Re: Maserati 4Porte <NAC> & Maser V-6's & Citroen SM very little Alfa content

[George Graves <gmgraves@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Friday, August 15, 2003, at 12:26 PM, Bernie Bennett wrote:

> To those who might know/ care / have input:
>
> How is the V-6 in the Bi-Turbo related to the V-6 in the Citroen 
> Maserati (SM).
Aside from the fact that they are both V-6's, I don't believe that they 
have much in common at all.

> Talk about a beautiful and well appointed car. (Too bad / or / Good 
> Thing) I was already hooked on Alfas.
Good thing too. SMs were not well made. Every one I've ever seen has a 
dash so badly cracked as to be irreparable, and unless you know someone 
who can make you a new one, You're out of luck. Also the hydraulic 
system is a nightmare and very difficult to keep running. Maserati 
adapted it for the Merak/Bora (I forget which. One had it one didn't) 
at about the same time, and consequently, those cars have some of the 
same hydraulic problems as do the SM. Parts, I understand, are also a 
problem. They are hard to come by and they are expensive. But I agree 
that they were gorgeous cars, and therefore not very representative of 
Citroens of that era.

> Alfa content. Diana & I met in library school where she was attending 
> with a co-worker who owned a SM. Might not have walked home with them 
> all summer session if not for that car. The co-worker admired my Alfa 
> and Diana and I had our first date rallying in the Alfa. 11 Alfa's 
> later we've got 100's of thousands of (s)miles and are a 3 Alfa daily 
> driver (automatic Alfas now) exclusively family.
>
> Bernie Bennett
> Brenham, TX
>
> ps Alfa Convention and Trip photos are almost fully edited and ready 
> for posting. bjb
>
> George Graves wrote:
>
>
> > Of course, this car has the distinction of being a REAL Maserati with 
> > that lovely twin-cam V-8. Unfortunately, in terms of quality, the 
> > Bi-Turbo or any of it's ilk have little to do with the great 
> > road-going Masers of the 50's, 60's, and 70's. The bodies started to 
> > rust before they even left the factory, the engines are a nightmare: 
> > It's almost impossible to properly adjust the valves (two valves 
> > operating off the same cam lobe and getting the valve lash on both 
> > equal is a horror story unto itself); they are prone to blowing head 
> > gaskets, cracking blocks and heads, and the only source for parts is 
> > some outfit in the state of Washington and they REALLY soak it to 
> > you). An Alfa V-6 in either a GTV-6 or a Milano is a much better 
> > proposition (and, you won't get mistaken for a nondescript Datsun on 
> > the road, either).
> >
> >
> > George Graves
> > GTV-6 3.0 'S'
> > On Thursday, August 14, 2003, at 02:15 PM, alfa-digest wrote:
> >
> >
> > > Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 15:37:20 -0400
> > > From: "josiechris@domain.elided" <josiechris@domain.elided>
> > > Subject: Re: Maserati 4Porte <NAC>
> > >
> > > The Quattroporte continues to fascinate people because it is a car 
> > > that's
> > > supposed to be low-key, yet ironically makes a huge statement 
> > > because of
> > > its size, its opulence, and its name. Modena's favorite son 
> > > Pavarotti had
> > > one. On screen, both Rocky III and Godfather III had one. I have 
> > > dicreetly
> > > watched from behind the wheel as people on the street and soccer 
> > > moms in
> > > other cars do double-takes. You may not know what it is, but your 
> > > eyes are
> > > drawn to it, and yet it is not a "look at me!" kind of car. In terms 
> > > of
> > > design it's left me perplexed: it has a plain vanilla rear end (save 
> > > for
> > > the dual exhaust tips poking out). The front end is very 
> > > intimidating for a
> > > sedan, but take the trident away and most people would probably 
> > > think they
> > > were looking at a big American car from the 70s. There are a lot of 
> > > super
> > > sedans available now, but in the early 1980s it was quite special to 
> > > see
> > > one of these. Several years ago at the Monterey weekend we watched a
> > > procession of Maseratis caravan "at speed" down Highway 1: Bora, 
> > > Khamsin,
> > > Ghibli, Quattroporte (ok, Merak too). The car has a very impressive
> > > pedigree.
> > >
> > > Chris Robyn
> > > SF Bay
> > > '88 Verde
> > > (ex '84 QP)
> > --
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