400iA daily driver | FerrariChat

400iA daily driver

Discussion in '365 GT4 2+2/400/412' started by markcF355, Sep 30, 2006.

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  1. markcF355

    markcF355 F1 Rookie
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    #1 markcF355, Sep 30, 2006
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Well, I'm in it now. I picked up my new 400iA daily driver on Thursday in Atlanta and drove the 1,100 miles back to Jersey over the past two days.

    Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and guidance as I stood on the edge.
    Especially Alex, your confidence in these cars was the final push.

    In the past, I leased a new BMW 7 series every three years for as long as I can remember.

    All I can say, is that I'm glad BMW North America treated me like crap.

    Anyway, the car was a little rough for the first 400 or so miles. But after a couple of stops and phone calls to Jim Weed everything came together.
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  2. aidanparte

    aidanparte Formula 3

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    #2 aidanparte, Sep 30, 2006
    Congratulations on your 400 - it is gorgeous in black (just like mine!). What year is it? Keep us posted with photos.

    Aidan
     
  3. billg

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    #3 billg, Sep 30, 2006
    Don't worry. The car is just about bulletproof.
     
  4. Ashman

    Ashman Three Time F1 World Champ
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    #4 Ashman, Oct 1, 2006
    Congratulations on your new purchase!

    John
     
  5. andrewg

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    #5 andrewg, Oct 1, 2006
    Mark that looks like a fantastic alternative to a Bangelised BMW 7 series.....pretty sure after 3 years it will have cost less then the BM
     
  6. Will

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    #6 Will, Oct 1, 2006
    Congrats on owning such a beautiful Ferrari!! Glad everything worked out for you.......I'm sure you'll enjoy her :)
     
  7. aleventhal

    aleventhal Formula Junior

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    #7 aleventhal, Oct 2, 2006
    Hey - thanks for the kind words and welcome to the (small) club. Make sure to email me before you spend any major dough: After living with one of these as a daily drive for more than a year in NY I have figured out many of the solutions to the problems you will face. For example, repro 308 wheels with a small spacer (available from the Ferrari part sex change - www.ferraripartsexchange.com) are perfect for snow tires (although I run real 328 wheels, which need a slight mod to mount, but I didn't want any repro on my car). Also, as seen in a diff thread, you need to put a towel over the engine when washing to keep water out of the plug holes, etc.

    Congratulations - great not to be the only one any more!

    Alex
     
  8. markcF355

    markcF355 F1 Rookie
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    #8 markcF355, Oct 3, 2006
    Hello and thanks for the warm welcome.

    I love this car! Maybe because it's new to me, but yesterday on a bright and sunny day I drove the 400i instead of the spider!

    I'm working my way through the car, fixing the little this and thats. I've now reached the hydro-pneumatic accumulators.

    Before I Frankenstein in a set of Mercedes Benz units, as was suggested to me by Jim Weed in Atlanta, are the real ones still available?

    Thanks again.

    Mark
     
  9. markcF355

    markcF355 F1 Rookie
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    #9 markcF355, Oct 3, 2006
    Also, talking about wheels and tires, I don't think I care for the Michelin TRX tires that are on the car.
    They feel like hard rubber toy car tires. I was told that they were only three or so years old but to me they feel like they've petrified.

    The problem is, I really like the way the 'deep dish' rims look. How close are the 308 rims in appearance to the 400 rims? How different is the back set (spacer thickness)? And finally, are all the bolt patterns on these cars the same?
     
  10. Cajun

    Cajun Formula 3

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    #10 Cajun, Oct 3, 2006
    Gorgeous car!!!

    Mind posting more pictures?

    I had NO IDEA that these cars were good daily drivers. How is the A/C in this model? Is it easily upgraded? I don't have any snow to contend with down in Louisiana, but the heat is a killer!

    Keep us posted on the new purchase & enjoy!!!
     
  11. KraigG

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    #11 KraigG, Oct 3, 2006
    Congrats on your new purchase! I just returned from a one week, 5500 mile run in a 550i to Chicago and back, and have now garaged the BMW in favor of the 400i. As long as the weather cooperates, it's a great car!

    The 400i now will be my dailly driver, as long as the rain holds out. The BMW is now my "winter beater"!

    What year is yours?
     
  12. jes-13

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    #12 jes-13, Oct 3, 2006
    Some of them have a rear A/C option...
     
  13. markcF355

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    #13 markcF355, Oct 3, 2006
    IMO the 400i makes a great daily. The 412 on the other hand has a lot of 1980s electronics that can give you trouble. As for th AC, you MUST holdout for a car with dual AC. When you have both AC units on it gets cold enough to hang meat!
    One last thing, you should plan on putting about $3,500 into ANY 400 or 412 you buy. That should cover the little odds and ends.
     
  14. aleventhal

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    #14 aleventhal, Oct 3, 2006

    Do NOT try to retrofit an MB set - no reason to do this. If your load levelrs work (remember they should only raise the car when it is running - it is normal to settle when off) they are likely to keep working so don't sweat it. If they do not work, Koni sells a drop in replacement consisting of an adjustable coil over made exactly for this application - that would be the only way I would recommend going - why reinvent the wheel?

    Alex
     
  15. aleventhal

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    #15 aleventhal, Oct 3, 2006
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    The bolt pattern on the 400 and 308/328 is exactly the same. Only the offset is different, and only slightly. 308qv wheels (real or repro) bolt right on with a very small spacer (5mm if I remember correctly) and using the stock 400 wheel bolts - www.ferraripartsexchange.com sells the spacer for this application, and cheap at that - I think ~$100 for 4 on sale when I bought. 328 wheels bolt on in the same way but require a small CNC'd collar to hold the horse emblem (as it does not clear the wheel bearing dust cap because the 328 went to a diff style bearing) whereas no mods are required for the 308 wheels. You do lose some of the deep dish look but worth it to lose the TRXs and/or mount snow tires. My 400i with the 328 wheels is below.

    Alex
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  16. aleventhal

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    #16 aleventhal, Oct 3, 2006
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    The BMW is your winter beater? I *bought* my 400i to *be* my winter (and summer, and fall and spring) beater - and it could not be better at the job. 4 Bridgestone Blizzaks on 328 wheels and it goes anywhere!

    Alex
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  17. markcF355

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    #17 markcF355, Oct 4, 2006
    Alex,
    My shocks are fine. Its just the hydropneumatic accumulators that are shot. The car levels as it should but the rear suspension has no recoil.
    Mark
     
  18. KraigG

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    #18 KraigG, Oct 4, 2006
    Alex:

    You're a much braver man than me! I lived in the Chicago area for most of my life, but moved to sunny CA a few years back simply because I could not stand the snow, nor tolerate the effects the snow removal systems (salt) had on the cars in the area.
    I still have recurring nightmares about rusty frames, frozen door locks, windshield wipers stuck to the windshield, frozen fuel lines, frozen and brittle plastic interior pieces breaking off in your hands on a frigid morning.......

    Yes, now I can drive all my cars year round now, which, to me, was worth the price of admission :)
     
  19. aleventhal

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    #19 aleventhal, Oct 5, 2006
    Mark:

    When you say your 400 has no "recoil" I assume you mean rebound/jounce control / dampening. On a 400 the olio-pneumatic (hydraulic) system provides leveling ONLY - dampening is provided by a set of conventional shock absorbers mounted ahead of the levelers on the rear suspension. If your car is suffering from a lack of rebound control,etc., but is leveling fine (as you report) the solution is to replace the conventional shocks - a much simpler proposition.

    I hope this helps.

    Thanks,

    Alex
     
  20. 400iGuy

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    #20 400iGuy, Oct 5, 2006
    Alex, Do you have any info on these Koni's? My '84 400iA worked well for several years and all of a sudden they have the same symptom. They pump up just as they had in the past but there is very little movement anymore. I have no idea what the internals of these shocks look like but it feels like there is leakage from the leveler section into the reservoir of the shock and it just pumps the whole thing up. I don't know if that's physically possible but if sure feels like that. The back rides like an empty '52 Chevy pickup truck! Recently T. Rutlands had Koni's that replaced self levelers up to '82. I was told by them they won't bolt up to '83 and later 400s.

    Al
     
  21. aleventhal

    aleventhal Formula Junior

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    #21 aleventhal, Oct 5, 2006
    Hmmmm....I recall that the Koni catalog had a listing for the 84 400i (my levelers still work so no need to deal with it yet) if Rutlands can't find it maybe ping another Koni dealer. FWIW I do not think the levelling system changed in any material way from 82 to 84.

    Alex
     
  22. markcF355

    markcF355 F1 Rookie
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    #22 markcF355, Oct 6, 2006
    Alex,

    On my 85' 400i all four devices at the rear wheels are the same. They are essentially hydraulic rams that look like shocks. The accumulators are connected in series with the oil line from the leveling valve to the shocks. When the car goes over a bump, the accumulators accept the oil pushed back by the 'shocks' and that provides the recoil.

    As far as the Mercedes part, my concern is that they were designed for use on cars with only one shock on each side. As such, that nitrogen gas charge that holds back the bladder may be different. The problem is, I can't find a working Ferrari accumulator to test against the MB part. My guess is that they should be about the same or at least close enough.

    As far as the car in general, I love this thing. It's not as polished as my 745 was, but it has a certain quality. It's almost like a Mediterranean women, her features might not be technically perfect but 'dam, is she hot'.

    I'm wondering if anybody has any insight into the latest issue: when I turn the ignition off the engine keeps running. The only way to get it to stop is to load it down. Putting it in gear or turning on the AC etc. will stop the motor. I think it might be the MSD unit holding a charge. The ignition switch is working fine.

    Mark
     
  23. ArtS

    ArtS F1 Veteran
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    #23 ArtS, Oct 6, 2006
    Mark,

    Nothing to do with ignition, other than timing. Either your engine is out of tune or you have bad gas. The phenomenon is called dieseling. It is a spontaneous ignition event whose technical name is HCCI (Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition).

    Regards,

    Art S.
     
  24. 400iGuy

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    #24 400iGuy, Oct 6, 2006
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Maybe these pix of my '84 will help clarify.

    My understanding was sometime in '83 the rear shocks were changed from the one regular shock and one leveler that was used on a number of models (365 GTC/4, 365 GT 2+2, 400 and early 400i) to what's in these pix.

    In the close up you can see the accumulator behind the left shock. The 3rd pix is of the self leveling unit that's attached to the sway bar. I didn't think this was on pre-'83 either.

    Al
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  25. 400iGuy

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    #25 400iGuy, Oct 6, 2006
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