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As some of you know I collected a 3200 on Sunday after a post popped up on Facebook advertising an unloved 3200 in need of some TLC. At the price point it was a no brainer as Mike Roberts knew the car and had seen it over a 9 year period. It failed its MOT on brake issues, corroded lines, inefficient braking and leaking fluid etc....
The car was collected Sunday and it took some getting out as it had been laid up since September with all 4 tyres flat, a dead battery. We started by hooking up a spare and then tried firing her up but it didn't crank. Suspected starter motor and based on the position in the V it's no surprise they fail especially if there is a small water leak. They were originally designed for small French motors and they are really not up to the job.
The only thing we could do was jump start it but being a little bit forgetful I didn't take the towing eye from my auto 3200! D'oh. A little bit of improvisation with a tow rope around the lower control arm (more on that later) Chris my mechanic friend towed me behind the truck and she jumped into life. I wanted to hear her run basically and it also pretty much proved that it was a starter motor issue and not something more sinister. The Capone stainless steel back boxes sounded really good and there was no smoke at all at idle or under load.
Managed to winch her onto the truck and off we went on our merry way.
The next step was to inspect the car under an MOT ramp with all the weight on the wheels as you probably know that I feared the inevitable.
And yet Maserati deny there was ever a problem with the quality of the control arms. I think this one is seconds away from disaster and the MOT tester missed out on it.
Still 1 out of 8 isn't bad considering this car has been sat for some time and resided in the salty air down on the South Coast
The main extent of the rusting on the underside of the vehicle is surface corrosion and really is nothing which a good wire brush and schwartz won't fix.
only 1 of the brake lines was corroded and that has already been replaced with a copper pipe and brakes have been tested as working (but inefficient). A full set of discs and pads will be done on the car prior to MOT test.
The car is booked into the body shop for repairs to rust around the offside rear arch and will have a respray to the rear quarter and boot lid.
Whilst the wheels were off I cleaned up the wheel bolts on a wool grinder machine.
Next up was to change the starter motor for a Bosch reconditioned Valeo Motor
Everything was going swimmingly until 1 of the 16 hex bolts securing the inlet manifold rounded out . This stopped the job dead in its tracks and once the offending item is out the starter motor can be replaced.
Jobs to do:
Starter Motor
Fit 4 new tyres
Discs and Pads
Front offside lower control arm
Paintwork
The car was collected Sunday and it took some getting out as it had been laid up since September with all 4 tyres flat, a dead battery. We started by hooking up a spare and then tried firing her up but it didn't crank. Suspected starter motor and based on the position in the V it's no surprise they fail especially if there is a small water leak. They were originally designed for small French motors and they are really not up to the job.
The only thing we could do was jump start it but being a little bit forgetful I didn't take the towing eye from my auto 3200! D'oh. A little bit of improvisation with a tow rope around the lower control arm (more on that later) Chris my mechanic friend towed me behind the truck and she jumped into life. I wanted to hear her run basically and it also pretty much proved that it was a starter motor issue and not something more sinister. The Capone stainless steel back boxes sounded really good and there was no smoke at all at idle or under load.
Managed to winch her onto the truck and off we went on our merry way.
The next step was to inspect the car under an MOT ramp with all the weight on the wheels as you probably know that I feared the inevitable.
And yet Maserati deny there was ever a problem with the quality of the control arms. I think this one is seconds away from disaster and the MOT tester missed out on it.
Still 1 out of 8 isn't bad considering this car has been sat for some time and resided in the salty air down on the South Coast
The main extent of the rusting on the underside of the vehicle is surface corrosion and really is nothing which a good wire brush and schwartz won't fix.
only 1 of the brake lines was corroded and that has already been replaced with a copper pipe and brakes have been tested as working (but inefficient). A full set of discs and pads will be done on the car prior to MOT test.
The car is booked into the body shop for repairs to rust around the offside rear arch and will have a respray to the rear quarter and boot lid.
Whilst the wheels were off I cleaned up the wheel bolts on a wool grinder machine.
Next up was to change the starter motor for a Bosch reconditioned Valeo Motor
Everything was going swimmingly until 1 of the 16 hex bolts securing the inlet manifold rounded out
. This stopped the job dead in its tracks and once the offending item is out the starter motor can be replaced. Jobs to do:
Starter Motor
Fit 4 new tyres
Discs and Pads
Front offside lower control arm
Paintwork
