Interesting that the solenoids on your car are the same, whereas the two on my car are different! Perhaps they were replaced, or this is what was in the parts bin the day mine was built... I know you probably mentioned this, but what year is your car, Quattroporte3? Is it a US or Euro version? We know Tony's is a 79 Euro. Tony, could you take a picture of your solenoids from roughly the same position as Quattroporte3 did? Might prove useful... Also, since you don't have a vacuum line going to the HVAC controls, a quick layout of the vacuum hoses may be helpful to some of us... My goal on my car will be to remove the air pump and the valves on the trumpets like Tony did. I will probably keep the cats, so may have to tune the car a little so they don't get overheated (ie: fire).. Tony, did you make any mods to the air pump bracket? Mike Image Unavailable, Please Login
1980 US version. I plan on removing the smog stuff as well, so anyone who *knows* the right way to do it, let us benefit from your experience. My car had no cats when I bought it (they had been cut out), but I put high flow sports cats in. Night and day difference. No more headaches. No more soot patches on the wall/floor behind the car.
Hi Mike, Attached is a picture I took in 2010 when I was replacing the water pump. The only solenoid I have (I never removed any) is circled in the picture. It sends vacuum to the distributor advance/retard actuator when the idle micro switch is closed during idle. I didn't remove the trumpet valves - they just don't exist. Same with the cats - there were none there. I removed the air pump. There was no belt on it anyway. I also backed out the idle micro switch screw to never close the circuit at idle. It was in this condition since I purchased the car. I "fixed" it when I recently rebuilt the carbs but the car wouldn't idle well when cold and the headers got real hot during a long idle. I could smell them burning off the grime buildup over the years. As far as vacuum lines go I don't have a diagram but there isn't much from what I remember off hand. One goes to the above mentioned solenoid, another to the Consumption Gauge on the dash and one goes to the air cleaner via the cam vent tube. The HVAC controls are cable driven. The power brakes gets its vacuum from a cam mounted vacuum pump near the battery. Speaking of batteries - look at that thing! It has since been replaced with the proper side mount terminals. The Euro versions are so much simpler. No return gas line either. Hope this helps! Tony Image Unavailable, Please Login
With a few extra days off for Easter break, I'm planning on tackling the dashboard in the car. From what I recall being told it's a PITA to remove, (but it's a bigger irritation to leave it as is!). My dashboard is missing bits, sun bleached and in pretty bad shape. I figured I might as well do it now before the really nice weather rolls in (hah...). Time permitting, I might go ahead and pull all the wood out of the doors and shifter surround too and do them at the same time. 3 specific questions - 1. Any tips/tricks/advice for removing the dash? It looks like I need to remove the instrument binnacle, steering wheel, air/heater vents, glove compartment, and center console to begin with. Then some bolts underneath the dashboard holding it all together as far as I can tell. 2. What other things should I be taking care of while the dashboard is out of the car? I'm thinking specifically of the heater/air con. Is this something that needs service, or cleaning & lubricating? I plan on cleaning out the air ducts, and will also have a look at my stereo (cassette got jammed in, and I think the speakers are wired incorrectly) while the console is out. 3. What is the correct finish for the wood? Did Maserati use shellac, or lacquer, or varnish or maybe even polyurethane? Glossy, semi-gloss, or matt finish? I'd like it to look original, but I'd like it to last another 30 years. I've restored and built my own furniture and am comfortable working with wood, but also aware that there are many methods of finishing, from french polish to tung oil to simple PU sealant. I'd like to get it right. Looking forward for any advice/suggestions other's have to offer!
Ok, let's start with something simpler. What wood is used for the QP3 trim? It looks a lot like curly maple. Does anyone know for sure? I know some of you have removed your dash. Can you provide a quick rundown of the procedure? Thanks.
I know squat about what kind of wood it is or finish is on it. I've removed only the binnacle from my car and it was easy. It can be done from simply sitting in the driver seat. I only needed to remove the small screws above the buttons near the steering wheel. Then pull the binnacle toward me which pulls the stubs out of their sockets. This gives you enough clearance to unplug all the plugs and remove the vacuum line to the consumption gauge. I think we've been down this road before and I seem to remember that not all binnacles are mounted this way. Even the shop manual tells you that you must reach under the dash to remove some screws. See the red circles in the pics. Hope this helps, Tony Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Hello Quattroporte3... My apologies for not getting back with your sooner, have been a bit occupied... It has been a while since I took the dash out of my car, so I had to think about this.. The process/steps I used are described in the service manual that can be found on Ivan's site. The page should be 19-5 and the dash is called the Facia. Take a close look at picture 15... You will need to pull the leather back a little to access these bolts.. DO THIS CAREFULLY, and try not to pull to far! Hope this helps... Mike
Thanks guys. Exactly what I wanted to know. Yes, Tony, we have discussed the instrument binnacle before, mine is different, and has two long bolts at the rear of the cover that go down through the dash and have washers and nuts underneath holding it in place. Now that I know which wood it is, I can try and source some veneer, or possibly refinish the spare I bought. I was thinking either Elm or Maple, so I wasn't too far off. Mike, thanks for the tips about where to be extra careful, I'll try not to break anything. So when this is out of the car, what else should I take care of while I'm there? Is there anything to service in the heater/cooling system? Any other things in there that are good to deal with while the dash and console are off? Thanks again!
Hi I was thinking that the only thing I know about is the fan which is an issue I have heard of a few times. Snapping fan so maybe it can be checked
I did this 15 years ago so my recall may not be that good. Not hard, a few minutes if you did it once. The binnacle has a threaded rod in the back. Open the steering adjust knob hatch and look roughly up from the knob. You will see a speaker. Next to it is the rod. I recall there is one like that but may be two. Remove the exposed screws under the bottom front edge of the binacle. Unhook and then lift and remove the four electrical connectors (you can see 2 from underneath taking the nut off the rod.) The are printed circuit board edge connectors, 2 left and 2 right. Take note of colors. Flat hand palm down, catching the top edge with a fingernail and pull down to disconnect them. Reach back behind the consumption gauge and remove the vacuum hose (a little bigger than aquarium hose, sort of soft, and has a spring clip type hose clamp you can pinch) I always has dash electrical problems until I gold plated the contact fingers on the binnacle board. The finish is very hard to remove from the wood, thick and only yielding slowly to heavy duty paint stripper. I did get the wood off without taking the dash out. The leather covered pieces are held by nuts in the back. I used varnish, but there are better things today.
Thanks for the tips madjidt, where/how did you have the pcb connectors gold plated? Have also been going through and checking fuses and relays. Does anyone know the modern (Tyco, GEI) equivalent of the "Valvar type 231002 12V 9D" mentioned in the manual (and embossed on the original shells)? After multiple web searches I've come up blank. We should probably create some sort of cross reference list for stuff like this... The starter relay (marked "8" in the electrical manual) is listed as "SIPEA type 0002 12V 9F", which also comes up blank on searches, but I've found that it's a Bosch/Tyco 0 332 015 006 (single spool, double contact).
That one is a SPST type, but it has pins 87 and 87a tied internally. I found a Hella number 4RA 003 510-131 (http://www.hella.com/ePaper/Elektrik/Relais/englisch/document.pdf). Also, Fiat/Alfa part number 7686773 and Bosch 0 332 014 151. The Bosch page shows lots of units that appear to have the tied 87 and 87a and a cross reference to Tyco parts, but I didn't wade through it. I still don't know the current rating of the original Valvar relay.
Due to the lack of effective paint strippers (tested out 2 on a spare dash I have, one didn't do anything at all, even overnight, the other required 2 applications and several hours to work and still hasn't cleaned all the old lacquer off), I've postponed doing the dash for now. I'll see what I can find in Spain while there, if they have something more effective. In the meantime I've re-coated all the leather in Leatherique rejuvenating oil, hoping it will help alleviate the slight hardness I've noticed on a few seat panels. I've tried is several times the last few years without noticing much improvement. This time I've let it sit several days in the sun and re-applied daily. Will remove it tomorrow with the Pristine Clean and see how things look. One other thing I noticed, while looking for a blown fuse (does anyone know where the fuse for the ventilation control lights/backlight is located?) was that my air ducts are routed rather weirdly. My evaporator unit has 2 holes on the bottom, both close to the passenger side. One has been duct taped over (!?) years ago, the tape is like cardboard. The other is open, nothing connected. I found that the hose connected to the passenger floor well goes to the rear seats - no wonder our guests in the back never felt any cold air reaching them! From what I can tell from the parts manual, my car has the later type in the addendum at the end (chart 26). One hose exits the evaporator unit upper right and another upper left to the left and right dashboard vents, which each have 2 hoses connected - one from the evaporator to the dash vent, and one back from the vent to the footwells on either side. The manual doesn't show what is supposed to be connected to the 2 lower holes on the evaporator, but I connected the rear passenger hose to one of them (the one closest to the middle of the car). The parts manual seems to indicate that there is a Y piece that splits to 2 hoses to each of the rear passenger vents, mine only has one hose as far as I've been able to see. Maybe each hole at the bottom of the evaporator should connect to it's own hose that leads back to the rear seats? Has anyone else had this open and checked how things are routed? A picture or two would be a big help. I guess at some point in the near future I will need to pull my console (if not the entire dashboard) and have a look at the state of things under there. Thanks!
The car has been running nicely ever since we found and fixed (bypassed) the faulty solenoid, with a smooth idle and nice amount of power, although we haven't yet looked at consumption or put it on the dyno. Today when I went to start her up, the idle was rough and the whole car shook. It sounded like it was only running on a few cylinders. I waited to see if warming up would change things, but it didn't. I tried switching off the engine and starting it up again, but it still ran poorly. I stepped out of the car and had a look at the engine, where I could hear a lot more noise than usual, not sure if it was the timing chain or something else, it sounded like knocking. More interesting was that the driver's side cat was glowing red hot, but not the passenger's side one. I drove back and parked the car for the evening. As far as I can think of, there are only 3 possible causes for this. 1. Loss of spark (faulty/fouled plugs, defective or broken wires) 2. Imbalance in air/fuel ratio 3. Loss of compression The glowing cat indicates to me that at least one or more cylinders on the left side of the car are not firing, allowing the air and gas mixture through where it combusts in the exhaust. The cables are new, replaced only a few months ago. The air/fuel ration we dialed in with a ColorTune a few weeks ago when we took care of the vacuum/solenoid issue. The mechanic who had the car a few months ago performed both a compression test and leak down, all cylinders were around 145-149 and there was no leakage. I've been chasing down an issue with the headlights recently, but haven't moved any wires. I also cleaned and checked all fuses and relays in the engine bay and passenger footwell a week ago, but the car has been running fine since, just not tonight. Any other ideas what might be going on? The carbs have been recently rebuilt, and I wouldn't expect a carb/float issue to affect only one side of the engine. Suggestions are appreciated!
Hi this was discussed on one of the other sites. I think maybe Enrico's pages and there was a fix or discussion about it. When I have time I will look.
Anyone know the details on the brake system. Is it Chrysler also? I came across a Grifo conversion where they are using Wilwood systems. States it is bolt on for a Chrysler set up. Interesting? http://www.wilwood.com/MasterCylinders/MasterCylinderProd.aspx?itemno=261-13626-BK
Hello William... I assume you are referring to the QPIII brake system here.. In my '82 QPIII thread you will note that I have removed the brake master and booster from my car (pictures are included there). The booster is Benditalia/Bonaldi, and I suspect the brake master is of the same make. I recently removed the front calipers and will have more info on these perhaps soon. I have no idea if this Wilwood would bolt right on! Mike
I see that the two front cylinders on the left side are used to generate vacuum and are tee'd with the input to the vacuum pump. If that tube is leaking, those cylinders would run very lean and might cause these symptoms. Just a thought, but it's something that could happen suddenly.
William / Thor... Received my copy of VCM today... I could not put it down until I read your articles on the QPIII... Very, very nice work! Congratulations to you both and keep up the good work! Mike
It's the Maserati club international magazine Viale Ciro Menotti, named after the address of the Maserati factory in Modena. Regards. Mark.
Hello StanT... As Mark indicates it is Maserati Club International... They produce a quarterly, or so, publication called Viale Ciro Menotti (VCM).. They can be found at: maseratinet.com Mike
