400I with chevy LT1

I know it ain't "Kosher", but how does it drive? Probably would cost more to return to Ferrari power, than most would be willing to spend, but may be OK, as a driver.

Ciao...Paolo

 

So at this instant it is at $12,751 bid. I assume that is the parts value.

Front turn indicators, Windshield, Rear Glass, Metric Wheels, and tires might take a bite out of that. Leaves a couple grand of risk invovled.

Dave, I presume you have the VIN now in case it come up later with a Ferrari V12 in it.

-scousineau

 

I would rather see these cars continue to be driven and used with an American V-8 instead of being parted out. Of course the original engine would be a better choice.

 

I was interested in the car so I called him. After about 30 min of talking I asked him if I could fly in and make the day drive back to NC, and was told to bring a trailer. He said it runs but has never really been driven. It sounds like it needs $ to either be a running GM or Ferrari.

 

Am I the only one who has noticed that the interior used to be red and was poorly dyed or painted black?

A

 

well.... the purists will deride this car as a mistake, stripped of the thing that makes it super special, but the upside is that the car itself is still on the road and drivable. You'd be in a Ferrari.

And to maintain it will not incur the potentially astronomical costs associated with a Ferrari V12. You could literally go to Auto Zone and get parts. And later the car can have a proper V12 put back in it, if a future owner is so inclined and the car survives.

 

Pretty sad isn't it? Did you notice the red poking through the driver's side headrest?

 

I disagree. You would be in a Pininfarina. The thing that makes a Ferrari, a Ferrari, is the engine. The body is a Pininfarina.

 

well, to be fair, he did acknowledge that you be tearing the heart out...
but, i agree... i just don't get it at all...

sorry Jim (AKJim)...
but if you had asked me to restore your 365 and install a domestic motor...i wouldn't have.
not that the idea is wholley without merit, i wouldn't be involved with a project like that.
i can honestly say that i'd rather the car be sacrificed to keep other true cars on the road.

 

I do remember seeing a 400 years ago forsale in the UK (Manchester) with an American V8 lump in it... it transpires that the car had been previously bought and run on a very small budget and the engie had suffered poor maintenence throughout its life and was smoking and rattling quiet badly, the kindest thing possible would have been to scrap it as the values were at an all time low, however the trader who took the car in knew what he was going to do with is and aparently the conversion wasnt so hard to complete.. the car sold and went onto a happy life with a new heart!

 

I go back to the idea of how many Dinos were scrapped because they had the wrong motor, a bit of rust or the interior was in poor shape. I'm ok with it continuing to live as whole as possible. If this model ever becomes popular, might be 30 years, it would be nice to have a good body to go with a good engine out of a rusted out hulk. Some day it will likely be worth saving properly, in the mean time if someone can love it and keep wax on it all the better.

 

The original Ferrari motor makes how much power?
" " " " has how much torque? At what RPM?
" " " " has a life expectancy of?
" " " " weighs how much?
" " " " costs how much to maintain or overhaul?
" " " " as installed has how much needless complication in the form of double this and double that?

Ponder these same questions regarding the Chevy.

Aside the bastard pedigree it's a potential improvement.
The engine in the example here looks to have been plucked from a cab and hastily installed as a matter of economics but done right I think it would be a winner.

I'd like to see a head to head match up with a well done conversion.

I'll duck for cover now

 

BAWAHAHAHAHA
no kidding I'm glad I'm not you hehehehe


....funny Ross

 

To the cars performance, likely an improvement. To the car as a whole, most certainly not in my opinion.

 

You are talking about Ferrari's like they are cars? Ferrari's are not used as point A to B vehicle's or tools of transportation. There are many other makes for those kind of needs and putting a engine from one of those into a Ferrari you now have neither a Ferrari or a driving tool. Like trying to say a Timex keeps way better time than a Rolex watch so lets take the guts out of a Timex and put it in a Rolex to make it better. No you will have funky garbage that will be hard to unload.

 

It's an autobox 400i, not a GTO, kept alive at least and likely to be just as good a "driving tool" as yours or mine once sorted out.
The Columbo V-12 might have been hi tech in the fifties but it's every bit the dinosaur the lowly pushrod Cheverlay is but with ten times the troubles.
I love the look and sound of my engine, it has little else to offer really. Given the car's value if it grenaded today and I opted to repair the car I'd sell off the engine's remains and pop an LS with a real gear box in.

Enzo himself opted for the General's tranny so it's a mutt anyway to use your criteria.

 

Ross don't knock the Colombo engine too much. I have an 05 CTS-V. It has the LS6 which was at the top of mountain at GM in 2005. It has 400 HP and 395 Ft Lbs torque. It does this with all modern engine controls, fuel injection, and requires high test gas. When compairing that engine to my 35 year old Colombo engine the HP per Liter is almost exactly the same! It would be pretty cool to see what a 5.7 liter Colombo would be like.

Brett I agree with you on my car. But In a way it was luck that you ended up with the car and I had the ability to pay for it. Now let's say the previous owner prior to Peter couldn't get the engine back together and his options were to scrap the car or put a V8 in it. I just think it would be a waste to trash the car. Especially if the installation requires no permanent mods to the car.

 

Didn't mean to knock the engine, just trying to put in perspective. Some of the Ferrari worship and looking down on the pedestrian Chevrolet is unwarranted.
The scuderia itself has been humbled by some of those crude V-8s.

 

I have nothing against Chevrolet, I work on them for a living and own a twin turbo LS Chevelle myself.

In my opinion though, even if an LS series engine is superior it still doesn't belong in that car.

 

Interesting point; I never denied the car would be stripped of it's special-ness though. I clearly stated that. And you'd be virtually in a Ferrari

I think if the owner liked it and it drove fine, a temporary era in the car's history where it runs a Chevy smallblock only makes for a semi-interesting story. After all, it's only a 400i anyway. They made trillions of them for 90 years.

 

Ross, I guess you miss my point, I know the chevy is a better engine measured by numbers. I did not buy a Ferrari to get some where on a budget. If you brought a Ferrari becouse it makes "cents" I think you made a big mistake.
The car in question has a more limted appeal than even a normal 400I. Chevy people will shun it as much as Ferrari people, my self, I would rather have a Corvette, and I have, and I never thought about putting a less expensive engine in the Corvette, but then again there is not a cheaper "bang for buck engine" than a Chevy. Chevy does makes Ford and Dodge engines look rare and pricey. I guess that is why people put Chevy engines in Ford T-Buckets and Cobra kit cars, which I also think is dumb.

I would part out this car.
Other wise you would be a "poser" having to tell a story every time some one asked about your car. But like I said people do build and buy kit cars with stupid power plants all the time so I do give you there is a "bottom" for every seat.
Oh yeah I went and looked at a Can Am Mclaren MK-6 the owner claimed was as fast as the original with a 1600 VW engine in it, I had my doubts, it looked great but I think some of the "magic" would not be there with out the Chevy power plant, even though the vw was a cheaper engine. I guess the body of the car is not a important to me as what is under the skin. But to each his own.

 

looking for a Columbo V-12 engine for sale to put in my new ferrari, any suggestions? ))
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Isn't that the truth. Oh the pain of having to do that... It would be funny to have video "hidden camera style" to see the discussions and the participants faces... L-O-L!

I would pay for the DVD of that, not the car.

 

You raise good points.

What comes up as I read your post: I think this car appeals to, to whom it appeals to, is not necessarily the same kind of buyer that you (or I) would be. The person who is attracted to this car is not in the same mindset as a connoisseur. For me, yes, certainly, I would *not* want to drive a Ferrari, of any kind, with a transplanted and lesser engine, from another manufacturer.

It's not a matter of knocking a GM engine, but moreover, an appeal to taste and sensibility.
This is a poser car. That is the sensibility of a possible buyer of this car. You can have joined the club of Ferrari ownership..... but without having to pay the actual dues.

That alone makes a statement --not particularly one I'd like to make.