Refurbishment of my Maserati Mexico

[The Surveyor]

Mexico074 said:

Hello Paul...

Just a quick note to let you know I sent you something on Monday. I have absolutely no idea
when it will arrive. In it, you should find two window winder gears and a bunch of 1982
articles on the Maserati Mexico. You may already have these articles, but thought I would
send them to you anyway!

Mike

Package arrived Mike.

Those window gears are beautifully replicated and I'll put them in when I have the window gear out sorting out the limit switches. Still waiting for the DVLA to sort out a UK registration so the Mexico isn't getting much use, but the sun is out today so I may well give it a run.....

I hope yours is coming along nicely and thank you again for sending those gears out. Very much appreciated.

Paul

[The Surveyor]

Good news, those jolly nice chaps at the DVLA have today issued my Mexico with a V5c, time to get some lovely number plates made up. JSA 439G is born.... Happy days

[The Surveyor]

I've fabricated a radiator cowel so let's see whether that help keep her cool.

[The Surveyor]

Evening Mike. Sorry to hear about the brake fluid issues. I had all the brake parts on mine refurbished by a UK company called 'Past Parts', callipers and master cylinders as well as the two boosters so everything is original, but operating like new.... Hopefully!



The air filter housing on mine takes an oval filter element and the housing is the same as this one:- http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C549542# , the one with the snake shaped filter element is also right as I've seen both filters been sold as 'Mexico' filters. I'm not sure which ones were correct for the early cars like yours but it certainly would work perfectly fine.

I took mine out for its first proper run today, 250 km round trip to test drive a possible new car purchase. The Mexico ran well and seemed very comfortable trundling along at 100 - 140 kph. There were a couple of strange noises which suggests there is a slipping belt on the alternator, or something but there and back in comfort and with a big smile on our faces. Happy days.

Paul

[The Surveyor]

Finally had some decent pictures taken of the Mexico

[The Surveyor]

Thanks guys, the photographs do show it off beautifully.

[The Surveyor]

appletonn said:

Great pictures & that interior is so sumptuous & inviting. Must be a place to spend some time at a cruise

It's a very comfortable place to sit, but not a comfortable driving position, it's very 'long-arms, short legs'. The handbrake is too far away and reading the speedometer in kph takes some getting used too as well. However given that, once on the open road its a joy, effortless at motorway speed and it gets better and smoother the faster it goes. I feel very lucky to own it

Paul

[The Surveyor]

That's great Charles and thank you for updating the register.

Incidentally, do you have the Mexico which is in the GT Room at the Loheac Museum, listed as a 1966 4.7.

http://flickrhivemind.net/blackmagic.cgi?id=135432...

Paul

[The Surveyor]

Email sent Mike.

Loving the Gran Sport

[The Surveyor]

Yes, the Ingleston Revival event in Edinburgh, Craig's lovely R26.R next to it and some old wonky Tamora behind

Good weekend that despite the front puncture.

[The Surveyor]

GC8 said:

Was this the car whose body was squashed by SP?

No. No it certainly wasn't.

[The Surveyor]

mph said:

Dug out some pictures of my old Mexico. Wonder where it is now ?

Looks perfect.

Great colour combination and absolutely pin-sharp. RHD Mexico's are very rare so it's interesting to see the differences under the bonnet as well as in the cabin. Is that still the choke pull just to the left of the clock? or did they move it closer to the driver.

Put another 100 miles on mine today, it's running beautifully although the gearbox is getting noisy in first, was the synchro noisy in first on yours?

Great pictures by the way

[The Surveyor]

Mexico074 said:

Hi Paul...

Just getting caught up here... When you say noisy in first, do you mean when shifting into second, or just driving in first?
Mine always is a little tough going from first to second especially when cold. After the transmission is warmed up, she is
much better. What kind of fluid are you using in the tranny?

Since mine (074) is 4.2L, I am pretty sure the transmission is the ZF S5-20 model. I now have a spare one of these along with
a spare 4.2L engine. What transmission did they use in the 4.7L versions of the Mexico? Was it the S5-325? I always wondered
about that..

Mike

Evening Mike

Mine is the S5-20 model and the shift is beautifully smooth, even when cold it seems to snick around very easily so I may need a different fluid. Any recommendation? The gearbox is whisper quiet in all gears except first, almost like it's got a straight-cut first gear, once it's shifted into second and beyond, it's lovely.

[The Surveyor]

Mexico074 said:

Hello Paul...

When you restored your car, what fluid did you put in the transmission? Also, not to get into a big oil discussion, but what engine
oil are you using?

Take care and hope to hear from you soon!

Mike

Evening Mike

Your Mexico is looking very classy there, nice Fiat Spider too.

As for the oils, I'm using Castrol Classic XL 20W-50 multigrade engine oil and and Millers Hypoid 80w-90 GL5 Gear Oil for both the gearbox and the diff. These were the recommended grades from Opie Oils after I'd sent them the original lubricant schedule from the manual, apparently the closest modern grades to the original spec.

I'll be doing an oil change over the next few weeks including the gearbox so if there are better options, let me know.

How do they compare to the oils you're using?

Cheers

Paul

[The Surveyor]

morris traveler said:

I just found this forum. I am very impressed with the extent of the work being accomplished by the owners.

Since last summer I have been in the process of restoring a recently acquired Mexico (that last ran in 1992) and need some advice. So far, I have taken the car almost completely apart, removed all of the underseal from the entire car, rebuilt the brakes, steering, and suspension (almost), put new seals in the rear axle, had the fuel tanks boiled out and sealed, the radiator re-cored, etc.. I also repaired quite a lot of the rust with only the lower doors left to complete.

But I have not been able to remove one of the lower A-arm shafts to replace the bushings (one came out and is done). I also need to remove the wood fascia on the instrument panel for refinishing, only I do not know how it is held on. Can someone advise me on how to accomplish these tasks?

Sorry, I can't help on the dash removal although I would be interested in a guide on that, or indeed with the removal of the lower wishbone shaft other that the usual guidance with in 'heat'.

However, you can't come on here with such a great sounding project without pictures. Also, is your car on the Mexico register, what's the chassis reference, 4.2 or 4.7, any history, what was it like when you got it .....

[The Surveyor]

Just to update this thread, took the Mexico to Fastlane 2016 at the weekend for a nice little run in the sun. Great day out all round and the car ran very well indeed. Now it needs a new MOT ready for some more summer use







Shamelessly borrowed photos but I didn't have my own camera with me....

[The Surveyor]

morris traveler said:

Paul;

Could you give some details on what it is like to drive your beautifully restored Mexico? I saw that you gave some brief driving impressions in page 21 of this thread but now that you have had more experience with it and I wonder if you have anything to add? For example, how are the brakes, steering effort, clutch feel, etc.? Is there any tendency to overheat in traffic? Also, did you get the AC to work, and if so, how effective is it?

I also noticed that you mentioned that the steering wheel seems too far away; does the steering wheel adjustment make any real difference in this?

Another MOT passed with no advisories which is encouraging.

Driving impressions... the best way to describe it is that it feels like a 1960's car. The seating position is a little awkward around town as it's quite a reach for the handbrake and the brakes are generally lousy compared to modern cars, but once out on the open road it is utterly effortless. At slow speed the brakes tend to grab and squeal which is embarrassing and I still can't get them to properly quieten down. I do think i'll have to get some anti-squeal shims made and give them a try.

The steering is heavy at parking speed but beautifully weighted at anything over 30mph, once the car is settled on a decent road it will cruise happily and anything between 50 and 100 without any fuss, in fact the faster it's going the more settled it feels. 5th gear makes for a very relaxing long distance drive between petrol stops.

The driving position is very 'long-arms, short-legs' so if the 'wheel was adjusted further away from the dash, it makes the handbrake even harder to reach. You just need to settle into driving with you're left foot on the left foot-rest, your right on the 'go' peddle and just let your knees drop either side of the steering wheel. So far it's been very comfortable but we're off to Le Mans Classic next month in it, 1,150 mile round trip so that'll test our stamina! It does ride beautifully so that will hopefully keep things nicely relaxed.

I've not got the AC working as I removed the AC radiator to allow some additional air-flow as it does run warm at times. Again on a run it's spot-on, but the needle does rise when stuck in traffic. The original electric fans both cut-in sequentially as they should but I wouldn't want to be stuck in traffic for hours in it on a hot day. I have taken off the large oil-water heat-exchanger unit and replaced the oil filter unit with a spin-off modern version so I'm hoping that this will allow the water to flow much better. It's a fully reversible conversion so if there is no change I can always go back to 'original'.

They're nice cars to work on aren't they, everything is nicely engineered but rest assured they are lovely things to drive in an 'old-car' way.

[The Surveyor]

Well we made it down from Newcastle to Le Mans for the classic and back without any drama.

Circa 1,200 miles and we even squeezed out 18 mpg on the run up from Portsmouth to Weatherby. Which I was very happy with.

We lost the speedo drive on the way, and used several tanks of fuel and about 1 litre of oil. It was a very hot weekend and whilst it got hot in the traffic, it sooner cooled nicely once rolling again. Most importantly, it looked beautiful both amongst some lovely company on the Pistonheads stand, and on the campsite as the sun sets.

[The Surveyor]

MarkwG said:

Reckon I must have seen you on the M27 this morning, westbound past the Fareham junction around 8am? Only a fleeting glimpse as I was going the other way, but unmistakable (I think )!

Yep, that would have been us, heading into the holdups on the M3. Well spotted

[The Surveyor]

Just as a little update. The Mexico has been advertised for sale for a couple of months and whilst it has generated more interest than expected, no acceptable offers have come in so ive taken it off the market and i'm going to do some autumn refurb work. Some rechroming and get the sticky speedo refurbished and refinish the cracked lacqur on the woodwork.

The first task completed tonight is the removal of the dashboard. Proper PITA job...