I love sports cars, and my choice in cars are those which were made from the 1960's to the mid 1980's. So far I have had a 1960 Porsche, 1959 Peerless, 1984 Toyota MR2, 1980 Maserati, and currently a 1984 Ferrari. If you read classic car magazines you will find ad after ad for parts for American cars going back to the Model T Fords and earlier. No problemo you think. I can always get parts for older cars. On the other hand if you have a limited production sports car - good luck. Here are a couple of examples that I experienced.
1980 Maserati Merak SS model, with 652 cars made for worldwide distribution. I encountered a problem with a steering knuckle nut. No new ones available. None where being manufactured, because who would want to go to the expense of setting up production on a limited issue vehicle. It just was not practical. We checked all over the world. No luck. My mechanic found some with the right inside diameter, but the wrong outside. Next was one with the correct outside, but the wrong inside. I also tried finding a vehicle that was being "parted out", or dismantled. Finally my mechanic made one up from scratch. Next problem was the ignition system failed. No one could find a replacement for it. I contacted the original manufacturer and found they had sold the last two units several years ago.
Sorry but no plans to make new ones. None of these parts were available on the used parts market. Again my mechanic came through; he installed a new MSD ignition, and placed it out of the way in the engine compartment, leaving the original unit in place. This way the car looked original, but I was able to drive it. 1984 Ferrari 308 GTB. The engine started dying on me, which was interesting when you are in the fast lane on a freeway. I had to have the car towed in several times. Turned out to be a very subtle problem. It seems there are three sensors on the fly wheel which tell the engine management system various information about the position of internal parts. One was failing on an intermittent basis. Its one thing to determine what went wrong with a hard failure, and quite another when the problem comes and goes.
So big deal, let's buy a new sensor. Nope. Again none were available from the distributors, the factory or on the used parts marketplace. After some research my trusty mechanic found that some Lamborghini models used the same sensor. I replaced all three on the theory that the other two would be failing soon. The moral of these stories is that if you like exotic cars and buy one, be prepared for long periods of not having a car available while you wait for parts. The Maserati sat around for two months while we searched. Also be prepared to have someone hand build a broken or missing part, while you count your pennies figuring out if you can afford this solution. Oh, and brace yourself for some frustration, in between the times you really enjoy your car.
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