Satan's barge - 1983 Ferrari 400i
Discussion
rallycross said:
Thats wild having a 400 as your only car! What will you do the 6m of the year when its broken?! (only kidding).
Could you share what its like to drive??
I tried to buy on of these in 95' from a chap in Fulham who had left it to decay for years but was not open to low offers, I fancied a V12 at the time ended up in a XJS.
In a nutshell, it's fairly ponderous until about 4000rpm, then the acceleration from about 70mph to well north of 100mph is absolutely seamless and just phenomenal for a car of its age. It's loud inside and out compared to the XJS, but at motorway cruising speed, where it's just starting to howl, you can ease on and off the power and enjoy the sound forever. That engine really is as good as it's made out to be. The ride is very refined, it just glides along. It's supremely comfortable, probably the most comfortable seats of anything I've driven. Visibility is superb. The switches and stalks are very light touch. Handling is fine, it's nicely balanced as you'd expect with front-engine rwd, although I can't say I've been hustling it through corners. Could you share what its like to drive??
I tried to buy on of these in 95' from a chap in Fulham who had left it to decay for years but was not open to low offers, I fancied a V12 at the time ended up in a XJS.
Last time I took it out, I did about 100 miles, stopped for a splash of fuel, it fired up again immediately and the next 100 miles felt even better. It really does devour long distances superbly.
When I got it, the tyres were dated 2006 (!!). Tread was ok, and they weren't obviously cracked, but the first thing on the to-do list was a new set. The 400 uses metric Michelin TRX tyres, which, I think, were only made for this model (possibly also the 512BBi). Incredibly, they are still available from heroes such as Longstone Tyres, at £500 apiece, so I now have a lovely new set dated 2022. But, before they were fitted, the to-do list got a bit longer due to some snags that appeared two weeks after I bought the car and took it on holiday - by mistake.....
I know where there's one of these. The interior and part of the engine has been stripped and the car is full of parts and complex drawings that look like they came from a manufacturer's manual and someone has given up. I cannot imagine how anyone will get it going again, It's a shame because they are interesting cars. They remind me of the even rarer Bitter. Thanks for posting OP - a good read.
Beautiful. I love the understated elegance of the 400 & the more low key, GT Ferraris in general.
Back in the late 90s or early 2000s, I was working as a postman in Staffordshire & a chap turned up at the delivery office each morning in a 400 to collect his mail. He was clearly using it as his everyday car & I remember being very impressed by that!
Thanks for stating the thread. I’m looking forward to the updates.
Back in the late 90s or early 2000s, I was working as a postman in Staffordshire & a chap turned up at the delivery office each morning in a 400 to collect his mail. He was clearly using it as his everyday car & I remember being very impressed by that!
Thanks for stating the thread. I’m looking forward to the updates.
I recalled LJK Setright reviewing a 400i, if not once possibly a couple of times for Car magazine back in the days when I was young lad and couldn't get enough Car and it's contributors.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/triggerscarstuff/alb...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/triggerscarstuff/alb...
AW111 said:
I love that it's so understated. No wings, no gaping "mouth", it's not covered in vents and add-on bits.
Just a nice, clean, elegant design.
Indeed - a car from the days when Ferrari GTs were designed to appeal to aristocrats & captains of industry not footballers and z list celebritiesJust a nice, clean, elegant design.
Thanks for the comments. Glad you like it!
Getting it last June meant I could get to know it a bit in nice weather.
As well as the antique tyres, the brakes felt a bit juddery. Other than those things, easily remedied, the running and handling exceeded my expectations. Not only was I enjoying the 400 more than I expected, this particular 400 seemed to be a good one, which was quite a relief. After what appeared to have been a long period of non-use and only very recent "recommissioning", it wouldn't have surprised me to encounter a whole load of issues which might take a few attempts to fix, with long lead times for parts, a struggle to find a workshop that would take it on within a reasonable timeframe and consequently long periods where the car was unusable. And I didn't really know anyone in the Ferrari world, so I was starting from scratch, which can be a trial in itself.
In the first week or so, I did a couple of hundred miles near to home and got to know it a bit. Took it along to the Bicester Scramble where I’d arranged to meet some family who didn’t know I’d bought it. As we wandered through the car park, I stopped and said to my father, “That’s mine.” As a family, cars have always been a huge part of our work and pleasure, but I was a tad concerned that he might think I’d lost completely the plot. Turns out, although we’d never discussed the 400, he loves them. So, as I’m out of the country quite a bit, he takes it out for a run on sunny days and it’s nice that someone else can enjoy it.
With increasing confidence that the car was running ok, I decided to take it to Wales for a few days with a friend. All I’d noticed was a bit of a leak from the self-levelling unit mounted under the boot floor. It seemed minimal, and the back end was still rising and settling as it should, so I figured it would be manageable.
From Oxfordshire to the Welsh coast, it was all good. There was a heavy rainshower halfway along, but no leaks and the wipers were serviceable. We tried everything to get the ventilation system to work and resorted to finding the instruction manual online. It made zero sense in English so we tried reading the Italian version, which was no less useful but much more fun. I have never been bothered about A/C even on a hot day in England, it’s the ability to demist in the cold and rain that is my basic requirement. At least, that’s what I had thought – but the heat that comes up through the floor from those massive exhausts has made me realise that a bit of cabin cooling might be useful too.
Arrived in Wales and parked up for the night
Getting it last June meant I could get to know it a bit in nice weather.
As well as the antique tyres, the brakes felt a bit juddery. Other than those things, easily remedied, the running and handling exceeded my expectations. Not only was I enjoying the 400 more than I expected, this particular 400 seemed to be a good one, which was quite a relief. After what appeared to have been a long period of non-use and only very recent "recommissioning", it wouldn't have surprised me to encounter a whole load of issues which might take a few attempts to fix, with long lead times for parts, a struggle to find a workshop that would take it on within a reasonable timeframe and consequently long periods where the car was unusable. And I didn't really know anyone in the Ferrari world, so I was starting from scratch, which can be a trial in itself.
In the first week or so, I did a couple of hundred miles near to home and got to know it a bit. Took it along to the Bicester Scramble where I’d arranged to meet some family who didn’t know I’d bought it. As we wandered through the car park, I stopped and said to my father, “That’s mine.” As a family, cars have always been a huge part of our work and pleasure, but I was a tad concerned that he might think I’d lost completely the plot. Turns out, although we’d never discussed the 400, he loves them. So, as I’m out of the country quite a bit, he takes it out for a run on sunny days and it’s nice that someone else can enjoy it.
With increasing confidence that the car was running ok, I decided to take it to Wales for a few days with a friend. All I’d noticed was a bit of a leak from the self-levelling unit mounted under the boot floor. It seemed minimal, and the back end was still rising and settling as it should, so I figured it would be manageable.
From Oxfordshire to the Welsh coast, it was all good. There was a heavy rainshower halfway along, but no leaks and the wipers were serviceable. We tried everything to get the ventilation system to work and resorted to finding the instruction manual online. It made zero sense in English so we tried reading the Italian version, which was no less useful but much more fun. I have never been bothered about A/C even on a hot day in England, it’s the ability to demist in the cold and rain that is my basic requirement. At least, that’s what I had thought – but the heat that comes up through the floor from those massive exhausts has made me realise that a bit of cabin cooling might be useful too.
Arrived in Wales and parked up for the night
My dad had one of these for many years.....did a few trips to France and back. There's plenty of room in the boot for some cases of Champagne 
Also, the scariest part of my life working on one of these....timing the engine from the flywheel, whilst underneath the car with it a couple of inches above your nose.
Happy days.
Also, the scariest part of my life working on one of these....timing the engine from the flywheel, whilst underneath the car with it a couple of inches above your nose.
Happy days.
Next morning, the plan was to strike out along the coast and see whatever there was to see. I decided to top up with fuel first. The warning light works, but the gauge never reads more than half full, so I try to keep an eye on miles. Of course, when I bought this car, high octane fuel was well north of £2 a litre. A 26 gallon fill-up was costing about £230, and lasted under 400 miles. What I hadn’t anticipated was that it’s quite difficult to find super unleaded in rural Wales. Did about 25 more miles before settling on some regular fuel, then ended up on some very narrow roads and noticed that the steering was getting very heavy.
Then it started absolutely pouring with rain. Back on a main road, cruising along at about sixty, the engine suddenly died. No pops or bangs or smoke, just lost all power, the revs dropped and within about ten seconds it had cut out. I’d managed to pull into a layby, and thought that it was probably something electrical, maybe because of the rain. After a few seconds, I turned the key, it fired up, and we were on our way again.
After stopping for some lunch, we had just headed off again, when the fuel pressure light started flickering on. As we were dawdling in traffic, I hoped it might just be because it was at low idle, but then it kept flickering and the needle was heading in the wrong direction. I pulled over, appropriately next to a church. Popped the bonnet. There was nothing to suggest any seals had failed or anything catastrophic had happened. There was a big leak at the front of the engine bay, though, and without being able to get under the car, I assumed it had come from the oil cooler. After it had stood for a few minutes, I checked the level and it was empty. I looked back at the wet road and saw that it had been leaking all the way to where I stopped. So, when I had stopped it was still leaking, and after I had switched off, it must have dumped whatever was left of the 18.5 litres (!) that it holds.
I assumed a hose must have split, and was pretty sure I had switched it off before any damage could have been done. It was only running at very low revs when this all happened. But I didn’t want to risk a bodge with the wrong type of hose (and risk dumping another 18.5 litres of fresh oil on a wet road and potentially causing an accident), this was lunchtime on a Sunday, in rural Wales…..So, there was nothing for it but to get a tow back to England. Which took twelve hours
Edited by Rumdoodle on Monday 27th March 20:37
Unreal said:
I know where there's one of these. The interior and part of the engine has been stripped and the car is full of parts and complex drawings that look like they came from a manufacturer's manual and someone has given up. I cannot imagine how anyone will get it going again, It's a shame because they are interesting cars. They remind me of the even rarer Bitter. Thanks for posting OP - a good read.
I'm always interested in acquiring bits and pieces, so if you have any contact details, please message me. Thanks!993kimbo said:
Rumdoodle said:
The ex-Keith Richards car sold a couple of years ago for probably a world record price of about £300k, while Bill Wyman's was auctioned last month for about a tenth of that.
Well obviously.He was just the bass player.
As for my attempted holiday, it took four recovery trucks to get back to England. There was one long wait at a motorway services but overall, it was well coordinated and I got my money's worth out of my breakdown cover. As we were approaching the border, there was an impressive hailstorm, more remarkable for it being mid-June (!), but I assume this is just how it goes in Wales.
We'd booked a cottage for a few nights, and originally envisioned picking up something more reliable and going straight back to Wales. That plan was dismissed as we didn't unload the Ferrari until nearly midnight, by which time there was a general loss of sense of humour. Next morning, my fellow traveller tested positive for Covid, making this a truly comprehensive failure as holidays go. But, we still needed to go back and pick up our luggage, and that took up all of the next day.
I then had to go away for a couple of months, so I booked the car in with my friendly local independent specialist. As it happens, they had briefly owned the car earlier in the year and had sold it to the dealer whom I then bought it from. This was a real stroke of luck, as they already knew it and had done some small jobs on it recently. As I didn't need the car for a while, there was no rush to get it into the workshop. But that meant I had several weeks of trying to contain concerns that the engine had been trashed and I was going to be looking at a £30k rebuild. That was exceptionally unlikely, but until it had been inspected I couldn't rule it out.
The news was good, though! It hadn't been a split hose, but the oil cooler itself had failed. Quite unusual, but it may well have been the original item crying enough after forty years, and it was cheap and easy to replace. The leak from the self-levelling unit turned out to be linked to the heavy steering, as both run off the same system. Some 400 owners dispense with the self-levelling and run a standard set-up, due to the difficulty of getting refurbished or replacement parts. That might be necessary at some point, but, luckily, this was just a matter of replacing a seal and refilling. The cause of the engine cutting out was probably the ignition module, seen here bolted to the bonnet next to the strut.
It was the original Magneti Marelli unit, no longer obtainable new and considered unrepairable, so a common substitute is an MSD unit. Again, cheap enough, and I haven't had any problems at all since. And, finally, with a new set of tyres, the car's first attempt to disgrace itself had been dealt with relatively simply.
ChocolateFrog said:
That said the under bonnet shot is glorious.
Yeah, it's a mountain of an engine. The 412, which was the final iteration of this model, was the last to have a version of the original Colombo V12. I haven't driven the next generation, which came in with the 456, and which I'm sure is superb. I do appreciate the historical aspect, though, as the Colombo V12 was also fitted to Ferrari's first ever road car when it was just 1.5 litres! By the time my car was made, it was tried and tested technology and, in the 400, not in a particularly high state of tune, with about 310bhp. As long as it's looked after properly, it's a durable engine.Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff