your thoughts please gents

[3200gt]

I have always loved the lines, but more trouble than its worth? Anyone had experience of these?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dl

Thanks in advance.

Edited by 3200gt on Wednesday 14th June 20:07

[forthright MC]

i've always liked the Khamsin it is a great piece of design no doubt. i would go along and have a look at it first and if it is in good nick i would feel tempted to put a bid in for it.
good luck!

[3200gt]

Do you know there particular weaknesses?

[I HATE GATSO]

You must have trouble with your eyesight, thats one ugly car
IMO

Edited by I HATE GATSO on Wednesday 14th June 20:29

[3200gt]

I HATE GATSO said:

You must have trouble with your eyesight, thats one ugly car
IMO

Says the man with a Fiat Stilo

[forthright MC]

i'd have thought electrics and general build would be areas of interest on any 70's supercar. i would check everything with a fine toothcomb if i were going to buy one and drive it properly. if it is all good then i don't see why it shouldn't be a good solid, dependable old workhorse that you can have some good fun in!

[I HATE GATSO]

OUCH Its a work car, did you really think its my pj

Edited by I HATE GATSO on Wednesday 14th June 21:02

[3200gt]

Be serious, how could one of those be anyones PJ?

I am a probably older than you, and can remember drawing Khamsins and indy's on my school exercise books. Not any Rarri's strangely ? I just like the marque, what can I say, each to there own.

[3200gt]

forthright MC said:

i'd have thought electrics and general build would be areas of interest on any 70's supercar.

At least it something that could be taken apart and put back together again without requiring a degree in automotive electronics and every specialist tool on the market.
They used to use those new fangled nuts and bolts in those days you know!

[I HATE GATSO]

3200gt said:

Be serious, how could one of those be anyones PJ?

I am a probably older than you, and can remember drawing Khamsins and indy's on my school exercise books. Not any Rarri's strangely ? I just like the marque, what can I say, each to there own.

each to their own

PS You must be older than me because ive never heard a khamsin or seen one till now

Edited by I HATE GATSO on Wednesday 14th June 21:20

[andy355]

i think you get it inspected by bill mcgrath or someone. no doubt they will find plenty of work to do. but if theres nothing earth shattering then go for it. there will always be some niggles with cars like that but the smile factor is huge.

not sure if its feasible to get an inspection done on a car on ebay tho as they would want to do it at their garage

[3200gt]

I HATE GATSO said:

PS You must be older than me because ive never heard a khamsin or seen one till now

I HATE GATSO said:

You must have trouble with your eyesight

That is something for you to look forward to then !

Your gonna tell me youve never heard of a Bora or Merak next!

tchh.tchh, youth of today, I don't know. mutter mutter.
edith, where's my slippers and pipe m'darling? and get those lil gits to turn the racket they call music down will ya. Use this place like a bloody Otel they do, mutter, mutter.

[I HATE GATSO]

3200gt said:

I HATE GATSO said:

PS You must be older than me because ive never heard a khamsin or seen one till now

I HATE GATSO said:

You must have trouble with your eyesight

That is something for you to look forward to then !

Your gonna tell me youve never heard of a Bora or Merak next!

tchh.tchh, youth of today, I don't know. mutter mutter.
edith, where's my slippers and pipe m'darling? and get those lil gits to turn the racket they call music down will ya. Use this place like a bloody Otel they do, mutter, mutter.

great post

[3200gt]

Sooooo, does anyone know anything about these? or I guess mr mcgrath can expect a telcon thursday.

[danhay]

To me that Maserati is as least as desirable as a Ferrari from the same era.

The difference is that you can easily get parts for a Ferrari from that era, although at a price.

I think that's one reason older Ferrari's hold their prices like they do?

[sputnik]

This has been on and off ebay for several months now.

Still nice though.

[3200gt]

danhay said:

The difference is that you can easily get parts for a Ferrari from that era

Surprisingly parts for this era Massers are not too bad to get hold of. The suspension and running gear is mostly citreon based. All the pumps etc are still available, just god forbid if you popped a valve or something. The glass is easy enough to get hold of as are the lights.
What I really want to know is the known weak area's. What area's to check etc.

[crikeymikey]

I'd say Bill was your best bet. And the owners club. Odds are the car is known in the club.
Personally, I love '70s Massers. The Bora was the fella I yearned for (along with the Countach, obviously) but the Merak was gorgeous as well.
Sorry I can't help but that looks a nice, cool car.

[aeronut]

3200gt,

As a current owner of a Merak and a 3200gt, I would advise you to proceed with extreme caution. I am also tempted by the very same car and have loved the shape ever since I was taken out in one 25 years ago by a mate's dad. However I get my Merak serviced by Bill McGrath and I have seen a few Khamsins in the workshop - according to the mechanics they are by far the most technical and expensive Masers to work on - the Citroen hydraulics work everything including the steering and they must be in tip top condition (something that can easily be 'hidden' in a test drive for example). For example, as long as the brakes work you may assume the hydraulic pressure is fine, but you may not be aware of a small leak in the system or corrosion in the pipes. Don't forget if the engine goes pop on the motorway you will have to stop the car on accumulated pressure alone so it's no car to cut corners on!!
Parts wise I believe that mechanically most things are obtainable or at least can be reconditioned by McGraths but believe me they will be expensive. As with other Masers of this era the interior trim is very hard to get hold of so make sure it's complete and in good nick.

All in all I would recommend you get McGraths to look it over - it will be worth it in the long run and they will give you an estimate of how much it will cost to be in good usable condition - although it may look great on the surface these cars need to used regularly so there is bound to be some work needed.

If you do buy it good luck and can I have a ride???

Doug

[3200gt]

Thanks Doug,

I thought the acid test for the accumalaters was " run the engine for 5 or 10 mins, switch off and then if they had enough go in them to lift the headlight pods a dozen times" they are in fairly good nick? I know they should be regassed at least every four years so would be looking for a reciept for that also. Do you know if they have any known rust points etc, and if so where and what to look for?
At the end of the day it's a 30 YO car, so I wouldn't expect to be in concours (not if its on ebay anyway!) but it would be an interesting toy to tinker with.
5lt v8 320bhp (say 250 now) it should still be able to slink along nicely though.