Welcome to the Maserati Khamsin Registry…

Step 1: Make sure you have all tools needed, start the car, raise the headlights, switch off the ignition with the headlights raised (this will give you more room when removing the front bumper shock absorbers). While being careful not to scratch hood against the raised headlights, disconnect the battery (important!).

NOTE: you will of course have noticed the headlights are not raised in these photos; it's hard to be both mechanic and photo shoot director at the same time!

Step 3: The front bumper shocks are held in place by a bolt which screws into a thread in its chassis bracket. Spray with WD40, unscrew with a ratchet. There isn’t much room to maneuver, watch your knuckles but a bit of patience helps. Tap the bolt out, then spray area between shock and its rubber sleeve with WD40, insert a screw driver in the hole at the front bolt hole of the shock and in a pulling and twisting motion pull it out. Caution: it is heavy and will suddenly pop out; watch your knees! Set aside. Occasionally the shock is hard to get out, if so insert a screwdriver into rear bolt hole and force it out.

Step 5: Once box frame is off the car unscrew the light from the box frame. Set the box frame aside (or, if you have pets that occasionally leave little “accidents” they can be useful as “Nader shovels”!). Clean road grime off the light, set carefully aside. Repeat procedure on other side.

Clean newly exposed body areas previously hidden by the two box frames. Once done you may well have to prep and paint these areas.

Step 6: Make small brackets to fit front parking light/indicators into Euro front bumper. The bumper has bolts on its rear surface for mounting. These brackets need not be works of art but make sure the lights are centered very evenly in the bumper holes provided for them and held in place so as not to twist sideways over time. When you are happy with them paint the side facing forward black so they are not visible. Mount the lights in the bumper.

Fit front bumper brackets loosely to the bumper, NOT tightly, making sure you use nuts and or washers that prevent the nut from backing out, once you tighten them later on. The correct way of mounting the brackets is achieved when their lengths are parallel. The end of the brackets will be bolted in place by using the bolthole in the bumper shock frame, which previously held the shock in place. Procure one nut and bolt per side of the biggest size that will fit through the bumper shock’s bolthole threaded side; the one closest to the center of the car: the spare tire well.

Step 7: Present the bumper and brackets to the car by inserting brackets in bumper frame housing and securing the nut and bolt loosely. You will have to present the nut inside the frame by taping it to a spanner/wrench; this is a little awkward but just takes a little patience and precision.

Now position the bumper exactly the way you want it; it should protrude from the body evenly from side to side, its ends should have an equal gap from the body on each side and the bumper’s upper surface should be as horizontal as possible. Once you are happy progressively tighten all bracket to bumper and bracket to frame nuts and bolts but do not over tighten the bracket to bumper nuts. Re-connect the front light plugs.

Now close the trap door for the spare tire. If you have any difficulty with the bumper being very slightly in the way you can adjust the length of the rods onto which the two latches secure the trap door. Make sure both close securely; you don’t want your spare tire to fly out like an impromptu missile during hard braking! Put the spare tire back in place.

Congratulations; the front is finished, one down one to go!