1989 Maserati 222

[Clement]

ettorebugatti > the front bumper doesn't have such a deep chin so it might look alright with the sides. When I look at the pictures above I find that if anything, it's the skirts that look too deep. Also, the 222 has a more rounded front than the Biturbo: the edges of the grille, wings and bonnet are rounded instead of sharp.
In case it didn't work, I'd still be able to sell it on for good enough money I reckon. The friend who goes to the Netherlands to fetch parts told me he'd bought a bonnet, a pair of front wings and a front bumper from a 224V for €175! Compared to the €120 I'm being asked for a regular Biturbo front bumper it's very reasonable.

Wheels will be bought pretty much the day the Forester is sold on.

grenade > thank you very much! With the dollar being high and all that, it could almost be doable to import a good 222 from Europe

Xenocide > thanks, it means a lot!

I can't believe how positive the general reaction is to this car. A year ago when I bought it, the feedback I had was:
- everyone on the interwebs hated it, apart from the few who absolutely adored it
- my then-gf thought it was ugly

So I thought I'd be on my own in this, just having fun with a car no one understood. I was fine with that, it's a lot more fun when you can share but it'd have been a shame to miss out on such an opportunity just because nobody cared.

Lo and behold: one year later, saturday evening I was at a bbq party and I took people for a ride because they loved it. Three times (and two have called dibs on a ride for next time). Colleagues at work ask me about it and find it cool. Neighbour across the street complimented me on it when I took it out of the garage the other day.
I can't believe how bad the reputation is among the people "in the know" when you compare it with the reality of how the car drives and feels. I'm sure a Ferrari 328 isn't too far off in terms of reliability and complexity, or even performance, but it costs 20 times what I paid for my car.

Next issues to sort: HVAC not working (I hope it's just a relay), all wheel bearings (have the bearings, need the seals), some play in the steering rack (they all do that sir), and a corner of the windscreen surround is starting to rust.

[duncanmartin]

Price has no bearing on performance or coolness. A fully functioning good condition 924 turbo is worth less than any 911, any condition!
I love your car - I've loved it from the start! I like Forresters (mainly the STi version), but the maser is just awesome.
Cheers
Duncan

[accord83]

Clement, you might find this interesting, a guy trying, and succeeding, in getting a Shamal into the USA. Cheers John.

blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2015/04/22/importing-a-maserati-shamal/?refer=news

[darrenh]

brmm brmm noises

[totti]

Hi,mate!

The Maseratti is a nice car.....but it's a DIVa,too!Do you think this car is man enough for the journeys you like?You know what i mean......

Even the Subaru let you down...what a shame!

Simply is better.....believe me!

Anyway...your old Cortina brings me and my girlfriend without a single problem to Elba!









Or Siena.....





Puhh....need some wash...




Cheers

[Clement]

Many thanks duncanmartin ! accord83, indeed that's quite a feat that this guy has accomplished. I'd love to just drive around in California and come across a Shamal on old French plates
darrenh , I need to find that pic in hi res and have it printed as a poster, it's perfection itself!

totti , this sounds like the coolest roadtrip imaginable. Looks quite sunny there too It's really a credit to you that you use it so much after putting in so many hours, most would be afraid to scratch the paint or dent the wing... That wee Cortina has done more kilometers between the spring of 2011 and the spring of 2015 that between 1964 and 2011!! For longer roadtrips like that the Alfa will be the better choice I reckon, I *just* have to finish restoring it first...

[79cord]

Not a fan of the later frt bumper, looks too much like BMW e30 & looses the edgy pointyness of the Biturbo.. but I think the 224 side skirts look awful too with their 'soft' detailing not matching the rest of the car. Minor design facelifts are rarely better than the original.
Worth trying though.

[Woofwoof]

Keep it standard Clement, spend the money on performance mods. Mind, I got to say I really like the five stud wheels on the later models. 

[Clement]

[georgeb]

By heck, that's sounds well!

[Clement]

Thanks, but stainless steel tubing might be hurt in the process of making it sound even better. It's quite rorty at idle and low revs but it doesn't howl enough at the top end!

But for now, let's investigate why the HVAC system hasn't worked for months


These three relays control the entire system apparently, and they seem fine. I haven't tested them, but they don't look burnt out and their connexions don't suffer from any oxydiszation. I have to say, the wiring loom inside the cabin looks in very good condition throughout, apart from one grey wire that's seen a LOT of heat, but it looks to belong to the radio system so it may well have been from a dodgy installation.

Here's the socket that plugs into the HVAC command box, highlighted in red are the connexions that get 12V when the car runs:


Since the buttons on the face of that box are lit up when the lights are on and I get some power from the loom, I doubt that the problem comes from the wiring loom itself.

Here's what's inside that box:
recto


verso


recto


verso


Some stuff does look to have overheated in the past, especially one component.










Could anyone tell me what kind it is?


Here's a random number that I thought might be useful



I hope it's that burnt out component that's the problem, otherwise my suspicions would go towards that tactile keyboard. And that's €90, whereas I'm sure that component can be had for buttons!

edit : I've been told it's a diode, and the internet gives me the reference 1N4005. It costs 36 eurocentthingies. I like that.

[goldnrust]

mmmm love that v6 sound! Gonna be awesome with a nice exhaust on there,

As you've already found out, it's a diode, very cheap and simple to get hold of. Looking at the way both the soldered joints appear to be broken, it mist have got pretty warm!

I wish you the best of luck, but I fear there could be many more damaged components, that ripply texture to some of the tracks on the underside of the board looks like it could be heat damage also?

I guess the other question is, why has so much current/heat been put into this circuit? If that isn't fixed then it's only a matter of time before the circuits are damaged again.

[ettorebugatti]

Connections behind LCD looks burnt to me.

Maybe just resoldering the bad point could be enough.

[Clement]

goldnrust > I've been told that sometimes the heater valves can get stuck, so that might be a reason for an electrical circuit to get hot? I've got friends who are into soldering and that kind of stuff so I'll just get them to show me how it's done Tbh if there are indeed many damaged components I don't mind testing them, because at 36cts a pop I can replace quite a few before attaining the asking price for a used control box (around €200 minimum). Also, it was working until October so it has worked for 25 years and 65000km, if the repair lasts as long I'll be a happy bunny!

The engine sounds a little like a flat-plane V8 I think, it's not the most refined noise but somehow it really fits the car. Still needs more of it though.


ettorebugatti > yeah isn't it weird that a simple LCD dial would get hot? We'll see if soldering those components properly sorts things out, I really hope it does.

Woofwoof > I've got a crazy dream, finding a crashed Quattroporte IV or Ghibli or even a simple 222E/SE and taking its subframes. They have much better front suspension:

The front suspension of the Karif was fitted with the new 'Mecannica Attiva' suspension system developed by Maserati. This mechanism used a system of interacting levers that ensured the front wheels not only remained completely square relative to the road surface, but that the lower supension and steering arms always remained parallel giving greater stability on cornering. Braking was upgraded with the use of floating calipers and ventilated discs.

www.maserati-alfieri.co.uk/alfieri34.htm

and some have a better rear diff as well, along with a rear ARB. It's supposed to be a bolt-on upgrade, and would be a very very good occasion to renew the suspension entirely: bushes, shocks, the lot. Selling parts on would fund part of the work too.


79cord > I'm not 100% either but we'll see. In any case I am not throwing this bumper away, I'll probably try to repair it to keep as a spare.

[Woofwoof]

Jun 13, 2015 16:05:29 GMT Clement said:

Woofwoof > I've got a crazy dream, finding a crashed Quattroporte IV or Ghibli or even a simple 222E/SE and taking its subframes. They have much better front suspension:

The front suspension of the Karif was fitted with the new 'Mecannica Attiva' suspension system developed by Maserati. This mechanism used a system of interacting levers that ensured the front wheels not only remained completely square relative to the road surface, but that the lower supension and steering arms always remained parallel giving greater stability on cornering. Braking was upgraded with the use of floating calipers and ventilated discs.

www.maserati-alfieri.co.uk/alfieri34.htm

and some have a better rear diff as well, along with a rear ARB. It's supposed to be a bolt-on upgrade, and would be a very very good occasion to renew the suspension entirely: bushes, shocks, the lot. Selling parts on would fund part of the work too.

Now you're talking Clement, that to me seems a far better way to spend money on the car than some non original plastic body trim. 

[yoeddynz]

It sounds great. You'll miss that. I've not driven my viva for a couple of weeks and I'm looking forward to the v6 sound :-)

[PeterA]

Jun 13, 2015 7:56:25 GMT Clement said:

Could anyone tell me what kind it is?

General purpose voltage regulator/protection/rectifier diode 1N4005...

Looks like someones been here before looking at the other pics... previous repair attempt???

Doesn't look blown from the pic, as they normally end up black and cracked when they go... however the joints are dry (dry solder joint)

But for the little it will cost to get a new one, wouldn't hurt to replace it.

EXAMPLE

[Clement]

yoeddynz > I'm not selling it anymore, but if I don't drive it for a week I miss it It's funny how the sound of the Mazda V6 in your Viva is very refined and smooth, whereas the one in the 222 sounds somewhat rough and angry. I guess it's due to the angle of the V and the odd-firing order (I'm yet to find a simple way to explain that to non-car folks).

PeterA > Indeed it is, I bought one on Saturday for 10 euro-cents!! It's not installed just yet, but what you say it does makes me hopeful

Some pics from this past week-end! On Saturday, with a friend and his Spitfire








Then that evening I went to a friend who knows those Maseratis very well, he lent me a Ghibli throttle body to replace my broken original one. Can you spot the difference?


original


Ghibli

This blurry picture shows the Y piece that connects the intake piping to the throttle body. Very poor design that, they cut threads in thin cast aluminium: it breaks and falls to bits, like mine and many others did.

(there isn't that much silicone, there's a rubber seal underneath)

On Sunday afternoon I took the intake plenum off again, I suspect it was the cause for a boost leak that had developed these last few weeks


Took the opportunity to clean it and check the spark plugs

They look perfect, well happy about that.



The first time round (when I'd changed the starter motor) I'd put that red silicone paste onto the original black silicone, without even degreasing anything.



I even took the dremel to it, they look much much better.

Everything back together:


I'm not sure the problem is solved (you really have to be on what for a while to see whether full boost comes or stops just before, and if the boost comes on at the normal 3000rpm or slightly higer). It may well be, the car certainly shifts a lot better between 2700-3500rpm with the larger butterfly valves!

Only problem is, the casting of the upper half of the intake plenum broke in a couple of places when I tightened the screws (I took no special care, I'm an idiot). Some colleagues can weld aluminium, I'll ask them when I next take it apart.

[PeterA]

Jun 29, 2015 18:38:45 GMT Clement said:

PeterA > Indeed it is, I bought one on Saturday for 10 euro-cents!! It's not installed just yet, but what you say it does makes me hopeful

Once you've replaced it, you should get voltage back to the rest of the board/circuits... If it doesn't, then I would look at the next major component inline which would be the voltage transistor/Regulator... bolted to the large heatsink.



Check the specs for it online and get a multi meter on it to check correct input and output voltage!

[Clement]

I haven't even started to work on the HVAC issue, but I went on a small roadtrip instead. Describes my typical ownership of cars pretty nicely!

Basically, Nantes to Hossegor on Friday 10th, and back on Tuesday 14th.


Met up with a friend who owns a cute mk1 Fiesta in Bordeaux on the way there, then a catastrophic breakdown took us 3hrs to sort out (wiring had been messed with, connections weren't connecting anymore, had to get the fusebox out but all turned out well). We arrived at 3:45am instead of about 00:30 but the upside is, when everyone sleeps and the road is a bit wet you can do burnouts.

Then it was mostly that for 3 days








On the way back we stopped in Bordeaux again, at that friend's house to eat some bbq. Hell yeah. Also, he lives in a small castle (because he's its keeper not becasue he's filthy rich, but still).



The journey home was interesting in that we used the car as it was meant to be used: Gran Turismo. Nice flowing A- and B-roads, silly speeds for hours on end. This car is an absolute joy We chose roads where there was no traffic, nice countryside scenery, and drove 50% above the speed limit outside towns for the most part.
I have no idea why we drove that fast, it feels like it's where the car takes you. It doesn't 'breathe' well under 2800rpm so you tend to drive above that but then it does breathe and oh my, other cars look stationary.

Oh and the headliner completely fell off the roof. The foam backing is disintegrating. I should probably go on another roadtrip.

For anyone still reading at this point: would it be complicated to make this car E85-friendly? It's MUCH cheaper than 98-octane stuff, it's apparently better for turbo engines as detonation occurs a lot less, so I've been thinking about it.