Dear Chatters, I'm just making my register clearer and I've questions on #44121. Here are joined three photos to explain : -Why I've registered #44121 as a White/Black 400i 5-Speed and it is now a Cream Leather ? -Is #44121 the 400i in restoration with black wheels ? -Is #44121 the white 400i just behind the blue one ? -Someone can tell me which 400i is the blue one and who owns it ? -Was it #44121 we could find in a video on PhotoBucket with black wheels ? Thanks for your help Paul f400club.com Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Don't know what the Previous Owners did to the car- I bought it from Sebastian who did a bare metal repsray in the correct Bianco Avus- Re did interior in Cream with black and Square weave carpets- This two tone scheme has been seen on at least one factory interior, so i guess that's where he got the idea. I know nothing else of it's history.
I'm not sure what you are looking for that hasn't been in the archives about this car but here is what I have: Oct 2002 sold at Kruse Auburn, Indiana auction for $21,306. Described as "unrestored 3 condition, Cream exterior, black interior, 51,843 miles, no DOT sticker, question about status to be in U.S." Oct 2002 offered for sale by Motorcar Gallery in Fort Lauderdale, FL asking $31,500. Described as "sharp, well cared for" and erroneously described as an automatic. May 2006 offered for sale by Motorcar Gallery with 52,858 miles and asking price of $28,500. Described as having had "3 owners" March 2008 Acquired by Sebastian "Rebirth auto", described long list of work done, including new accumulators, clutch. This is where the new white and black interior was added and a repaint to white was done. May 2009 offered for sale by Sebastian with 54,500 miles and an asking price of $45,000.
Oh yeah you forgot- "June 2010-February 2011... offer made by Jay and rejected, then accepted, then rejected...then failed PPI results in pulling engine for rebuild, then new offer accepted, then rejected, then accepted..." "March 2011- Jay fixes EVERY SINGLE OTHER thing in the car that Sebastian did not get to... and has the blown fuses and skinned knuckles to prove it..."
Yeah Math is not allowed in this deal- Trade a Rolls and an E type jag for a $28K 400i- Bare metal respray, Full Leather reupholstery, new carpets carefully matched to factory Square weave, go over and repair as much mechanical as you can- run up about $18k in PARTS- HIRE two new employees for your company to restore the car, including a well known Ferrari mechanic- then sell it for a couple grand more than it was offered in completely unrestored condition. Welcome to the 400i/412 world!
Jay, The up side is you will be able to reap the benefits of someone else s addition skills. Your cars look great. Enjoy!
Oh for sure- I think if you want to really ENJOY owning these cars it's best to either find a truly clean, well preserved maintained example, or get one that has had all the expensive stuff done...recently. To many cars are advertised with 10-15 year old work... And when you go to see them they're just tired and sad- but the seller touts the "Recent Rebuild" or whatever. There was a guy selling a 308 GT4 who advertised that the car was "The recipient of over $24,000 in mechanical and cosmetic restoration"- And of course the car had rust bubbles and a rotted exhaust and split leather and musty carpets and delaminated glass and a misfire- The "rebuild" was done in 1992. (When the car was already 18 years old) And oddly I now have one of each- The pristine 412 has an air of "newness" that no restored car will ever have- yet the rebuilt 400i just runs and drives so exceptionally well... cause new parts make Ferraris happy!
LOL! I'll be sure to update the database! As long as I'm doing so, can you provide more details about the engine rebuild and who did the work? How extensive was the work required? Was it a valve job, timing chain and bearings or was there a need to replace pistons and other expensive bits?
John- Well the reason the car sold for so little money is that they were pretty passive aggressive about the details. After the PPI they pulled the cam covers off, removed the timing chain and decided to do a quick and dirty valve job, but then gave up on that- so they hired Ron Clark, who is a pretty well known Ferrari trained tech and he started started going through it. From the receipts they sent me and the fairly detailed photos they disasembled the engine- Rebuilt the heads with new pistons, guides and seals, reassembled the bottom end with new bearings and seals- I'm guessing from the receipts that the bottom end was really sound- and the car only has 54,000 K on it (30K miles-ish)- replaced every single seal and gasket, new chain, valve adjustment, then while it was apart rebuilt the fuel injection system cause that was giving them issues. But cams and crank spec'd out good I am guessing... That plus a new clutch- a rebuilt tranny from the guy who had it before Seb and a rebushed front end and the car really is remarkable. I think I've decided the aggressive Stebro is just not for me- I'm having Timevalve make me a "Daytona-Look" OEM style system- cause the brand new ANSA on my 412 is just fantastic- so rich and resonant yet quiet in the cabin. I have a feeling I'm going to loose a little bit of grunt that the very free flow Stebro gives the car- So we'll see how I feel after the Timevalve system is hung. If anyone wants a deal on a Stebro free flow SS system with about 200 miles on it- Let me know!
