Satan's barge - 1983 Ferrari 400i
Discussion
bolidemichael said:
I really like Besançon and the entrance into the town, via one of seven (?) bridges is fantastic. Although my tour was brief, I particularly enjoyed the indoor market.
So many nice places around here. Woke up early to watch the Japanese GP, then popped over to the Abbaye de Fontenay. En route, bumped into a gaggle of classics out for a Sunday run, including this immaculate 3000M, originally supplied to the Netherlands and now owned by a Frenchman who also has a more modern TVR
More stuff we don't see in the UK
The abbey itself? Well, if you live in the Cotswolds, this would be a starter home, but it wasn't devoid of charm
Car is well suited to a chateau on a sunny day
So, off to another couple of chateaux today near Beaune, one of which was Savigny les Beaunes, owned by a former racing driver called Michel Pont. On the upper floor of one outbuilding is a remarkable collection of Abarths, most of which he appears to have competed in. It's not a marque I'm familiar with, but some of them looked like angry little things and others were very smart sports and single-seater cars.
The man has a lot of tractors, and a lot of planes
engines
fire engines
probably over a hundred motorbikes, including a Vincent Black Shadow
some Nortons
a Hercules wankel
and this thing, which was badged as a Pullman
and depicted scenes that I can only describe as louche
Meanwhile, the old V12 just keeps going
The man has a lot of tractors, and a lot of planes
engines
fire engines
probably over a hundred motorbikes, including a Vincent Black Shadow
some Nortons
a Hercules wankel
and this thing, which was badged as a Pullman
and depicted scenes that I can only describe as louche
Meanwhile, the old V12 just keeps going
What an interesting collection & an interesting bloke too. Looked him up and amongst lots of other stuff:
https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2018/5/v...
https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2018/5/v...
Church of Noise said:
Met him a few years back, interesting man. Did you buy some wine? It's actually really good.
loved the collection of Abarths.
On topic, I'm afraid your stories and pictures are inspiring a certain amount of desire for a 365 now.
I didn't. As this is a two week trip, I have been trying to resist the temptation to buy everything I see, which is difficult as it is all so delicious. So far, I have four bottles of wine that are far too good to give to anyone I know. Besides that, I have a tiny jar of mustard, a poster, and a bag of nougat - which should make for a lively night in sometime. loved the collection of Abarths.
On topic, I'm afraid your stories and pictures are inspiring a certain amount of desire for a 365 now.
If you haven't tried a 365, I can recommend it. Any of these models are a huge amount of car for the money, and prices for RHD ones seem to lag behind the LHD market. There's a chap who has just posted on the 365/400/412 Facebook page an ad for his auto 412, which I am pretty sure has been for unsold at a dealer for at least two years, for just £35k. In fact, I think it may be the one that was featured on a Brave Pill article on here a while ago. It's a running, driving car that has bills for £20k+ in the past five years. I was quite tempted by it when I was shopping around, but didn't check it out as it was not very local to me.
I seem to have been lucky. After ironing out some basic snags, mine has run like clockwork. For this sort of holiday driving, it's brilliant.
Purosangue said:
wow I've been following your car for years , lots of magazine features, without hijacking the thread it would be fantastic to hear more about your jarama in a separate thread thanks
Sorry to respond late, it was my car many years ago so not too much to report without derailing the thread.Fab adventures Rumdoodle, wonderful to see and vicariously enjoy !
Glad it's of interest.
After a quiet couple of days, I'm back on the boat and heading home. I've binned off the PH meeting at Morgan tomorrow as other things have come up, but it's been a great trek. Apart from a little bit of intermittent grumbling at low revs which will have too be looked into and which I think I'd detected once or twice before, it's run perfectly. As the driving has almost all been motorway cruising, it hasn't been a problem. I did some unspirited jousting with a wall when manoeuvring out of my last B&B's car park and put a little scrape on a corner of the front bumper, but it'll mostly polish out. I think my rear self-levelling is slightly out of whack. Whether it's on the floor or pumped up, the offside sits a fraction lower than the nearside. It is only noticeable visually up close, and no issue is discernible when driving. Overall, the car has done sterling work, and I'm grateful to Keys Motorsport at Silverstone for their efforts and advice over the past year or so.
Driving in France was a pleasure. I'll definitely do it again, and probably at this time of year when it's not too hot. After the first few days, the weather turned refreshingly autumnal and the air conditioning was surplus to requirements. Petrol prices seem steep. It's difficult to get low ethanol fuel for less than two Euros a litre. I got stung at nearly two and a half Euros at a BP station on an autoroute, where the pump was also incredibly slow. It took nearly ten minutes to put in half a tank (50 litres), and then it didn't cut off so I must have ended up with about a litre of liquid gold sloshing out of the overflow pipe. I haven't totted up the fuel bills, but at 12mpg and a mileage of probably 1,900 by the time I park up tonight, you can do the sums.
I will do a bit of pottering about over the next few days and then it'll go back into storage for a couple of months. So, for now, it's goodnight from me, and it's goodnight from him!
After a quiet couple of days, I'm back on the boat and heading home. I've binned off the PH meeting at Morgan tomorrow as other things have come up, but it's been a great trek. Apart from a little bit of intermittent grumbling at low revs which will have too be looked into and which I think I'd detected once or twice before, it's run perfectly. As the driving has almost all been motorway cruising, it hasn't been a problem. I did some unspirited jousting with a wall when manoeuvring out of my last B&B's car park and put a little scrape on a corner of the front bumper, but it'll mostly polish out. I think my rear self-levelling is slightly out of whack. Whether it's on the floor or pumped up, the offside sits a fraction lower than the nearside. It is only noticeable visually up close, and no issue is discernible when driving. Overall, the car has done sterling work, and I'm grateful to Keys Motorsport at Silverstone for their efforts and advice over the past year or so.
Driving in France was a pleasure. I'll definitely do it again, and probably at this time of year when it's not too hot. After the first few days, the weather turned refreshingly autumnal and the air conditioning was surplus to requirements. Petrol prices seem steep. It's difficult to get low ethanol fuel for less than two Euros a litre. I got stung at nearly two and a half Euros at a BP station on an autoroute, where the pump was also incredibly slow. It took nearly ten minutes to put in half a tank (50 litres), and then it didn't cut off so I must have ended up with about a litre of liquid gold sloshing out of the overflow pipe. I haven't totted up the fuel bills, but at 12mpg and a mileage of probably 1,900 by the time I park up tonight, you can do the sums.
I will do a bit of pottering about over the next few days and then it'll go back into storage for a couple of months. So, for now, it's goodnight from me, and it's goodnight from him!
Bonefish Blues said:
Thanks for taking us along too.
12 mpg
On the 400 Facebook page, a potential purchaser just asked about fuel consumption for different specs - carbs, FI, auto, manual. I said I'd been getting 12 on long journeys. Someone responded, "12 is pretty good. Your car must be running well."12 mpg
Many years ago I though the suspension was slightly out of level at the back of my car but on measuring it I found it was an optical illusion caused by my rear bumper being slightly crooked - which was a very cheap fix. Hopefully it will be something simple on your car.
It's a good thread this: interesting, engaging and featuring a superb car.
It's a good thread this: interesting, engaging and featuring a superb car.
dbdb said:
Many years ago I though the suspension was slightly out of level at the back of my car but on measuring it I found it was an optical illusion caused by my rear bumper being slightly crooked - which was a very cheap fix. Hopefully it will be something simple on your car.
It's a good thread this: interesting, engaging and featuring a superb car.
Thanks.It's a good thread this: interesting, engaging and featuring a superb car.
I've measured the gap between the top of the wheel rim and the bottom of the wheelarch when it's settled, and it's definitely about half an inch out. Hopefully just a tweak required. The self-levelling system doesn't appear to be losing fluid, and it pumps itself up with a sense of purpose on start-up.
I did another hundred miles or so today, and despite occasional grumbling at low revs, once it's over 3k rpm it's as smooth as silk. Then, over 4k it really starts to pick up and is a joy. Rain forecast for tomorrow, so I'll use the opportunity of free water to give it a wash. Then fit a new exhaust hanger and review the to-do list and think about what I can get done before Xmas.
Mr Tidy said:
Yes thanks for that Rumdoodle. 12mpg on a 1,900 mile road trip is PH commitment of the highest order. 
I thought my 2,000 mile trip to do the NC500 was extravagant, but I was getting about 27mpg!
I took in the NC500 on a 1,700 mile trip in my old V8 R107 Mercedes. I thought my 2,000 mile trip to do the NC500 was extravagant, but I was getting about 27mpg!
I was probably getting a little over 20mpg in that. The thirst of the V12 does make me think a bit more about how I want to use it. The Merc was perfect for those roads, and so versatile. It really was a "drive anywhere" classic. I think the Ferrari would get a bit tiresome on narrow, bumpy roads and the fuel consumption would seem like an annoyance without sufficient reward, whereas it is amazing for long distance, fast cruising. I finally understand the cliche of a "continent crushing GT car". The longest driving days on the French trip were five or six hours on the autoroute, and I was getting out at the end of the day feeling better than when I started. It is a supremely comfortable car to drive, and as a passenger there is heaps of space to comport oneself however one wishes. The Mercedes was pretty effortless, but one of the outstanding things about the Ferrari is the comfort level. The sole intrusion on refinement is the noise. At certain revs, which happen to be at the upper and lower parameters of respectable motorway speeds on the flat, it needs raised voices to hold a conversation. If there is any wind noise, which I doubt, it can't be heard over the resonance (if that's the right word) of the exhausts. But, it's no criticism of my passenger to say that conversation can wait, while the Colombo V12 does its thing.
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff