Sportsmaserati Forum Project....feedback needed!

Parisien

Parisien

Moderator
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34,927
Paco, thanks for the feedback..........as most of the guys already own newish Maseratis...the appeal of a depreciating GT, might not be quite the same!

As in my first post, a car that needs some work, therefore value added, appreciating too would offset any percieved loss if any during ownership.....yes, we'd need to agree numbers of share owners etc

If stored for 3 plus months, leaves it around 3-4 weeks per share owner( if 8-10 people), enough to cover weeks away or long weekends or events through the year. Maintenance can take place during the winter months, servicing as and when.

As regards miles, those who rack up most contribute most so we could have a sliding scale of annual costs responsibilities, make it fair for all.

P
 
Paco

Paco

New Member
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490
I have taken a bit of a personal aspect on it, haven't I!!!

I think I would want a good idea of the limit to my downside potential before getting involved, and the downside potential on a classic Maser is considerable. If you are buying something to improve then it requires a capital outlay beyond the purchase cost, and you can't limit that potential capital outlay because you can't be certain what the cost of the work will be, nor what else might happen. Say we buy a Sebring that has tired paint and interior and £6k is budgeted in the original plan but then it throws a rod on the way back from the trimmers.... gulp. We'd all be bunging in another couple of grand...

I realise the same could happen with a modern, but I prefer the odds!

The trick will be keeping it simple.

Now, if we all bought the Dino Spider I found in the US......!!
 
Gullible

Gullible

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732
I think that the restoration of a classic car would be more of a posative publicity stunt for the sport maserati forum members,than doing some form of retro fit engine and custom car project.(no offence)
If we start to cobble together odd bits and pieces to cars that were never meant to take the torque or G forces of a modern engine then we may well be asking for trouble in safety let alone insuring a custom one off oddball bits and pieces carand the astronomical costs of maintaing such an oddball car.
I also think that limiting the car to a few "select" members is kinda counter productive to our community and as a forum proposal it should be something for all and not just a select few otherwise just call your mates and ask them if they want to do this and forget the members of the forum...
I for one would be more than happy to resurrect any car that we collectivly agreed was worthy of restoration by a series of votes based on available funds and would not need to drive the car or anything else really but would be happy to have been a part of a classic restoration and own a share in the car.
Sure some will do the work and some will pay for the privalage but then thats the way it will be due to location limitations
Then when done we could sell it to a collector or enthusiast and use any money made to either return to the "investors" (win or lose)or perhapos even better.. to finance another project maybe of a different era.
I think the original idea was to stop some of these cars from being scrapped (like in the utube USA Car crushing video posted on here)and this was something that i felt strongly about.
Sure it would be great to all chip in for a trofeo for track day fun but with the varying degrees of driver skill ...how long will the car last and how costly the day to day running and repaires?.
I am happy to fund £5k towards an equal share on a car that we all agreed was a financial investment (in that we couldnt realistically lose too much) and that may ultimatly start at say a bora and with luck one day be the restoration of a 300s or something.(i know its "high hopes" but everything starts somewhare and if done well ends up somewhere far better!)
 
Andyk

Andyk

Member
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61,165
Parisien said:
Not quite classic enough AndyK...!


P
Click to expand...

Sorry Frank thats not the link...How the **** did that come up...Let me see if I can find the one I meant....I'm a **** some times...You're right not classic enough.
 
Gullible

Gullible

New Member
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732
I saw that one on the bay but thought it a little bit "uninspiring" and as a potential investment would have to bow to anothers wisdom..still its not something i would see being concours for less than £25k so the question is is it worthy?
 
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Gullible

Gullible

New Member
Messages
732
Parisien said:
Just a little too much to do guys......................

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1975...iewItem&pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item27b3cc5748


Even in this state guys...................................sorry............but..............its still magnificent.....if you know what I mean....................


:(


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Click to expand...

I agree there is something almost ephemeral and timeless about this car but its a bit on the "wrong side" of the rust line for me.
I mean a neglected and physically challanged car is interesting but established rust and missing bits of bodywork are perhaps a little bit too far gone.
I do not know what the enthusiast expects of a car but originality is i believe the major criteria for interested parties(like numbers matching chassis and engines etc...)
I have no doubt that the interior of that car can be redone and that even the body work could be restored but at what cost?
 
conaero

conaero

Forum Owner
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34,632
That is a beautiful car not too bad price neither, but I can spot a few items that have been glossed over, like the dash cover.
 
Khamsin433

Khamsin433

Junior Member
Messages
414
Frank,

Been reading both threads, and it seems that there are several ways to go. I think first an agreement needs to achieved as to what kind of project the forum members want to take up. Restoration, running club car, track day etc. Only then should potential projects be sought. I can see where you are coming from in terms of restoration projects with the examples you've been uploading. It kinda fits in with my likes in that the motors from the 60's and 70's would be what I would look to. I think it comes from what you read about when growing up and those images are fixed in your mind.

I also like the idea of saving these cars and maybe moving on to new projects financed by the earlier ones. All comes down to trying to get agreement on what the aim should be. But how many could say that they've had access to most of the great models made by Maserati, a way of experiencing without total ownership maybe could help decide which way potential buyers wanted to go. I brought my Khamsin for the way it looked, the rest is all noted on paper in reviews and lists. Not disappointed at all as I never went into it with my eyes closed. The fact that after 5 years of ownership and very little driving I've eventually had to accept the fact that the engine needed rebuilding is not counting against it. After all it took pride of place at the top of the range in it's prime and I love it.

Personally speaking a Merak would be a good starting point, numbers made help in finding parts. We know of a few that have been broken up recently, so missing parts such as transaxles etc could be had. Probably the cheapest outlay to purchase, but with as much capital needed to restore. Unless someone has taken up the work already, rust is always going to be an issue with cars from that period. Also the skills available in the forum would need to be assessed to see what we could do ourselves and what needs farming out as it could be considered in terms of the financials. Sebrings are getting pricey, Ghiblis are a favourite with all usually (me too), but are getting a bit heavy in terms of price. For some reason a lot of Mexicos are coming on the market, subtle looking but none the less a nice car. 3500's again are pricey as are Bora's (never see project cars these days), been some Indy's up recently which can be very nice cars to enjoy. Then you have the various quattroportes to consider.

So after all that rambling I think the target needs to be agreed before considering the whole organisation legals etc, so that when the right car comes up it can be grabbed.
Hope I didn't offend anyone with my thoughts above.
 
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