wae
wae UltimaDork
5/16/24 12:08 p.m.

This is a pretty cool car, but I just don't have room for it in my life.  It's a running, driving Maserati Biturbo that needs a few things to be considered finished.  This would be the first and only Biturbo to have ever competed at the $2000 Challenge.  But the most important part there is that it is a running and driving Biturbo.  It runs and drives enough to put down a 15.96 in the quarter mile at the Challenge, for example.  When new, Motorweek was able to do a 15.6, and judging by the timeslip, I think my problem was in my launch, so I'm comfortable saying that the car runs pretty well.

In addition to being a running and driving Biturbo, it is additionally rare in the fact that it is a Biturbo E.  That means it's one of 1,480 produced, 1 of 500 imported to the US, and 1 of 250 imported by the east coast importer.  It has the wider 6.5" wheels as well as a lower and stiffer suspension.

The full build thread is over in the build thread section, but the basics are that the car has 55k miles and is solid underneath.  The carb is freshly rebuilt and it has a new timing belt and tensioner bearing.  The brake master has been rebuilt and 4 of the 6 soft lines have been replaced.  The clutch master and slave cylinders have both been rebuilt and the soft line was similarly replaced.  The tires are new, but they're super cheap walmart specials. 

There are a couple rust spots forming and the bottoms of the doors have a little bit of rust forming on them.  I do not know the history of the car, but someone welded new fenders on the front and replaced the hood.  The new fenders are coated in what appears to be some sort of primer and the hood was painted white for some reason and they used a crappy paint for it.  The hood is also not aligned properly so it takes a little bit of poking with a screwdriver to release the right side.  It does close all the way, but I have it only "mostly closed" in the pictures because I was lazy.  The shift knob is missing, as is the emblem on the left C pillar.  The grille is present, but it's the "regular" one, not the special E design.  The steering wheel is present, but it's not the Nardi wheel that would have been standard on the E when it was new.  All of the emissions stuff is long-gone.  The A/C has been removed from the car by a previous owner, and that includes having cut at least one of the lines.  It is a manual steering rack and the rack could use a rebuild as there's a notchiness to it which is likely the bearing that supports the shaft to which the column attaches.  It makes some noise when its in neutral that goes away when you push in the clutch.  No idea what that's about.  The left turbo has a little bit of oil coming through it and could use a rebuild; I bought a rebuild kit for it but didn't have the time to do it before the Challenge.  It's also missing its front bumper.

When I was putting it together for the Challenge, I was very careful not to do anything to the car that couldn't be reversed.  There are a few spares that come with it including another alternator, the original airbox, the A/C condenser, a spare trunk lid, a replacement rubber trim for the bumper, and a few other odds and ends.  The interior has the same fading that every other one has, but the seats are intact and supple and there aren't any rips, tears, or significant staining.  The headliner is drooping a bit, of course, but that's to be expected in these.  It is far from perfect, but it is probably the best starting point for a restoration that's out there.

The title is clean, clear, in my name, and in my possession and the car is located in Elsmere, KY which is a suburb of Cincinnati, OH.  I truly don't know how to value this since it's somewhat rare, but how about we start the bidding with a GRM price of $5,000?

The full gallery of pictures that I have of the car is here.  If there's anything specific you want to see, let me know.

 

Lof8 - Andy
Lof8 - Andy GRM+ Memberand UltraDork
5/16/24 12:32 p.m.

The seats are wildly luxurious!  I know, I sat in them! :)

Colin Wood
Colin Wood Associate Editor
5/17/24 9:16 a.m.

This deserves a bump.

And I agree, that interior looks like a comfy place to be.

03Panther
03Panther PowerDork
5/17/24 3:07 p.m.

The interior looks amazing!

I've heard a lot of compliments to the body style, all lamenting the lack of dependability. But I didn't care for the look in the '80s, and I can't say it's grown on me since blush

Seeing a running one for sale, does warm my heart a bit!

Hope it goes to a good home. 

wae
wae UltimaDork
8/4/24 8:48 p.m.

Sold!

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