hf, no more modifications! I like it as it is. The Merak was never concepted as a race car. A friend of mine owned a Maserati 4v-Ligier engine. This was an oportunity - but non-drivable in traffic! So I prefered to broker this motor for very strong money to a collector in France. Yes, agree about the ZF-gearboxes. They are bullet-proof and you have to do terrible things to destroy them. Do you know that this ZF-5-speed of the Khamsin was also used in trucks???? Its was used also in the BMW M1 but it was there not as good as it was in the Bora (I owned 2 M1`s). As far as I know in my very late Merak SS (1981) a ZF-box is fitted! Ciao! Walter
Can`t agree more. Although the Bora is much rarer than the Daytona. I wouldn`t change anything with a Bora apart from plexiglas rear windows with holes in them to improve the ventilation of the engine bay. Thats all. Ciao! Walter
Bob, no, it was not so expensive! But...don`t even ask me how much cash I sunk in it - I DO NOT WANT TO KNOW THAT EXACTLY!!! Ciao! Walter
To be honest - I have my difficulties with Johan`s modificated Bora apart from the very good quality of his work. I wouldn`t touch any Bora for such conversion! Ciao! Walter
Ron, This is a great thread that has catapulted into tons of neat history. Do you have any updated info regarding your Bora? I haven't seen or heard from you in a while! Derek
That's a pretty big change Walter. Perhaps one could have another hatch made out of aluminum do all the mods on that? But if you were to go that route I think that replacing that sheet metal in the very back portion around the taillights and license plate with a metal screen that used round peferations similar to what Ferrari has done in the past would be the least noticeable and might get the air out. Bob S.
Bob, yep, to replace the rear hatch with a new one from alloy with plexi-screens would be great - but veeeery expensive. The modification á la Ferrari would be very helpful though! Ciao! Walter
Hi Walter, I wonder how much benefit would be gained if an aluminum flywheel was to replace the stock flywheel? Ciao, George
I believe Stephen Swain is doing the "Ferrari" rear grill conversion on his MASSIVE Bora project. But his plans change frequently.
so where did your friend find those fabulous wheels?? yes it does look like a very thorough restoration job. I wonder how light you can get a beast like the bora down to. why would you ever want to put a 7 speed on a low reving torquer of a motor like a khamsim? take advantage of the torque and shift less....6 speed at the most. 7sp in a motor that spins to 8000 sound great if both top gears arent overdrive like nearly all the 6speed out there today.
yes it a very slippery slope to make a duo purpose track car. we all would like a little more speed in our vehicles, but once you go too far you can easily fall off the cliff and destroy a perfectly nice street car. i like to keep my street cars sane. if i want to do serious tracking i jump into my race car. yes i've heard the bora transaxle where truck based too. thats why they handle great amounts of torque. just curious why you think the bora box is better than a M1? i thought the where basically the same except for the shift box on the side. so its true that the merak does come with ZF boxes! how many you reckon were made this way? any serial number data? these cars should demand more the DS box cars francis...great pics once again. here a few of the same car i found of the net.... i hope the who took these forgives me for posting his pics. cheers hf Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
hf, Yep, the ZF is the same in the M1 - but its not so smooth to change gear in the BMW. Its more precise in the Bora. I assume the ZF came only in the very late Merak SS with Bora-dashboard but with EU-specs! To my knowledge only 68 of those ultimate last version was made. I am happy to own of them. Ciao! Walter
Johan's car lived in England and may have done some club races back when. I will document it more this summer when I go to Sweden and ride in it, hopefully drive it and photograph it from all angles including uunderneath. When I say 7 speed I mean to vent frustration at the short geared nature of the US K's. I know a properly geared K would do 300kph the question is is there enough downforce. It may be that six speeds is enough, it all depends on ratios and it gets very mathematical and I hate numbers The big question is how to do the gearbox modification without cuttin corners or getting into stratospheric figures: as ever you would have to consult with racing people: they can figure out and carry overnight what takes a restoration shop a year. I would also like to get a K into a windtunnel but the cost of that is prohibitive... The other flaw is that the seats don't provide enough side support for intense driving on twisty roads which is a problem becasue with that steering you need to be precise and you cannot use the steering wheel to brace yourself.
Fantastic, please post those pictures of johans car... im interested in what has been done with the suspension and roll cage if there is any. I wonder if there is geometry changes needed to run those steamroller rear tires or if he just simply lowered it. ask how much the car weighs!! im astounded how many people just guess or go buy some dated printed material to quote the weight of their cars when its so easy to find a certified scale this day and age. For those without access to scales, just drive to any truck station and tell them your curious what your car weighs. they wont charge you anything if you dont need a certificate. it you where going to do any sort or track driving wouldnt you want a short ratio gear box or final drive of the usa spec? you lap times will improve dramatically with the lower gearing. i would venture to say with a 300hp calculated in the cd X area of a kasmin or bora you would fall way short of achieving 300kph no matter what your gearing is. What circuit to you intend to run to see those kinds of top speeds? im sure a few people have seen speed close to that on their veglia or jeager speedos...but we know how inaccurate those gauges are. they are just merely suggestions! From what I understand, ZF was bought out from a subsidiary of Ford motor company years ago. when i was working at FoMoCo, they had a firesale to get rid of all the old transaxle inventory. They have since sold the rights of the old mid-engine transaxle to a small company here in California. They do have a conversion available to add an extra gear within the transaxle housing. Im not sure if the have one for a kamsin though. Heres a link: http://www.rbttrans.com/about.html oh those old seat... when i take my vintage gtv to the track, i have trouble walking for a few days because of bracing myself with my legs in those armchairs. the joys of tracking an vintage car! cheers hf
this is so very interesting, merak-bora information is sproatic at best. so does the Zf meraks have different subrame to mount the transaxle? the DS based box have a central rear hanging mount while the ZF cars have 2 side mounts. excuse my ingorance, isnt there a 3 different types of merak dashboards? DS, Bora and a rare flat type with 4 minor gauges in the center? what years were the flat type and how many where built? i prefer this simpler one but i have never seen one of these in the flesh. thanks for sharing hf Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
hf, the photo on top is Series II, photo in the middle shows Series I, bottom photo is Series III (most of the US-cars had that dash but the sought after 68 last cars came only to EU. Ciao! Walter
Another photo with the black Bora... Vigeant racetrack in France, June 2006. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Very interesting! Actually the Khamsin would not be a track car, though I would visit the Nurburgring Nordschleife a few times a year and would like occasional visits to Spa, the event I had in mind was that desert thing: is it silver state or copper state: you know the extended top speed run? But it would be a road car primarily. All I would change would be the seat toget one with better side support, have Euro headers and exhausts of course, perhaps the vlocity stacks as shown earlier and the 6 or 7 speed box basta. With that torque it would reach a genuine 300k: look how that modified German car saw 288 at the Nurburgring: that is a considerable straight but only 2kms long or so: on a long stretch of highway it would have gotten there or very close. regarding where I nwould drive it like that don't forget we have a lot more driving freedom in Europe...as long as you don't gdet caught in the wrong place! Best regards, Marc
marc im still not convinced the kamsin will hit 300kph even on the ring. i have driven the ring (long circuit) and took a ride in 400hp audi RS A4 with a local racer. being and experience racer, the best he ever manage on the ring is about 165mph. only a hand full of street cars in stock form can hit 300kph on the straights there. I reckon you would need 400 horse power to get a K car to break 300kph. im not sure with just exhaust modifications will get you there.. how many car with about 300hp can break into the 300kph barrier do you know of? in many cases top trap speeds dont always equate to the fastest car around a circuit. now if you where to run the silver state that may different story because there are elevation changes and high winds. during the early years a relatively stock looking 69 camero dominated the event. strange to see this dated car easily out running all the ferraris, lamborghinis, panteras, porshces, vettes etc.... i think that car was capable of nearly 200mph in its orignial guise. then again it was powered a 600 plus nascar motor which is twice as much as the old masser V8 with bullet proof reliability need in the desert heat. i've remember seeing a reminisce of ultima burnt to ground at a friends shop 10 years ago from the silver state. tire failures are common with the prolong high operating temps running at those speeds in the desert heat. during the early years of the race testorossas, mangusta, vettes drivers have totaled there cars or lost their lives running the event due to tire failure. Venture carefully if you intend to run it competitively. heres what can happen with a tire failure http://videos.streetfire.net/video/Silver-State-Classic-350Z-Crash-at-over-200mph_57095.htm i hope im not discouraging you from modifying and enjoying your kamsim in anyway. respectfully hf
hf and Marc, I am driving the old `Ring now since 1979 and I can`t count my laps over there. Also I had a Khamsin that was very well running and stunningly fast - but I never ever believe that a Khamsin in standart specification can sratch on the 300 km/h-barrier!!! Don`t even think about that. As we all know - the 4.9-liter engine has a severe problem with a vibratong crank at high revs. Maserati was very well aware of that and took the red-line to 5,500 rpm to avoid any damage. If you get this version of the V8 in standart configuration to 300 km/h the car will overtake the pieces of its own engine!!! The Daytona is definitely faster flat-out as any V8-Maserati - but it never reached 300 km/h not even in competition specs! The fastest Maserati tested in those days was the Ghibli (tested by AUTO, MOTOR and SPORT- timed at 264 km/h. One of the drivers -who is nor retired- told me 2 years ago that the engine of that car got "press-modifications" by the Factory. After every test the engine was changed - and Bertocchi knew why......! Ciao! Walter
HF: You misunderstood me: I was saying the straight on the Ring is too short. It would take more speace, certainly. I believe that with a six or seven speed box it would reach 300kph. Regardin that desert event, if I ever do it it will be years down the road and yes I am aware of safety issues: I raced semi proefssionally 20 years ago in England in Formula Ford and Formula Renault and would not consider doing that event unless everything is at it should be. A fully professional approach or nothing. I think the Testarossa driver who years refused to listen to advice and did the event with inadequate tires, killing his girlfriend and putting himself in hospital is a poster child for stupidity. I have had friends and acquaintances killed in karts and cars I know everyday is a gift not a guarantee. Walter: again I was talking about doing it with a six or seven speed box: http://www.maseratikhamsinregistry.com/art_107.html Auto Motor und Sport in your own country measured over 272.7kph: 170mph in a comparison with Countach, Boxer and Aston Vantage and this was in Germany though the car had Italian plates they don't look like factory plates: I doubt that CT17 4191 was modified. Yes I have heard of the crank issues, namely from Wolf Zweifler. Best regards, Marc
