I presume that this is not a UK car as it would not be a 425i. However, basically the advice is the same. Look out for everything! First check service history. Is it complete and who did it? This is a quirky car and a Maserati service centre will have done a better job than an independent garage.
Then check as follows:
1. Assess engine, gearbox, PAS and axle for oil leaks - all are common and most really need to be fixed quickly.
2. Assess axle for noise. It was the achilles heel of the early cars.
3. When engine is hot, let it idle for 10 minutes. Check cooling fans cut in (AND OUT!) and then look for blue smoke from exhaust. Puffs of smoke after prolonged idle suggest turbo bearings have failed.
4. Ask when the cam belt was last changed. Should be done every 24,000 miles or four years. A major service is looming if this has not been done and it is expensive if it breaks.
5. Check over body. There are no particular structural problems with these cars so any corrosion is likely to be visible on the outside. Lower sections of doors, leading edges of front wings and bonnet and edge of bootlid are the favourites. Also look at the outer sill panels which could be holed.
6. Now check for accident damage. The original panel fit on the car was good and so if there are any irregular lines then there could have been a problem. Look in particular at the rear door apertures as a rear impact can cause these gaps to close up. Look at the lower corners of the windscreen where they join the scuttle panel. Any ripples here would suggest front end damage. Look underneath the car at the front chassis legs as they curve under the bulkhead. Any ripples here also suggest front end damage.
7. When driving the car, try to obtain maximum boost. this should mean that the boost gauge goes to the beginning of the orange section on it's gauge. If it doesn't reach this then there may be an MABC problem. If it goes into the red then the car could have been modified and is overboosting. These engines can take a little extra boost but not all the time. It will accelerate wear in the turbos and make the engine breathe heavily (look for oil in the air filter which is the result). Alternatively, excess boost could be caused by a seized wastegate for one of the turbos. Get this checked out by a professional.
8. While driving, try all the switches and electrical items. Even things like window lifters are expensive on these cars and on a four door, this can add up! Check in particular the air conditioning as repairs are similarly expensive.
If you are not able to carry out these checks yourself then ask a friendly mechanic to come with you to look at the car. These cars can be very expensive to sort out if they have been let go, so treat everything as a problem until proved otherwise. The average prices for the 425 (carb car) in the UK are £7,000 for a perfect low mileage car, £4,000 for an average but usable runner and £500 for anything else!
This is not a complete list of all the faults that it is possible to incur on these cars, but hopefully will be enough to get you past the worst of them!

I presume this is a Biturbo (?). The original carburettor cars and Italian injection cars used four bolt wheels. These are quite tricky to find alternate rims for - We have never really tried. I have seen cars fitted with Revolution five spokes and with TSW hockenheims and the stud pattern is the same as Lancia Delta. Basically, your man will have to go to someone like Elite wheels (with car) and have them measure it up. The largest wheels I have seen on a four bolt fitting are 7 x 16, although beware as these rub on the track rod ends on lock at the front.

The 4-stud Biturbo wheels are the same fitting as a number of Fiats (e.g 124 Coupe) and Alfas (early Alfetta).
Janos at Auto Delta [www.autodelta.co.uk] can (used to!) supply wheels to fit Biturbos.

Enrico,
Thanks very much for your reply regarding my wheel "problem".
I will keep you posted as to what I find.
Happy New Year
Matt

"I speak only German, but I try once more. I wish to find new wheels for my Maserati 430. But I don't want the original Maserati wheels. I'm in search of custom wheels with more inches, differently from the original Maserati 15 inch. And now my Question. Do you know a Garage or a private person where they sell such wheels?
Yours sincerely, Marino"

The safest option here is to buy the OZ 7x16 wheels that were fitted to the 2.24v, 4.24v, 222 4v, 430 4v and late Spyder. These are very nice looking seven spoke items and you can still obtain them from Maserati. They suit the car and don't look too non-original.

"Hi my name is Peter, I'm fully reconditioning a set of 3.0 litre V6 Merak head. I have machined up 12 new valve guides, 12 new valves, fitted 12 new inserts. What I would like to know is what the standard valve shims the factory set the heads up at, or what thickness they come in, because I would like to machine the new valves to suit these sizes so the heads go back to standard. Any info would be great."

The shim sizes go from 3.00 to 3.50 mm for inlets in graduations of 0.025mm.
The shim sizes go from 3.50 to 4.00 mm for exhausts in graduations of 0.025mm.
- This info from the Merak parts manual.

Hi Enrico,
Sorry I have not got back to you, the info on the shims was a great help thank you very much.
I live in Melbourne Australia. The car is not mine it belongs to a customer who is restoring the car. I have only got the heads. I work for a restoration company and we restore cars from 1900 to about 1980.
Our work includes body building, fabrication of parts, machining of engine and drive line components and general mechanical repairs. The chap who owns the Merak heads has looked around for about 12 months to find somebody to restore his heads, but because they were so bad nobody wanted to touch them (no one likes a challenge any more).
So once again thank you for your time.
Peter

"I own a 1989 2.8litre spyder. My problem is that under hard acceleration, at about 3750 - 4250rpm, the engine backfires/ stutters/ stammers and loses power. The engine will however rev freely when stationary. Any ideas please?"

If you can advise Graham please let me know!

Rotor arm is the most likely case. Check for burning or pitting on the contacts or track marks in the plastic. If in doubt, change it. Also look carefully at the body ground for the battery. This is located near to the battery, just follow the negative cable and you will find it. Any slight corrosion here means a voltage drop that can affect the ECU (as this is earthed to the body, not the engine). Usually, just cleaning the connection and maybe re-crimping is enough. In severe cases, a new cable should be fitted and is available.

Thanks for the advice. I have ordered a new rotor arm from Meridian which I should receive on Monday.
Later next week I will be fitting it while I do a basic service and I will also be checking the earthing situation.
I will write to you again to let you know how I got on.
Thanks again
Graham

Dear Enrico,
Thanks to your help, my Spyder is now running great. I really really appreciate your help. The only unfortunate thing is, while I was working on the car today I checked and cleaned the body earth and changed the rotor arm. So unfortunately I don't know which one cured it. However it is cured and is again scaring the sh.. out of me at every available opportunity, fantastic!!!.
Thanks again,
Graham

"I was wondering whether you could answer a small query regarding my 1997 Ghibli GT, The car basically runs fine however when the engine is revved from tickover the auxilliary air valve and the boost control solenoid can be heard "chattering" . This is accompanied by a slight hesitant spot until the engine revs higher. A test probe confirms that both components have a constant 12volt feed and it is the negative side that is causing the momentary "drop out". Another point which may be related is that when first turning on the ignition the auxilliary air valve ticks for about 5 seconds before settling, is this normal in your experience."

"I have owned a 1993 Maserati 2.8-litre Biturbo Spyder for 12 months. During this time I have experienced extreme difficulty in FIRING UP THE ENGINE DURING CRANKING.
Example:- engine will crank for up to approx 30 to 60 seconds without firing. I have taken the car to a Maserati dealer and have had their top mechanics thoroughly inspect the car - made every adjustment possible and fitted a new igniter, we have since changed the computer, I have checked voltage drop to coils and starter motor, none of which has been successful. However we have established we have no spark during cranking but spark ssddenly appears for no reason and engine fires. Once car is running there are no further ignition problems, however, when car is stopped and then restarted, (hot or cold, the same problem occurs - most embarrassing when attempting to start such a beautiful car.
My previous car was a 1989 425 and I never experienced any problems with this vehicle. Engine fired within 2 or 3 seconds of cranking.
The mechanics at the Maserati dealer have shrugged their shoulders - and advised me that they have no idea what is wrong with the car and that they cannot rectify the problem, which as you can understand does not help me in the least.
PLEASE CAN ANYONE ASSIST/ADVISE? Any input would be much appreciated.
PAUL
If you can advise Paul please let me know!

The problem that your man describes could be one of the following ;
1. If the vacuum pipes in the engine bay have been previously messed around with, it is possible to reconnect them in the wrong place. The vacuum system on the car is quite complicated and not only is necessary for the ignition computer but also the heating and ventilation system. If pipes have been crossed then it could be that the vacuum pump for the heating system is sending weird signals to the ECU and changing the ignition timing. We have seen this problem and the symptoms were exactly the same so worth checking.
2. Check again that the voltage drop between the engine and the body is minimal as the earth cable is notorious for causing excessive drop. The engine may still have a good earth but the ECUs (which are earthed to the body) may not. This can also cause these symptoms. However, it is usually accompanied by a running problem : stuttering under acceleration especially when loaded up with the Air conditioning.
3. Although he does not say, if he tries to start the car and nothing happens, what happens when he tries again? Some cars seem to be incapable of starting on the first attempt no matter how many times they are cranked over yet go immediately on the second attempt. If this is the case, then it may be worth changing the three relays on the right hand front suspension turret which govern fuel injection and ignition.
4. Some cars also develop a fault in the fusebox which could cause this problem. However, this is usually accompanied by a failure of the dashboard instruments noticeable at the same time.
Hope this helps.
All the best,
Andy.

Wants a little advice about his newly acquired 4.24v. It seems that he needs to replace the alternator...from what he hears, a quite common problem. It is not charging the battery as much as it should, yet it charges enough to start every morning. The problem however is this: When he accelerates hard and reaches about 4000-4500 revs (180kmph), the battery light begins to flash on and off. Does this have anything to do with the alternator, or does the problem lay elsewhere?
If you can advise Shane please let me know!

Can 1989 Biturbos and their derivatives run on unleaded petrol without damaging the cylinder heads?
Are there any catalytic kits available for these cars and are they legal?
He has heard that Maserati have issued a guide to all authorised garages giving the serial numbers of all engines that can run safely on unleaded fuel. Unfortunatelty on phoning some of these garages he received little or no help!
If you have any information on this subject he would be very grateful to hear from you.

I am now the owner of my second Biturbo Spyder this one is a 1992 model. Can you suggest an enthusiasts association, a club or something similar? Thank you Werner.

This month I completed restoration of my Biturbo after 3 years of work. Running and looking excellent I am left with one minor concern. The wood trim on the doors has an ever so slight rattle. I am tempted to pull these off and reattach. Any idea how these area attached? Any suggestions? Any help would be appreciated.
Bill.