speedometer – Quattroporte3

I’m not going to quote the Joe Walsh song, we all know it and it’s horribly cliché. But it’s the only song I know about a Maserati (if you happen to know of another one, leave a comment!).

No, I didn’t make it up to 185, have to keep things real, as well as within local speed limits.

"...does 185", but *we're* not doing 185. Not today. — “…does 185”, but *we’re* not doing 185. Not today.

Sylvia performed marvelously, aside from a temperamental starter – I thought that was fixed?!? I noticed at the start of my drive that there were a lot of rattles, creaks and noises in general. After a while everything seemed to settle down, and even later things were perfect, the only noise coming from the shifter badge that rattles once in a while. I notice that the asphalt quality has a lot to say as far as noise levels in the cabin go, and taking a few really nice long drives helped shake things down and allowed everything to settle in.

The first drive was in a downpour, and I was happy to note that not a single drop of water entered the cabin anywhere. Dry as a bone. The new seals perform perfectly, and also help to keep noise out.

A long drive on the freeway was uneventful, the car performing admirably, cruising along smoothly and rapidly for hours on end. Because of the comfort of the interior, you don’t really notice the acceleration or the true speed you’re traveling. 80mph feels more like 50. Hit the gas and you can see the speedometer gain rapidly, but the acceleration feels effortless. It’s very refined.

There’s still a bit of vibration between 2200 – 2800 rpm in 3rd gear. One guy I spoke with said he suspects it’s the prop shaft and commented it immediately when we went for a drive. He thinks it probably happens in 1st and 2nd as well, but isn’t as noticeable at lower speeds. It’s not a huge deal, and the prop shaft went back into the car in the exact same orientation as when we took it out to overhaul the transmission (we marked it), but it is something I’d like to have checked and make sure it’s correctly balanced.

The new front headlights are brilliant! Literally. They light up the road so much better and are extremely precise in their throw, you can see exactly what area they cover perfectly, and it’s exactly the area needed to drive at night. The high beams only increase the reach and are nicely constrained to the road and shoulder. Kudos again to Daniel Stern, this is one of the best improvements I’ve made to the car.

Hit a double rainbow on the last drive, don’t know if you can see it. It’s lovely how the water beads on the car and simply rolls off.

I’m very pleased with the color, it suits the car so much better than the purplish blue it was painted in before, and the depth and richness of the Blu Sera is truly striking.

All in all I’m extremely satisfied, and really happy to have the car back on the road.

Please don’t be tempted to think that this is the end of this blog – this is after all a 33 year old car! Next up is to put her on the dyno and see how many horses have escaped over the years, and if we can get them all back in the corral…

Comments are open!

I actually remembered to take the car to it’s M.O.T. review (biannual road-worthiness check performed on all vehicles in the EU and Europe) within the deadline this time.

Getting there early, I chatted with a mechanic as I watched several cars come in, go in to the shop and up on the lift for their check.

Thus my consternation when the guy who was slated to check my car got in, fired her up, and then went out onto the street and floored it, rapidly disappearing in the distance. I casually asked the service manager if this was standard procedure when performing the check, he seemed surprised and shocked himself and just said “no….” (the dots were his).

Thankfully my car came back after a few minutes, the mechanic sitting behind the wheel with a largish grin on his face. I guess the car passed that part of the test…. (my dots).

Everything checked out ok with a few exceptions. He said the car seemed to be in really good shape and condition overall, and was surprised it’s as old as it is.

To fix:

Rear wheel bearings, driver side. I’ll do both sides to keep things balanced and even. Will have to find someone to help, as this is a job requiring both special tools and a workshop (lift, compressed air, hydraulic press, and more). Not to mention experience. The QP3 rear suspension looks an awful lot like a Jaguar, I’m pretty sure they’re identical. Of course, *which* Jaguar, I don’t know. Still, the inboard brakes, anti sway stags and other telltale components, all mounted in a self contained subframe riding on bushings, pretty much gives it away.

Parking brake – is only working on one side. Needs to be adjusted. Another typical Jaguar rear suspension detail (inboard brakes in the rear, with separate calipers and pads for the hand brake).

Battery – the battery tray has a small metal clamp that holds the lip on the base of the battery. Except that many modern batteries have no lip for it to grip. In the event of a collision, the battery can fly forwards, tumbling around in the engine room (right above hot manifolds). He suggested tying it down with a strap or similar.

Speedometer. My speedo wasn’t working when I got the car originally, and the state inspectors went over the entire car before approving it as road worthy when I imported it. They seemed to think it was ok without a speedo then (everyone has GPS anyway, and it’s more accurate), but this guy said I need to fix it. It’s a VDO, same as used in Porsches in the 1980s. I had hoped that when I restored the sending unit connected to the transmission’s output shaft, it would work. No dice. Cleaning the contacts and molex connectors hasn’t helped either. I pulled and checked the speedo itself, but it shows no obvious problems like a burnt component or broken solder joint. I did find, however, that a gear had turned all gooey and crumbled up. I guess that explains why my trip teller and odometer had stopped working, but still doesn’t explain the speedometer itself. The other instruments all work, so I’m tempted to rule out a bad connection, because the wires are all bundled together.

I’ve ordered parts for the wheel bearings and will need to find someone who can do the work, and have had several attempts at fixing the speedo. Not sure what to do, if I should buy a new speedometer, sending unit, or both. Bought a nylon belt with fastener to take care of the battery, and will need to have a closer look at the parking brake assembly soon.

Deadline is end of June to have everything fixed and approved.

Tag: speedometer

First drive

M.O.T/DMV – Road worthiness check