Maserati Indy

Grant V

Grant V

Member
Messages
242
I sold my Quattroporte V two years ago, but I am a Maserati owner again.
I have been chasing this particular Indy for a few years and made and offer about four years ago, but we couldn't reach a deal. Sadly the owner is now in ill health and I was approached by him to see if I was still interested. we chatted and he accepted a more realistic offer. The problem was that the car was stuck in the back corner of an outbuilding with other cars around it and I could never get in close enough to see the thing.
On Saturday we went to collect it, and thanks to a few mates that were prepared to get down and dirty, we were able to extract the car. It was a massive undertaking - every car moved needed its tyres pumped, and luckily most took air. My mate Bruce brought along tyre jacks, which were a life saver.

























 
StuartW

StuartW

Member
Messages
9,314
Great story Grant and what a car - We named our first dog after this model!
It looks in decent shape too and hopefully you don't get too many nasty surprises but I look forward to following this one - good luck
 
Tallman

Tallman

Member
Messages
1,833
A Gauteng barn find….a red Khamsin was for sale in JHB not so long ago too, I was tempted. Hope you are going to restore and keep it.
 
G

Gooner

Member
Messages
447
Fabulous, and what a great colour. Please post on here as you bring it back to health, and best of luck.
 
midlifecrisis

midlifecrisis

Member
Messages
16,189
I do like an Indy, looks like a later model too. What engine does it have? 4.7?

Good luck with the restoration.
 
P5Nij

P5Nij

Member
Messages
2,444
What a fantastic find and such a nice example by the look of it - always had a soft spot for the Indy, it looks glamourous just standing still. Looking forward to seeing / reading more on this!
 
BL330

BL330

Member
Messages
1,121
Congratulations on your purchase. As motivation here are some pictures of a low mileage Indy owned by the former Maserati dealer in our town. He has promised me a ride in it.

99900

99901

This 4.7 litre example showed up at Auto Italia 6 years ago, with a for sale sign on it. Are they UK plates underneath local historic rego ones?
9990399906
 
Grant V

Grant V

Member
Messages
242
Thanks for the responses and kind words, Gents.

While we were extracting the car, one of my friends took a time-delayed video, which I've edited. It doesn't show all the cars that had to be moved first, one of them a Pontiac StratoChief. Someone said it was a blessing that the engine was missing from the Chev, but I'm sure the engine is the lightest part of this 50s land yacht. What a chore, and a morning's work is compressed into this little video:


On Sunday the Indy got it's first wash in twenty years, which unearthed a number of issues. Alas, the car is not rust free, but has some rust along the edges of both front floors. I will only be able to tell the extend of the rust once I get the car jacked up. The car was re-painted at some stage in it's life in the original gold ('Oro Longchamps' or Jewish Racing Gold) and the paint is cracked and bursting in some places. The worst part is that moisture has got into the car, so the seats are covered in mold and the car stinks of mildew. That's not a usual occurrence in our dry climate, so maybe you chaps that are more used to this have a solution for me how to deep clean and get rid of the smell?

The car looks much better after the wash, and positively brilliant in the photos:







After the car was cleaned, I put in a battery to see if we could turn the motor with the starter, and whether the fuel pumps worked. The pumps immediately came alive and after a few cranks, the car gave a cough and a splutter. I put about 5 liters of fresh fuel into one of the tanks, and after a turn or two the car started!! Wtf?


The Maser will be on the back burner for the moment while I get some other project completed. Maybe I'll post what other projects I'm busy with, as well as some new cars to the garage. However, I think that I want to get the Indy mechanically sorted so that I can drive and enjoy the car for the moment, and then probably do a ground up restoration as a later stage.

I got some info about the car from Maserati Classic:

 
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mowlas

mowlas

Member
Messages
1,732
Thank you for sharing! Absolutely stunning and many congratulations on this project! Looking forward to the updates.

The general consensus for mold removal from leather seems to be a mixture of white vinegar and water… some details here:

nanocareproducts.com

How To Clean Mold Off Leather Car Seats - Nanocareproducts.com

When you need to get rid of mold in your vehicle, you have options. Take a look in your pantry or head to the auto parts store.
nanocareproducts.com

After that you can move onto traditional leather reconditioning products.
 
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