Maserati Khamsin

Anyone V maxed their khamsin using an accurate satellite speedo? The most I had out of mine was 135mph before I backed off due to traffic ( on a circuit of course)
I have all the old road tests on the car with varying top speeds.
I had my old Espada up to 150+ a couple of times
Countach about 160+
360 Modena 174mph
Misc other cars 150+
I am hoping to get invited to a private race the runway type event this year where last year Ruff 911 did over 190mph!
Whats the stability like at sustained very high speed? The Espada gets into a nice groove above 100mph and is happiest 100-125
The countach settles down above 130 and is very planted
I understand that all posts of speed relates to where it was safe and legal to do so!
Paul

 

OK, I see the big picture now, Marc.

Ciao,
George

 

Hi George: I deny any responsability in advance of your future speeding tickets

Graeme: thankfully I was kidding: they never saw me because it was very remote with zero intersections, traffic and no place for a patrol car to hide.

Paul: needless to say the speedos are molto optimistic but one Khamsin owner saw 280kph in southern Germany and several have seen 275.
I have been keen for years to find out what a decent Euro Khamsin -i.e. with longer diff ratio- will do.

In terms of stability the car seems to hunker down and goes straight as an arrow.

I have also been fantasizing about a six or seven speed box but that would be very costly so maybe sticking in different upper gear ratios -or an even longer diff ratio- would be more down to earth...

best regards,

Marc

 

Hi Marc
I checked my speedo against a couple of sat based devices and it is accurate to about +2mph.
I couldnt see the car doing 280kmh though! 174mph? Would have had tobe over reving by some margin about 7500rpm on standard gearing?
It certainly feels as if 160mph would be acheivable. i cant remember the exact fomual but i think it is about 5bhp for every extra 1mph above 100mph??
I will let yo know if I can do germany as am quite keen to find out and would be good for you to video the attempt
Paul
xx

 

Hi Paul:

Perhaps we could consider tying this with the Essen Tecno Classica show: March 30 to April 3? That area of Germany has heavy traffic though so we would have to go a bit further for the right conditions, I can enquire. Just an idea. Not sure if I am going to Essen yet, might if I can tie it up with an article or two in Belgium and seeing one or several Khamsins in Holland. Otherwise we can do it some other time. Definitely want to do the video with good sound recording.

Regarding numbers I am the wrong person to ask!

best regards,

Marc

 

Is the timing on the Khamsin taken from the flywheel under the car?

 

Hello Velocetwo,

Yes the timing is taken from the hole in the flywheel housing. However if you spend a bit of time once, it makes life in the future a lot easier:
Take the distributor cap off and turn the engine till the rotor points towards the #1 sparkplug connection in the cap, take the sparkplug out; just to make sure thay the piston is up.
Turn the flywheel till the TDC (Top Dead Center) marker at the bottom is visible in the hole and corresponds with the arrow. I first made a yellow dot on the crankshaft pulley corresponding with an alu rib: left hand side looking down on the pulley from above! After that I turned the engine backwards till the marker underneath was pointing at 9 degrees BTDC. I made another marker, in red, on the crank pulley looking from above.
Having done all this it is easy to hook up a strobe and check the ignition timing after starting the engine.
In the future you can check and set the ignition from above with the car on all fours.

Success,

Bart

 

A picture of the bell housing clutch Actuator etc
This may help
Regards
Graeme
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Hello all:

FYI the highest mileage Khamsin I know of has just appeared for sale on Ebay: AM120US1014 red, black automatic 110250 miles i.e. 176000kms, that's the spirit!

I exchanged emails with the seller, M.R. in June of 2009 and it was good to communicate with someone who likes it and drives it that much, this can also serve as encouragement a driven Khamsin is a happy fully reliable Khamsin as this one proves and as was the case during the 4000 trouble free miles I drove when I had mine the year I was in Florida.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Maserati-Khamsin-/170613924238?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item27b961e18e

I hope it finds a good home!

best regards,

Marc

 

Is the crankshaft pulley up front?

 

Yes indeed, the V-belt pulley sits on the front of the crankshaft.

Attached some pictures:
1. Underneath: the hole with the markings on the flywheel. PMS = TDC
2. Two yellow markings indicating TDC; one on the side / rim of the pulley the other on the aluminum casing.
Also note: Mind the nipples I put a 45 degree grease nipple on the water pump to gain easy access! Thus possibility to put grease in without having to take the generator and support off....
3. From a slightly bigger distance for orrientation.
4. Something that might interest Maserati V8 owners: How to replace the (in-)famous cable connection between waterpump and aircon pulley.

Ciao,

Bart
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Thank you Marc,
it has been always a pleasure beeing in touch with you.

I came onwards regarding my paint analysis. The color on 104 is an overspray as prooved by dismantling some hidden areas, the former respray was close to the org. but only close. I compared the revealed paint to my org. paint chip folder and the revealed paint matches verde scuro metalizzato.

The confusing was that No. 104 had an ppg paint code sticker inside the tank flap (as the silver Khamsin No. 188 has which was offered in le mans last year, it has a closed nose too). The number on the sticker inside of my tank flap belonged to Lamborghini urraco or later espadas paint code and is different from the current paint and differnet to the revealed paint on the car and different to the paint chip of verde scuro. I guess somebody mixed it up at Bertones factory plant.

To make a long story short: it will be resprayed back to org. specs. Does any body know how many were painted in verde scuro metalizzato?

Best

 

Hello,

I n regards to the Khamsin on ebay...being an automatic, how does its performance compare to a QP with the 3speed 727a tranny? I had a well tuned QP III, and if you decided to accel, and down shifted to 3or 2 to get the revs up it promptly " lifted its skirt" and started to move quite well for its weight. Does this borg/ warner tranny afford the same spirited driving as well as a " auto " can do?I realize its meant for steady state cruising and all. And I do recall it being called a " slush box"? But a decent automatic matched well to a car isnt all bad. And would a 727a tranny fit?

 

Hello Marek:

So your car is not pino verde after all....hm. Thanks for he information.

Bertone information is somethimes not so easy to ascertain, I just sent an email to them today on where the pre assembly took place, subcontractor or Bertone factory itself, we will see if I get an answer...

I only know the number of cars per color for a few other colors not this one, sorry.

b4biturbo: hello. A Khamsin is much faster than a QP3. Also there seems to be some confusion: automatic, Borg Warner and slush box are 3 different names for the exact same thing...as opposed to a manual 5 speed box.
A QP3 is also incomparably less agile than a Khamsin as I almost found out on the Pompano Beach Florida airfield perimeter road in about 1995: it is not meant to be hustled in tight corners!

best regards,

Marc

 

Hi b4biturbo

Auto Khamsins are quite low geared and max out ant about 130-5 MPH as apposed to the Manual 155MPH.

The 3 Speed auto box I believe can be upgraded to 4 speed without much trouble, but yet to know of one that has been converted.

Road and Track Mag acutally praised the Auto Khamsin for match box to the engine. A good friend has an Auto and his main complaint is on the freeway and the rev's .

When I was having by Manual Box overhauled by ZF, I was offered a 6 speed by the Guys at ZF and as he said would fit strait in. I would have been interesting in the Khamsin but the cost at the time wasnt within my budget. Now might be a different thing as the box was from a Commadore and I also beleve a Vet.

Regards
Graeme

 

Fellow K owners....

Need your help here!!! The weather turned nice enough finally to take the car out...
Clutch felt a little twitchy but seemed to be alright... I figured it was me not having been
able to drive it much, or at all, over the winter...

Symptoms: When driving and shifting from 3rd to 4th to 5th, and back down no problems,
everything seems fine!! As soon as I have to stop, I depress clutch... After
a couple of seconds, the clutch pedal begins to push back... I have to get the
car out of gear and pull over... At this point the clutch pedal is rock hard!!
After a few minutes (say 5 or so), the clutch pedal is back to normal and I
can restart the car and try and contine on... As soon as I have to stop again,
the same thing happens!!!

The clutch slave has been rebuilt with all new o-rings, all leaks have been addressed...

Any ideas??? HELP!!!

Mike

 

Hi Mike
I have a suspicion there is air in the system and it may be the slave cylinder/actator and sounds like ther is air in the pressure supply to the slave cylinder.
Weird things happen when an accumulator diaphram lets go as the nitrogen goes through the lines in the sustem
Does the pump appear to cycle loudly and often. Do the brakes feel OK? some signs the system has air.
When were the acculator diaphrams changed 10 years is the recomended.

Regards
Graeme

 

Hi Graeme...

Here is what I can tell you... When I rebuilt the slave clutch,
I bled it, what I believe to be quite thoroughly, but you never
know...

I didn't notice the pump recycling a whole lot, but I was paying
more attention to the clutch!!! The brakes felt excellent, didn't
notice any problems there... The accumulators were replaced
in the last 3 years...

Mike

 

Hey Mike,
Just a thought but maybe when you're holding the clutch down at a stop light your getting a fluid leak internal to the slave cylinder that releases the high side pressure to the return line. If you would hold the clutch in longer between shifts you might get the same symptom. You could try pulling the return line and put it in a can, start the car and hold the clutch in to see if you start getting an abnormal flow out of the return.

Rick . . . .

 

Graeme and Rick...

Thank you for your help, it was much appreciated!!!

I did find the source of the issue, at least I believe I have..
And it may be of interest to other Khamsin owners....

The problem appeared to be the large o-ring in the slave
clutch... After removing and disassembling it, we noticed
that the large o-ring did not fit necessarily like it should..
We replaced it with an ever-so-slightly larger one and
re-assembled... Bled the system good and began testing..
So far the clutch feels better than ever!!! I plan on driving
the car around quite a bit and we'll see how it goes...

I suspect the 'green stuff' was able to work itself by the
o-ring and begin pressurizing the clutch pedal works... This
would only occur if the clutch pedal was depressed for 2 or
more seconds allowing enough fluid to bypass the o-ring..
During normal shifting, when in motion, there was insufficient
time for the clutch pedal system to pressurize so it was never
noticed!! (Rick..this is what you indicate in your post!)...

I will keep you informed as I begin driving the car more...From now
on I will be extremely vigilant to the size and fit of o-rings, especially
in the hydraulic system...

Mike

 

Hi Mike
Well Done There are numerious differnt size "O"ring Sections, seems the incorrect one was installed the first time.
Keep us informed of any further developments.
Regards
Graeme

 

Graeme,
After many years of hard work I've come up with Rick's Law "The correct one (of anything) is always the second one you install! : )

Rick . . . .

 

Mike,

Just make sure the material of the O-rings resist the LHM (Vino Verde) over time!
The material has to be fuel and "fosile" oil resistant, to avoid swelling of the mat'l and all consequences that come with it.
Not too long ago a so called restored K was wrecked because of a failing brake system suffering from the above. A part costing less than a Euro can have one hell of an impact...

Ciao,

Bart

 

Mike
Bart is correct there are seals and then there are seals. Aviation seals for MIL Spec 5606 or Shell 41 is another place to look. Small Aircraft still use this in hydraulic systems.

The Material is critical. There is a lot of info on the web best test is to throw the seal in either LHM or petrol and wait a few days.
While I am rambling the correct cleaning fluid for LHM parts is Naptha citroen spec it.

to quote ANSWERS.COM

"Naphtha is a product of crude oil distillation in an atmospheric distillation unit. The refineries often produce a light naphta blend and a heavier naphtha which is can be used as a gasoline additive. Naptha is also extremely effective at solvating non-polar compounds and is used frequently in organic chemistry."

Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_naptha#ixzz1GtI44ivO

Regards
Graeme

 

Hello Bart and Graeme...

This should supply an interesting discussion...

First question is where is everybody getting their o-rings
from ? What sizes are being used? This applies to the
slave clutch device when rebuilding...

I think I asked this once before and never got an answer!!!
I really do think all us K owners would benefit from knowing
where and what sizes others are using...So, K owners chime
in!

Now on to the discussion... I to have always heard that these
o-rings need to be special... Never really understood why.. The
fluid we are using is basically mineral oil...

So, based on the above discussions, I have filled a two part container
with the Castrol Mineral Oil that has always been used in my car!! I put
the undersized o-ring that came out of the slave clutch in one part, and
put a duplicate of the o-ring I ended up using in the other part... I will
watch what happens and report back the results!! I'm not sure temp or
pressure will have any bearing on this.. This will be a straight-up test
to see if either, both, or none start dissolving, lose elasticity, etc...

Not necessarily a real scientific test, but MAY be good enough for clutch
work... If the o-ring we used fails the test, I can expect the clutch pedal
to begin pressurizing again as the o-ring breaks down... So I will keep you
posted as I use the car, and as I check on my experiment...

Now the brakes, that could and would be a different story!!

Mike

Mike