocking. Good Lord, 4 for the price of one! Ciao, George
I know, I know, this topic is about the wonderful 4.9L engine, but I thought I might hijack the thread for a moment... The collective wisdom has been very good to read... Now for the question(s)... Associated with the Ghibli SS, is the different Brake Booster the factory decided to use.. I am not sure if it applies to all SS's, but I believe the unit is a Bonaldi... I haven't checked the usual sources yet, but figured valuable advice from all of you could save a lot of time.. Is the unit rebuildable? Are rebuild kits available? If so, where, and about how much? I have never really seen much info about this unit! Thanks for indulging me a little.... I promise I will get back on topic with some 4.9 ?'s tommorow! Mike D.
Mike Do yourself a favor and post this as it's own thread. It's not the hijacking part that's the problem. It's that I think it will get more notice that way. Also, who is ever going to find what ever great info you uncover late on if it's a part of this thread? Respectfully Bob.
Bob... Point well taken..... I will wait a day or two to create a new thread about SS brakes... Someone here may still provide info that I will then transfer over... Now back to the 4.9L... Attached are some engine pictures from #1928... One is from the engine in the car.. while the other one is from when it was removed from the car ... When I bought the car, I was told it had a head gasket problem... When I removed the intake and carbs, I would have thought I would have seen some indication of this (ie: water stains in the V-well, but nothing (see picture)... I do rotate the engine every week and it rotates very stiffly... I have plans to dissassemble this engine since it is out of the car, but am considering other options as well... Any thoughts on what else to look for with a head gasket leak? Mike Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Mike, Here's a list of symptoms I can think of: One or more plugs that look steam cleaned, water running out of the tail pipes, steam in the exhaust, black greasey grime in the reservoir tank, disappearing coolant, coolant getting hotter than expected. I'm sure there are others. There are tests you can do on the reservoir tank to detect the presence of hydrocarbons. I'm guessing a smog check would work. The two cars I've had this problem with never leaked coolant into the cylinders while at rest. If I had waited long enough I suppose they would have. I've never had one that leaked externally. It was always internally to the combustion chambers. Bob S.
I asked this question before, but didn't see it answered: What exactly is the problem with the 4.9 crank, and how is it that it cannot be corrected using the factory crank as a base?
I know of a Aussie 4.9 Indy with a billet crank made in the US . no mods just a straignt replacement. The ideas of changing pin and main bearing sizes has merit as the speed of the bearing in the mains and Rods is quite high, having said theat modern oils help. Other interesting things I have read. Marc will know about this. There was a 5000 GT engine re engineered in Germany as it didnt spin nicely.They found harmonic issues with the weight counterweights and other intracies I cannot recall. The end result was a health 7000 rpm engine. The 4.9 early Ghibily SS engines have quite a different combustion combustion chamber that has filled in side between the Valves. These would be great with the current fuel as the squish will help get heat into the cobustion chamber. For every one else the original valve springs are quite weak (80 lb/inch) seat pressure and dont come any where near the spec of the factory (105lb/inch) book ( QPORTE Manual) there are off-the-shelf springs that are much better. I recon a mapped ignition would be a huge benifit just with the carbs as the fuel burn behaviour of the new fuels is slower. My Khamsin came to life after I advanced it 2 degress over the origninal 10degrees TDC Some thing to thing about. Graeme
Not necessarily. It didn't show a thing when I did my Espada recently. I know I have a problem starting on that engine. Maybe if you let it get real bad like coolant pouring out the tail pipe. My Espada tested at 4-5% leakage.
Bob, I agree with you that a leak-down isn't the ultimate solution, but the engine iis out of the car so it's somewhat difficult to do any testing of a running engine. Leaks can also occur on a warmed engine only, and be tight when it is cold. A leakdown will in that case not tell you anything, but if there is a leak from a combustion chambre, putting enough pressure on the offending cylinder will produce a sound of escaping air, more tan on other cylinders. Seem that this engine is already out of the car I'd pull the heads, get them tested for trueness, cracks, valves & guides. At that point you can also look at the bores. Turn the block around and inspect the bearings, renew O-rings in the oil piping (if any) . There will be other specific things to check on these |Maser V-8's, but I'm too much of a novice on them to give specific advice.
Hi Me other parts of interest. Arrow precision of the UK Make very nice BMW 4 Cyl M3 solid conversion Cam followers that fit the Maserati V8 They are the same Dia, 2mm shorter and 2mm thinner in the top giving more valve clearance for bigger lift cams. and then next size up are Peogeot 205 followers but they need shortening. And if any one is having pourous Cylinder head issues Loctite have a infusion process to seal them. Great for Magnesium castings. I have had the heads on my car done. and Plan to have the Alfa montreal sump heads Cam covers done on my current project. Cheers
This was part of the 5000 GT restoration that Walter is familiar with. The V-8 crankshaft design was flawed from the beginning and Maserati never rectified over the course of 30 years. Maserati never having built a 90° crankshaft V-8 did not where where to place the counterweights on the crankshaft. Their method was trial and error with mostly error. Funny thing is that designing "bent crank" V-8s for proper balance had been figured out by American manufacturers in the 1920s. The corrected Maserati crank was redesigned and manufactured by http://www.capricorngroup.net/ of Germany.
