All this talk about the Biturbo and and its frailties suddenly reminded me of these shots. So would you rather take this Quatroporte limo as a project? Let’s take a closer (scarier) look:
The limo keeps stalling at lights? Not idling so well while waiting at the curb? No problem; we’ll have those four Webers dancing in concert in no time…come back in a week, better make that a month or so…actually; we’ll call you.
Was there ever a less likely choice for a limo conversion? I know, everything has been cut and lengthened by some nut case somewhere. Must be to prove some kind of universal point.
Well, see, this is where it gets fascinating. I… *LOVE* …V8s. The Royale version of the III made just under 300 hp. That’s pretty darn fast right there, and V8 worthy. Project-worthy, IMO!
Now the fact it’s a limo is a total turn-off though. 😀
That’s not a limo. That’s a cut’n’shut chop job by some dude with an angle grinder and a welder.
THIS, is a limo:
(apparently, I’m not allowed to link to a photobucket image…)
http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr101/hypnotoadCL/patrickghia3.jpg
To paraphrase Crocodile Dundee: Now this, mate, is a limo!
No, put that ten-foot pole away. I’m not touchin’ it.
Life is complicated enough, without making it SO much more….
Maybe the guy with the 59 Edsel is ready for another Ford 2.3 Turbo conversion.
Nothing that a Chevy LS-series V8 swap can’t fix 🙂 .
Right. Isn’t it a bitch that most highly desireable, sexy cars, require a transplant to a completely conventional engine to make them worth a darn? Take away some of their character but make them reliable.
In many cases this is so true. Had a client years ago who was a aircraft mechanic, and he loved the whole idea of a Jaguar XJ-S. He was starting to make some decent money, and bought one brand new. I drove it two days later and was impressed with the smoothness and power. BUT after six months it all went down hill. After a year of dealership service department hell and after exhausting his formidable mechanical abilities on it, he threw in the towel. It sat in the back of his shop for years and finally was treated to a 502 cubic inch GM crate engine.
I drove it a year after the transplant, and well, it was lively. As educatordan said, it lost some character and gained reliability. It went from being a classic of sorts to a hot rod. I honestly don’t know that I would have bothered.
If you have ever heard one of these Maserati V8s there is no way you would swap in an LS, they sound in-cred-ible! A friend of mine has an Indy but I more strongly remember hearing a Ghibli. Possibly lost on a limousine so if I had something better to put the Maser V8 in I could be persuaded however.
I’d be looking for an aftermarket fuel injection or megasquirt setup for it, but I would be more worried about the bodywork.
@CougarXR7: Oh hells yes.
I get the feeling from the comments that few people have done engine swaps before. Even doing something as simple as swapping same make engine to same make body (like an I6 to V8 in the same body) there can be many unforeseen issues, making the job a PITA. It can be far removed from a cut and paste operation. You don’t want to do this job again, and I want the car to run MUCH better than it did before. If it doesn’t, well that’s a lot of effort wasted.
There are so many kits to swap Chevy V8s of all kinds into all kinds of cars. Which is why I always recommend bang for the buck.
If it starts and runs well, easy to maintain and upgrade, aren’t those good characteristics?
Oh, great.
After these last two CCs, I’m going to have that damnable Joe Walsh song stuck in my head for the rest of the day… 🙂
It’s a Maserati
It’s a Maserati
It’s a gettin’ hotty
It’s a Maserati, Maserati, Maserati
It’s a fast one too man, that thing’s turbocharged
You feel like a little fuel injection honey?
I would definitely “feel like a little fuel injection” after an afternoon of tuning four Webers!
There’s nothing like the song that is sung by a set of perfectly tuned carburetors…the only problem is that I never acquired the talent for tuning and balancing two, much less four!
My Maserati does 185,
I lost my license,
Now I don’t drive. ;^)
One of my Northeast Ohio homeboys, Joe Walsh.
Did that very car appear in the movie “Running Man”?
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/475/0013258pf.jpg/
Here is a picture of the limo as it appeared in Running Man. All the details seem the same. Any indications that the car above was ever red?
Thats more career than project must have been nice before the sawsall got there
Need to start a new category here called A.T.Q.N.A. of the Day (Answer to Question Nobody Asked).
This thing would make one hell of a pleasure lounge though.
Opulence….it has it.
This car makes my brain hurt in ways that I can’t even explain!
My Maserati does 185
I lost my license now I don’t drive
I have a limo ride in the back
I lock the doors in case I’m attacked
Hmm… now we have a Maserati and a limo in one unlikely package. Maybe the builder was a Joe Walsh fan, after all.
Maybe the builder was Joe Walsh. You know, for laughs.
Oh man, I didn’t see this post before I posted mine…
Well done!
What a fantastic machine. It would take a better man than I to get that thing roadworthy again though.
That thing for some reason reminds me of the newish white Quattroporte that I’ve seen twice in the Albertson’s parking lot, a 30- or 40-ish woman driving. I wonder if it’s ever been driven at more than 1/4 throttle. But of course one never knows….
All the women in my family are leadfoots. I’ve been in the car with my (70-ish) mom, glanced over, and found we were doing 80 on the freeway. My sister bought a sports car, and insisted on keeping it while raising a child (baby seat in the back of a coupe…) And my wife’s GPS always shows a “max speed” in the 80s whenever I check it.
For the question “was this car in Running Man?”
Almost certainly, I have been a fan of Maserati for 30 years and I have no knowledge of ANY other Qporte conversion, also, I nearly bought this car 20 years ago.
Anyone know the current status of this limo?