Why would Rick Cole do something this dumb? I think this is ruinous. With respect to the faked bodies/chassis that had Ghibli Spyder engines in them what happened to the rest of those cars? Given the extreme value, for a Maserati anyway, of that model I would have thought every effort would have been made to recover the wrecked car?
Ivan, what is the difference between a Coupé engine and a Spyder engine? Is there any difference? Or do you refer to "matching numbers"? I am not familiar with Ghiblis, just like them, and simply am curious.
(not a particular fan of RC, but.....) ....Maybe, in an alternate universe, buyer knew full well what he was buying, but got a 'good' price and said 'OK'........then x-amount of time later realized he could not resell a fake, and decided after all "its a fake!! I got screwed by an unscrupulous dealer, O woe is me".....and his astute legal beagles said "we can fix that for you"....... Between the collectible car world, and the commercial music scene, there is plenty of scum to go around......
Just the number. An odd ending engine number would indicate that the original car was a spyder. I quick VIN search revealed that I knew the owner of that car. The engines were swapped since for the cut coupe it really did not matter as it was not a matching number car to begin. Of course, for the spyder it was a big deal as that car had been without its original engine for many years. Ivan
In my case the cut coupe with the spyder engine, which I owned, still had its original coupe VIN. In other words, no illegal VIN tampering had occurred and the car was never sold as the real thing. While you might question the morality of chopping a coupe's roof, it is definitely not illegal. The engines were swapped between the real spyder and the cut coupe and both cars lived happily ever after. The legal problem is when the VIN of a cut coupe is altered to pretend it is a real spyder. In most cases it is impossible to determine the original VIN as the engine seldom matches the body .... so what do you do with the body? I am well aware with three of those cars and there is usually a well know dealer involved in the sales transaction. I can see a scenario where the owner of the real spyder might demand the destruction of the car with the altered VIN as it raises doubt of the legitimacy of his car. That is up to the attorneys to worry about. Ivan
There are conflicting details on the transaction, one report states the sale in 2020 and another states 2018.
The spyder engine on the cut coupe was in great shape. After buying the car the new owner drove it from my house in north Georgia to Florida where the engine swap was to take place. The reason for the swap was to return the original engine to the real spyder and the new owner of the cut coupe was able to get some money in return. The cut coupe was then shipped to Europe where it is with the same owner. Ivan
I guess I didn't originally get the reason for the swap. The obsession with engine numbers and originality gets a bit crazy. I know that Lamborghini used to replace entire engines under warranty and for the GT350 many owners got the original 350 motor swapped out for the 400. Faking a cars vin # and calling a car that's been chopped a spyder and not revealing that has been chopped is something else though.
On a Ghibli spyder having its original matching number engine versus having an engine from a coupe can easily be a $200K difference. I know it makes no sense, but the market is what the market is. Many serious collectors will not touch a car unless it has its original engine. It the engine was replaced by Maserati under warranty it would probably be documented in the files and the replacement engine will have the VIN re-stamped. Recently sold a a Ghibli SS that had an engine replaced under warranty and the internal number did not match the build sheet but the engine had a factory stamped VIN which matched the chassis. This means there were two blocks with different internal numbers and the same VIN stamped, although I assume the factory destroyed the bad block. This was a Euro car and the owner picked up the car at the factory. No idea how Maserati handled engine replacements for cars located far away from Modena ... like the USA. Ivan
On the subject of Ghibli spiders, the restoration shop currently finishing my Ghibli coupe has asked if I know anyone who may be interested in buying an apparently unique period targa/hardtop by Pavesi made for Ghibli 115S/47/1057. I thought I would ask here first. More details are in the picture. I quite like it, but am lacking a spider to put it on! The top is in the UK and I don’t have an idea of the asking price, but if anyone wants more details I can put you in touch with the owner if you PM me. I have no financial interest in the sale. cheers. Mark. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Looks nice. Are they selling just the hardtop? What happened to the car? Hardtops were fitted to each individual car and will require some bodywork if fitted to a different spyder. Ivan
Just OCD in my book. I don't play those games. I'm also not a stickler for originality if the changes aren't too glaring and are an actual functional improvement. I drive my cars and there are lots of examples of crap manufacturing from Maserati and Lamborghini ... Ferrari too. Spend some time in a mid 80's TR and look at all the fricken pop rivets. You won't find that on a Bora. But ... you'll find other other issues ... Italian crap manufacturing again. The Bora's monocoque, suspension and rear subframe are very solid pieces. Then go look at a Ferrari Daytona being restored. end rant
I was surprised to be told but as far as I understand, yes, just the hardtop alone. I believe the car is still just as in the colour picture and not long restored, hence my surprise. i guess the fitment will need adjusting..unless you are really lucky. M
CORRECTION! I have just clarified with my restoration shop and the sale is for the entire car 115S/47/1057. sorry for any confusion but I misinterpreted the text message. This makes much more sense. As before PM with any interest and I’ll give contact details. Best to all Mark.
Attached is a picture of one of my Ghibli SS window motors. The brand is Ducellier and has two male electrical connection points. These must be the power in to lift the window and the one going into the little box with the number 8 (I think) to reverse the polarity to lower the window. At this point I am assuming this motor is being ground through the window lifting mechanism, body, etc.. I have tested both passenger and driver motors and both are not working, provided I have tested it correctly. The drive shaft extending out from this motor can be turned by hand, but is difficult and feels a bit rough, not smooth like it should probably be! Is anyone aware of a suitable replacement for this window motor, or any other advice, such as a good small electric motor rebuilder? Mike Image Unavailable, Please Login
MIE has the replacement motor: https://maseratinet.com/maserati/ghibli/15401-window-motor-ducellier-12v Mike, Before you go spending $700 on a couple of motors, take yours apart, as I suggested. Many times all they need is a good cleaning. If you get a spark when you apply power then it is most likely that the armature is stuck in the bushings. Many times you can free them up by soaking the bushings, If there is no spark or sign that the motor wants to turn then take a good look at the brushes and wires to the brushes. Also make sure the armature commutator is nice and clean, and that there is no carbon between the commutator's segments. If none of this works, buy new motors. Ivan
