Maserati Bora - Picture Thread | Page 35 | FerrariChat

Maserati Bora - Picture Thread

Discussion in 'Maserati' started by Ron S, Sep 22, 2007.

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  1. thecarnut

    thecarnut F1 Rookie
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    Apr 22, 2006
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    The Car Nut
    A Merak SS made in 1968 .... me don't think so .... you probably meant 1986. I thought the transaxle in ALL Meraks were a Citroen unit. There have been rumors of ZF transaxles in late cars but I have yet to see any proof. Perhaps your car has a ZF transaxle. A ZF transaxle will have the ZF logo.

    Ivan
     
  2. AMLC

    AMLC Formula Junior

    Apr 4, 2009
    597
    68 is the number of cars, not the year
     
  3. wbaeumer

    wbaeumer F1 Veteran
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    Mar 4, 2005
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    Ivan,
    Ok, more precise: 68 cars -the last 68 that were made by Maserati- came without the green-stuff from Citroen. Gearbox with mine is Citroen, dashboard is of the Bora.
     
  4. thecarnut

    thecarnut F1 Rookie
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    Walter, I misread your previous post. Your comments about no Citroen components; does that include the transaxle or does your car have the same Citroen unit as prior Meraks? The reason I ask is that I have read that the last cars had ZF units but have never been able to confirm this with an actual photo of a ZF transaxle in a Merak.

    Ivan
     
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  5. wbaeumer

    wbaeumer F1 Veteran
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    Mar 4, 2005
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    Ivan,
    perhaps I should not use the word "components".
    Fact is, that the last 68 cars came without the green-stuff from France!
     
  6. thecarnut

    thecarnut F1 Rookie
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    And all the USA Merak SS also came without the green-stuff, and with the Bora style interior.

    Ivan
     
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  7. wbaeumer

    wbaeumer F1 Veteran
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    Mar 4, 2005
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    Correct - but also with these silly big bumpers and this very low panel between the exhaust pipes.
     
  8. GLB

    GLB Formula Junior

    Oct 27, 2010
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    George Lawrence Brantingham
    He could have been referring to the lowered ride height, the larger (and staggered?) BBS wheels, and the grille treatment, all of which I like, too. I didn't know until now that this was a post-LHM car, but it would not have mattered to me. The government imposed bumpers are a mess, but conversion is possible - if painful. I am slowly completing the conversion of my Bora. BTW, I can not tell from the one photo I have - is the grille surround painted or did you have a chrome piece made? Whichever it was, it looks good.
     
  9. hyenahf

    hyenahf F1 Rookie

    May 25, 2004
    2,603
    i recall his was a citroen box... he can easily prove me wrong of course
     
  10. boralogist

    boralogist Formula Junior

    Jun 21, 2005
    998
    #860 boralogist, Feb 15, 2021
    Last edited: Feb 15, 2021
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  11. ANF289

    ANF289 Rookie

    Jun 30, 2016
    31
    Goes without saying, a beautiful car!
    I'm surprised to see wheel center caps rather than the iconic SS hub caps on a 72.
    Did it come from the factory that way? Wonder when Maserati started offering/substituting center caps for hub caps?
     
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  12. boralogist

    boralogist Formula Junior

    Jun 21, 2005
    998
    Good point!
    Unblemished SS hub caps she came with in garage!
    Just prefer the later look!
    ;)
     
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  13. Mexico074

    Mexico074 Formula 3

    Aug 14, 2008
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    Michael Demyanovich
    Hello boralogist....

    Very, very nice!!!

    Mike D.
     
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  14. christof schlicht

    Mar 12, 2020
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    #864 christof schlicht, Feb 17, 2021
    Last edited: Feb 17, 2021
    [QUOTE = "Boralogist, Post: 147740492, Mitglied: 21006"] Vernetzungigt durch die Ankunft des K ---
    Doch für immer mehr als meine erste wahre Liebe.

    IMHO --- 1972 Euro Bora aka Perfektion:

    Very nice car, Borlogist! I looove this "Rame Metallizzato" color. Here you see the 1972 sisters Nr. 336 und Nr. 330, now living in Germany. What is your VIN?

    Greetings, Christof
     

    Attached Files:

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  15. boralogist

    boralogist Formula Junior

    Jun 21, 2005
    998
    Hi Christof---

    Thank you for your kind words and introduction to the gorgeous sisters!

    117.258
    :)
     
  16. staatsof

    staatsof Nine Time F1 World Champ
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    Bob
    This is one of my favorite colors on a Bora along with the green that was on Bob Grossman's old partner's car, he passed at some point in the last 10 years. Sorry I can't remember his name right now. I only met him twice. He lived in Rio Vista I beleive? We met up once at fellow car enthusiast's shop in Lodi, a guy of the name Doaks? He had both a Bora and a Khamsin both in a somewhat bedraggled condition at the time. Bora #1044 has an amazing exterior and interior color combination as well. Mine has Ruby Rubino and light tan inside. Nice but not quite as spectacular as those colors are.
     
  17. emsiegel13

    emsiegel13 Formula Junior
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    Looking at the two pictures, I must say I like the wheels with the hubcaps on rather than the later style the factory did to save some money. by not using the hubcaps
     
  18. staatsof

    staatsof Nine Time F1 World Champ
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    I bought mine in the later 1980's and at that time those moon hubcaps were considered quite dowdy, really the whole car was at the time. It was slower than the equivalent Ferrari's and Lamborghini's though not by that much except top speed. It was considered an old fuddy-duddy's car. I didn't care, I just fell in love when I first saw one on a street in SF one night, at the corner of Potrero and Alameda in dirt parking lot.
     
  19. boralogist

    boralogist Formula Junior

    Jun 21, 2005
    998
    Road to hell is paved with good intentions!
    Thankfully all reversible.

    More concerned w/the overall condition of that engine bay---
    Specifically those webers look like they have had a very busy life---not possible @7k km!

    It may also help if they increased the idle above 200 rpm!;)
     
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  20. staatsof

    staatsof Nine Time F1 World Champ
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    #871 staatsof, Mar 9, 2021
    Last edited: Mar 9, 2021
    Well this is what they did to cars like this back in the 1980's. Blacking out the shiny bits was all the rage. Almost every Panter a here went even more radical routes. At least the roof escaped the "treatment". The Bumpers are easily rectified.

    On the whole this one is rather tasteful and well executed if it's better high speed stability and a cooler running car at speed on on the Autostrada and Autostrada you were after.

    I was never willing to make that many visual changes. A couple of club members in the USA did similar air dams in the front, some quite outrageous. The Merak version is near useless on a Bora but then that car doesn't have the same issues.

    The interior looks amazing and the engine bay does look to me like 7000km @ 50 years, rather good actually.
    The paint looks new and perhaps the interior got a do-over at some point as well?

    Mechanicals and their condition? Not enough information and there should be at this price.

    But anyone paying this much for a 50 year old classic is probably going to want to eliminate those airflow exhaust vents and they do rather obstruct visibility. I imagine the builder of this customized Bora didn't give a crap about that.. They probably had driven it at speed for long distances on those then glorious road and learned very well what the issues were with these cars. I saw plenty of modified Boras at the 94 Maserati Club international event and they weren't this well done.

    I just wonder if it actually fixed the issues, would love to find out and ... Are the original trim bits and glass there to go with it. I suspect they are, hope so at any rate.

    Is there a video somewhere?

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    I wonder what the hose manifold into the carbs is all about? It comes from a big aluminum box which looks potentially like an air water separator. For cooling perhaps or just addition cooler air piped in??
     
  21. boralogist

    boralogist Formula Junior

    Jun 21, 2005
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  22. Nembo1777

    Nembo1777 F1 World Champ
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    Hello Christof,

    Actually this is very interesting.

    For once I agree with Bob, this is NOT the creation of some typical show offs seen in cars of other Modenese marquees who just wants people to look at them as they cruise down the boulevard yet never drive fast as is the case with a number of them. This was a car properly prepared specifically for sustained high speeds in period: better heat evacuation from the engine bay, better breathing for the carbs (with as someone pointed out some extra plumbing to be identified) and a very functional front spoiler. Nothing else, nothing decorative.

    I wonder if it isn't the car Ermanno Cozza told me about in an interview; a wonderful story. I have told it before so sorry for those who remember it.

    This industrialist who was from northern Italy bought a Bora. He was based up north but also had factories in the deep south of Italy, a loooong drive...which he did regularly.

    At the time you could cover vast distances in Europe very quickly with very little traffic and no speed limits. He was a very intense chap, probably had a Ghibli before that. Anyway a few weeks after he had taken delivery of the Bora he shows up back a the factory and says I have a problem.

    Cozza and one or two others asked him to explain so he did.

    "Well on those trips every time I have been at top speed in fifth gear for about half an hour steam starts to come out and I have to slow down and lose time!"

    The others looked at each other astonished and said:

    "But Signore you cannot stay at top speed half an hour, no car is conceived for that! It is meant to be done for brief spells."

    He was having none of that.

    "No no, no I am in a hurry, very busy, my autostrada is very straight, has almost zero traffic specially in the south so the car should be able to handle it!"

    So Cozza explained to me that by special arrangement they did some modifications on the car to improve engine cooling to allow it to run at such sustained very high speeds!

    So...it looks like a very similar story, it is in the north, the car emerges out of nowhere with very low miles...because the 1973 energy crisis and speed limit introduction put an end to it all...I wonder if this, AM117-178 is the one, perhaps the man just passed and they are selling it for the family?
     
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  23. boralogist

    boralogist Formula Junior

    Jun 21, 2005
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    Always loved the Taranto story:

    :):):)
     
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  24. Nembo1777

    Nembo1777 F1 World Champ
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    Wonderful:) Note that he mentioned that they added a presa d'aria; air intake so, even if what this car has is air extractors after 50 years he would be excused to get them confused: intriguing:)

    Of course other go faster Boras were made, a German had a fly yellow one that he travelled across Europe in, he had Candini service it, he sadly passed away in an accident in it. Others had less sad fates at least one in Japan, one in Hong Kong (as if you needed a fast car there!) etc but nowadays cars of course tend to be brought back to standard.

    One of the two ultimate ones is that made by my friend Johan Helenius in Sweden, incredibly fast after he tuned the engine but he managed not to lose the torque, he was very clever with the camshafts, he did an incredible job on that car. Here yours truly the day he gave me a ride in summer 2015.

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