Satan's barge - 1983 Ferrari 400i

[Rumdoodle]

Today was a travel day, leaving Sainte Croix en Plain in Alsace and going via Besancon to a little village in Bourgogne. It's costing about £240 to fill up and I'm getting about 350 miles on that, which I reckon gives me about 12mpg. Stopped off at the Notre Dame du Haut chapel designed by Le Corbusier and built in the 50s after the original 14th century chapel had been destroyed in the war.

Nearby, Alpine incoming

Besancon was impressive. This is the Porte Noire

and, for the full French experience, we wandered into a protest. It was a real tinderbox, could have gone up any time......that may be a slight exaggeration

and parked up for the night

[Rumdoodle]

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

[Rumdoodle]

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

[Rumdoodle]

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.

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.

[Rumdoodle]

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!

[Rumdoodle]

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."

[Rumdoodle]

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.

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.

[Rumdoodle]

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 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.

[Rumdoodle]

Now with new HT leads, dizzy cap and rotor bearings, the engine is running smooth as silk again. Collected it this evening from the workshop where it sat among a glittering array of Boxers, Countachs and similar delights, trundled home through a rush hour downpour and brimmed the tank. Leaving at midnight for Scotland, which should take about seven hours including fuel stops, arriving for a greasy spoon at daybreak.

[Rumdoodle]

BrettMRC said:

Sounds perfect!

Stupid question.. how good are the headlights?

Not a stupid question all. I generally try and avoid driving at night, partly because it's boring and partly because I find it quite hard work in older cars where the lights seem so much dimmer than anything else on the road. But, they're OK, and I figured that in the middle of the night with minimal traffic and mostly on motorways, it won't be too wearing. The drive this evening in heavy rain with lots of oncoming traffic was a bit too much like hard work. Maybe it's my age as much as the car's!

[Rumdoodle]

BrettMRC said:

That's what I was wondering - in isolation the older lighting systems seem fine, especially once you adjust. However they seem to get almost nullified by modern LED systems...almost leaves you groping in the dark!
At least a lot of the route should have lighting anyway?

Honestly, on low beam it's like they're not even switched on. My return journey will be in daylight, which is good because there is some nice scenery. No option but to drive through the night on this occasion, but all I'm thinking about is the noise. It's going to be superb.

[Rumdoodle]

Breakfast achieved.

Good trip. Couple of diversions but no traffic and only occasional showers. That was probably the longest journey I've done in the dark for a while. By the time I got off the A74, felt like my eyes were turning inside out.

[Rumdoodle]

Return journey. Stopping off at Tebay to do some Xmas shopping and get a brew.

[Rumdoodle]

I went for the sausage roll, which was a feast.

Car ran faultlessly. Now, weather permitting, I'll give it a clean and see how it's holding up. I'm heading to Brooklands for the New Year's Day event. Never been there before, so it'll be a novel way to start the year.

[Rumdoodle]

theadman said:

I dread to think what has transpired to justify the new registration!

Gotta earn a crust. Those Ferraris don't buy themselves!

[Rumdoodle]

bolidemichael said:

Rumdoodle said:

I went for the sausage roll, which was a feast.

Car ran faultlessly. Now, weather permitting, I'll give it a clean and see how it's holding up. I'm heading to Brooklands for the New Year's Day event. Never been there before, so it'll be a novel way to start the year.

Do you mean the New Year's Eve event?

Dunno. The one with all the old cars. I've just come from a different time zone (photo of smug looking camel as evidence)

so I might be a few hours out of whack. On the other hand, someone recently invited me to the Stony Stratford classic meet on Boxing Day, which I had to tactfully remind them was on New Year's Day, so I am starting to think there is some kind of collective effort to persuade me that all of these events are not happening on New Year's Day. But, I tell you, I'm onto you. I know what you're up to.

[Rumdoodle]

Concerned of Cheshire said:

Terrific thread. We had a 1974 365 GT4 2+2 back in the early 80's, the car was a Jersey import and registered here as DYF 51 V. It was well used doing regular 400 mile round trips hence forever needing tuning with six side draught Webers and twin distributors still using contact breakers.
I have fond memories of the car, starting in hot weather was always an occasion with some firing delay as the float chambers filled due to evaportaion before the columbo burst in to life..... glorious !
The car is SORN somewhere or other nowadays, would love to know where.....

Nice. Must have been quite something! Any photos?

I don't think I would have bothered doing an overnight trip to Scotland in any other car. Would have taken a flight instead. But, any opportunity to do a long journey in this...Just superb levels of performance and refinement.

[Rumdoodle]

Mr Tidy said:

Rumdoodle said:

Dunno. The one with all the old cars. I've just come from a different time zone (photo of smug looking camel as evidence)

I don't bother going to Brooklands on New Years Day as they are charging over £20 entry.

I got to The Phoenix, Hartley Wintney just up the A30 where it is free to almost block the road!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ud7u1AU_b30

Good tip, thanks. I've always wanted to visit the Brooklands museum, so that was partly the thinking on this occasion.

[Rumdoodle]

Billy_Whizzzz said:

Probably a boring question - have read of much mechanical fettling but as an old Italian car that you’ll use in winter are you planning to protect metalwork, silks, arches plus brackets and componentry that all likes to self destruct even in cars 1/4 of the age!?

I only need a car for a couple of weeks in the winter. I ran my '83 Mercedes for similar annual mileage and in every season. That held up fine until I used it pretty much daily throughout one winter, which significantly accelerated the deterioration of the outer wheelarches and other usual vulnerable areas. All of which are easily sorted, of course.

If I needed regular wheels during winter, I'd get something else because the conditions are so generally grim and I don't want driving this to become a chore. It saw a couple of salty roads last winter but had a thorough undercarriage jet wash afterwards. The rest of the time, it is tucked up in the warm and dry so I'm confident it can withstand a few wet weeks every year. I find the best way to avoid worrying about this sort of thing is to build up a bodywork fund and be prepared to throw everything at it every few years.

Actually, it's just sustained some weather-related damage unexpectedly. In the strong winds yesterday, the driver's door was caught in a gust and went a bit further round than intended, which snapped the check strap. Lucky it was such minimal damage.

I was passing Silverstone today and popped in for a quick chat with the workshop there. Door repairs have now been added to the job list for next year, which also includes a good post-winter undercarriage clean up.

[Rumdoodle]

Dirty car

after last night's gale. I figured that Ferraris used to be built to win events like the Mille Miglia and Targa Florio, so mine could make it through a few muddy days in Surrey. It'll have earned some pampering after this, though. A thorough service, tune up and clean once it's tucked away in the warm next month.

It's been a great year for this lovely old thing. Off to Brooklands tomorrow morning!