| Author |
Message |
Rijk Rietveld (Rijk365gtb4)
Junior Member
Username: Rijk365gtb4
Post Number: 158
Registered: 1-2002
| | Posted on Monday, March 31, 2003 - 2:29 pm: | |
Sam
Before you buy one, check out the emissions regulations of your state. All 365/400/412 cars are gray market cars and the car is often not old enough to be emissions-exempt. I sold mine and bought a Daytona, which is exempt in NY, but, for example, in NJ you can only pass with historical plates and that will severely limit your mileage. I really liked my 400i 5 speed. A very classy car for a reasonable price.
Rijk |
Schumi (Schumi)
Junior Member
Username: Schumi
Post Number: 104
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Monday, March 31, 2003 - 12:56 pm: | |
I have owned a '82 400i GT for about two years, and although the maintenance is high ($2,500.00/year average), the car is a great driver, a ton of fun, and sounds awesome. I am 6'4" so most Ferraris are too small. Much of my maintenance costs are due to the lack of it before I bought it - valve guides/seals, clutch. So far as the electrical system I have never experienced any problems. The 412s are faster, have ABS, better self-levelling rear suspension, and some think the raised deck lid looks better. One thing to look out for with early 400i's is the self-levelling rear suspension - about $800.00 to fix correctly. Get a good one right off and you shouldn't have any trouble. The 308, 328 guys in our club seem to have alot more trouble with them than I have with a 12. (Knock on wood and whatever else will keep it that way.) |
John Ashburne (Jashburne)
New member
Username: Jashburne
Post Number: 18
Registered: 9-2002
| | Posted on Monday, March 31, 2003 - 12:16 am: | |
The changes were:
1. 365GT4 2+2 from 1972-75 had same engine as 365GTC/4, produced 310HP with 6 weber side draft carbs and had a production run of about 470.
2. 400 was produced from 1976-79 and was first to have automatic transmission. Displacement increased to 4.8 liters and HP to 325. Production was 145 5 speeds and 355 automatics for a total run of 500 cars produced.
3. 400i switched to Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection starting in 1979 and had a run of 1308 cars (424 with 5 speed, 884 with automatic) until Feb. 1985. HP was down slightly to 315.
4. 412 was produced from 1985-90 (270 5 speeds, 306 autos, total 576)and HP increased to 340 HP. There were numerous smaller changes, but the main one was the power increase and, for the first time on any Ferrari road car, antilock brakes.
I have owned a 5 speed 400i for the past 4+ years and really enjoy it. Even though it is a 4 seater and a bit heavy, it actually is about the same size as say, a Camaro, and is a lot of fun to drive. Needless to say it is really in its element as a high speed GT car designed to cover long distances very rapidly.
I don't know the reason for the price disparity between the 412s and the 400i's, although the more expensive 412's have been on the market for a long time. I think actual selling prices are coming down (duh).
The 400/412 series is a Ferrari that is cheap to buy but expensive to maintain. The engine still has 12 cylinders and therefore costs the same to maintain as a 365GTC/4 or a Daytona.
Because they are less expensive, lots of the cars have been owned by people who couldn't afford to maintain them properly. Finding one with a good service history and a very thorough pre-purchase inspection is critical to not getting burned.
I haven't had any particular problem with the electrical system, although it does seem to be overly complicated for the needs of the car. For example, 2 alternators, lots of relays in the fuse box and servo switches for hood and trunk releases that are just asking for trouble.
The self-leveling rear suspension is expensive to deal with if it needs service, particularly since Koni no longer sells or rebuilds the shocks. People either send them to a guy in Arizona for rebuilding or replace them with air shocks.
Otherwise the car is very strong and a lot of the service can be done DIY. The Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection is the same basic setup (times 2) as on a lot of early 80's BMWs and Mercedes. My friend who owns a service station in town can adjust the FI easily before I take the car for emissions inspections.
Let me know if I can help you out in any way.
John |
Jordan Witherspoon (Jordan747_400)
Member
Username: Jordan747_400
Post Number: 612
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Sunday, March 30, 2003 - 11:30 pm: | |
BTW, I know of 3 412's for sale in Southern California if your looking for some. E-mail me and Ill point you in the right direction, they are all under 40k |
Jordan Witherspoon (Jordan747_400)
Member
Username: Jordan747_400
Post Number: 611
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Sunday, March 30, 2003 - 11:25 pm: | |
For Question number 3, Ive seen 412's from 25-55k. The more expensive ones I saw were the more rare manual transmission models since most are Automatics. From what I understand, any 412 in the US is an import from Europe since no 412s were exported to the US.
Ive heard the 400 series are nice drivers but Ive always been warned about the electrical systems on them. Hopefully someone here can elaborate on that. |
Sam Sloane (Sams)
New member
Username: Sams
Post Number: 7
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Sunday, March 30, 2003 - 9:48 am: | |
I've always had an interest in these cars, since I first saw one in a showroom years ago. Recently I've seen a handful on the market, with a fairly large $$$ spread. Got some questions:
1) How did the cars change over their model history, and were the changes "improvements" to the car?
2) Are they nice drivers? (Anybody who owns/owned one I love to hear your thoughts!)
3) Why such a spread with the later model 412's selling over $40k today?
Thanks---Sam
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