http://winstonsalem.craigslist.org/cto/4405294974.html
1981 maserati biturbo
Even better, it's a BiScoop.
At 64k miles, it is one of the high mileage examples making it nearly twice the miles of the average one.
I think somebody slipped and mistakenly put a "1" at the beginning of the price. Possible that "0" on the end as well.
Not quite as bad under the hood as the GRM yellow Miata was, but close. That looks like expensive trouble there.
I can't believe how cynical you guys are. Didn't you read the ad? it's the PERFECT track car!!!!!!
AND it's cheaper than any Subaru (granted, that doesn't count the cost to actually get it running/keep it running).
And as we all know, people who are cross-shopping STis and WRXs always MUST be sure to check out a Biturbo. Because, ya know, they are VERY similar cars. Same age, same drivetrain arrangement, all of that....
NOT A TYPICAL PIECE OF JUNK (really, it's a quite unusual piece of junk).
I also can't say I've ever seen a car posted for sale where the reason for selling is "due to Medicaid"....
All that said, I am really dying for someone on here to finally actually get one of these biturbos, replace every mechanical and interior part from something from another car, and then drive it. Because if there's one thing they do have, it's that Italian style. There's gotta be SOMEONE out there with the skill and perseverence to actually take a biturbo and "make it good".
right?
A very clean and running California example sold on ebay for about the same price back in February.
Given the condition of the black car I speculate the asking price is extremely optimistic.
Personally I don't think I would take that car if it were free. I draw a line in the sand when it comes to the Biturbo.
he is including a couple of plastic shopping bags under the hood... probably for spare parts or something?
how bad would one of those be to swap an LS engine into?
I worked in dealerships for 10 yrs and only saw two of these ever, one was junk the other was pristine. The pristine one ran like a scalded dog though. Took me off the line and kept pulling away till I hit 3rd and I was in an ss camaro.
The hood "scopes" help a driver line up the apex, duh.
Plus, he DID say that you will not find one like this at this price.
My friend has one that is run on track days and autocross. I his words, stock, the car is not a good track car. Lousy handling and non existent brakes. He has addressed these points and more. It now is quite fast.
The US did not get the Biturbo until '84, but it could be a grey market car, not that there would be anything to gained from that. If it is, it would be a 2.0l instead of a 2.5l.
The engine and transmissions are really good, with two exception, carbs suck and the the berkeleying valves are almost impossible to shim correctly, which sucks, because they have to be checked/adjusted every 15,000 miles.
See how the intake valves are driven by the side of the bucket? You have to shim the tops of the valves to be at the same height and then using the same difference shim the bucket to cam clearance. Might not be so bad if you have a wall full of shims like a Maserati dealer did back in the 80s. Even then, it is 16 hours of book time to do the valve adjustment.
The suspension/brakes area combination of BMW parts.
The transmission is really nice, dog leg ZF S5 unit, also used in the BMW 3.0 CSL.
The electrics are't great, but hey, it's Italian. The biggest culprit is the fusebox itself.
The car is nose heavy, moving the battery to the very small trunk will help alot.
The engine sounds kinda awesome with straight pipes to the hear post turbo.
All that said, I'll have another some day.
In reply to m4ff3w:
I have been shot at, stabbed, and rammed with a car.
But you are brave in the face of a Maserati Biturbo in a way that I will never be.
I know that I'm not the first to say this, but I will repeat it every time a Bi-Turbo discussion pops up here; the Bi-Turbo needs a Nissan VQ TT swap.
The turbo Buick V6 would certainly have the power, but I don't think that it would sound right.
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