Those big rear struts for the aft bonnet are just one thing I'd ignored... but now that you mention same I'd be interested to know more. My Bora is a 1973 US 4.9 (in case that may matter, or not). Please advise re details, photos, condition, etc. (and how you came to have these). NE / HighwayBora
hope the pix are helpful. these may need rebuilding. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
The latest BAT Bora result bid to $155K ... no sale. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1974-maserati-bora-5/?blrb=1#comments-anchor
The US portion wasn't everywhere but it was present on top of the dash. The car also had the US side marker lights. Why the discrepancies I have no clue. Perhaps as simple as Maserati assembly line ineptitude?
Looks strange how? It appears early US cars had a space left after “AM117/”, probably for the addition of “US” or “4.9 US” upon later assignment of the chassis to the US market. Did they simply forget to mark these cars later in the assembly line? See https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1973-maserati-bora-2/ pic 116/168 and https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1974-maserati-bora-3/ pic 207/248, early cars that do not have US ID. They appear to have gotten better with later cars: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1975-maserati-bora-4-9/ pic 66/149 has “US”, and https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1977-maserati-bora-5/ pic 173/213 has “49 US” added.
It was clearly the US-version, no doubt. What is strange is that after the "117" they left space for the "4.9" and "US" and then follows the VIN.
Thanks. Pics help.. as those look like mine. Wondering how to assess if 'need rebuilding'? This weekend, will make an effort to learn such. I appreciate your effort. And all knowledge available. Best regards, Ned.
needs rebuilding only if struts can no longer hold engine cover open or cover closes with too much force. i dont know if these struts need rebuilding but they are easily rebuilt.
If the struts are so easy to build perhaps you could point me to someone who is qualified and will do the job.
Another option might be the Stabilus/Sachs/LiftoMat SG130006 listed in Ivan's Bora parts interchange. I bought a pair and they look right, but I haven't installed them yet. They were not expensive, but when I looked just now, were listed as out of stock.
Nope - I haven't installed them. They were on Ivan's list, so I presumed they were a real replacement. In any event, they're cheap enough that it's worth a try. Next time I get down to where my car is hibernating, I will try to put them in. It's a pain to work on the thing when the lid won't stay open.
OK about that list. That list is an amalgamation of lists created by: A huge Maserati fan in the UK, no it wasn't Enrico r.i.p. , I think his first name was George. sorry George I don't remember ... A fellow from the NW of the USA named Scott started another on a website he had. There's also some information the Southern California club MOCNA. Stan Bishop's cab timing diagrams and write up being one of their other big contributions to the Maserati community. It all ended up on the Maserati forum of Yahoo Groups where people continued to contribute to it for years. Unfortunately that forum was owned and moderated by an obstinate arsehole and he left it to rot. So when Yahoo Groups shut down no one was able to rescue all those posts. But before that It was also copied to another Maserati forum on Yahoo Groups called Maserati GT Cars or a name close to that. At some point Ivan put it up on his website. Entries were cross pollinated between the multiple lists but they were never verified in any rigorous method except if you read of multiple people having success they you felt better. That's still no guarantee though. As an example number of people have reported having success with an Alfa clutch slave cylinder on a Maserati Biturbo. Having done three clutch jobs on my 84 and trying one once I know that does not work. It's the wrong diameter. So ... the information is not infallible or in the case of the strut it doesn't look the same which is important for concours purposes.
Englishman George Perfect perhaps? He has retired to private life due to major health issues alas. I rode with him at Maser Miglia 2000 in the Nevada desert in Paul Muizelar's Bora, we saw 160 indicated. He had a Khamsin, AM120-359, used to drive it quite hard (Swiss police caught him at a high rate of knots on a remote Alpine road once and told him he was banned from driving in Switzerland;-). He ran a nice enthusiast website decades ago; Maserati resource center.
Correct. I asked for permission to repost the Bora parts exchange information on my website when I realized that it could be lost forever. As you pointed out, the accuracy of some of the information is questionable. https://thecarnut.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/BoraPartsInterchange.pdf Similarly, many of the MOCNA technical articles are posted on my website including the CD-ROM the club created when it was shutting down the doors. The CD-ROM has a lot of of useful information but difficult to search. https://thecarnut.com/mocna/ Ivan
Bob, Our old friend Cliff had a pretty comprehensive cross reference list when he was in the Maserati parts business. He was in negotiations to buy out Oliver Kutner’s inventory back in the late 80s.
