Yes I am Insane: 400i Daily Driver

Am I crazy? After owning Ferraris for a little more than ten years, I decided that life was too short to save them for nice days and park them for the winter. Still I was not willing to subject my Boxer (#18265) or Dino (#10704) to the salt of a northeast winter, and I wanted an automatic with cold ac and power steering for daily use (I work in NYC). So, a few months ago I sold my 04 Audi A8L (my previous daily) and purchased an 84 400i (#049773) - this car is my new daily driver.

I have had the car for about a month or two so far, but I have refrained from posting about it as I had an issue with the selling dealer/broker (undisclosed defect) but as that has now been resolved, I am pleased to be able to discuss it. The car is Marronne / Tan, and pretty sound - i need to resolve one issue in the fusebox (bad trace) and an oil burning issue, but it has had a recent $9k major (even by my mechanic, bill pollard, the BEST), and EVERYTHING works, cold dual ac, etc.

I have about 2k miles on it so far, including a 900 mile drive back from NC where I purchased it, and should cover about 15-20k per year, in all weather, occaisonally with my golden retriever in the car. I need to find regular (non-trx) wheels for snow tires (any ideas?), and i could really use for all of you to keep your fingers crossed for me. So often there is a thread, hey - can i use a 400 (or mondial) for a daily? Well we are about to find out.....I will be the guinea pig!

Oh, and let me know what you think of the car and especially the plates....

Alex
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kewl man thnx for posting. Interesting color, not seen too many in it.

OO-RAH on your balls out, daily driver approach...

 

I like it. I like it a lot.

Please keep us updated.

 

There is an intresting article on the 365/400/412 series in this months Forza magazine.

 

I'm willing to be you have very few problems driving it daily. Good for you!
Garage queens s---.

 

This could turn into a truly great thread. Brave man Alexander, I've also toyed with the idea of a 456 or 412 for a daily driver. Here in Switzerland snow tyres are also a consideration, so I'll be interested to hear you experiences.

If this goes well it may persuade those of us less brave to jump in the deep end Good luck with everything and keep us posted with regular updates, wheather good or bad.

Cheers
Simon

 

A Fix It Again Tony license plate does not inspire long-term confidence!

Very nice car though.

Suggestion for wheels for snow tires: move to California. You'll save the cost of wheels and tires, and never have to shovel snow!

 

Interesting?

I like the fact that they had an article about these cars, which I think are hugely underrated and I like them a lot. But that article was about as dumb as they come. The interviewer/reporter reported verbatim back what the user had to say without much editorial comments. Some more qualified statements from the reporter would have been welcome. A far cry from Winston Goodfellow's reports.

 

i smell an FML article...!


Alex, you should cut the top off...! Of course, that would be another article entirely...

 

Nice ride Alex.

How about a month by month report on how the cars is doing. Since your car has a TH400 I seriously doubt you will ever have any problems with the trans.

This should be interesting to see how many miles you put on the car.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ferrari-400GT-1979-Ferrari-400GT-V-12-Red-Tan-Interior-30K-Miles_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ6212QQitemZ4585541916QQrdZ1

I wonder how that feels on the road. Warping?

 

No way. Especially since he's gonna drive it in ALL weather conditions. Leave it as is.

 

Wow, that is one super clean 400!

 

I love it. I think the 400i still looks fresh and not dated in my opinion. I am interested to hear what you think of the automatic transmission. I believe it has a gm 4 speed auto box right? How do you like it? Didn't Enzo drive a 400i too? he was as insane as you

 

yeah, great looking 400.

 

I once owned Al Garthwaite's(Algar) daily driver 400GT 5 speed. It was a great car. I traded it in on a TR back in the mid-90s

 

Did you know i have already done that once...or just a good guess? Not to a Ferrari, but you will remember that the 77 320i never came as a convertible.....all it takes is beer and a sawzall.....

Again, note the plate - anyone get the joke? Remember this is a CUT CAR!!!
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Actually, it is a GM TH-400 3 speed. A four speed would be better, but this is ok. To answer your question, I do like the car alot - a lot more soul than my A8.

Alex

 

You had a breeze of fresh air.

 

Don't you mean a bris of fresh air? Ouch!

-steve

 

Nope - Bris means circumcision. It is the jewish ceremony where you "cut the top off". The car Had A Bris!

Alex

 

You can read in that very same article:

Unveiled at Paris in 1976, the new car closely resembled its predecessor; the only visible changes were a small front spoiler, more traditional sets of dual—rather than triple—exhaust pipes and lug nuts instead of knock-offs on the 15-inch Cromodoro alloy wheels.

Triple exhaust pipes on a 365 GT4 2+2?? Do some research! Never liked Forza for these kind of dumb mistakes, and it seems it gets worse...

Anyway, Alex: a great car, a great idea and a great thread. Drive & enjoy it!

 

By the way: I think your plates are funny...

 

I think its a breath of fresh air to see someone that love Ferrari's as much as you do and be willing to just 'go for it'.

I too and very curious to hear about the month to month updates. While my Ferrari is not a daily driver, I would love to have another one that was...for me, it would probably be a 456. Financially, its not justifiable right now, but maybe in 20 years when the 456 becomes the new 412, I will. Anyway, look forward to hearing about how it goes.

 

Nice find Alex. Good luck from another 400i owner and keep us posted on how things go.

John