This is a rather rare Maserati Indy, one of the very last made with the 4.9 liter engine V8 engine, ZF power steering, Citroen brakes, Ghibli 15 inch Starburst wheels and the ZF 5-speed gearbox which was later used on the Khamsin. Apparently only 21 on these rare Indy were built and they can be identified by the unique triple air scoops on the hood. To make it even more interesting, this is a European spec car with the euro headers and smaller steering wheel center. This is the highest serial number Indy I have seen, it was perhaps the last one made.
The previous owner had it for close to 20 years. Unfortunately he did not drive it much and although the car starts it does need some work. The brakes need servicing, the clutch pedal is high (most likely the master or clutch cylinder), the interior is dirty and needs to be re-dyed, the engine needs to be detailed, but is undisturbed. The body is quite nice and the panel fit good, but the paint quality, done many years ago, is not that great ... there is plenty of paint over spray and orange peel.
I had an engine compression test done before I purchased it. These were the results:
- #8 165 #4 125
- #7 155 #3 125
- #6 170 #2 115
- #5 155 #1 115
As you can see, the compression on one bank of cylinders is lower than the other. The consensus amongst people I have consulted is that the cam timing on the lower bank is slightly off. The good news is that all cylinders have compression (no bent valves) and that they are even within their cylinder bank. Resetting the cam timing should yield good compression across all cylinders.
I bought the car because of its rarity and with some elbow grease it can be made into a respectable driver. The bone white interior is all original and can be made quite nice, and it will match any exterior color if you ever decide to change the exterior color.
Tires are Michelin, new battery, headlights (which are electric) pop up, windows work, interior lights work, clock works. The car can only be moved with great care as the brakes do not work.
The Indy is a great driving Maserati with back seats to bring the kids along for the ride. This particular example has a very interesting, and rare, combination of features which will always make it rather unique.
You can send me an e-mail if you are interested at ivan@thecarnut.com
Click on any of the thumbnails to enlarge.
This car has been SOLD
