Another Antipodean

[rotorheadcase]

G'day everyone,

I'm another new member from Australia and have just purchased my first Italian "supercar" a 3200GT. I'm still waiting to take delivery of it as it's coming over by train from Melbourne to Perth where I live. My other drive is a Porsche 911 Carrera 4 which I've had for a 5 years but is now provig to be a little too hard core for me to use as a daily driver. I spent a lot of time and money on setting it up for fast road and track use and now I need something more refined and "special" for weekends and lazy days.

Its a 2000 automatic in special order Ferrari "rosso corse" and a beige interior. The previous owner has not driven it much so it only has 47k kilometres and in great condition. He agreed to do the 50k service prior to me purchasing it so I'm well pleased.

Maseratis are a real head turner here in Australia as there are so few of them. The down side is that there are no active clubs and very few good indie garages who can do a good job without gouging you in the eye with the cost.

I look forward to participating in the discussions once my car arrives and I can offer an informed opinion!

Regards,

Neil

 

[conaero]

Neil welcome!

We on here know the foibles of the 3200 very well so if you are handy with the spanners can instruct you with any issues you might have.

Now you have made an excellent choice with the auto it works really well with V8 turbo engine.

There are 2 main problems with the 3200. The throttle being the first. If it plays up get it swapped out for the contactless system that Boomerang/Luuk on here does. The second is crankshaft endfloat wear but it's very unusual in the auto.

Any questions fell free to ask and look forward to seeing some pics.

 

[reservoirfrog]

Hi Neil
welcome aboard, glad you found us and hope you enjoy our forum.

Rob

 

[lozcb]

Welocome Neil , ditto what Mat said , loads of info and help on here re the foibles , great cars once their ironed out , well worth doing the contactless t/body and pedal pot that will cure 99% of most likely faults , after that their pretty rock solid and robust , feel free to ask as and when , hope you enjoy your stay , your input is more than welcome

regards loz

 

[Andyk]

Welcome Neil to a very exculsive club...Maserati ownership....Hope you get all you need from the forum. Great car you've bought in a lovely colour combo....Make sure you post some pictures if you get time.

 

[rotorheadcase]

Thanks so much for the warm welcome!! I have to say that going through the other posts on this site, it has a great feeling of cameraderie amongst the members. There is certainly a depth of knowledge and information here that has already enlightened me on a couple of issues. I plan on doing the throttle pot fix as soon as it arrives and will look at the throttle body refurb in the next six months as a preventative step.

Early plans are replace the stereo with a Becker Grand Prix, paint the wheels grigio mercuri and then drive, drive, drive!

I'm reasonably handy with a hammer and have done most of my own maintenance on the 911. A far simpler car albeit but I have bonded with the car as a result and as most of you know there is no better feeling than solving a problem on the car without resorting to paying someone else for the privelige!

I only have a couple of photos from the PPI but I will post more when it arrives.


Regards,

Neil

 

[conaero]

She's a beaut!

You are wise to just bite the bullet and upgrade the TB from the start, it will make for an easier ride. Becker GP great choice IF you can find one go used on eBay if you can.

 

[rotorheadcase]

Thanks Matt,

I did the usual trawling of eBay worldwide and in the end decided to buy new. After a false start with a UK based store, I found the unit with the green screen on a Swiss based website. It was £350 but whatya do?? To buy one in Oz is nearly £700 and you get whatever colour they have in stock.

Do you have any ballpark cost of the throttle body upgrade? I couldn't find anything using the search.

Regards

Neil

 

[Parisien]

Hi Neil, welcome onto the premier Maserati forum in the known world.....IMVHO........

Be sure to make contact with the other guys from Australia on here, pick some of their brains and see if you can find out if there are ANY good indies out there!

Good luck with the up-grades, there are lots of very knowlegdable 3200 guys on here to help out.

Regards,

P

 

[Parisien]

PM the guys Conaero mentioned, they will bring you up to speed.

Boomerang/Luuk


P

 

[GransportFan1]

welcome neil, lovely car you have there in a rare colour. Welcome to te fold and enjoy.

 

[ENZ525]

Hi Neil,
Welcome to the forum,
bet you cannot wait for delivery day,
get practicing that big wide grin, it will come in very handy...
Thanks for posting the pics, she looks fantastic
Regards,
ENzo.

 

[Andyk]

Just lovely in red...and not many about in that colour...Good choice.

 

[Dan!]

Welcome, looks like a lovely motor, look forward to more pics once you take delivery.
Dan

 

[dem maser]

i can help you with the throttle if you want prices and what i paid just pm me, i can say that ever since i did it i loved driving every minute and nothing has gone wrong since so that was te answer to the problems these cars can have

 

[Parisien]

i can help you with the throttle if you want prices and what i paid just pm me, i can say that ever since i did it i loved driving every minute and nothing has gone wrong since so that was te answer to the problems these cars can have

A good confidence building post Dem.....for the 3200 and one of its known weaknesses....repsect!


P

 

[rotorheadcase]

Thanks for that Dem, it really is nice to have a success story on which to hang my hopes. It is with a fair amount of trepidation that I went for the Mas. Whilst I have the means to deal with the odd unexpected repair bill, like everyone here I don't have a money tree at the bottom of the garden.

I pm'ed Luuk and will send him the throttle body to get the upgrade done before the problem comes up. Nothin worse than getting stranded on the side of the road or going into limp mode on a Friday in peak hour traffic.

Neil

 

[Emtee]

Hi Neil and a belated welcome to the forum.

You've joined a growing group of owners from Oz. Those that I can think of are Cavalier, Adam01, OzzieAl, Howie and PHRA, but there may be others also. You never know, maybe there's the first Sports Maserati Australian meet on the cards?

Hope you enjoy your car.

Cheers, Miles.

 

[lozcb]

Thanks for that Dem, it really is nice to have a success story on which to hang my hopes. It is with a fair amount of trepidation that I went for the Mas. Whilst I have the means to deal with the odd unexpected repair bill, like everyone here I don't have a money tree at the bottom of the garden.

I pm'ed Luuk and will send him the throttle body to get the upgrade done before the problem comes up. Nothin worse than getting stranded on the side of the road or going into limp mode on a Friday in peak hour traffic.

Neil

Believe me Neil , that will be the best decision you have made after deciding to purchase the red beast , once that throttle body has been done , 99% you'll be home free so to speak , Luuk will probably advise on the pedal pot aswell but its a simple thing to do , other than that we'll expect some pictures soon as she's in your care enjoy and keep us informed of your experiences , such a thrill coming your way , you'll have a grin a mile wide everytime you drive it

regards loz

 

[rotorheadcase]

Thanks Loz, it's been an impatient wait for it but it should be here on the 15th all going well. I took the opportunity of having the dah top recovered as it was beginning to lift and bubble.

To be honest I've got a fair few home handyman jobs on the go at the moment and not having a red distraction means I stand a good chance of having them all done before Christmas. I have the wife's parents coming over from Ireland for Christmas so bonding with the Maserati comes a distant second place in my wife's eyes.

Neil