History

This 1961 Maserati 3500 GT Vignale Spyder with matching engine and original color combination is one of approximately 240 examples built between 1959 and 1964.  It is anyone’s guess as to the number of cars that have survived. Perhaps 60% have been destroyed.

Built by Vignale and designed by the great Giovanni Michelotti who was an Italian freelance designer who died at the young age of 59 in January of 1980.

Michelotti will long be remembered for his timeless classic designs of Ferrari, Maserati Alfa Romeo and dozens of other manufactures he worked with in secret. His Vignale Spyder is proof of his astounding sense of style and scale.

Chassis number AM101.1121 (1121) was ordered on Feb 20^th 1961 by Maria Piera Merli Brandini in Fraschetti of Via Della Balduina n.59 in Roma. Maria special ordered the car in “Verde Scuro” (Dark Green) Max Meyer Code 10.550)

Most would call this color “British Racing Green” Only 4 cars were painted this beautiful color.
The car was fitted with brown Connolly leather code PAC.1386, also known as Cognac.

1121 was ordered with 3 weber 42DCOE8 carburetor’s,  a 5-speed transmission and disc brakes. It was delivered with Borrani aluminum rims with steel centers and hub caps.

Period correct Borrani Wire wheels were later installed.

The car was built on March 8^th 1961 and delivered to Maria on May 31 1961 (sixty years ago) It took 3 months and eleven days to build and deliver.

The declared purchase price was Lire 4,950,000, and registered Roma 461946.  Over the next 38 years the car was sold no fewer than 10 times until in 2000 it came to the America and was auctioned by RM and purchased by Symbolic Motors of San Diego.

The current owner Maserati Author, historian and super enthusiast Francis G. Mandarano purchased the car in 2015 and began the process of bringing the car into a very high state of tune.

Scavenger Oil Pump

Most of these cars were equipped with and external scavenger oil pump that circulates oil through an oil cooler.  The seals in these pumps are made from 60-year-old technology and just not up to modern standards.  In addition, the belt is typically over tightened which causes the steel shaft to rub on the aluminum housing causing a proverbial oil leak. The fix is to carefully machine all the parts pre-fit everything twice and then install a new double lip Viton seal together with a new bearing and gasket.

Leather Interior Sound Deadener “Dynamat”

When I bought the car there was literally nothing correct about the interior. The leather was off the shelf what I call cheap Cadillac leather, smooth and incorrect.  The color was wrong not to mention the stitching and piping which was all done to what I call “American car standards.”  The factory built sheet called for PAC 1386 Connolly Brothers Leather. I contacted my good friend Andrea Maieli in Mantova Italy.  His company is “Interni Auto Maieli.”   In Italy he is regarded as the go to trimmer for Classic Maserati’s. I asked him to send me via DHL six hides of PAC 1386 Cognac leather as well as a complete kit to redo the interior of 1121. In addition to the leather, I ordered a complete faster kit with original slot headed beveled fasteners in metric size together with special cup washers along with correct metric piping already skived and sewn. (see photos) He also send me the original textile material for lining the map pockets, this is the level of detail very few owners would pay the trimmer to do. For me it was never a question. 7.65 Yards of Italian Wilton 100% wool Abertone 4024 color Noce carpet was flown in from Radici in Florence Italy for a total cost of $552.09 The carpet was bound with the correct vinyl binding, NOT leather, and sewn in a special way per original complete with Maserati Logo heal pads and an extra set of floor mats. At this time Dynamat sound proofing was cut and fit it to the floors and on the inside of the door skins in order to reduce the road noise and create a very smooth driving car.

Extra Sport Seats

Having owned and restored several 3500 Spyders.  I always found the driving position to be uncomfortable at anything over 3 hours, same as the Mistral Spyder. My goal with this car was to DRIVE It! So, I purchase 2 smaller seats that fully recline into the back seat area. I had them trimmed at the same time I redid the interior and they are extremely comfortable on long tours.  The original seats can be installed in 10 minutes. There were no extra holes drilled in the body. The sport seats were bolted to a sheet of black painted aluminum and the aluminum sheet what is bolted in the same holes as the original seats. It is a great solution which makes the car very drivable. Of course, the original seats are sold with the car.

Window Motors and winding

The windows on these cars are operated with an electric motor and a series of cables that pull the window up and down using several pulleys – very complicated system the most technicians do not know how to deal with. The windows in 1121 I’ve been serviced by a very clever technician who understood very quickly how everything worked. Beginning with the electric motors he disassembled and cleaned all the parts. He was able to find brushes that were very close to the originals and machine them two fit. The work he did is that of an artist. See the photos of the window motors and note in the video how they glide up and down.

The Head & Borgo Pistons

Everyone knows these cars produce their horsepower in the head. The heads of these cars are a work of art developed from decades of racing.  When I bought the car, the seller mentioned that there was a little tick in the valve train and that the car most likely need a valve adjustment.  Famous last words. So, it was off to the mechanic to receive a baseline service which included among other things flushing the cooling system, flushing the brakes, changing oil in the engine, transmission and differential. Of course, we would pull the cam covers and adjust the valves in order to get rid of that loud ticking noise. Boy, was I surprised? The intake valves we are a little tight but the exhaust valves had zero Clearance. Hmmm…. After we pulled the cam and the buckets, we found that the adjusting shims on the exhaust side  we’re so thin that they could not be reduce any smaller.   Somebody had taken a Dremel tool and ground on the valve spring retainers in order to get a clearance. Very unprofessional. I had to pull the head. There was nothing else I could do. I sent head head over to Ed Pink Racing engines in Van Nuys California. They are the guys who produce all the Porsche Singer engines. Again the best in the business. There upon disassembly they discovered that somebody had put in two incorrect exhaust valves which caused a whole mess. The head was completely rebuilt including new valves, valve guides, new up rated springs for higher revs. The cam journals were line bored and everything set up to exacting standards, including new black wrinkle paint. The only good thing to come out of the $6,000 + expense was looking down at the pistons and seeing that they were original Borgo pistons. Not a cheap aftermarket.