1986 Maserati Biturbo Spyder review from North America

Premature failures (my opinion)

Front struts.

Water pump.

Rear main seal.

Tonneau (SIC) Leather cover shrunk.

The spyder is a much different animal than the sedans and coupe's, in my opinion, the spyder, designed by the ecclectic Zagato, used the front and rear of the hard top and then blended his ideas into the convertible. The build quality on the spyder seems to be a little better than the coupes, but the overall quality is in question. DeTomaso, the owner of Maserati at the time of the Biturbo design wanted to compete with BMW in quality and quantity and this put a lot of pressure on his manufacturing, it shows in the nit picky things that are badly incorporated into the car, Maserati is not a car designer, but a builder, so the parts bins of many Italian and German cars were scavenged to make this car work and sometimes it does not work at all. For instance, after market wheels will not fit the non standard 4 bolt pattern, they have to be customized in order to work and the 185/60 tires are too small with 6" wheels, it makes the car look like an Accord, not an exotic. The engine design is pretty good except for the goofy use of a Carb and Plenum design on the early models, you can't adjust the carb with the car running, you have to reassemble the plenum, which is a real pain. Luckily they went to fuel injection which works well. The biturbo idea adds a lot of horsepower and I enjoy getting the turbos to ramp up for the take off, but the rear end shutters and feels like it is going to break, so you I really don't feel like doing many burnout's. So what is so cool about this car, well it rides really nice with the top up or down, the interior is a couple of hides of inexpensive leather installed just about everywhere except the gauge shroud, which is cheap Fiat vinyl which rotted away after a year. My car was purchased in 1986 for $36,000 by my Father, who kept it in pretty good shape, in 1986 you could buy a Corvette for about $20,000, and most models of US cars were going for less than $8,000, so this car was not cheap. Only 300 Spyders were imported into the US in 1986, so you won't see too many on the road, it does turn heads. A special thank you goes to Joe Walsh, current member of the Eagles. He put out a solo record a few years back and sang, "my maserati does 165 so now I don't drive" so a lot of people know the name, but not the car. The biggest help to all Maserati enthusiasts has been the Internet, with the ability to discuss with others about problems and solutions this car has been a lot easier to work on and repair. The rule is stay on top of everything, and preventive maintenence is the key. With 71,000 miles I have changed every hose, gasket and consumable item several times even before it is needed. I change the synthetic oil every 3,000 miles and don't allow any leaks to occur. The engine has recently been completely overhauled, with new cylinder sleeves. The heads, pistons, valves, turbos and exhaust have been resurfaced and cleaned up and all electrical has been upgraded along with new wiring and connectors (Electrical wiring and connectors are a BIG problem on these cars). A new fuse box is a must, or you will just fight electrical gremlins for ever.