Concorso Italiano 2009

This is a story of a 4.7 litre, 5 speed 1969 Maserati Mexico, serial number AM112 570, and about a man – Martin Loge – who saw the beauty that was, shall we say, well hidden beneath the rust and dried cracked leather. He visualized the end result and had the boldness of conviction and the financial resources to stay with what was to become a monumental project. The story is told in two stages. The first stage is from a previous owner, Ivan Ruiz. The second stage is all Martin Loge’s. This is an amazing story which we are proud to share with you.

“I purchased the Green monster in July 2005 for $4,500. The car belonged to a gentleman from Miami, Florida that lived in an apartment building very close to the ocean. The car sat outside in an open parking lot. I knew the car was rusty and needed work but nothing could have prepared me to what was delivered. I’ve seen rusty cars before, but never a Maserati like this one. To get the engine running I would need to replace the starter motor. Before attempting to do any repairs, I went to the local clinic to check on the status of my tetanus vaccination ... and got a booster shot! I sold the Mexico a few months later to Jacques.” (Jacques Pozzo di Borgo of Maseratisource)
—Ivan Ruiz

“I bought a cheap car for parts and decided to restore it in a moment of blind stupidity.
I have always loved the subtle lines and detail of the Mexico and have owned a few before, but they all needed an enormous amount of work. So I chose to begin with a very inexpensive although complete “parts” car.

The body was so bad that that every single panel had to be cutout and re–welded including all floors, inner and outer rockers and even the rear portion of the roof. Fortunately I was able to find a “reasonable” donor Mexico and various other sheet metal components which were essential to salvage the car. The biggest problem with the Mexico, built by Vignale, was that their interiors are entirely lined top to bottom with thick wool felt from the factory to deaden the sound. Sadly the retention of moisture, rusting from within, has been the demise of at least 50% of the 250 or so Mexicos built. So every square inch of the car was ground down and wire brushed, rot cut out and then sand blasted to get it back to real steel. Also I have a friend who did all the panel fabrication and welding using a plasma tig that lays down a very clean weld. We crafted all the panels ourselves in his shop and everything metal from the ground up to about 18–20 inches was replaced. The frame itself was surprisingly in good shape and anything else pitted by the rust was replaced and painted. Every component on the suspension was removed and rebuilt or refinished to original details and specs.

There was not one nut, bolt, screw, or washer that isn’t new or re–plated to original specifications. Everything is like new or rebuilt, including all the gauges, the engine, transmission, rear end, and front and rear suspensions. The wheels are custom made Borranis at 1–inch wider than original to allow the fitting of Michelin XWX 225/70 15 VR tires, which are two sizes larger than stock. I tried to keep the car completely stock and original down to the Cheney hose clamps, but all the systems have been discreetly upgraded to perform better and more efficiently such as the Lucas cooling fans.

They were rebuilt, but also rewound to raise the RPM speed and increase the cooling air velocity thru the radiator (a new solid copper staggered 5 row). The interior was dreadful and required every element to be remade. The rusted seat frames were broken and needed welding, then sandblasting, and finally powdercoating. All before new foam and ultimately 7 hides of superb quality Italian leather were crafted into a beautiful and luxurious interior. The original African mahogany wood was stripped and restored. Even the original period–correct Becker Mexico Radio has been completely rebuilt and even works an Ipod thru the system of nine speakers all hidden behind perforated sound panels and powered by a 5–channel high output amplifier hidden in the trunk. The car was built to keep and run hard and as the newness wears off, to be used and enjoyed for many years. After winning the Best of Show award at Concorso Italiano, we used the Mexico all around the Monterey area during the next few days. We then drove back to Santa Barbara at well over 95 mph and still had about five gallons of fuel left of the 20.75 gallons held by both tanks. Well over $120,000 in receipts and not counting my 1800 +- hours of labor means I’ll own this one for some time, for sure.”
—Martin Loge

Martin and his Mexico receive the coveted Best of Show Trophy at the 2009 Concorso Italiano shown here being presented by Tom McDowell.

Some may see a corroding hulk. Martin saw otherwise. Well done, Martin.