For,what it’s worth and just one person’s opinion—but having owned and lived with one for four years—the 400i is perfect highway cruiser with the GM auto trans. I never once thought to myself, “this car would offer a better driving experience if it had a manual transmission”. It’s just too big and heavy. Very similar to my old 928 in that way. People think it would be better with a MT but invariably, in my experience, those people have never actually owned one.
I believe it is a turbo 400 transmission also, someone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, which is one of the strongest transmissions ever made.
I'm not an expert on this model but IIRC it IS a Turbo 400 by GM, that handled up to 500HP in Pontiac and Cadillac applications....
It's been the nicest cost effective V12 since it was first listed, IMO They are complicated, and have a fearsome reputation, if abandoned.. But this one has been finely fettled since new. It's obvious... Kindof like the time I saw a running driving Dino246, but quibbled about a dent in the front bonnet, at $60K...
I was interested in this one but it's off market now. As I continue my search, any info about running costs from 400i owners would be much appreciated.
What do you mean by "running costs"? Annual maintenance or getting it to correct operating condition? I'm pretty sure they should have the valves checked at about every 10,000 miles but experience says you could almost double that. Check the on line owners manuals, there is a maintenance schedule it in. They are shim/bucket so stay adjusted for a long time. I just paid about $6,500 for valve adjustment plus rotor/cap ($950!!!!!!) and plugs. Engine runs awesome now. So I'd say expect $7,000 every couple of years as long as you actually drive it as much as it should be driven. Dino oil so an oil change should be minimal even with 12 quarts (!). I'd do that every 3,500 miles until you get a feel for the car. Unfortunately, I've had the misfortune of paying for 40 years of "deferred maintenance". The two clowns that owned it before me were clueless about running Ferrari's. The last guy apparently drove it to his "collection" and just parked it. All the fuel eventually evaporated and left just moisture which then corroded the fuel pressure regulators, accumulators, all of it. Had to go thru the whole system. Also, one of the previous owners took off ALL of the self leveling system but didn't put anything back in so it sagged badly in the rear. I've just installed custom Koni's for about $3,000 which are fully adjustable and now I can see what's behind me besides just asphalt. I think you can fix the POS Ferrari system with Merc components (if it's still on the car) for less than $1,000. Also replaced all the suspension bushings because they were cracked and rotted. Old.....Mine had 22k miles on it when I bought it. Woo Hoo! Oh Boy!! A Low Mileage Ferrari (don't touch THAT!) This one looks to be in pretty good shape. The owners seem to have driven it and maintained it as it was meant to be. Beware of "low mileage" examples that everybody gets all excited about because you'll probably have to spend $30k+ to put it back in the shape it was meant to be. Mine also had three oil leaks, two transmission oil leaks, PS leaks, warped brakes, two coolant leaks, and multiple fuel problems (as above). Other than that, it was awesome!! Don't be afraid of the automatic, these cars were built for it. I put a Stage I shift kit ($100 if the trans is out which mine was) in the TH400 and it made a DRAMATIC difference in the shifting. Made it a different car. I can now, and usually do, manually shift down to second when the engine gets into a lugging mode and it works great!. Not like driving your mom's Chevy wagon. These are truly Seven League Boots cars and are wonderful for both long and short trips. They look totally cool too. Now that I finally have mine sorted, I LOVE it!! Just have to improve the A/C :-(
OOF. I have a weird fascination with these and the color combo is just too good. Please let me know if you relist in the future and if the timing is right I may be a buyer.
It's a TH400. slightly higher stall on the converter and a shift kit with manual low/2/D would probably wake it up. sjd
Summit Racing for shift kits for these never dawned on me though I knew they had a turbo 400. That's excellent.
