Satan's barge - 1983 Ferrari 400i
Discussion
Lovely.
My father bought one about 20 years ago as an impulse purchase at an auction.
He's gone to bid on an Aston Lagonda which turned out to be a bit of a dog so not wanting to come home empty handed bought the 400 instead. Turned out to be a pretty good one.
He had it for a few years and I did a lot of miles in it including a trackday at Bedford (brakes didn't last long) and an 8 day Euro Tour with the Ferrari Owners Club.
Only issues we had was a dead fuel pump on the penultimate day of the Ferrari trip in Germany. We drove home on 6 cylinders. No acceleration but once up to speed still managed a 90-100 mph cruise.
Also had an issue with the circuit board under the passenger footwell melting and nearly catching fire in Italy. Quite a known problem with these apparently.
On the whole though I loved it. Looks so much better in the metal than in pics and not proper old school cool. Great as a GT car, fast, comfy with loads of room in the boot and back seats. Fuel bills were quite scary though.
It got replaced with a 456 GTA.
Looking forward to the updates on yours.
My father bought one about 20 years ago as an impulse purchase at an auction.
He's gone to bid on an Aston Lagonda which turned out to be a bit of a dog so not wanting to come home empty handed bought the 400 instead. Turned out to be a pretty good one.
He had it for a few years and I did a lot of miles in it including a trackday at Bedford (brakes didn't last long) and an 8 day Euro Tour with the Ferrari Owners Club.
Only issues we had was a dead fuel pump on the penultimate day of the Ferrari trip in Germany. We drove home on 6 cylinders. No acceleration but once up to speed still managed a 90-100 mph cruise.
Also had an issue with the circuit board under the passenger footwell melting and nearly catching fire in Italy. Quite a known problem with these apparently.
On the whole though I loved it. Looks so much better in the metal than in pics and not proper old school cool. Great as a GT car, fast, comfy with loads of room in the boot and back seats. Fuel bills were quite scary though.
It got replaced with a 456 GTA.
Looking forward to the updates on yours.
TEKNOPUG said:
PushedDover said:
ChocolateFrog said:
That said the under bonnet shot is glorious.
What is the silver box attached to the Bonnet ? Front O/S ?Rumdoodle said:
The cause of the engine cutting out was probably the ignition module, seen here bolted to the bonnet next to the strut.
P5BNij said:
What a great read this thread is, looking forward to more plucky tales of ownership. This and the Dino 308GT4 of the same period are two of my favourite Ferraris, they're so understated in many ways and don't look dated at all.
We do what we can! Have you still got your Maserati?The other thing I wanted to sort was a minor issue but really bugging me. The offside front indicator lens had been damaged and repaired, so it was holding together but looked bad
The lens is still available new and in stock at Eurospares at........
.........£1200 apiece. Just the lens.
Of course, if you buy one, it might be a slightly different shade of orange to the other, so you're in for two and half grand just for a pair of matching front indicators.
I found a secondhand one for sale in Germany at a 50% saving against new. Inevitably, it doesn't match. It's noticeably darker than the nearside one, but nevertheless marginally less annoying than having a cracked one.
The lens is still available new and in stock at Eurospares at........
.........£1200 apiece. Just the lens.
Of course, if you buy one, it might be a slightly different shade of orange to the other, so you're in for two and half grand just for a pair of matching front indicators.
I found a secondhand one for sale in Germany at a 50% saving against new. Inevitably, it doesn't match. It's noticeably darker than the nearside one, but nevertheless marginally less annoying than having a cracked one.
Davey S2 said:
Also had an issue with the circuit board under the passenger footwell melting and nearly catching fire in Italy. Quite a known problem with these apparently.
I hadn't heard about that, but it doesn't surprise me given the heat that the bulkhead and floor absorbs. I got quite familiar with the fusebox in the footwell after the first round of fettling had been completed. I picked it up again in September and it was running supremely, just a dream. Then the driver's window fuse started blowing. I stocked up on fuses and it sufficed for a while to just slot a new one in every now and then, but I suspected I was on borrowed time before it packed up altogether. Sure enough it did, but more on that later.Rumdoodle said:
The other thing I wanted to sort was a minor issue but really bugging me. The offside front indicator lens had been damaged and repaired, so it was holding together but looked bad
The lens is still available new and in stock at Eurospares at........
.........£1200 apiece. Just the lens.
Of course, if you buy one, it might be a slightly different shade of orange to the other, so you're in for two and half grand just for a pair of matching front indicators.
I found a secondhand one for sale in Germany at a 50% saving against new. Inevitably, it doesn't match. It's noticeably darker than the nearside one, but nevertheless marginally less annoying than having a cracked one.
Tinting spray The lens is still available new and in stock at Eurospares at........
.........£1200 apiece. Just the lens.
Of course, if you buy one, it might be a slightly different shade of orange to the other, so you're in for two and half grand just for a pair of matching front indicators.
I found a secondhand one for sale in Germany at a 50% saving against new. Inevitably, it doesn't match. It's noticeably darker than the nearside one, but nevertheless marginally less annoying than having a cracked one.
What a heroic choice.
Though I say that purely as I also have one! But more seriously, having it is an only car is a brave shout. I’ve only managed maybe 2k miles in mine in the last 8 years.
I’ll be collecting mine from Bicester shortly (it’s currently having a new brake master cylinder fitted), so if you are nearby, maybe we could meet up for a 400i show-and-tell?
Oh - I’ve had the MSD ignition module update. I’d recommend that if you have a problem again. (If you are a stickler for originality, you can have the workings of the MSD unit transposed into your original housing, so visually, no one would know. Sneaky.)
Though I say that purely as I also have one! But more seriously, having it is an only car is a brave shout. I’ve only managed maybe 2k miles in mine in the last 8 years.
I’ll be collecting mine from Bicester shortly (it’s currently having a new brake master cylinder fitted), so if you are nearby, maybe we could meet up for a 400i show-and-tell?
Oh - I’ve had the MSD ignition module update. I’d recommend that if you have a problem again. (If you are a stickler for originality, you can have the workings of the MSD unit transposed into your original housing, so visually, no one would know. Sneaky.)
Rumdoodle said:
The other thing I wanted to sort was a minor issue but really bugging me. The offside front indicator lens had been damaged and repaired, so it was holding together but looked bad
The lens is still available new and in stock at Eurospares at........
.........£1200 apiece. Just the lens.
Of course, if you buy one, it might be a slightly different shade of orange to the other, so you're in for two and half grand just for a pair of matching front indicators.
I found a secondhand one for sale in Germany at a 50% saving against new. Inevitably, it doesn't match. It's noticeably darker than the nearside one, but nevertheless marginally less annoying than having a cracked one.
I got a pair from a Ferrari parts supplier in Wales. Not at all cheap, but a bit less than Eurospares. Fitting wasn’t as easy as you might think, and the lovely deep orange colour soon faded...The lens is still available new and in stock at Eurospares at........
.........£1200 apiece. Just the lens.
Of course, if you buy one, it might be a slightly different shade of orange to the other, so you're in for two and half grand just for a pair of matching front indicators.
I found a secondhand one for sale in Germany at a 50% saving against new. Inevitably, it doesn't match. It's noticeably darker than the nearside one, but nevertheless marginally less annoying than having a cracked one.
90sMasers said:
What a heroic choice.
Though I say that purely as I also have one! But more seriously, having it is an only car is a brave shout. I’ve only managed maybe 2k miles in mine in the last 8 years.
I’ll be collecting mine from Bicester shortly (it’s currently having a new brake master cylinder fitted), so if you are nearby, maybe we could meet up for a 400i show-and-tell?
Oh - I’ve had the MSD ignition module update. I’d recommend that if you have a problem again. (If you are a stickler for originality, you can have the workings of the MSD unit transposed into your original housing, so visually, no one would know. Sneaky.)
Excellent taste. Yes, let's do that. I'm actually away until early June, so perhaps I can send you a PM and we can see what's what closer to the time. Though I say that purely as I also have one! But more seriously, having it is an only car is a brave shout. I’ve only managed maybe 2k miles in mine in the last 8 years.
I’ll be collecting mine from Bicester shortly (it’s currently having a new brake master cylinder fitted), so if you are nearby, maybe we could meet up for a 400i show-and-tell?
Oh - I’ve had the MSD ignition module update. I’d recommend that if you have a problem again. (If you are a stickler for originality, you can have the workings of the MSD unit transposed into your original housing, so visually, no one would know. Sneaky.)
I'm more into functionality than originality. Although, as far as I know, the only non-original feature apart from the MSD module is the stereo, which is a Ferrari branded head unit from, I think, a 360. It also has a CD multichanger in the glovebox which was probably state-of-the-art when it was fitted, maybe in the late '90s. American owners with more familiarity with auto boxes talk of fitting shift kits to sharpen up the changes, but I don't think I can be bothered. I just like to get it into top on a long, straight road and barrel along with a grin no other car has given me. After I'd had my little Wales mishap attended to, I did stretch it a little more. The first time I was overtaking something with a bit of welly and it kicked down to second, it took off like a rocket. Quite hilarious. I wasn't expecting it to be that responsive. It really is a sublime cruiser, with thunderous performance when needed.
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