1989 Maserati 222

[duncanmartin]

May 16, 2015 12:38:53 GMT Clement said:

Sometimes you're at this point where either you commit for a lot more work and grief for many months to keep the cars, or just simplify and sell stuff.

I know that feeling. It's why I have my Porsche rather than sorting out the Lancia I dragged around with me for 7 years! Too much money and time, and just too much commitment. Change things up and go for what you want (the Cortina estate) rather than what you used to think you wanted!
Cheers
Duncan

[Clement]

I've been in awe of the estate since I discovered it has a flat-folding backseat I want a mk1 1500 pre-airflow so that might take a while to find, but with the funds from the Alfa it means I could get it nice and low on coilovers with a souped-up engine... Hmmmmmmmmm

It came to my mind that I'm not learning mechanics because I love that, but rather because I want to drive my cars understanding how they work, and without spending fortunes on them. From then on the motto is easy: simplify.

[Clement]

Broke the front bumper the other day (it was on its last legs already, I've sorted a used one that should be on the car in a couple of weeks)




Check out that workshop spaaaaaaaace






Luxury.


Changed the fusebox


Didn't do anything, I can't believe I have the only Biturbo on Earth without fusebox issues.








That doesn't look too bad, but not too good either. The one on the car now is looking slightly smarter though.

Logical following steps:








I'll have two reconditioned items tomorrow for lunch and will try to get them on the car by the evening.

If all is well, I might drive it to Montpellier on Thursday to meet a friend with the 222, because on Friday we're taking his RX-8 to the shores of lake Como at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este

[The Jackeria]

That's a shame about the maser, but onwards and upwards (also a shame about future plans to get rid of the alfa, I think they are great!) Shame I cannot afford one even if I sold my 20vt golf mk2!

[Clement]

Remember that post about a lot of grief? Yeah, well, the Forester has presented me with a very nice head gasket leak. Which means engine out.

Which would be stupid to do without replacing the timing belt, water pump and the clutch at the same time. Which costs plenty of moneys, so I can't do it right now.

But I need a car. Enter the Maserati again: last week I replaced the starter motor and alternator with refurbished items (which cured both the starting and charging issues), the fusebox with a known good one, the only problem left is that I didn't change the intake manifold seals, so they leak boost. I'll do it asap.

As soon as that effing Forester is fixed, it'll fly out the door never to be seen again. They fetch good money and I got it cheap, so it should work out ok.

If I have to choose between keeping a ropey Forester and a ropey Maserati it'll be the Maser every time. It was already hard enough to be on the shores of lake Como surrounded by beautiful landscapes and houses and women and cars driving a broken Subaru, the thought of selling my beloved smile machine was too much to bear.


Months of grief it is then.

[georgeb]

Excellent news. Well, not excellent in the Subaru context obviously, but I'm liking the decision making process.

[goldnrust]

I'm sorry to hear of your Subaru woes, but like George I'm pleased to hear that the Maserati is staying Hopefully once you've done a few more miles in the old girl, and sorted that intake seal, it'll be well shaken down and will just do its job of working for a few months for you!

[Woofwoof]

Sorry to hear about the Forester, I understood the engines were more or less bulletproof, possibly lack of coolant changes? So, the Maser stays, good stuff. Every cloud has a silver lining as they say...

[lamsdale]

Great to hear the Maserati will stay. Life on here would be dull without it. I've always admired them, and as a lifelong Alfisti they've always seemed to me to be like an Alfa's big brother. Good luck with it!

[Clement]

Thanks for the kind words people. Luckily I commute with a colleague so I don't need to use a car every day, so both this situation and the planned de-Foresterred one are fine.
I don't know what caused the car to overheat, when the radiator started leaking I checked the coolant level regurlaly but seriously, who is the idiot who fitted the Forester with an overflow bottle that says Low/Full? I thought it was an expansion tank, so I was actually losing coolant and the car briefly overheated on the way to my workshop. Without consequences apparently, but the bottom rad pipe was leaking very slightly.

I thought nothing of it until this weekend, in traffic the clutch went all spongy (it does this when sitting in traffic) and the temp was getting high. I managed to find a parking spot and let the car cool down but it's been pressurising the cooling system and puking coolant since.

Still...

[The Jackeria]

Top notch views there and I wish you the best of luck with the Maserati. Driving an interesting car wins every time for me too even if it hardly works.

[Clement]

The issue I was having with the Maser in my previous post wasn't boost leaking, it was just that when putting the car back together after changing the starter motor we forgot to put one small pipe back on. It's the one that connects the intake plenum to the fuel pressure regulator, we are idiots.
So the car was fine all along, and we could've taken it to Italy. Still, I was all set to spend a few hours working on the car yesterday to fix it but instead went for a drive after finding this rookie mistake.















It's now back into daily use and the Forester will be prepared for engine removal in the upcoming weeks. It'll be interesting to do it, neither I or my workshop mate has ever had an engine out before...

[nmretro]

Went to my local Subaru guys the other day (wife has an 08 Imprezza) they had just pulled an engine. I asked them how long it took, they said they laid out all the tools and with two guys it took 42 minutes. Something to aim for.....actually pulling the engine is not a big deal, just take a lot of pictures so you can hook it all back up.

[Clement]

Hahaha if it takes me 42 days I'll be happy! Yeah I'm kinda worried about losing stuff but cardboard boxes, ziplock bags and labels should sort us out.

I have a question for you good people of RR, of excellent taste and passionate spirits through and through. It is about that mangled front bumper of mine.

The one on the car looks exactly like that of the first Biturbos, which is no bad thing.



The thing is, it looks like it's meant to be the same shape as the rear bumper, which looks good too.



The following picture is just gratuitous, because awesome




The issue I have with it is that from the front it looks alright, but from the side it looks like the face of the car is missing its lower jaw.



Later cars (actually, just one year later) have a different bodykit altogether, but the front bumper is the bit I'm interested in









They are 222SEs, I reckon their bumper is a tad more muscular while still being very much in keeping with the lines of the Biturbo.





This one is a Shamal and is entirely irrelevant to the matter at hand, except it's glorious and I had to share.

These are 224Vs:






The dilemma is thus: do I get the regular Biturbo bumper from a friend in France in the next few weeks, or do I wait for him to go to a big parts hoarder in NL in August to bring me back a redesigned item? Pricewise it'll be very similar, and I can't help but think it would improve the overall look of the car.

Another option would be regular Biturbo bumper, but painted grey to mimic the look of the Biturbo Si. The last option combines the first two, and mimics the look of the 224V.

What do you people think?

[mk2polobloke]

Jun 7, 2015 12:55:00 GMT Clement said:

The issue I have with it is that from the front it looks alright, but from the side it looks like the face of the car is missing its lower jaw.


What do you people think?

I agree, the front has the same profile as Gail Platt's face! The later bumper would work really well I reckon.

[grenade]

The Fusebox? Great news on that front. I sold mine for 300 USD and that helped with other stuff like paint. Just a thought- if you had an extra one, you could sell it to fund something else.

Also, the Shamal? Frigging incredibly beautiful car that.
As far as the bumper change, definitely go with the newer style. It'll make the car look a lot better.
I was forced to modify my bumpers because I thought they looked horrible, and there are ZERO parts available in the states for these things. I

Yours is so cool that you get to actually use it and it still has it's factory parts. That is an accomplishment in itself!
Great thread

[Clement]

mk2polobloke > thanks, the more I see the newer kind the more I like it. I'm wondering if the slightly deeper chin without the deeper sills of the 222SE means I'd get an Alpina-esque look!


grenade > It must be pretty stressful not to know many parts sources where you are. Just in France I know of two or three parts hoarders that can help me with stuff, and I'm not talking about companies. I'm sure you could get some help from MIE or people like that, but at a hefty cost I'm afraid.
As for the fusebox, I don't think I'll sell mine. The one on the car was sold to me for €20 (yes, twenty euros) so I'd feel somewhat greedy selling a worse one for 200 or so. I think I'll do the advised mods to it (doubling certain PCB tracks with wires to help cope with the current) and swap back back in at some point.

It's not much of an achievement to run a 222 like I do, the hard part was getting it legal and learning everything about the car : where to get parts, what can fail, what can be fixed, what can be prevented, where to get advice from, etc. Now I'm just maintaining a basically robust enough 25 year-old car.
If I'm honest, the engine is the best bit in the Biturbo and I'm wondering why you don't see it in many applications. The electrics fail, the body rusts, the suspension was never that good in the first place (quite soft with little travel)*, but from 1985 on the engine is a peach. But then an early carbed car like yours... I can't fault you for yanking it out.



*not that I really care about any of these issues, anyways

[ettorebugatti]

Go for the orginal.

The facelift looks more agressive which is fine, but you need to have the skirts and rear bumper too. Otherwise, you wont get a coherent look from the side. Adding costs.

Money that could be better spend on lows and wheels!

Proof of the pudding:

[grenade]

It's "all good" as they say. Keep it going, it's an inspiration.

[Xenocide]

Love your car and love reading your thread.

I've got nothing to add, just wanted to chime in .