Let's get some facts straight - MANUAL TIPO 4200

[F456M]

At the time they were build, the Ferraris were the real sportcars, and Maserati were a fast sporty everyday alternative to a more "sunday car" Ferrari stablemate. To be a business man and drive to and during work, it is nice to use the phone and focus on the conversation and not shifting gears and use a clutch during heavy traffic. I believe that is more important than if it is 1 milli second faster or slower on a track. Who cares anyway? This is a road car!!

 

[Nibby]

That's no different to any Ferrari manual car every built, you just need to let gearbox oil warm up. of course if the gearbox is not fixed to the engine and stuck out at the back it takes even longer!

Dave

Ferrari along with Porsche seem beyond reproach, the Ferrari manual gearbox hardly gets slated only praised for it’s ‘gate’,tread carefully if you call out the ‘long gearing’ on a Porsche, in reality no big deal just like a properly set-up manual or cambiocorsa Maserati 4200.
I guess if your mode of car transport at 17 was a Morris Marina 1.3 your expectations on gearbox quality are not that high.

 

[Oneball]

Ferrari along with Porsche seem beyond reproach, the Ferrari manual gearbox hardly gets slated only praised for it’s ‘gate’,tread carefully if you call out the ‘long gearing’ on a Porsche, in reality no big deal just like a properly set-up manual or cambiocorsa Maserati 4200.
I guess if your mode of car transport at 17 was a Morris Marina 1.3 your expectations on gearbox quality are not that high.

old Ferrari at least always get a slating about being bad when cold and I’m sure the press often mentions gearing bring too high.

I reckon if you drive a Morris Marina you’d be surprised how good the gear change is compared to anything you drive know. It’s the advantage of having the lever attached to the box itself.

Best gear change of any car I’ve ever driven is an MGB.

 

[2b1ask1]

Best gear change of any car I’ve ever driven is an MGB.

I agree, the very short stick was probably something to do with it.

 

[philw696]

The 4 speed box I had in my 3.0S and 2.8i Capri's was a lovely gearbox for sure.
A lot nicer than the 5 speed that followed.

 

[philw696]

The original MX5 1600 was a beautiful gearbox too with the stubby gear stick.

 

[LDM 3200]

The 4 speed box I had in my 3.0S and 2.8i Capri's was a lovely gearbox for sure.
A lot nicer than the 5 speed that followed.

Agree one of my Capri's still has the old 4 speed rocket box the other a 5 speed, the 4 speed is maybe not as practical for journeys as the 5 but is such a joy to use, especially with the quickshift that gives it a real bolt action, nice and close easy to select.

3200 is fine just not in the same league.

 

[Mattmaser]

Interesting piece , although im not sure “the car crowd” are a leading light on automotive investment

 

[allandwf]

I agree, the very short stick was probably something to do with it.

With overdrive switch on the top?

 

[safrane]

And to add weight to FIFTYs argument re value.

2004 Red Maserati Coupe 4.2 V8 GT 2dr for sale for £29,995 in Wantage, Oxfordshire (autotrader.co.uk)

Shame they seem to think its a Porker too... and i'm not sure a statement of 7 services adds to its value as a 18 year old car

 

[philw696]

Looks nice though and for those wanting a low mileage one it ticks that box.
Would like to see how good it looks underneath.

 

[2b1ask1]

With overdrive switch on the top?

No overdrive on mine; mate had the MGC with it though. Mine had air-con of sorts; holes so big in the flor it took it off the road and eventually the thing became a cat hous in the garden with the cat going through the hole in the footwell!

 

[Nibby]

old Ferrari at least always get a slating about being bad when cold and I’m sure the press often mentions gearing bring too high.

I reckon if you drive a Morris Marina you’d be surprised how good the gear change is compared to anything you drive know. It’s the advantage of having the lever attached to the box itself.

Best gear change of any car I’ve ever driven is an MGB.

Try an original Ford Puma, fantastic.

 

[ravingfool]

Let it warm up a bit longer on your drive before setting off

If you read the manual for the 4200 it says you can drive off straight away, no problem

But then read the manual for the F360 it says you have to let the engine and gearbox warm up for 10/15(?) minutes before setting off

It's the same gearbox! Even in neutral the gears are turning as long as you haven't got the clutch pedal pressed down so it will warm up when stationary.

Mine is notchy when cold as well even after being rebuilt.

Well as I said then; if this is the standard for the gearboxes then it's a function of the performance and capability of the technology available at the time.

Not the end of the world but compare to a modern gearbox built to handle that amount of power and you wouldn't expect the same compromise.

It is encouraging to hear that others find the box clunky when cold though. This is something I've heard anecdotally about Italian cars over the years and given that all other things work as I would expect had not worried unduly about it on my car although it is something on my list for the coming months to go over properly when I can get some time for it in the garage.

Obviously I'm gentle with the car upon starting but I believe that it's best to warm up a car through gentle driving not just sitting stationary idling as idling at a set rpm isn't very good for an engine. Everything will warm up quicker under load too which generally reduces wear. The gearbox improves drastically when warm and then performs well.

The standout gearboxes of the past (such as mgb, mx5 as already mentioned by others) we're typically handling much less power and therefore not pushing the boundaries of the available technology of the time whereas the 4200 was a very high specific output and torque for the period and the gearbox strikes me as a bit of a compromise as a result. Not a dreadful compromise though and obviously still (for me) the preference over a CC automated manual.

Now, if I had a CC I'd be much more inclined to feel the car needed warming before any kind of use as without any mechanical sympathy in the automated system I'd be having kittens every time I selected the next gear.

 

[mjheathcote]

Will anyone be inclined to convert their CC to stick (I don't like the word, but the best to understand) in the future. Just like a few BMW M3 CSL owners have done.

 

[ravingfool]

Will anyone be inclined to convert their CC to stick (I don't like the word, but the best to understand) in the future. Just like a few BMW M3 CSL owners have done.

If it's not majorly problematic you could imagine that being the case using manual bits from a broken car following a failure of any of the more expensive cc bits. Although there are so few of any of these cars second hand parts are not cheap whatever you want so probably not going to be a common thing unless someone sees a cheap way to do it with non Maserati parts?

 

[Oishi]

Will anyone be inclined to convert their CC to stick

Much discussion of this over on ML. A few F430s have been converted to true manual, the price difference of 2-2.5x for a gated car is stout.
The extra control, that the clutch pedal gives me, more than makes up for any short comings of the gearbox.

A few years ago, I cut a tire a several miles from home. Late Sunday night and no lowloader available to get her home, I drove the whole way at a slow walking pace to keep the tire bead on the rim. I made it without damaging the rim (tire was toast anyway). Try that with a CC.

 

[CatmanV2]

Much discussion of this over on ML. A few F430s have been converted to true manual, the price difference of 2-2.5x for a gated car is stout.
The extra control, that the clutch pedal gives me, more than makes up for any short comings of the gearbox.

A few years ago, I cut a tire a several miles from home. Late Sunday night and no lowloader available to get her home, I drove the whole way at a slow walking pace to keep the tire bead on the rim. I made it without damaging the rim (tire was toast anyway). Try that with a CC.

That's positively a corner case

C