QP/GT front subframes - the truth

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Blueflash

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29
SE_123 said:
Blimey! :oops:

Get it scanned and sell the "design" for £5k
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An aftermarket one could likely be fabricated in such a way as to enable it to be dip galvanised, there are manufacturing guidelines for ensuring that it won’t deform. Or perhaps it could even be built from a metal that has some inherent corrosion resistance?

There are plenty for fabrication places around here, and I could probably get a bunch of them run off if they ever become scarce again in the future.
 
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Ebenezer

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4,558
What are the chances that these new ones from Maserati are not made of cheese like the ones on our cars and have the necessary protection added as part of their manufacture??

Eb
 
B

Blueflash

New Member
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Ebenezer said:
What are the chances that these new ones from Maserati are not made of cheese like the ones on our cars and have the necessary protection added as part of their manufacture??

Eb
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Zero. But we can take steps to make them more corrosion resistant and improve their longevity, before fitting them.
 
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Zep

Zep

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9,341
Blueflash said:
Some really good news! New GT and QP front subframes and all the bolts are available from the factory once again, and can be ordered via authorised dealers and various other suppliers.

They’re a fair bit more expensive than they used to be (but isn’t everything), but a lot less expensive than scrapping an otherwise perfectly good car. I paid £4,869 all in (but not fitted), but at least the part can be obtained. Mine has arrived just 7 days after placing the order.

My car doesn’t actually need one yet, so I’ve got plenty of time to figure out how to best protect this component prior to having it fitted.

Given how comparatively low cost these amazing cars are secondhand, and that this is the only major weakness, the additional cost can easily be justified by factoring it into the vehicles purchase.

I’m certainly not going to feel nearly as concerned about daily driving mine any more.

I’m located in Aberdeen, where there’s still a large offshore industry, and there are several nearby businesses that can perform a 3D scan of the part into CAD, to enable third party fabrication (and perhaps improvement) should the factory ever completely cease production, so I’m planning to get that done prior to fitting it.
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This is in the spirit of the forum, so it would be great to see.

Making a new one from something a bit less **** for less than the factory is what we are all about.
 
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Blueflash

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conaero said:
Get it shot blasted and properly powder coated, its going to cost you another £500 but absolutely worth it.
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The question is how to ensure that it’s treated on the inside. There are some zinc processes that might work (hot dip would warp it) and that produce a good key for powdercoating.
 
strictly

strictly

Junior Member
Messages
76
Blueflash said:
Wasn’t even aware of that until I googled it just now, but yeah, that looks the business!
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For inside the subframe after the costing above I would use bilt hamber s50 cavity wax, and after the subframe do the car cavities too!

P.s. does you subframe have holes in the top...If so plug them? I can't see any reason them. I notice them on the original but not plugged them yet
 
conaero

conaero

Forum Owner
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34,688
strictly said:
For inside the subframe after the costing above I would use bilt hamber s50 cavity wax, and after the subframe do the car cavities too!

P.s. does you subframe have holes in the top...If so plug them? I can't see any reason them. I notice them on the original but not plugged them yet
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Exactly this. There are several access points to coat the internals. Personally I use Waxoyl. Yes a bit old school but it still does a fantastic job.

The OEM Waxoyl gun (available from Halfords) comes with pipes with holes in so you can pull and push in to cavities to fully coat them.

When using Waxoyl, make sure you get it hot. I use a catering tea hot water dispenser, but you can use a bucket with boiling water and a heavy rag over the top to keep the heat in. Let it sit baking till it’s runny for a good half hour, replacing the boiling water several times.

If the gun fails to mist properly then it’s not hot enough.
 
strictly

strictly

Junior Member
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76
conaero said:
Exactly this. There are several access points to coat the internals. Personally I use Waxoyl. Yes a bit old school but it still does a fantastic job.

The OEM Waxoyl gun (available from Halfords) comes with pipes with holes in so you can pull and push in to cavities to fully coat them.

When using Waxoyl, make sure you get it hot. I use a catering tea hot water dispenser, but you can use a bucket with boiling water and a heavy rag over the top to keep the heat in. Let it sit baking till it’s runny for a good half hour, replacing the boiling water several times.

If the gun fails to mist properly then it’s not hot enough.
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Top advice as always, i will just add for discussion on the coating itself....Waxoil is a bit old school, it did not do any where near as well as the s50 in these tests.

Compare the results in the Photos or pdf

Click HERE

The results were commissioned by bilt hamber. So you could argue a bias, but a classics magazine yielded similar results. I saved the article but can't find it at this moment in time.

I use lanoguard for a general coating underneath , this has not actually had any salt spray testing that I know of.
 

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