I was wandering through my local self serve junkyard and saw an interesting car. I looked closer and something looked very familiar, so I came back today to take it. While it looks like a Jaguar IRS, it's from a 1986 Maserati Quattroporte. Main differences are the vented brakes, which are a 2 piece rotor. It has remote bleeders for the brakes and the hubs have reinforcing ribs on them. The cage also has extra stiffeners and the wishbones are also bigger.

I mainly took it for the brakes, as I want more brake for my Daimler. At 6,000 lbs it needs all the brakes it can get. The differential looks like a standard Jaguar differential ,this one is 3.54 locking. Calipers are a standard Jaguar 3 piston caliper, I believe from a 420 or Series 1 XJ6.

 

Good heavens ~ nice find JB.

 

Not bad for $154 Canadian is it?

 

Wow ~ that's cheap! I would grab very quickly as you have.

 

The junkyard has the same prices no matter what vehicle what a part comes from. That was their price for a complete rear axle.

 

Amazing!

 

I have made a few measurements, and the cage mounting point width is the same as an XJ cage ( Jaguar made the IRS in 3 different widths: Series 1 E Type, S Type/420, and Mark 10/XJ6/12 XJS), the inner fulcrum shaft to the hub carrier shaft is the same length, so the wishbones should be the same length and the hub carrier shaft to the wheel flange face is the same as Jaguar. I have not measured the distance between the two inner fulcrum shafts under the differential.

The wheel bearings are different sizes from Jaguar as far as I can tell from Rock Auto, so I am not sure if I can adapt these hub carriers to a Jaguar hub. It will probably take pressing them apart and spending some time with a bearing catalog. Worst case I can redrill the flange and put the studs on a different bolt circle. The Jaguar is 4.75" and the Maserati is 4.5" bolt circle.

The differential has a large amount of backlash, so it will need to be changed out or rebuilt. It must have howled in service. I'm really surprised, as the car was only showing 49,478 km on the odometer. It's a 3.54 limited slip unit. That ratio combined with a 3 speed automatic ( the Chrysler 727) and 4 x 2bbl Weber carbs might explain why the Maserati was rated at 8 mpg city and 10 mpg highway!

The radius arms are adjustable for length, there is a threaded portion and a jam nut under the rubber bellows, very similar to a tie rod end. I'm guessing that was just a fine tuning to allow for body build quality variances?

 

Also possibly for forcing minor toe in on the rear dependent on the bushings.

 

Wow, those Quattroportes are COOL looking, I think. The whole car was there - was it rusted to oblivion?

 

No, it wasn't rusted at all on the body, but things like the brake lines were rusty. I think it had sat for a long time and the owner didn't have the knowledge or money to get it running - or the owner died and it was cleaned out? Who knows. Looking at the Hagarty valuation guide they are not worth a lot. I expect the repair bill to get it running would have well exceeded the value of the car.

 

Right, likely parts alone would cost more than it's worth....if you could find them. I forget who penned this design, but it's one of the precious few post-'70s car I like.
Thanks for the pics!

 

Giorgetto Giugiaro penned the design. Possibly with some Gandini inspiration

 

A fuel consumption gauge on a Maserati !!!!!

 

They were thirsty as all hell at WOT. Sounded gorgeous with the throttle pinned to the floor. Maserati were never too serious about silencing their cars. There is a guy with a new one at the end of our road. I always listen for his driver to drop him at home in the evenings. Sounds lovely.

 

That's quite a fancy junk yard with all the cars on their own personal stands like that.
The ones around where I live are just sitting in the dirt.

 

They usually put 3 cars on each stand. When they moved to a new location about 5 years ago they made all those stands. It's much safer and allows easy access to the underside of the cars. The only disadvantage is if you want an exhaust system, it usually gets crushed and is inaccessible. They are good about coming with the forklift to move a car for you for better access, or to lift an engine out. That's why there are seatbelts tied around the hubs in the first photo. I made a sling and the forklift picked up the IRS by the sling and they put in the back of my truck for me.

The other junkyard in town uses sets of 2 rims welded together - one on the flat and one vertical and they set the cars on 4 of those. Not as stable if the car is rusty and it takes 2 people to set out a car - one in the forklift and one to align the rims on the frame. With the pipe style stands a single operator in the forklift can set the cars out faster.

 

I was going to look for the fuel flow meter that sends data to that gauge but ran out of time when I saw the car. When I came back the next week the entire engine was gone and just about everything in the engine bay, as well as the instrument cluster. Someone got a deal on that engine.

 

And any other time apparently. Rated at 8 mpg city, 10 mpg highway. 4 Weber carbs will do that.

 

Yes ~ their thirst is legend ~ but so great to drive.

 

Right! Thanks. The same guy who did the Miura, among many others.