Rebuild of 400I Chassis 40877 | FerrariChat

Rebuild of 400I Chassis 40877

Discussion in '365 GT4 2+2/400/412' started by Al Campbell, Dec 15, 2013.

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  1. Al Campbell

    Al Campbell Formula Junior
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Nov 22, 2013
    571
    Australia
    #1 Al Campbell, Dec 15, 2013
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Hi All,

    I am new to the forum & I'm starting to rebuild a 82 400I. I'm located in Australia & have a large collection of 70's small Fords (mainly Cortina's) & this is my first Ferrari. I have done some work on a BB512 Ferrari about 15 years ago & have lusted after one ever since. The BB512 is way out of my budget but the 400I is a bit closer.

    The 400I needs a total restoration & is in very poor condition & is missing some parts. My plan is to rebuild it to a reliable running vehicle. This rebuild will not be a concourse restoration but I will try & keep the vehicle original where ever possible. I am aware this will be an expensive exercise & a bit of a money pit. This vehicle probably should have been reduced to parts but I will do my best to resurrect it. This vehicle has a checkered past. It spent some time in America & Zimbabwe before coming to Australia. It was apparently last running 11 years ago in Zimbabwe so I know I will have a big job ahead to get it back on the road. Any help & advice along the way will be greatly appreciated.

    Regards Al
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  2. Ak Jim

    Ak Jim F1 Veteran
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    Dec 23, 2007
    8,450
    North Pole AK
    Good luck, you are undertaking a noble project. My 365 was somewhat resurrected. Is your car left or right hand drive?
     
  3. Al Campbell

    Al Campbell Formula Junior
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Nov 22, 2013
    571
    Australia
    Thanks Jim,

    It is a left hand drive.

    I start 3 weeks holidays tomorrow & hope to try & get the engine fired up during this time. I will start by cleaning out the fuel system. So far I have removed the fuel tanks for cleaning & have new fuel pumps, accumulators & filters to go in. I also have kits to put through the fuel distributors. Most of the flexible fuel hoses are perished & require replacement. I was told by the previous owner that the spark is no good so I have a MSD 6AL-2 & Blaster 2 coil to go in. The wiring to the fuel injection is a real mess & will take some sorting out.

    Some of the missing parts I'm keeping an eye out for at the moment are -
    The top alternator, alternator mounting bracket, power steering reservoir & hoses
    left & right interior ventillation fans & ducting
    lever mechanism for the fuel flap & boot release
    Brake booster & master cylinder - are there any alternatives available for these?

    Cheers Al
     
  4. Ashman

    Ashman Three Time F1 World Champ
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Sep 5, 2002
    31,629
    MA
    Full Name:
    John
    Great first two posts! If the crew on here can't help you with sourcing parts or solutions to the problems you will need to solve, no one can! You've come to the right place, welcome!
     
  5. vecchio59

    vecchio59 Karting

    Nov 25, 2011
    199
    Savona, NW Italy
    Full Name:
    Marco
    it looks like a nice one, congratulations !
    nice to see the broomstick to keep the hood up :) I'm using the same strategy, as my struts are definitely gone after 40 years...
    I'm sure you'll enjoy wrestling in the mud/$ pit... there is no end to this fun, "only" reward will be the sound of your 12 bad boys.
    Cheers, Marco
     
  6. alastairhouston

    alastairhouston Formula Junior

    Apr 19, 2009
    575
    Largs Scotland UK
    Full Name:
    Alastair Houston
    Hi Al
    definitely a great car to work on as everything is fixable and it will be far more rewarding knowing you did it yourself. Added bonus you will get to know the car usefull for future maintenance.
    These cars will be around in the next hundred years maintained check out the chassis for instance those oval sections massive strength.
    Have a great time with it,
    Regards
    Alastair
     
  7. JeremyJon

    JeremyJon F1 Veteran

    Jul 28, 2010
    7,569
    Calgary, Canada
    Very cool car, and glad to see it's in the hands of a good owner who will be taking care of it!

    ...and welcome to Fchat! :)

    Edit: Al, did you happen to take any pics of the undercarriage while car was on the hoist? I've been searching the threads for any clean photos, if you do would you mind posting them? thanks! :)
     
  8. Al Campbell

    Al Campbell Formula Junior
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Nov 22, 2013
    571
    Australia
    #8 Al Campbell, Dec 17, 2013
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Thanks everyone for the kind words of encouragement. I will keep this thread updated with my progress.

    The car will remain on the hoist for a while as I get the fuel lines, suspension, brakes & exhaust sorted. I would be happy to take pictures of whatever you want. PM me your email address & I'll send them through. Be warned though it's not that pretty under there at the moment but this will change.
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  9. bundas

    bundas F1 Veteran
    Owner

    Dec 31, 2005
    7,090
    lexington ky usa
    Full Name:
    mitchell barnes
    I have a car that will not b restored. just put your wish list on. it runs/drives but RH head gasket is blown. asking $8,000 for the car but will part out. it's a convertable
     
  10. Al Campbell

    Al Campbell Formula Junior
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Nov 22, 2013
    571
    Australia
    Thanks. I'll get a list together & PM you. It will be a fairly long list. I might be better off buying the whole car - but then I would want to save that one too.

    Cheers Al
     
  11. JeremyJon

    JeremyJon F1 Veteran

    Jul 28, 2010
    7,569
    Calgary, Canada
    #11 JeremyJon, Dec 18, 2013
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Thank you Al, is for a scale build I've only just started (as no scale models are available of the 400i) and reference photos hard to find for some portions, message sent! :)
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  12. santacaferacer

    santacaferacer Karting

    Jan 6, 2009
    76
    I feel for you. I'm in the same boat. Bought a 400i which was abandoned after the owner died. Prior to his death he had spent a fortune to install a brand new motor and a 4 speed automatic. In any case, I feel for you. I did get the spare motor in the deal and may be selling that to fund a paint job for my my car. The 4 speed 700R4 should be fun and it as a shift kit. Won't know anything until I purge the old fuel. May be spring before things are up and running.

    As far as models go, there is a scale model of the 412 made by Revell - a ready built diecast car and there are some 1:43 scale models of the same car - just check ebay under "412 Ferrari"
     
  13. Al Campbell

    Al Campbell Formula Junior
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Nov 22, 2013
    571
    Australia
    #13 Al Campbell, Dec 22, 2013
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Hope your rebuild goes OK santacaferacer - the 4 speed auto should be fun.

    I have removed the fuel tanks & am cleaning out the fuel system working from the tanks through to the engine. The in-tank fuel filter screens are totally shot & will be replaced with external filters in the lines to the fuel pumps. The old hoses from the tank to the fuel pumps were 1/2 full of a thick tar like deposit. I could not find any fuel hose with 15mm ID locally so I've ordered in replacement hose. I also found that one of the hoses that joins the left side tank to the outlet pot had perrished & the 8mm ID return fuel hose on the right hand side had rotted right off where it goes onto the tank & fell off in my hand. So all fuel hoses will be replaced.
    I have removed & stripped one of the fuel distributors. This unit was totally siezed - it took a lot of lubricating & gentle persuasion to free the fuel metering piston. The old diaphragm was past its used by date. I now need to thoroughly clean everything & put the fuel distributor back together. I have an ultrasonic cleaner on its way for this.

    While I'm waiting on parts I will clean up the inside of the boot ready to refit the fuel tanks.

    Cheers Al
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  14. galbert

    galbert Formula Junior

    Mar 14, 2012
    352
    sud ouest france
    Full Name:
    Galbert Christopher
    bonjour Al
    félicitation pour ce sauvetage
    amicalement
    christopher
     
  15. Tassie

    Tassie Formula Junior

    Dec 17, 2009
    349
    Tasmania, Australia
    Full Name:
    Wayne Clark
    Al,
    Where are you, if you venture Tassie way please give me a shout.
    I have a home for an ultra close ratio 4 speed Cortina box if there is one wasting space in your workshop.
    All the best and if you run into difficulties with the FI system, the best man in Aust works from my workshop.
     
  16. 134282

    134282 Four Time F1 World Champ
    BANNED

    Aug 3, 2002
    40,647
    California
    Full Name:
    Carbon McCoy
    Al, I'm very interested in whatever history you might have on this car, as it was once stolen, and then vanished.
     
  17. Al Campbell

    Al Campbell Formula Junior
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Nov 22, 2013
    571
    Australia
    Wow,

    I thought I searched its VIN on every site possible before purchase & it came up clean on all of them. Please PM me any info you have.

    Cheers Al
     
  18. 134282

    134282 Four Time F1 World Champ
    BANNED

    Aug 3, 2002
    40,647
    California
    Full Name:
    Carbon McCoy
    It has been brought to my attention that without corroboration of my initial statement, it should be noted that it's possible the car wasn't ever stolen. I will try looking into this further to see if I can confirm or dispute my original post. But, for the time being, let not my original post taint this car's provenance.
     
  19. Al Campbell

    Al Campbell Formula Junior
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Nov 22, 2013
    571
    Australia
    #19 Al Campbell, Jan 7, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    The rebuild continues.
    The inside of the boot has been cleaned up. A little bit of surface rust was sanded back & treated & the inside of the boot resprayed.
    The fuel distributors have been rebuilt. Still waiting on fuel hoses & kits for the warmup regulators to arrive.
    I have started looking at the electrical side of things while I'm waiting & it's going to take a bit of work as well. A mouse nest & some chewed wires was discovered behind the instrument cluster so the dash was removed to enable repairs. I cursed & swore at the bolt that holds the middle of the dash pad in place for hours. This bolt is located behind a rubber bung on the firewall near the distributor cap. If any of you have tried removing it you will know what I mean. I could not get to it with a socket, ring or open ended spanner & ended up buying some deep offset ring spanners. I was then able to turn it 1 flat at a time for what seemed like hours to finally free it - I'm not looking forward to putting it back. The vermin damage is not too bad but will require 8 or 9 cables to be spliced. The damage to the wiring from previous owners is far worse but I'm getting it sorted thanks to Paul Bennett's wiring diagram.

    Cheers Al
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  20. Al Campbell

    Al Campbell Formula Junior
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Nov 22, 2013
    571
    Australia
    #20 Al Campbell, Jan 12, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Just finished removing the rear suspension for a rebuild. Those half shaft bolts were so tight!

    I need to rebush the whole rear end. Does anyone have any suppliers they would recommend I purchase the bushes off?

    The next step is the diff removal. I have searched on here for repair manuals but it appears all the links are old & no longer work or the login password fails. Is anyone able to email me either the Repair Manual and/or the Body Repair Manaul for a 400I?

    Cheers Al
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  21. theobordeaux

    theobordeaux Formula Junior

    Jan 13, 2011
    482
    Bordeaux (France)
    Full Name:
    Theodore
    #21 theobordeaux, Jan 12, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
  22. GT Jones

    GT Jones Formula Junior

    Oct 15, 2011
    669
    Lincoln, MA
    Full Name:
    Christian J
    I did not replace with stock rubber and purchased my poly bushings from David Feinberg, an indy tech in NH, USA. Superformance is also a good source.
     
  23. simsko

    simsko F1 Rookie

    Feb 5, 2012
    3,635
    Great project. Looking forward to how it turns out.
     
  24. Al Campbell

    Al Campbell Formula Junior
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Nov 22, 2013
    571
    Australia
    Thanks Theo. There is a lot of good information there. I don't think the repair manual is complete though. I'm after more info on the auto transmission removal or engine removal. I'm hoping not to remove the engine at this stage but may have to later anyway.

    Thanks "GT Jones" I have had a look at the Superformance rear bush kit but was unsure about outer rear wishbone bushes in the kit. Has anyone tried these? You don't have part numbers for the poly bushings do you?

    I'll keep updating this thread Simon. It won't be on the road anytime soon though - I have a lot of work ahead of me. I enjoy a challenge & this car will certainly be one. At least I have located most of the parts I need to replace the missing or "home-made" parts.

    Cheers Al
     
  25. wrxmike

    wrxmike Moderator
    Moderator Owner

    Mar 20, 2004
    7,573
    Full Name:
    Mike
    Al
    The 400i service manual doesnt cover the removal of the engine or the auto gearbox.

    There is a separate auto gearbox manual :
    1978 automatic transmission service manual

    also a wiring manual
    1983 400i Wiring Diagram Service Manual

    Someone might have a pdf copy, they also come up on ebay from time to time.

    M
     

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