365/400/412 auto

[Mr. White]

Morning,

I might be in a position to scratch my longstanding 400/412 itch soon. Ideally I want a manual but as they're fairly rare, just how bad is the three speed auto? Does it ruin the car, or is it not actually that bad?

Car will be used regularly, for commuting once per week and the odd schlep over to France 3-4 times per year.

Thanks,

[cgt2]

I drove one many years ago it was better than I expected. The torque of the engine did compensate for the slightly lazy shift and of course it doesn't compare in any way to a modern transmission and should not be judged by that standard.

[andyleeds]

i think manuals in that type of car are quite rare, i have a manual 456 and there's always a lot more autos than manuals about......

[Mr. White]

cgt2 said:

I drove one many years ago it was better than I expected. The torque of the engine did compensate for the slightly lazy shift and of course it doesn't compare in any way to a modern transmission and should not be judged by that standard.

Interesting, thanks. It is a gentleman's express after all so maybe an auto is worth looking at. Shame it's so damned hard to find them to test drive.

[craigjm]

They drive very much like an XJS of the same period as it’s the same gearbox. With the Jags you can update it to a four speed with an adaptor plate

[67Dino]

Can’t speak to the 400/412 but the auto box in the 456 I had rather suited the car I felt. Very much a GT vs a sports car. Certainly I didn’t miss having the manual, and I’m normally a fan of them.

[Ferruccio]

craigjm said:

They drive very much like an XJS of the same period as it’s the same gearbox. With the Jags you can update it to a four speed with an adaptor plate

I didn’t know that. The V12 XJS was a fab gentleman’s express with that gearbox - like being on the end of a huge piece of elastic which just kept pulling you forward.......

[priley]

A 365 with spinners, carbs and manual has to be the one, no?

https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1058892

I spotted this a while ago when my 612 was for sale-it was £65k then.

[Mr. White]

Ferruccio said:

craigjm said:

They drive very much like an XJS of the same period as it’s the same gearbox. With the Jags you can update it to a four speed with an adaptor plate

I didn’t know that. The V12 XJS was a fab gentleman’s express with that gearbox - like being on the end of a huge piece of elastic which just kept pulling you forward.......

Hmm... Thanks. I'll try a V12 XJS then and see how it feels. Who knows, I might just end up with one of those and save myself £30-40k.

priley said:

A 365 with spinners, carbs and manual has to be the one, no?

https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1058892

I spotted this a while ago when my 612 was for sale-it was £65k then.

Carbs scare me; I can barely cope with them on my old bikes, I think V12 Ferrari carbs would leave me rocking in the corner of the garage.

[21ATS]

Nice 400i at Forza288

https://www.forza288.com/ferrari/ferrari-400i-auto...

[craigjm]

21ATS said:

Nice 400i at Forza288

https://www.forza288.com/ferrari/ferrari-400i-auto...

Very late 400i must be very early 85

[4rephill]

21ATS said:

Nice 400i at Forza288

https://www.forza288.com/ferrari/ferrari-400i-auto...

It's been "arriving shortly" for quite a while now.

I'm one of the rare/weird people who actually like the 400/412 series (but not the 365versions - The six rear lights niggle me!), but there's no way I'd pay anything like £48K (or above) for one. To me, the best of them are £35K cars, and the average cars are £20K~£25K.

For the price of the Forza288 400i, I'd be looking at a 456 instead - It's even better looking, sportier, cheaper to run, better fuel economy, less prone to corrosion (not impervious though!), and far less of a "Marmite" car.

The 365/400/412's have a timing chain, whereas the 456 has belts that need changing every 3 years or so, but the 365/400/412's chains tend to need replacing at @ 60K miles.

As for the 365/400/412's auto gearbox: They're a big, old, heavy, high speed cruiser at heart, and not a sports car, so the autobox suits them pretty well.

There were a few manual's made, but they are pretty rare, and from what I understand, the manual gearbox doesn't add massively to the driving experience (as I say, it's a big, heavy old car).

The automatic gearbox is GM's TH400, which has basically been going since 1964. It's a pretty tough old unit, and whilst not the sportiest gearbox in the World, it suits the 365/400/412's cross country/continent cruising design principal.

I had the opportunity to buy a 400i a couple of years ago, that needed a bit of tidying up and recommissioning, but I was at £15K, and the seller was at £25K (the price he bought it for at auction a few months before). He sold it at auction for £24K a few months later, having spent @ £5K getting it running again, due to clogged up fuel injectors and other issues. It was bought by a van sales company, who put it straight on ebay for £49,995, having done nothing to it whatsoever, and two years later, it's still for sale on ebay for £49.995.

They make a great old smoker for going to the pub in, and such like, but they're a thirsty old bugger (around town you can expect single figure mpg, and even on a run, taking it very easy, you'll do well to get more than 24 mpg), and parts can be horrifically expensive for them ([i]It's not that long ago that many a 400i became a "parts car", simply due to the cost of replacing the exhaust for the MOT!)

[Caruso]

A car that does 150mph needs more than 3 gears.