Very interesting color, it looks compeltely different in the last two pics than the outdoor shots.
Yeah, I noticed that too. Mistakes like that bother me less than the fact that the article simply lacked any real substance. I'd love to hear what it takes to restore and maintain these cars. It is nice to hear from one owner's experience, but that by itself is just that: One owner. In essence this could have been a great report and it remained a write up about the reporter getting a ride in the afternoon.
Yeah - I noticed that to. I guess it is the lighting. The color is Marrone Mettalizato, and it is original (never repainted). To the eye it does not really look different indoors or out, but to the camera, well, that is a different story.....
Alex, you are my hero!!! I toyed with the idea of using a Mondial as a daily driver and I decided not to based on two things. 1. I drove ours in the snow once. 2. Lack of rustproofing. Our Mondial remains a fair-weather daily driver (Spring, summer and fall) but gets put to bed for the winter and I drive a Toyota which is reliable and disposible. To say that the Mondial is not a good car in the snow would be a gross understatement! I much prefer front or all-wheel drive in the snow. A 456 would be an interesting choice for an all-year-around driver because I think it's mostly aluminum and won't rust. (Not sure about that though...) The Mondial (and perhaps the 400?) will rust if you look at it funny. Birdman
I think it's a great idea. I've always wondered if one could do it/half-dreamed about doing it. Please keep us posted!
Let's face it, if any Ferrari was designed to be used day to day then the 400 is it? I strongly suspect (and hope!) that you'll have far fewer problems per mile than most...especially Ferraris of that age. Also, love the plate...who said Americans have no sense of Irony?
Love your plate! You might try approaching Boyd Coddington or Chip Foose about manufacturing a set of stock reproduction rims for your car in non-metric sizes unless of course there are some that will fit from Superformance?
I love the "bris" plate - LMAO!!!! I have a feeling you're going to appreciate the fact that you DON'T live just 6 blocks from work Your 400 is really beautiful. Enjoy. Cheers, Hank
Alex, Congrats! I am openly a fan of the 365/400s. These were the Ferraris for the top-of-the-food-chain types who already have red Ferraris elsewhere in the stalls. Love the metallic brown..., but of course, I am biased for metallics
Way to go Alex. Nothing strange about using a Ferrari for a daily driver. Engine rebuild costs on a per-mile basis will not be insignificant as you pile on the miles, but who cares - you should be able to get 100,000 miles or more before a major $20K engine rebuild routine, so, not that bad considering a new Honda is $30K these days. The 400 was made for that kind of distance commuting (although, probably pretty thirsty on gas) so she should be a solid performer. Nice subtle color combo - looks like a clean car! I also use my Ferrari as a daily driver and a blast up the highway is a great way to start the work day. You might, however, be surprised by the degree of misconceptions and negative comments likely to come from a few co-workers (who are just jealous...).
I used my 365 as a daily for about 6 months, and used to drive it at least twice a week to the office before going to China. It will be put back into service again soon! Great car, welcome to the club.
Engine rebuild is in the cards (runs GREAT but burns oil) - since my Boxer engine is currently apart, I know what this entails. Since this car cost less than my A8L DEPRECIATED in ONE year, I have no problem justifying the cost. I do have one problem that I could use help with - my fuse box / relay board has deteriorated (like they all do - same problem as Will Hubble's F40) and this causes me to intermittently lose the left bank fuel pump (tapping on the relay board makes it come back on). New or NOS seem to not exist. Any ideas on where to find a new one or a different solution? I thought about wiring the left fuel pump to the right, but this seems like a bad idea....any thoughts? Alex
Alex Good luck with that. The fuse and relay panel are known weak points on the 400i and they are notorious for deteriorating connections that end up oveheating the panel and, in the worst case, breaking the connection for something, such as a fuel pump (ask me how I know). I have improved things by cleaning the connections and resoldering a few but I too would be on the lookout for a better long term solution. I would definitely not even think about wiring both fuel pumps up to one side for the simple reason that I think the wires would not handle the extra draw of power well. Before you tear everything apart, are you sure that the fuel pump relay is good? I had a similar problem with, oddly enough, the left side pump, and it was fixed by plugging in a new relay. If you don't have a new one handy, take one from another non-essential circuit and try that, keeping in mind that there are two different part numbers used for the relays. They all look alike unless you look at the part number stamped on them. But I'm sure that you have tried that. Best of luck with the 400i! John
Hillarious license plate very cool idea, i wouldnt see a problem using it daily, maybe it might suffer a little bit more in those extremely cold winter days but otherwise it should become more reliable with miles.