On auction in Melbourne this summer - Ferrari 400i

That's very interesting. Assuming it's a carb car, could it be serial number 21185, a blue manual? I only know of 4 carb manual 400s in Australia, so I'm interested to find out in due course.

David

 

Thanks Phil,

A manual would be a fun car indeed. I would be keen to know more about it.

Cheers Al

 

Phil,is it a GT or an I?
thanx,Simon.

 

Great work Al. Hope you can take it on a long run to Tassie some time.

Looks like another 400 manual that needs to come South for some great roads too.

 

I'd be keen as well,it'd be an interesting Targa car....lightened up a little.

 

We just got back from a quick drive up North. This was the first time I got stretch its legs a bit.

WOW! It purred along beautifully. I am most impressed.

All the gauges seemed to sit where I would expect -
Oil temp was about 1 division below 210
Oil pressure sat just below 85 but dropped a little lower at idle
Water temp was 1 division below 195 to 195 in traffic

The auto changed smoothly & seems to change about the right speeds under full throttle-
1st to 2nd at 100KPH
2nd to 3rd at 160KPH

We only took it to 220KPH (old tyres & first real run) but it was pulling strong & still had a lot left. I don't think it has lost too many of its ponies over the years.

Cheers Al

 

Excellent,livin' the dream!

 

when I imported my 400i automatic from Germany a few weeks ago I drove it home for 963km and was able to test it on an unrestricted section of the German autobahn.

It was terrific!!! this car was really built for travelling on the highway at high speed.
Since traffic was pretty dense I only managed to hit 230 k's once or twice (and there still was a lot of space under the pedal), but the sound and the feel of the car was magnificent - even though it is almost 35 years old.

 

They really are built for high speed cruising aren't they. A 963Km journey would be a lot of fun. Did it do it on 2 tanks of fuel or did you need a third?

One thing we did notice at high speed the tops of the door frames rattled a little bit with the windows up but did not if I put one window down a little. A new set of door rubbers should fix this the old ones are rather squashed & hard. They do just cruise effortlessly at high speed though.

 

2 tanks!!!! I started the journey with a full tank, and stopped only once to refill (just to learn that when the fuel lamp goes on you still have around 15-20 liters left), average fuel consumption at autobahn speeds was around 17 litres for 100km.

my doors didn' rattle, even with the windows closed - I'm pretty sure a new set of door rubbers should do the trick.

one thing i found really amazing was how effortless the car accelerates at high speeds even with the old 3speed automatic. I was doing about 160 k's (due to traffic) and a funny guy in a TDI tried to examine my exhaust system. when the line was clear I just floored the pedal, past 200k's in no time and the TDI got lost in my rear view window.

yep, it's the perfect Gran Turismo.

 

You maybe a candidate for the GG run,some of us go on in the middlish of each year.
We have blokes from Vic,NSW and Qld,I even lent one of mine to a bloke from WA last year.

 

Just got back from another blast up the unlimited speed zone. Speedo hit 160MPH/260KPH - not sure how accurate the speedo is but it was a lot of fun.

Cheers,
Al

 

Use a GPS next time,Al,....yer lucky bu#$er!!

I use one all the time in just about everything,including my trucks...you never know how accurate the speedo's are.

I have one truck that reads 15% slower than it actually is.

 

Simon,
You need higher profile tyres on your 365 then!

 

Hehe,wrong truck!

 

I had my last run in the open speed limit on Monday. A 130KPH limit will be imposed again on the 21st of Nov 16 & I won't get a chance to go again before then.

I have posted some video of my last run on youtube -

https://youtu.be/vSsE4HGwOeY

Sorry for the crap sound - it was too nice a day to have the windows up.
These cars just eat up the Kilometre's don't they.

Cheers,
Al

 

Kool read, Al, need some motivation for my project haha

 

Nice run Al!
130 KPH limit is permanent here...

 

Thanks,

I'm really going to miss these runs.

The 400i handles so well at speed. It doesn't look that fast in the video but I was cruising on around 200 (unless there was traffic then slowed down a bit) & pushed it up to its limit a couple of times which was 260 on the speedo & 252 on GPS.

Cheers,
Al

 

Does it run out of puff, or hit the rev limiter?

 

Runs out of puff. It is fairly hot this time of year though & would probably get a little more with cooler air.

 

Still, quite impressive!

 

Hope you all are enjoying your cars as much as I am this one. It's hard to believe I've been driving this for over 3 years now! Just got back from clocking up another 102 miles on it & it still makes me smile from ear to ear each time I drive it.

 

Hi Al,

I hope the 400i is still running well.
I am in NSW and need to replace the starter motor on my RHD 400i. I have removed the starter and was going to order a gear reduction starter to replace my old starter. I saw in your post that you have already fitted a gear reduction starter to your car. Are you able to advise me what starter you used and where it was ordered from or supplied from in Australia?

Thanks in advance !!

Cheers!

Rick.

 

Rick,
I have bought (I think it was AEG in Melbourne) gear reduction starters, about $750 when I bought. Made in Melbourne.
Regards
Wayne