The pictures about say it all for this rusty 1964 Maserati Sebring Series 1, listed for sale by the longtime owner. Clearly, a restoration project left to rot, the Maserati is a desirable specimen and comes with the tattered remains of an interior and “restorable” chassis. There’s no engine or transmission, and the title is long gone. Find it here on Hemmings with a $27,900 asking price.
The price doesn’t seem unreasonable for the rarity of the car, but my God, there is untold thousands of dollars of work needed here. The body does have significant amounts of rust, and the amount of corrosion in the chassis is unknown. The seller’s location in Ohio likely explains the rust; more curious is the lack of drivetrain, rear glass, and a variety of trim items that the seller says are missing.
I’m guessing you get to a point where you realize the restoration isn’t going to happen, and a bird in the hand beats two in the bush. However, when you realize just how few Series 1 cars were made – well under 400 – it becomes harder to resist the urge to bring such a rare car back from the dead. It was a strong performed in its day, capable of close to 140 m.p.h. and 60 seconds in under nine seconds.
The seller describes the Maserati as being “straight” despite the significant body rot. I’m not sure what that characteristic means in a case like this, other than it hasn’t endured major accident damage. The trouble with a car like this is it deserves a high-dollar restoration (and frankly, needs one) but the lack of a matching engine will always hold back its value. Is it worth seeing if the motor is still out there? How would approach this project?
A 30 year dark chapter for this one. First order of business…get it the hell away from this place forever!
“60 seconds in under 9 seconds” thats fast!
0 to 60 was 7.3 I think?
It needs so much which is a shame. I couldn’t in good conscience spend that much on it but perhaps someone will.
sad
Sacrilege I know But with a 327 and a 5 speed this would still be one hell of a car and a water pump is only $28 for a 327
What’s italian for scrap metal?
La ferraglia or
il rottame or
lo sfrido
Rottami metallici, but even the scrap metal is just being kind at this point. No engine, no transmission, many trim parts missing… You’re looking at a hell of a lot of time and money here and it may still never be what it should be.
I won’t approach this project, out of my league. I’ll leave it for others.
I would suspect that I am the ONLY Barn Finds reader that has actually owned a Maserati Sebring. Mine was a 1966 Series II but the cars are almost identical except for the styling of the front end and rear lights.
Where there is metal that needs to be replaced much of it is largely flat and easy to do. The car is surprisingly simple in so many ways. The loss of the engine while a problem is not that bad for any engine from the 3500 GT line up to the 4.0 liter Mistral will fit. Transmissions can be purchased new as they are stock ZF units. Missing suspension bits are XK150 or MKII Jaguar parts. All the interior parts and door handles are either Fiat or Alfa and are available new.
The only serious bit to fix is the front end. That will be a serious piece of work. As for the Chrome grille surround if it is not there it will need to be made from scratch. I was able to purchase the last Old Stock surround for my car from the Maserati International people in Seattle. It can be done and that part was chromed brass, that was curved but only in one direction so it would be easier than you might expect to make. It will take some silver SODDER (my spelling checker keeps changing the word-sorry) work but a new one can be built.
The interior is not that complex but it will be expensive. The true problem is the rear glass. These are so rare that front and rear glass is EXPENSIVE if you can find it, and that is a big if.
As for performance these cars were very close in performance to the 250 Ferraris of the day but were designed to be more civilized and easier to deal with day to day. They had really functioning heaters and some had air conditioning. They could cruse all day at 90 to 100 and were the executive transport of the day. Most were purchased by heads of banks, large companies and the occasional movie star.
When restored to as new they often win best of show. The design is elegant, simple and sporty. They are smaller than you might think, about the size of a 944 but not a wide. They are great fun to drive and they do not attract that much attention.
I very much miss mine. I sold it many years ago to pay off medical bills of my late wife. My car has reached the 300K mark in price over in Europe and this car could do the same with ease. There is about 100K worth of work to do but it both worth doing and has an up side if profit is your intent.
You really should take this on, you have the knowledge to make this work.
Glen I would but I lost over one million dollars taking care of my wife who died from MS because her insurance company was allowed to bail because of bad state laws. In addition I am restoring a 1989 Esprit Turbo and a Porsche 928 but I would be more than willing to help who every purchases it. But I would so much love to own another one.
I was reading the article thinking someone has to save it as how bad could it be. I go to the site and those extra picture from the interior looking out made me think this isn’t an easy patch job. There are definitely some swiss cheese that needs major repair. It makes me wonder what type of shape the rest of the undercarriage and frame might be in. This project is for the professional or the person who has alot of money to spend.
Gullwing of course have one not dissimilar (but with engine)
for 140,000!
https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C964446
My son was just visiting us from CA he just bought a Maserati Gibli he got it two years and 20k miles from new, the car certainly looks brand new inside and out, it’s got a reasonably potent V6 in it. He claims the car is close to 100k new and he got his for 55k. It seems pretty comparable to my wife’s super charged Audi as far as accelleration goes.
What supercharged Audi does your wife have?
Always liked Maserati… one day will have one but do have a long bucket list.
Hello Paul we bought an 18 A6 with a super charged V6 I think it’s rated at 340 hp, it goes surprisingly well but tops out at 130 mph
I share your views of the Maserati I have always had a soft spot for one of those, they are a beautiful car!
Hello would anyone know where they could purchase a rear window?
Maser has now been saved and currently resides in Australia. If anyone can offer any genuine parts either NOS or second hand I would be very interested to hear about these. Thankyou.