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



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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