Satan's barge - 1983 Ferrari 400i

[90sMasers]

Great. PM when you are back.
And because a few asked, here’s a shot with pop-ups up😀

[Rumdoodle]

90sMasers said:

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...

After a couple of strange misunderstandings at roundabouts, I learnt that the real problem with my indicators is that they are barely discernible. The only way you can actually see them flashing is by standing really close when the car is stationary - not a position most other motorists are in at busy junctions. So, I have to get that sorted before I have a collision and have to buy more bloody indicator lenses.

[90sMasers]

Correct on both accounts. Prugna, and with wooden dash and toggle switchgear.

[BrettMRC]

Rumdoodle said:

After a couple of strange misunderstandings at roundabouts, I learnt that the real problem with my indicators is that they are barely discernible. The only way you can actually see them flashing is by standing really close when the car is stationary - not a position most other motorists are in at busy junctions. So, I have to get that sorted before I have a collision and have to buy more bloody indicator lenses.

How old are the bulbs I wonder?

Is it a brightness or angle issue?

[AW111]

BrettMRC said:

Rumdoodle said:

After a couple of strange misunderstandings at roundabouts, I learnt that the real problem with my indicators is that they are barely discernible. The only way you can actually see them flashing is by standing really close when the car is stationary - not a position most other motorists are in at busy junctions. So, I have to get that sorted before I have a collision and have to buy more bloody indicator lenses.

How old are the bulbs I wonder?

Is it a brightness or angle issue?

LED indicator bulbs may be a simple option - they are significantly brighter than incandescent, but will need a compatible flasher can/relay.

[Unreal]

90sMasers said:

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...

Is that not the sort of part that could made with 3D printing?

[TEKNOPUG]

AW111 said:

BrettMRC said:

Rumdoodle said:

After a couple of strange misunderstandings at roundabouts, I learnt that the real problem with my indicators is that they are barely discernible. The only way you can actually see them flashing is by standing really close when the car is stationary - not a position most other motorists are in at busy junctions. So, I have to get that sorted before I have a collision and have to buy more bloody indicator lenses.

How old are the bulbs I wonder?

Is it a brightness or angle issue?

LED indicator bulbs may be a simple option - they are significantly brighter than incandescent, but will need a compatible flasher can/relay.

This is the way.

[TEKNOPUG]

Unreal said:

Is that not the sort of part that could made with 3D printing?

I'm sure you could get copies made for less than the originals.

[JJJ.]

TEKNOPUG said:

I'm sure you could get copies made for less than the originals.

I'm sure there is a company in the UK that actually make lamp lenses and similar. Sort of recall seeing the process on one of those car repair TV shows.

[wol]

Unreal said:

Is that not the sort of part that could made with 3D printing?

Sadly you won't get the finish, nor the longevity from them.

They can be remade by creating the necessary molds, which can be done DIY.

[P5BNij]

Rumdoodle said:

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?

Yes, still got it, it should be coming back from Shiltech in Loughborough next week

(It was at Migliore in Bromsgrove for a while, where they had a pair of 400s in at the same time)

Edited by P5BNij on Wednesday 29th March 18:49

[Rumdoodle]

Thanks for the suggestions about the lenses. My secondhand purchase will do for now. I wouldn't mind shelling out for a pair of new ones on the basis that they're unlikely to need replacing again, but I'd have to have already tackled every other job on the car before doing so. And I'm not sure I'll ever get to that point! Better things to spend the money on for the foreseeable.

The point about the bulbs is probably spot on. I'll report back.

[Greatestape]

The 400 GT and 400i are very under-rated cars. Four-seat Ferraris have always had a bad rep from so-called purists, but unlike the awkwardly proportioned Mondial and FF the Pininfarina-designed 365GT4, 400i and 412i family is an elegant design from the same mould as his equally pretty Fiat 130 Coupe of the same era.

Another reason the 400 cars were not exactly lauded by the cognoscenti is the GM300 automatic transmission also fitted to older Range Rovers, Rolls-Royce and Jaguars. Wholly unsuited to a high-revving V12 this three-speed slushbox really held back the performance and character of the cars.

For whatever reason Maranello Concessionaires chose to only offer the car in automatic form in the UK. An experienced Ferrari driver I know who tested the five-speed manual version in Italy could not stop singing it's praises, billing it as a latter day 365GTC/4. A carb 400GT five-speed would be a thing!

History has recorded the loss of a kingdom through the loss of a horseshoe...

[NomduJour]

There are RHD UK-supplied 400s,400is and 412s, just not loads of them.

[C70R]

This might be heresy, but I actually prefer front-engined V12 Ferraris to the mid-engined V8s. The 550/575, 599 and 612 are 'peak Ferrari' as far as I'm concerned. I'm also a very fond of the 400/412, and think that time will eventually soften opinions on what was a very bold design at the time.

I'd love to own one, but whenever I've had enough of a warchest stashed away to buy one something else seems to come along and swallow it up.

Following this one with interest.

[Deranged Rover]

Just spotted this thread. I've always loved 400s so will be reading this keenly!

[Straff99]

It's chaps like you that keep me coming back to PH. Good luck with running such a beautiful thing - I'll be reading every word

[PR350]

I absolutely adore the 400i/412 and was lucky enough to be driven in one many moons ago. A genuinely beautiful car to my eyes.

I was an avid reader of "Fast Lane" back in the day and remember reading an article where the editor (Peter Dron?) had a RHD 412 with a manual 'box and - although I'm older and suffer from brain fog much more now - seem to recall something in the article about the 4-valve heads of the Testarossa being a direct swap for the 412 although the TR was a boxer 12 and not a Vee everything else was the same - something prompts a memory of a 50ish bhp gain in theory. I may have dreamt this, but always, always wanted a 400i/412 and in dreamland it came with a TR head and a manual 'box

Looking forward to the continuing tales of this fantastic machine OP, you're a very lucky chap imho.

[Momentainious]

They had a 365GT4 2+2 at an H & H auction in Buxton April last year. It was the only car that I spent more than a few minutes looking at. Lovely colour and a manual.

https://www.handh.co.uk/auction/lot/lot-31---1973-...

[jeremyc]

There's a manual, RHD 412i coming up for auction on The Market shortly.