Crave Luxury in Texas has nother 400 on ebay.

Guys am I wrong or this car has a 308 rear bumper on it? Looks weird!! No the correct bumper for sure.

 

Ha. Yes. Weirdly small rear bumper! Good catch!

 

Interesting, I was wondering what that was. My understanding is that a lot of these cars needed air pumps in order to get federalized (this one apparently was done by Amerispec) but that they didn't usually last too long after that process was done. I know that my car passed CT emissions easily during the years before it became exempt without an air pump.

I also just noticed this car has no rear side marker lights, which looks nice. Strange for a U.S. federalized car to still have its air pump but no rear side marker lights.

 

Don't forget "what ho" as a greeting (not what you probably thought it meant!)

 

Is this the correct response?

Bertie Wooster: Aunt Dahlia! What ho, old blood relation!
Aunt Dahlia: Hello, Bertie, revolting young blot.

 

I suspect the interior has had a re-spray on the leather.
This one needs close scrutiny

 

Issues with bumpers on both ends and no collision history? How does that happen? All of those work receipts (50K) might reveal more than just maintenance.

 

Frankly I'm amazed you guys aren't all blown up about the fact that a car with 20k+ miles on it required an engine out service.

 

The engines in this series of cars have a reputation of being fairly bullet-proof. So an engine out service would be very unusual on a +/-20,000 mile car. I'd sure want to see the stack of service invoices that are claimed to be with the car.

Worth a $500 PPI? Man if you're worried about $500 Fcars aren't for you. These cars will eat 5 grand so fast it'll make your head spin. Heck the tires on this car are $500 each.

 

To be accurate I guess they are actually more like $575 each now.

 

It's quite possibly the correct response but only if you live in 1930's England.

If you do, the 365/400/400i/412 doesn't exist yet so you shouldn't be on this forum so bugger orf you spotty little oik !

 

Well first of all I didn't "jump on you". And nobody chastised you. You asked a question and I gave you a reply. You might want to remember that you asked these questions on a public forum. Congrats on owning a couple of businesses that do 2.6 mill. I'm sure that entitles you to be a bit brash to members who have been around here a long time and could likely help you quite a bit.
Most guys around here think I know my way around these cars pretty well. Obviously you didn't approve of my reply so I'll keep them to myself. I happen to be 10 miles from that car but maybe you'll find someone else to go look at it for you.
Good luck with your search.

 

I agree 100% with the above post. Is it so hard to be nice with someone that is just asking for some help or advice? It's frustrating sometimes. I was told that I couldn't afford to buy a Testarossa. By someone who never met me and didn't know who I was.

 

Another guy's $0.02:

That *is* a dark tint. A matter of personal taste. OE is an almost indetectible tint. If you demand originality this tint is a no-go. But it doesn't bother me.

That's what I think when I see the gathered-look seating surfaces on many of these cars, that this is aftermarket. The worn upholstery in my '83 has no such gathers anywhere.

MSD is a comparatively cheap replacement for the Marelli OE unit. Although glarying non-OE, hey're very common. I've seen them in '60s Ferraris as well.
That compressor on the driver side is a smog pump.

The front bumper looks like it was hit a bit off-center on the passenger side. Probably a parallel parker did it. One should enquire of a body shop if they can be straightened; that would be the only repair.
Any 400i with mufflers that aren't aftermarket has some really decripit mufflers. My guess is if you got five American 400s in one place -- more difficult to do than five 250 GTOs -- you would find five different sets of mufflers. Installed height is easy to adjust.
Shifter knobs are easy to change out.

Previous owner(s) must have had additional keys on the key ring and wasn't careful about scraping. Some touchup dye would help.
Those washers on the speaker grille are crazy. I hope they were done carelessly by some wholesaler who just wanted to keep the grille attached. The blue connector on the passenger side of the K-Jetronic airflow assembly is not supposed to be attached. The one on the driver side is. This connector cuts off the fuel pump if the air flow sensor plate is not off its resting position, but the igniton is on.

That's true. The rear bumper should go side-to-side. This one is too short. That sticker on the door jamb might be a clue, where it says the car complies with U.S. bumper regs. I've not seen that before. Maybe the federalizing vendor changed the bumper; maybe the DOT inspector made him do it.

Definitely something to ask about. Maybe the answer is in the wad of receipts. Not every engine rolls off the line is perfect. There's also the possibility of a missed shift causing overrevving causing a bent valve or worse.

Bottom line is that there are far worse 400i's around. A 30 year old car will have issues. In my opinion it's worth a $500 ppi. If it checks out, this car is worth $25,000.

 

I have a "modern compressor" on my car and it works really well.

 

How would you know how well a modern ac compressor works in Alaska?

Just kidding, I know that summer time temps in Alaska can sometimes reach a scorching 72 degrees or more!

 

Dogdoc,

1. You have had 'kid's' telling you what to do with your money. Longtime members of this sub forum have seen plenty of people come through looking to buy a 'cheap Ferrari'. Thus the PPI comment. Assume that a good PPI result means that you will need to spend $10k - $15k to have a good usable car. These were expensive, exclusive cars when new and are very different than a 308 in both driving experience and maintenance.

2. I see the scratches around the keyhole and the MSD as positive. The scratches imply that the leather wasn't just resprayed for a sale (although the light colored dash is going to generate annoying glare) and the MSD means someone was setting the car up to be used.

3. If i recall, the rubber covered bumpers have aging issues so, the weird rear bumper and the slightly off front may be not mean much. A PPI should reveal if there were any body issues.

Overall, if I was in the market, I'd have Dave take a look and if it passed his scrutiny, I'd have Norwood do a PPI and then make a decision.

Also, for some perspective: I considered the series when I bought my 330. They were roughly the same price; well, the 400 may have been a little more. I also looked at 250PF coupes for $25k and if I had the money, I could have bought a Lusso for $75k. All of these cars were cheap to buy and very expensive to maintain and until recently, my 330 was as much a labor of love as the 400 is. In the near future I may seriously consider taking the plunge as the 400 is a much more refined experience as compared to the 330.

Regards,

Art S.

 

I see it has now become famous enough for BAT! Lovely colour too.
Still at $28600.....The question you have to ask yourself is....do you feel lucky??!!

(((-;

All the best. Mark.

 

Sold for a cool $29K.