24 July 2007 - The 425 is gone
19 September 2006 - Finally making some progress
20 July 2006 - Time to pick up the pace
11 July 2006 - No changes other than to the Web site
4 May 2006 - Some more pictures with better lighting
2 May 2006 - A 1985 Biturbo E finds a new home

24 July 2007 – The 425 is gone

Well I finally got around to stripping my 425 parts car because my wife had to go out of town for a week and a half.  I took advantage of her absence to roll the car out of the garage and go redneck for a little while.  I had the car on jack stands and went to gutting it in no time.

The front center body section (between the frame rails) got cut off so the engine, transmission, sub frame assembly just rolled right out the front.  The entire wiring harness came out intact.  EVERYTHING interior came off.  

I arranged a tow truck to come get the shell Saturday afternoon with my wife due home on Sunday.  I took a few pictures since it looked so neat like that.  The only thing left on the car was the rear-end when I got a call for directions from the tow truck several hours early.  So much for lunch and taking my time, I had to get the rear end out in less than 30 minutes!  Fortunately these use a neat sub frame system front and back that makes it pretty easy to remove everything quickly.  I rolled the rear-end out as the tow truck pulled in.

Getting the car on the tow truck with no wheels was another fun event.  Two floor jacks centered on boards front and back were used to get the car off the jack stands and turned to load.  It went pretty smooth and only fell once.  I got a few more pictures on the tow truck right before it left.

While it was sitting outside it decided to rain a few days, so the turbos filled with water.  One of my first priorities with my parts pile was to get the turbos off  and dump them out.  They seem to be fine.  I need to get the transmission and engine separated to get the engine on a stand and start working that over eventually.  For now I can breathe deep as one more step is out of the way and I have a huge pile of spare parts.

Click an image below to enlarge

19 September 2006 - Finally making some progress.

There is progress being made on multiple fronts.  The Web Site just gained a true database for the registry instead of that being manually kept up in tables, so that has been expanded to include all Biturbos and may grow to include all Maseratis if demand calls for it.  I think it looks and functions really great.  It is growing very rapidly.

On the car side, I went and got a 1984 Biturbo from Maryland and put it at a friend’s house in Greensboro for now.  It is another project in the wings that the wife is not happy about, but she is understanding and supportive.

I put a battery in my E and I almost had a cardiac.  The radio came on, the central lock (passenger side via switch) works, the power antennae works, the fan blows, and one window even works.  Pretty much everything works and that is without even cleaning connections.  I am very excited and anxious to get to work on it.

I got started stripping the 425 which is a preliminary to working on the E.  The dash and almost all of the wiring has been removed.  The interior was in really good shape.  The interior is almost all apart and to a point that I will start taking the engine and mechanical out.  Actually, the beginning of that is happening along with the interior.  A lot of the wiring has been removed so that I could keep the wiring harnesses intact (I may need them to upgrade the E).  I learned when I was working on my old VWs, no part will go to waste.  I scavenge everything.  If I can not use it, someone else will be able to.

20 July 2006 - Time to pick up the pace.

OK, now I am in trouble.  My wife is not happy with me.  I bought another Biturbo on eBay last night.  It is a 1986 425 with a supposedly good engine.  I will go get it on the 29th of this month and will probably take everything I can use off of it and get rid of it so I won't have to start sleeping in the garage.  I am open to other options since I would hate to see a Biturbo go to the scrapyard.  The 300ZX mentioned earlier is almost done so I have to hurry and finish that so that the garage can hold the 425.  Then I have to get something done with it quickly so I can get some of her projects done, so she won't complain about the cars.

There was another page added to the site to show the evolution of Biturbos (I needed to figure it out).  The model names will become links to pages describing those models eventually, as time permits. 

11 July 2006 - No changes other than to the Web site.

I have a good looking car in my garage and it is driving me crazy that I haven't had any time to work on it yet.  I have made progress on my other project car though, so I am getting closer to being able to start.  I also acquired my Biturbo Compendium from Ron Carlson , wow what a great source of information.  I wish I had one of those for every car I have ever owned.

There are two pages currently being added to this site.  First is a page dedicated to the "E" model Biturbo.  In the forum I have witnessed much debate about the E and I am going to try to have a good information source to clarify just what an E is.  Second is a registry of all "E" and "ES" cars that care to let me know where they are.

Check back as these new pages get more complete.  More to come as soon as possible. 

4 May 2006 - Some more pictures with better lighting.

I rolled the car out of the garage yesterday and got some better pictures that you can actually see.

I have a few other projects that are going to have to be completed before I get started on this one, like an '86 Nissan 300ZX that almost runs right and timing belts on the other family vehicles.  I am saving the best for last.

Click an image below to enlarge 

2 May 2006 - A 1985 Biturbo E finds a new home.

I acquired this beautiful machine on May 2, 2006.  It sat in a garage for more than 12 years after its only other owner quit driving it.  The interior seems to be immaculate with little wear and leather in great condition.  The exterior also seems to be in great condition with a few minor dings and one rust spot at the front driver side corner.  The engine condition is unknown at this point, but the transmission seems smooth through the pattern and the rolling stock seems fine.  I will post more as I go, but the progress may be slow as parts cost dollars.  The project is underway.

I feel much better about beginning this journey because of the help I have already received from a Yahoo Group dedicated to the survival of these Italian Stallions:  BiturboZentrum.

Since we finally got the car to the house around one in the morning, I didn't have a chance to get any good pics, but here are a few that I took on my way out this morning with my phone.

Click an image below to enlarge