Ferrari Mailing List: Re: NCC (No Camaro Content): Ferrari F40 Trophy Rally

[ferrarifixer (ferrarifixer]

I with John on this one.  I've owned two 400's.  A '79 400GTA and a 84 400i.  
Both cars were way cheap to purchase and had a few 'issues'.  To repair them 
with Ferrari parts would have broken the bank.  The 79 had the dreaded self 
leveling problem.  The self leveling shocks on this model are self contained 
and are available only rebuilt at a cost of a major 30K service 
on a 355.  I fitted air shocks to replace these bank busters for under $100.
  The 84 had a bad rear wheel bearing and bad carrier bearing.  The headers 
were also rusted thru.  The bearings were under $100 but did require a couple 
of days labor.  I removed the headers and patched them when I found out that 
the replacements were almost as much as I paid for the car.
  So, if you are prepared to work outside the box, and not worry about winning 
the next Ferrari concours event, these can be cheap cars to buy and have some 
fun with.
   The big downside is Ferrari in the US does not support these gray market 
cars, so sourcing parts can be costly.  If you are considering one to buy, find 
out what is needed and source the parts first.  I had to make several small 
parts because they were either not available or insanely expensive.
  They are great cruisers and will happily run 100 mph all day long, or until 
you get a speeding ticket.
your mileage will vary,
Michael
 
-----Original Message-----
From: JAshburne [at] aol.com
To: ferrarifixer [at] aol.com
Cc: ferrari [at] ferrarilist.com
Sent: Sun, 4 Mar 2007 12:09 AM
Subject: Re: [Ferrari] NCC (No Camaro Content): Ferrari F40 Trophy Rally


 
Hi Clyde
 
Hmmm, that might be a common perception but it is more myth than  reality.  
Does the 400i have weak points, such as a fragile fuse box?   Oh yeah, unlike 
any other Ferrari model (;-))  right? that have none (like  notoriously weak 
transaxles in the 512TR, really fun sidedraft carbs on the C4  or bad valve 
stem 

seals on the 355, or bad windows on the 456GT)!
 
But on balance, they are really good solid cars.  Their reputation  comes 
from the fact that they, more than other 2 seater Ferraris, are likely to  have 
serious deferred maintenance issues.  No Ferrari can work well for  long if it 
isn't maintained and the 400/400i is an example of what happens when  they 
aren't.
 
Maintain it like a Ferrari should be and they are excellent cars that still  
give a great V12 experience.  Especially for the money.
 
I took my 24 year old 400i out for a 100 mile drive to nowhere today in CT  
and NY after 4 months of sitting.  It started right up and ran great all  day.  
I had a fun time running north from CT up into NYS with a guy behind  me in a 
current BMW 5 series and his young son in the passenger seat.  When  curvy 
North St. in Greenwich and Bedford was clear, I comfortably outpaced him,  but 
maybe his comfort level was lower than mine.  I could see that he had  the 
windows open to hear the V12 (it got up to 60 degrees today).  When he  had to 
turn off at a hardware store in Bedford, he honked and waved.  I  guess he 
enjoyed the car also!
 
Its not a Daytona, but then again, I can buy 7 or 8 400is for Daytona money  
or I could just buy one,  maintain it like no other, get a hell of a  Ferrari 
experience and still have $150K or so left in my pocket  to spend  on wine, 
women and song.
 
The worst model Ferrari is still better than 95% of the cars out  there!
 
John
 
 
In a message dated 3/3/2007 9:45:13 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
clyderomero [at] worldnet.att.net writes:

the 400  is a dog ask anyone who has owned one

good luck

buy an NSX with  the money at least you will get something that will work







Capt. Clyde Romero  Jr.

Mobile 678 641 9932



-----Original  Message-----
From: LarryT [mailto:l02turner [at] comcast.net] 
Sent:  Saturday, March 03, 2007 6:52 PM
To: clyde
Cc: The  FerrariList
Subject: Re: [Ferrari] NCC (No Camaro Content): Ferrari F40  Trophy Rally



With all the talk about Ferrari values and sales  prices I thought ya'll 

might be interested in knowing the new April  issue of Hemmings has a article


a buyers guide for the  400/400i  -- IMHO, one of the most practical V12 

Ferrari's there  are.  The article makes many good points - such as the  large


number of these models used as daily drivers and having high  miles as a 

result - and the needed rebuild will be needed before too  long.  Merely a 

word of caution -



About the prices  they say the price had been stuck in the $25k-$30k range 

for the last  5 years.  Still out oif my range -;-)



Anyway - check out  pg 36.



Larry T (67 MGB, 74 911, 78 240D, 91  300D)




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