The offer of the day.....

Keep it the Aquamarine, it’s a relatively rare color. Most of the Spyders were Red, Silver or Black.

 

Erik it's good news for you but bad news for Maserati fans here. Enjoy the car.

 

Hello Erik...

Congratulations on purchasing the Spyder... I think you are going to have fun with the car!

If you are not aware, there is Biturbo group on groupsio.. Run a web search for Biturbozentrum
and you should eventually find it.. If not send me or staatsof a PM and we can help you find it...
Biturbozentrum is much Biturbo centric than what you will probably find here...

I hope I don't get into trouble mentioning this here...

Mike

 

I couldn’t care less about people who is talking these cars down. I have run my 550 Maranello for 8 years and 86.000 kms. since I bought it, and I never intend to believe the Biturbo is the holy grail of Maserati. For you Americans who experienced only trouble with the old 80-ies Biturbos, I can tell you that the 90-ies Biturbos were in a totally different league, and I ran my 1991 222 4v. over 60.000 kms. in 3 seasons with almost zero problems. It was a fantastic car that gave you «the good feeleing» every day. The interior was better than the 550’s. It was even inexpencive to run and used 0,9 l. per 100kms. I had several Ghiblis too. Then in 2011, I bought my first QP III, and another one three years later. I love those for their specialness, but the engines were both having the «bubbling in the tank» problem even though I rebuild both heads and put new head gaskets on. The Birurbos were far more enjoyable. So people bashing the Biturbo..., get your self together and accept that it was a less expencive «Porsche Boxter concept» that saved Masersti from definitive bankruptcy. I am going to wrench that car myself and get it up and running and make it a brilliant go-to-the-marina-and-back car instead of letting the 550 be fried in the sun. You don’t always need a top of the line model. In Monaco, I see people filthy rich having Bugattis and Rollers, but they run a Fiat 500 with open roof for their daily everyday life. Why not use a Birurbo instead? Much more special and with some new components, I am sure it will be reliable enough. And yes, I have three types of roadside assistance memberships/insurances so I hope I get stranded somewhere to check that they work. You can get an immense amount of performance and fun from a 2,8 24v. Biturbo with very little cost. That is an opportunity too good not to be taken.

 

I don't think Mike meant quite that sort of trouble. Ferrarichat has a policy of not allowing links to other auto websites which consider to be their competition. Biturbozentrum is hardly that.

While it is true that DeTomaso's Maserati's have a horrible reputation here in the USA much of that is due to ignorance and the emissions system on the early cars. Most of the early cars have disappeared because once neglected for so long they became impossibly expensive to repair. Ironically it's the 3 valve cars which are the easiest to service and the parts are cheaper too. I haven't looked recently but a few years ago while I was servicing my GOC's engine those parts were more expensive that those for the new post 2004, Ferrari massaged, Maserati's. I think that was deliberate move to make these cars go away via attrition.

 

Thanks. What are really the smog stuff on the early Biturbos? And what fail? The car I have bought have been standing for about 10 years, so what should I look for? Very thankful for your help!

 

By the time the 87's arrived they'd greatly improved the smog equipment situation so you'll have far less to worry about. I don't know what the regulations are where you live if you can I think you should eliminate the air injection thus reducing the under hood heat. That was a big problem with the 84-86 cars here in the USA. Standing for 10 years ain't so great though. I'd be concerned with coolant corrosion of the head gaskets etc. But you'll find out if that's an issue once you begin sorting the car.

I always preferred the seats in the 87 spider over the later ones. They're just so comfortable. Best seats I've ever had in a car.

 

Thanks. Yes I agree with you. The seats are so nice, but was probably build for Italians which sometimes are not the tallest people. When you are 185 cm and more, lumbar support is too low down. I wonder if it is possible to raise the back of the seat..? I quess the newer dedign has somethibg with the fact that the back interfer with the convertible «horse shoe» brace in front of the convertible top with old seats, but same car with the newer ones does move furter back as the design make it possible when the seat are narrover above the side bolsters.
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it’s not about the length of the seat, it’s about the width!

 

I like the wider new style seats of the 430 and 228 Better than any other type of seats from Maserati.
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Hi Erik,

I have a 430 parts/project car I am trying to get rid off .... and it has the seats you like
Make me an offer as it is just taking up garage space.
Photos and description here: http://thecarnut.com/Biturbo430.html
A lot of good parts for your "new" 87 spyder. You can even upgrade it to 2.8 liters

Ivan
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Thanks for the offer. I feel that 5 cars is enough for the moment. What is wrong with it? It is in Atlanta?

 

Yes, it is just north of Atlanta.

Looks like the car was left outside for some time and the driver's floor has rusted. The previous owner did a lot of mechanical work but he was not very experienced and the valves are very noisy. The car starts, moves and stops ... and has a clear title. In my opinion it would be a major restoration but a great donor/parts car. In the USA, 5 lug nuts 2.8 liter fuel injected Biturbos are not that common.
Ivan

 

Image Unavailable, Please Login https://www.ebay.com/itm/114784102160?hash=item1ab9aa6710:g:~zoAAOSwFFhgiHYH

 

If you look at what's been posted historically to this thread this car doesn't really belong here unless it's a complete fake?
Looks really nice though.

 

Somebody has a great sense of humor: ---40k or 400 k or........
https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/25101/lot/54/

 

Maybe just shht stirring to create more buzz & interest? This isn't exactly a business unknow for that.

 

Image Unavailable, Please Login https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1966-maserati-quattroporte/

 

The guy now claims he bought the car two years ago and drove it from California. Apparently, he had the car quickly sprayed (or rolled?) flat black. The paint job was surely done outside. The car never left the yard. I drive by once or twice per week to see if anybody bought it. He also claims "never in an accident" but it had a few crunches when I first looked at it. Looks like a quick bondo job. This past late winter we had 15" of snow and this poor thing was under it.

Rather than the $2800 he was originally asking he now wants $4500.

https://newyork.craigslist.org/stn/cto/d/staten-island-82-maserati-quattroporte/7306047602.html

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Carmine you are still sniffing around that scarecrow? Run my friend, run! Plenty of other QPIII fish in the sea.

 

Odd that it is in an Ebay auction, bizarre, in any case this is a very well known car that was restored for a major US collector (whose name I can't recall right now) under the guidance of Adolfo Orsi jr in 2006. When I was indexing his archives that spring in Modena I accompanied him, his business partner Raffaele Gazzi and their friend expert Fiorenzo Fantuzzi son of Medardo to Carrozzeria Brandoli south of the city to see progress. I recall them having a passionate discussion about just where a light should sit on it tail!

Then a few weeks later at Villa d'Este it duly won an award and we all had bubbly there to celebrate, a great day.

IIRC the story of how the car emerged was incredible; they were having lunch somewhere in the USA when the waitress said I have a Maserati too, in my barn, at first they rolled their eyes and expected a clapped out Biturbo but lo and behold there it was and the collector bought it.

 

I find it to be a small entertainment. It's only about two miles from me so fairly often I drive nearby on my routine shopping, visiting friends, etc..
The owner is surely a crook. But The yard it's been sitting in has been sold, so his free storage time is just about at an end. He'll have to dump it soon.
If I can get it cheap I might try to grab it to part it out. I have use of a large garage, tools and equipment to work with. Glass, body panels, engine wheels. There is some value in it.

 

That's funny.

 

Some of you may want to sit down after seeing this
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This has been posted for a while locally. No idea if any of this stuff is needed or worth anything but ya never know! I think "good condition" is a real stretch....

https://seattle.craigslist.org/est/pts/d/maserati-biturbo-parts-good-cond-bi/7361275690.html