Another 3200 Newbie in West Sussex

[Ian H]

Hi everyone,

Having always wanted a Maserati, I finally closed a deal a couple of months ago to sort the funding.

I have since become a complete nerd, spending hours pouring over the invaluable info on this forum (and a little on the other forum) - and so it is now time to say hello properly!

After seriously checking out 4 or 5 cars, and with good advice from ex forum members, Richard Grace and Mike at Maserati Shed, as of last week I am the very proud owner of a blue manual 3200 with just 29,000 on the clock with a shiny new clutch and rear exhaust boxes.

She is fantastic and I love the car ....

Having wielded spanners fairly extensively in the past, restoring an Austin Healey BN1 and a vintage bi plane, I have started gently to get to know her through sorting filters and plugs and generally poking around. A good friend, who is a car genius and runs a local indie, has now done the CAM belt, a new set of front cooling hoses and a very thorough inspection. With the exception of the a/c condensor and the torsion bar drops links she looks as good under the bonnet as above.

I have really appreciated the shared insights to help get me started and have a couple of immediate questions. I am conscious that on forums newbies ask a bunch of questions which have already been asked numerous times before, and could be tracked down with a bit of searching.
However I haven't yet managed to bottom out the following:


- How do I access the spreasheet with sources of alternative parts which I understand is on a dropbox account?

- Has anyone managed to restore small scuff marks which have removed the leather colouring on the blue/grey seats, either DIY or a good restoration shop down South? I guess the colour match is the biggest challenge.

- Has anyone sourced an aftermarket condensor for the air conditioner or should I just bite the bullet with Eurospares or Dick Lovett (~£330+VAT?)

- The control dials and ash tray lid have a soft touch coating which is peeling off- I could just scrape the remainder off but has anyone found a way to restore the original finish?

- Having read loads of posts, is there a consensus for the best low cost source of pads and discs for the front wheels for normal (fast) road use.
Does it mater if you use a different material front and back since I do not intend to change the rears (yet!)?

Sorry for all the questions but I guess that's the point of the forum.

Look forward to sharing experiences whilst managing the new addiction.

Ian

 

[Andyk]

Hi Ian, and a big warm welcome to the forum..Sounds like you are smitten by your 3200......Make sure you post some pictures of her if you get chance. I'm sure some owners will be able to answer your questions.

 

[Ian H]

and here's a photo ....

and here is a photo ...

 

[CatmanV2]

Lovely car.
Not sure dropbox is working properly at the moment. Cobratwin is the 'official' maintainer, but he's missing, presumed Asian at the moment.
As the maintainer of the sheet, if you'd care to PM me a valid email address, I'll gladly pop a copy over. There are three items that I need to add, but I *will* get round to it, I promise

C

 

[BennyD]

Ian (great name by the way), welcome to the madness of Maserati ownership. I spend quite a bit of time down at Gatwick so we may have to catch up for a beer at sometime. There are a few meets down in the London area, in fact there is one at the Ace next Thursday, IIRC, so that might be a good time to meet a few of the guys. Enjoy the beast, I am sure there will be a 3200 owner ot two along soon to answer your queries.

 

[Chrisbassett]

Nice looking car, Ian.

I have the ferrodo pads mentioned in the alternative parts list on my 4200 Spyder and just did a pretty heavy duty track day with lots of hard braking - only had fade once when I tried too hard to get from 130 to 30 in 200m. Most of the time I was braking later than the marker boards they put up for track prep'd cars to use. The pads were great, and all I had was a little smoke to show they were being used properly. On the road, they are excellent.

Others mention more expensive ones, but I've not had a reason to try them yet. Your namesake BennyD drives hard and uses an upgraded version of the ferrodo's, I believe.

Lovely looking car, and it would be great to see you at the Ace next week, even better if you can bring her along too. I'm going to try to get along if work allows.

 

[Ian H]

Thanks Chris
Will go for the Ferodo pads - there are different reference numbers for front and rear and I think I have seen them mixed in various posts.
Does anyone know if the FDB 451 is definitely for the front and FDB 998 for the rear ?
Will also get some new front discs too. The alternative parts list has the Ferrari 550 discs, but list two numbers BDS 5670 and BDS 5671. Is the BDS 5670, which is 330x32, the right one?
Where is Ace and will try and get over? Likely car will still be at the indie waiting for the new a/c condensor and drop links.
Many thanks
Ian

 

[Chrisbassett]

The ace cafe is on the A406 north circular road in north west London.

http://www.ace-cafe-london.com/

There's a thread all about the final meet before Christmas, next Thursday. It's Italian car night, so as well as masers, there should be Fiats, Alfas and maybe a Ferrari will turn up too.

 

[Andyk]

Thanks for the picture ...Love the 3200......

 

[CatmanV2]

Thanks Chris
Will go for the Ferodo pads - there are different reference numbers for front and rear and I think I have seen them mixed in various posts.
Does anyone know if the FDB 451 is definitely for the front and FDB 998 for the rear ?
Will also get some new front discs too. The alternative parts list has the Ferrari 550 discs, but list two numbers BDS 5670 and BDS 5671. Is the BDS 5670, which is 330x32, the right one?

One sec, I'll check my invoice

My front pads:
FDB998
I got from Opie Oils, with forum discount. Can't find them on the site now. Matt is great, but be aware there was quite some lead time on them.

Discs:
BDS5670
http://brakeparts.co.uk/#page=parts...RI&model=550&modelversion=550*(96-)+MARANELLO

HTH

C

 

[Ian H]

Excellent thanks very much will give Opie and Brake parts a bell on Monday.
Have been trying to find after market source for air condition radiator/ condenser.
No luck so far but will try a couple of specialists to see if they can match up the ID off the old unit
Cheers
Ian

 

[CatmanV2]

Excellent thanks very much will give Opie and Brake parts a bell on Monday.
Have been trying to find after market source for air condition radiator/ condenser.
No luck so far but will try a couple of specialists to see if they can match up the ID off the old unit
Cheers
Ian

Good luck. I'd look at the Alfa 166, if I were you....
C

 

[hodroyd]

Hi Ian H,
A warm welcome and the 3200 you have is a really nice beasty by the look of it. A big list of questions, if you enter these in to the search box (top right), one at a time of course, I think you will find answers to your list, hopefully? I remember threads on most of the topics. We have fitted the F550 discs on our 3200 and they are excellent. If you fit these, paint the hub section first in silver heat resistant paint, they stay looking fresh.
Cheers
R