Buying a Manual 400i

Dan a good one should cost no more than £3k a year, a bad one however can cost an awfull lot more, cost wise there is little difference between a 400 and a Daytona

 

If the 400 has been properly maintained (personally, the add smells of differed maintainance - but it's just my gut feeling) it may be a reliable and very enjoyable GT - very understated, very cool! There is someone in this section that drives his daily on the streets on New York city. However, if anything goes wrong on the 400, you will be completely underwater, financially.

Regarding the other cars you mentioned, they are old. To properly restore either, is big money. My understanding is that the BBi requires significant maintanance compared to the Daytona, but this might only reffer to the 365BB, not the BBi.

Good Luck,

Art S.

 

I am the guy that drives a 400i daily (all seasons in NY). I also own a 365BB. The 400i is comparable to a daytona in maintenance, prolly more intensive due to more "stuff" to go wrong, but way better than any BB - timing chains and no need to pull the engine make the 400 require much less scheduled maintenance. That said, either car if set up right and maintained by the book should be bullet proof in daily use. It is just that the regular maintanance on a front engine v-12 is much less than on a mid engine flat 12.

Alex

 

Thanks for chiming in Alex, sorry that I didn't refer to you by name.

Regards,

Art S.

PS. As you also have a 308 GT4, you are the perfect guy to give him a comparison!

 

No worries on the name - but sometimes I feel like the wrong guy to give advice. I drive all my cars (save the BB, which is totally apart for restoration) and I have found if you keep to the factorys maintenance schedules (BTW I go 7 years on my gt4s t-belts) there cars are as reliable as a honda in daily use. The 400 does not even show any rust after a hard winter of snow, ice and salt. I would not hesitate to drive either cross country. They are just cars, really - too many people lose sight of this and think there is some magic in keeping them operating - there is not. There is, of course, magic in driving them!

Alex

 

Alex,

You and I have similar views on cars. The only difference is that I don't drive my non-AC car as much during the summer (actually, at the moment, my car has moved in with Francois so I'm not driving it at all).

Regards,

Art S.

 

Art -

Actually I am the same - the non-ac dino does not get much use in the dead of summer except at night - also don't drive it in the salt - the 400, however, has dual air and stays ice cold, so it gets used 4 seasons.

A

 

I have a 1978 400 GT 5-speed, and I love it. The first owner drove it a lot, and I have quite a stack of maintenance records to boot. I personally think that a manual transmission is the only way to go, it just doesn't seem right to have an auto box in a Ferrari. As you are already aware, parts can be a little difficult to find, but the 400 motor is really quite straight-forward. As they say, buy the best you can afford. I think it's worth looking for a while.

Also, my hat's off to all the guys who drive their cars daily!

Joe

 

i always find it interesting to hear people knock the automatics. having put 35 000 miles in 3 years on my '79 308 i new what i was giving up before traded it in on a '78 400a. perhaps, but i wouldn't know from experience, the combination of fuel injection and an auto tranny in the early 400i produced a 'less than exhilerating' ride. again , i wouldn't know, i say this because i read so many negative comments about them, but i would bet they are fantastic cars. what i do know from experience ( 54 000 km in 5 years ) is that my carbed 400a is a brilliant car. i've put a shift kit in the tranny and and a custom Stebro exhaust that is straight through and bolts up to factory Ansa silencers. left in drive it shifts seemlessly and super crisp but i can shift up or down when ever i need the extra rev's and it sounds glorious either way. neither the 365gt4 or the 412 manual tranny cars that i've driven could touch my 400. maybe in the hands of a pro...but it would be close. what i did decide to do 4 months ago was add a '78 308 gts to partner the 400a. this way i've got all the bases covered : auto-5 speed , coupe-spyder, 2 seater-4 seater, 12 cyl.-8 cyl., ect.
bottem line though...give the 400/400i auto a try if your tempted , i bet you'll be pleasantly surprised and the 'real world' practicality of these cars make them easy to justify at ther low price. i know if i ever had to choose between the the 308 and the 400...well, bye bye 308. no contest.

brett

 

I have just bought Dave Stacy's 400i automatic and driven it 1800 miles back from Houston, Texas, to Milford, Connecticut. We had a fantastic drive and for the purpose of this car (long-distance GT) the automatic box is no impediment to having loads of fun; there is plenty of grunt and the car just bowls along beautifully with the V12 noise ever present. The gearbox kicks down easily, and holding in second for on/off ramps, etc., really brings the car alive.
I'll post more thoughts about the car in the near future. I'm totally in love with it! It is even better than I was expecting.

 

congratulations aidan .
that is exactly what i mean. they really add a dimension of adventure and drama to a road trip of that length. my car has done the Montreal GP 4 of the last 5 years. it is a 5 or 6 day trip and i rack 1800-2000 km each time.
auto or manual, the combination of sound, power, comfort and payload make it a GT that i really feel lucky to have at the price i paid.

brett

 

All,
I didn't mean to knock automatics, I have a Jaguar XJSV12 with an automatic and like it almost as much as the Ferrari! I just have a thing for manuals ( and V12's)...

Joe
1978 Ferrari 400GT 5-speed
1991 BMW 850i 6-speed
1994 Jaguar XJSV12 4-speed auto

 

Joe,
that is a truly impressive and well balanced collection. never a dull moment i'm sure. my hat is off to you.

brett

p.s. is it GM tranny in the Jag. i think it was for a while but likely not after Ford got involved. do you know?

 

The auto box in the 94 Jag is a TH400. I think it's the same as in the Ferrari! It remained until the XJS was phased out in 1996, which was about 4 years after Ford took over. What I especially like about my car is that it is a true Jaguar design, but with higher build quality. Especially in the area of electronics. For me, it's a very comfortable cruiser!

 

Congratulations on the purchase! As I was the guy who recommended this car to Dave, I am glad to have it back in the neighborhood. I drive a 400i (#49773) everday, 4 seasons and love it.

If I recall Dave said you live in CT? If so, you can use, IMHO, the best Ferrari mechanic on the planet - Bill Pollard - he is the guy that set your car up before Dave took delivery. I use him for all my cars - he is building the engine on my 365BB (#18265) as we speak - he is the best!

Good luck and Forza!!!!!!

Alex

 

Alex

Thanks for your good wishes and advice re. Bill Pollard. In fact I took the car to Bill/Sean for an oil change this morning - they will definitely be taking care of the car for me in the future.

I plan to use the car 2 or 3 times a week for my 40 mile round trip commute so will be racking up a few miles just like you do with yours.

Aidan

 

What a beautiful sentiment!