Maserati Wins 2010 FIA GT1 World Championship

Photo by FlashPhase

2010 FIA GT1 Champion Maserati Team & MC12s

Maaco-Fremont celebrates Maserati's win in the FIA GT1 World Championship. GT racing is, in our humble opinion, the greatest racing in the world because it features cars that can actually be purchased and driven on real roads. Previously Maserati has won 5 consecutive FIA GT Manufacturers Cups from 2005-2009 with their dominating MC12. In 2005 Maserati beat 2nd place Ferrari by nearly 2x in the points standing! And now they have won the inaugural FIA GT1 World Championship, beating Aston Martin (another favorite), Corvette, Ford GT (okay, they are all favorites), Lamborghini & Nissan GT-R.







Maserati is near and dear to the hearts of the crew here at Maaco-Fremont for 3 reasons.

The first, of course, is that Maserati has produced some of the most beautiful and fastest works of art in the history of man (we'll excuse them for everything that happened in the 1980s & 1990s.)

Second, since 2008 it has been a dream and is actually written into the employee manual & the business plan that Maaco-Fremont will procure a Maserati Quattroporte to use as a customer courtesy shuttle. It was supposed to happen in Dec. 2010 but the past couple of years have been economically tough for everyone in the world as well as us here at Maaco so the plan has been pushed back. 2011 looks to be a good year for business and we are hopeful.

Third, Frank Barnard, Maaco-Fremont's President, bought a Maserati-engined 1973 Citroën SM as his second car. Citroën is the French auto manufacturer that owned Maserati in the late 1960's and early 1970's. The SM was Citroën's flagship as well as a platform for the Maserati Merak.

Citroën SM

Congratulations to Maserati, the Vitaphone Racing Team and drivers Michael Bartels and Andrea Bertolini for their fantastic achievement. You are all welcome to stop by the shop anytime!

For more on the story, visit the Maserati website: http://www.maserati.com/maserati/en/en/index/maseraticorse/gt1-world/races/san-luis-magazine-2010/race.html?uid=6048745088&mid=600317332

Frank's Cars: #1--1969 MGC GT

Frank Barnard is the President of Maaco-Fremont & Aene Automotive Corp. You may have already seen some of his cars on this blog (his 1964 Thunderbird has appear a few times during restoration & then at auto shows.) Frank has owned and driven some amazing cars. This is an occasional series that tracks his automotive history.

1) 1969 MGC-GT: 

I had to get a job when I was 15 so I could buy my first car when I got my driver's license at 16. I was looking for an MGB, Triumph TR6 or maybe a VW Bus. I had never heard of an MGC and drove to San Francisco more out of curiosity than any thought of buying this car--it was too expensive. Driving with my father, we turned a corner and there she was, a mineral blue hard top with wire wheels. I knew it was the car I was going to buy from a block away. The owner admitted that a noise under the hood was the water pump going out. It had body damage from the hood flying open while driving. But it was a 3.0 liter straight 6 in a beautiful, lightweight Pininfarina body. And on my first test drive, in San Francisco, in the rain, the rear end broke loose. I applied opposite steering, the car tucked in gently and we all survived. I was smitten. The owner told me he'd named the car Catherine. My friends and I called her "Cathy." It's the only car I've ever had that had a name. She had so much torque and such a sweet transmission. I would shame my buddies BK (Bernhardt Karlgunter) Maier, in his Camaro, and Chris Holman, in his Mustang, by beating them up the long, steep hill on Ygnacio Valley Road between Walnut Creek and Concord, California. I owned that car for about 20 years--quite a few of those years she did not run. I miss her. And I still have the original "MG" key fob on my key ring today.

Disclaimer: Many of the photos in this series of posts are taken off the web. Sadly, we can't find many or in some cases any pictures of Frank's actual cars. So we've collected photos that look most like the cars he owned including, to the extent possible, correct colors & options. Thanks to the folks that posted these photos. If anyone objects to my use of them, please let us know and we will remove them.

Join Us at Newark SummerFest 2010

Newark SummerFest

Visit us at the Maaco booth at Newark SummerFest for a chance to win some great prizes including a FREE PRESIDENTIAL PAINT JOB.


We will have our 1964 Thunderbird on display. There will also be Free live music, microbreweries, arts & crafts, car show, kids zone, food & fun!


Newark SummerFest
July 10, 2010
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Newpark Mall
Mowry Avenue exit off Interstate 880
Newark, CA


www.NewarkSummerFest.com


SummerFest 2009 Photos:

Maaco Car Before:

Maaco Car In Process:

Maaco Car After:

Washington High Car Show, Saturday May 1, 2010, 8:00 - 4:00

Come to the Washington High School Annual Car Show sponsored by Mission Valley Regional Occupation Program and Maaco-Fremont!

Approximately 50 great cars of all makes, models & vintages are expected to be on display plus motorcycles. 

Visit the Maaco booth for valuable coupons. In addition, sign-up for the club's raffle for a chance to win a free Presidential Paint job.

Event:    Washington High School Car Show

Date:      Saturday, May 1, 2010

Time:      8:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Place:     Washington High School

              38442 Fremont Boulevard

              Fremont, CA 94536-6084

See Maaco Fremont's recently restored 1964 Ford Thunderbird in its world debut.

Vehicle registration is just $20 + 2 Cans of Food.

For information contact:

Dough Nahale

510-505-7300 extension 67361

or see www.mvrop.org

The Maaco-Fremont T-bird in process of restoration in the shop.

In Process:

After:

Maaco Fremont Sponsors Washington High School Car Show

Maaco Fremont is sponsoring Washington High School's 7th Annual Car show. Come see a bunch of great cars & visit our booth for valuable coupons. In addition, sign-up for the club's raffle for a chance to win a free Presidential Paint job.

Event:    Washington High School Car Show
Date:      Saturday, May 1, 2010
Time:      8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Place:     Washington High School
              38442 Fremont Boulevard
              Fremont, CA 94536-6084

There are typically over 50 great cars & motorcycles on display including Frank Barnard's recently restored 1964 Ford Thunderbird. Vehicle registration is just $20 + 2 Cans of Food.

For information contact:
Dough Nahale
510-505-7300 extension 67361
or see www.mvrop.org

Frank's Cars - #9: 1964 Ford Thunderbird

Here is my latest acquisition, a 1964 Ford Thunderbird. I bought from Nicolas Perez who owns Sunshine Auto Detailing on Mission Blvd. in Hayward. He put it up for sale many months ago when I didn't have any money to buy a car. I know people will think I'm crazy but I think that the 1964 Thunderbird is the most beautiful car ever produced in the USA. I've lusted after it since I was a little kid--and it is as old as I am so this has been a while in coming.

The economy has been in the toilet for the past 2 years and Nicolas' beautiful car never sold. I continued to see it parked behind his business for months and I finally broke down. Nick wouldn't take a dime less than his asking price. So I eventually paid him what he wanted--more than I could afford and less than I think it was worth so all-in-all an okay deal for both of us.

The car looks like it was purchased by an elderly couple then put in a nice garage & forgotten for a few decades. The interior looks almost new--it doesn't even show the hardening & shrinkage that I would expect on the seats but they are worn just enough to show that they are original. The engine starts eagerly and the car drives well.

I'm in love.

It needed paint so we brought it into the shop for some exterior freshening. Then we got busy. So it has been sitting, naked (bare metal) in a corner for weeks. I only got to drive it a couple of times before the crew tore into it. Everyone here wants it to be a show car but this is frustrating! The good news has been that the original sheet metal is very straight. The bad news was that the original paint was microchecked (in technical terms, the paint was "toast") so everything has to get stripped down to bare metal.

The trunk looked like it had never been used. The original tire & liners were virtually untouched. . . but it smelled musty and an old parts catalog sitting at the bottom of the trunk was wet. . . we found rust. Lots of rust.

Fortunately, the rust in the trunk has turned-out to be just on the surface. It cleaned-up fairly easily.

Who can tell us what this is? We can tell it is an air inflator connector and it is on the driver's side wheel well in the trunk. We haven't done any research into it. It looks like it connects to the rear suspension. Is this an early self-leveling system? Was it stock?!

More photos to come after she's painted.