Congratulations on your patient progress so far. I am anxious to see how it all comes out. As for color, the most important person to please is yourself, but my vote would be for the black despite the challenges of maintaining the body and paint. I'm not wild about the burgundy idea but have to say that there probably are some shades that would look very good on the 400 body. Even though it wasn't offered by Ferrari AFAIK, the Jaguar anthracite idea sounds intriguing and it would be great to see an example. In general, dark colors look terrific on the 400 series cars. Which then causes me to say that I don't think that yellow would be a good choice, even if it is the fairly light giallo fly color. Just MHO, best of luck as you complete your project!
Yea, it has not sold. It had to get some work done and apparently the owners wife needed some work too (I think she had some surgery or something) and so it is still on the market...sort of. Waiting for a PPI. I personally like the color and I like the car in that color. I would not mind owning it if it turns out to be in decent shape... To each his own though, and that is the beauty of these things, it is not like the Ford model T where you can have any color you want so long as it is BLACK, with Ferrari (and Porsche, et. al.) you can have pretty much any color you can dream up (if you are having it built anyway)! Best, James Image Unavailable, Please Login
Hi Aidan That 412 looks amazing..it could be the light, the angle or both, but it is certainly unusual and impressive. Could you please post the link from whence it came so that I can possibly see a few more images of the car ? Many thanks Mike
Mike I took the photo myself in France. I can send you the full-size image if you PM me your email address. I think the colour is actually Prugna. It looked superb in the metal. Aidan
What color? hmmmmm.... Well if you want to kick yourself for making a mistake every morning when you look into your garage paint it yellow. I saw one in yellow in Austin, TX. My first thought was, "Please somebody, anybody, shoot this poor car. Don't make it suffer any longer." 'shame I don't have an opinion on this.
There are some good pictures found in the threads entitled "Oh this is priceless" and "crap car" of black cars. I must say that prior to the "crap car" picture, my facorite color for the model was silver. Now it is a toss-up. I've always known that silver/tan can be very elegant since it first struck me on an XKE. The whole package has to come together. A 400 seties car with the front light lenses looks very good in silver/tan. My only strong advice would be to eliminate yellow from your consideration. I believe these cars are sophisticated and elegant and should not scream "Look at me!" I think that they are more powerful and effective when the say softly "Oh don't look at me." and you can't turn away. I think the black does this more now. On a different note. I am being attracted to the concourse field. Oh no!!! Knowing nothing about it other than the fact that there are awards at some venues for 2+2s and preservation. I don't know to what standard you will bring your car, but I believe there will be those who appreciate the story if you present this car. Best, Stan
Thanks for the input guys! by far the most votes were cast for 'anything but yellow', so that's been eliminated. Black is looking like the favorite. I looked at an anthracite Jag up close today and now I'm not so sure as it's not quite what I remembered. I've added a few to the list: Silver would be nice looking and easy to keep clean, but it's such a common color, it's hard for me to get excited about it. I saw a VW Passat today that was a really striking, dark greyish blue - just like the blue steel on a gun. I think a 400 could look really spectacular in that. I also like the light sage green that was made famous by the Aston DB4 Zagato. I'm not really worried about originality. With the crash/salvage history it'll never be worth a lot, so I might as well just go with what I like.
I went to see my paintshop guy today, it was Monday and I was very confused. This morning I went to get some spares at the Ferrari/Maserati dealership in Cape Town. They had plenty of red to look at but also a stunning inky blue granturismo (blu nettuno metallico). Then they showed me a colour chart from the 1960s; the 'vinaccia' (a kind of deep burgundy) caught my eye in a big way. Aidan posted earlier a 412 in 'Prugna metallico' (metallic plum to you and me) which looked impressive...if the light was right...and so it went on. My paintshop guy listened to all this, gave me a coffee and told me to sit down and listen to a piece of advice he had learned over the 30-odd years he'd been in the business. What did he say ?....'stick to your first choice'. It seems with every colour change, people go through this agonising process of jumping from one idea to another....invariably ending up as confused as I was. The only thing that we all agree upon is that we can't make the WRONG decision ! And that's why he has so many happy clients...because mostly they take his advice and revert to first base. I spent another 3 hours this evening looking at different colours just to be 100% sure...and since its ME that's paying for it and ME that's going to drive it I shouldn't get hung up about what others 'might' think. So at least my mind is made up at last...I'll sleep well tonight ! Maybe his advice might just work for you ?
I still like the Fly yellow... Not that pastel looking yellow, but speed yellow... Rosso corsa is better still, but that is pretty common, vs. the fly yellow...I know, I know, I hear you guys ALREADY... THERE IS A REASON YOU DON'T SEE THEM IN YELLOW! To each his own... Now someone loan me some money! LOL! James Austin, TX
Even though it's the only thing not original on the car, I still get more compliments on the paint color than anything. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I love that color as well! Is it a metallic color??? Does not look like it. I like the deep red/burgundys in non-metallic! Actually I have never been a huge metallic color fan period. James Austin, TX
Hi Bill Isn't that the Prugna Metallico (metallic plumb) ?? It does look amazing, very impressive. Since it is not original what make you pick the colour....it's a ballsy choice you must agree ! best! Mike
The car car was painted in 1988, well before I bought it. I think they wanted to match the interior a little better. It is not a Ferrari color, but is close to prugna and I think rossa rubino. Her original color was grigio mahmoud, a silver. If anyone has seen the 400 add with the silver car, that's her.
I've always thought Prugna Metallico was a great color. Especially with a tan interior. Did any of these cars leave the factory in Prugna Metallico? Al
The only news is that it wouldn't start the last time I tried to move it. I get a weird hum when I turn the key, but nothing more. Any ideas on what to look at first would be welcome. I'm thinking maybe the solenoid? As for color, I'm about 90% decided on black. If I lose patience with bodywork before I get it to black quality, I'll probably do the burgundy or the VW gunmetal blue.
Preston, Check the battery first. Alternately, it could be the srarter solenoid - the start spins without engagiung the flywheel - nice, smooth cosistent wirring sound. Regards, Art S.
