You are quite right - must read the catalogue more carefully !
Thanks to friend Philippe M. who found this 1993 ad which can only be AM120-168 as only two cars were sold blue celeste in France and the other was terminally damaged in the seventies. Also it has a beige interior which matches the importer Thepenier's data for 168; Celeste/Havane, sold new 14 June 1975 to a Mr Tripier. This is a great find because no photo had ever emerged of this one, and a gorgeous one it is, celeste really works well on a K, showing all the subtle design details and it goes very well with the tan leather. What would be even better is finding out if it still exists and where because this ad is the one and only time it has ever emerged....it was near Marseille at the time of the ad. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Looks like quite a project, in Germany https://www.autoscout24.com/offers/maserati-others-khamsin-rhd-restaurationsobjekt-gasoline-32a919e7-9623-48a5-af2f-8b014ca146ec?utm_source=ios-share&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=share
Hi John, That is "Nessie's pet" the Scottish Khamsin AM120-399 discussed here in the past. It was left for years under a vague tarp right off the sea in Scotland near Aberdeen with predictable results. It is owned by a friend in Germany. It can be restored if the buyer is a very skilled determined do it yourselfer. I am not involved in this sale. Here the only two photos in its heyday. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Just dropping by to share the most enjoyable part of owning a Khamsin.. driving it. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Cheers! - Art
Great shots Art! 1224 looking a lot better than it did in these 1980's shots sent to me decades ago by then owner Sam Dibitonto, mayor of Reno, Nevada. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Hello Art, I can only confirm this. My younger daughter (15) participated in a student exchange with a school in Le Mans (France). Today is the last day our exchange student is staying with us. When I went into the garage with the children to get the ping-pong table out so they could play a game of ping-pong, I noticed how impressed our exchange student was with the Khamsin in the garage. I asked her if she wanted to go for a ride after the game. I then went for a long ride with the children, and it gave her great joy. This, in turn, gave me great joy that she was so happy and that still some young people can enjoy old cars. In Germany, we say, shared joy is double joy. It was a very nice end to our visit.
Hi Z, We would like to hear the soundtrack of that ride: Vroarrrr, hiii, yeah, wow, vroop vroop, eeeh;-)
Thx Marc, Great photos - I believe that the $150 pinstripe it was ordered with is visible in the sunlit side view. A lot of work was done to improve 1224 in the 2000s. Do your records show Sam Dibitonto owned several Khamsins? I show him owning 1206 before he owned 1224. Discuss via email of you want. Cheers, - Art
Hi Art, Interesting that you mention 1206, thank you. I saw it at Mistral Classics in Belgium last September, it is owned by a German now; white/black automatic Euro bumpered. Here is the email I received from sam Dibitonto decades ago: Thought you might be interested; I am the 2nd owner of US 1224; LHD 5 speed built in 77 according to the plates.. Jim Liston bought it new in l977 from San Francisco dealer Qvale ( I have the window sticker, 46K) and brought the car to Reno and kept it until I bought it in l989 with 15000 miles on it ..It now has 21000 and is all original dark brown with the light brown interior. American bumpers; Blaup. Berlin radio and all the original tools and manuals and factory parts and service manuals. Never spent a night outside. It doesn't get too much use as I have 6 other cars and the only problems I have had are the fuel pump (NAPA) replaced and a jumper on the ignition. I cut a "trapdoor" to service the high speed steering dampener and put 2.65 60 Z tires on to improve the ride.. it has the air pump so smog is no problem, but I disconnect it between checks.. I have had a couple of others, but the Numbers escape me..one was a "celebrity" car owned by Vida Blue the pro ball player..I think it wound up in So. Cal; the other is in California also.. Sam Dibitonto END OF QUOTE The Vida blue car was white, auto US bumpers and is mentioned by a former owner in post 21, top of page 3 page 3 of this thread. So it is 1206 unless his third K was also white, unlikely as very few were white and only 55 US cars were automatic (out of 155 US cars total). https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/maserati-khamsin.187217/page-3 Sam gave zero details on the third one. August 2000 I saw 1224 at the Reno Hilton during Maser Miglia. Attached two photos of that day. Sam was not a part of the Denver Monterey touring rally group but came to greet us. Stickers on the rear glass is a no no to me. The car had some scratches and showed 22343 miles on odometer that day. In August 2009 he recontacted me: "Marc, my 78 is on the block...always garaged, No rust, never hit, 100% original..lhd, 5sp, Berlin stalk radio; dk brown/tan..open to offers; can't drive anymore.." END OF QUOTE Two other photos below when 1224 was repainted in early 2017 before being entered through me in the Bonhams Quail auction where Ivan Ruiz bought it. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Great pictures and thanks for sharing - What a small world, as usual! I was also at Mistral Classics in September last year - on the 10th after the Goodwood Revival - the Khamsin showed 1246 on the VIN plate. It appeared to be an ex-US car because of the cuts made for the rear exhaust conversion.. Look the 1st photo up close.. Ugh.. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Regarding the painting of 1224 in 2017 - I assume that's when it got its Euro bumpers. Today it still has its US exhaust headers, but the air pump is disconnected. Cheers! - Art
Thank you Art for pointing out it was #1246 which you saw at Mistral Classics on 10/9/24 and I saw there 6 days later on 16/9, not #1206. I was confusing it with another white US automatic with black interior, a very rare combination which was also at Mistral Classics, what are the chances of that. It was there three years ago and that one was in fact #1206. That is what induced me in error. It had an added chassis plate from Germany where it ended up after being imported from the US. Photos below. Re 1224 paint and bumper conversion, correct, they were done at the same time in 2017 by a Los Angeles paint shop that did a good job with the actual paint but got in over its head and incorrectly refitted the full width metal slats that are immediately above the big US front bumper in the nose opening on US cars as built (I am NOT talking about the much narrower hood slats just above here). Those slats do not belong on Euro cars at all with their front bumper that is of course much narrower but actually taller in cross section. This, if you look carefully at the head on photo of 1224 below, taken for Bonhams, was their clumsy solution in time for the auction with the bumper partly below the nose opening in the body where it belongs to make room for the slats... The paint shop never asked anyone for advice...duh... Thankfully the buyer, Ivan, corrected this right after buying it, removing the slats and raising the bumper into the opening. You might want to get Euro headers, it runs much better that way, cooler and with a bit more power; not strangled by Ralph Nader nonsense. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Yeah, 1246 vs 1206 - what are the odds! 1206 looks to be in nicer condition. Oisan! That front view of 1224 does look very weird. Glad Ivan did that work to it. The sun and shadows give the appearance of misalignments in the aluminum "louver" blades in front of the spare tire, but it's all straight. Some strange (and very easily corrected) things that were handed down to me from the prior TX owner of 1224 were a Folger's Coffee reservoir for the windshield washer fluid, incorrect wiper blades, incorrect interior rearview mirror, completely worn out and destroyed door-swing-limit straps. (NOTE TO SELF: Always always always have the following scrutinized before buying any Khamsin: - Are the front creases of the doors cracked or chipped - indicating bad door limit straps? - How much LHM is leaking into the driver's footwell from a leaking from the headlight door UP-DOWN switch? - Condition and setup of exhaust system and components. - Close look at all heat shields. .. and I inherited a profusely leaking clutch slave cylinder - which I rebuilt yesterday and will reinstall today. Easy to do having done it on 1196. Cheers! - Art Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
