1974 Maserati Bora

 

I’ve always wanted a Ferrari.  Well, make that something a little upscale from the Alfas.  There are a number of exotics that I’ve had on my list, mostly due to some exposure (i.e. rides) I’ve had in some pretty neat stuff over at Glynn Motorsports.

 

One such ride was a number of years ago in a Lamborghini Espada.  A beautiful example of this car, which still shows up at Pauls shop, struck me many years ago.  So, in 1999, when the time seemd to be right, I started my search for an Espada.

 

I was looking at the exact Espada that got me going so many years ago, and made the idle comment to the gentleman standing beside me to the effect of “I’m gonna get me one of those”.  We chatted about their relative worth, and he commented that he’d sell me his Bora for that kind of money.

 

Bora, hmmm, I also had memories of one of those from years ago at Pauls shop, so I went home and did some research.  I ended up taking a test drive in the Bora, and although that turned out not to be the right car for me, I was hooked.  The car was simply awesome.

 

If you remember the Joe Walsh song “Life’s Been Good”, there’s a line in it that goes “My Maserati does one eighty five – I lost my license, now I don’t drive”.  Well, although the Bora won’t do quite 185 mph (hey, artistic license and a good rhyme are more important than an accurate top speed), it’s still mighty impressive in the acceleration and top end dept.

 

It so happens that a guy who used to live right next door to me is a famous Hollywood movie director (really!), and also deals in exotic European cars for grins.  I contacted him, and got a ton of good advice.  He also promised to keep his eyes open for me.

 

I chased down a half dozen or so Boras all over the US and Canada, and during business trips and such I was able to go see most of them in person.  My friend in LA mentioned that he had one in mind for me, but when I was out there he wasn’t able to hook me up with the car.

 

I was kind of zeroing in on a pristine looking car in Atlanta (for top $$$), when I got a call one night from my friend.

 

Him: “Brian, I found your car.  Bought it today.”

Me: “Huh?”

Him: “Yea, I finally hooked up with that guy, the car is not perfect but very solid, well maintained, never been hit, and I got it for a good price.”

Me: “Well, what if I don’t like it?  This one in Atlanta is pretty nice.”

Him: “No worries, The price was right and I’ve already had offers for more than I paid for it, so if you don’t want it don’t worry about it.”

Me: “Ok.”

 

These are the pictures he sent me.  His word, these pictures, and a deal too good to pass on (he sent me the car, if I liked it I could send him a check, otherwise I was to hang on to it until he could arrange shipping to the next buyer), all made for the easiest car transaction I could imagine.

 

 

Normally I’d drive home, what the heck LA is only 3,000 miles away, nothing more challenging than driving a 30 year old temperamental Italian 3,000 miles, but in this case circumstances beyond my control kept me at home.  Not wanting to wait, I had him ship the car.

 

I can only say the Bora has been everything I expected, and more.  The Bora was originally intended as an exotic GT car, and comfort at extremely high speeds was a prime design goal.  The car will cruise effortlessly at speeds of over 150 mph, and yet it’s amazingly tractable around town.

 

Nonetheless, you can’t own a car like this and not flog it on a race track every once in a while.  Here we are at Lime Rock in November, 2000:

 

 

After Lime Rock, the Bora needed a water pump, and at the time it also was getting close to needing an exhaust. This, of course, turned into a miniature restoration, lasting many years. For a lot of that time the car sat on the lift, waiting for parts. Progress was made, but slowly. In late 2006, I'm determined to make some serious headway, hopefully including fresh paint, back to the original body color (yellow). I'll try to document progress <here>.

 

Last updated October 9, 2006