Mysterious Dino with Lancia Stratos carbs

This is a follow-up on the mysterious Dino which appeared in the color thread some time ago. Here is a brief recap: A photo posted by any_one showed a Dino in Rosso Bordeaux (perhaps). I remembered seeing the car in Sweden and inquired about the owner. I was curious about the apparent discrepancy between the stated model year (it looked to me like an L-series car), and also about the larger than normal bulge on the engine decklid. any_one found the information on the owner and serial number from the Swedish Transportation Authority web site. It was registered as a -71 model with serial #02740. Matthias (German Dino) immediately cried out: "Impossible! It is an L-series car (knock-off wheels, etc.). Besides, #02740 is running in Germany now".

I am in Sweden at the moment, and I decided to contact the owner. He was kind enough to show me the car, even though it was in winter storage. It turns out that he is indeed aware that, sometimes in the past, the car changed identity and that it probably is an earlier model, a -69 or -70. While I am no expert on the L-series, I found that it had: Knock-off wheels, external trunk release lock, long glove box door, fixed head rests and heater controls on the console. In other words, it looked like a mostly correct, and nicely restored L-series Dino, except for a few details such as steering wheels, etc.. My earlier reported initial impression that something was wrong with the proportions of the rear of the car, turned out to be an optical illusion only, caused by the tall bulge on the engine decklid. Apart from that, a very nice, correct L-series Dino, in other words. But what about the serial number? As can be seen on one of the photos below, someone has gone through the trouble of stamping #02740 into the car, just as if it had been done by Ferrari...

I do not want to dwell further on this assumed identity problem, except to say that I hope and believe that it can be corrected in the future. It should also serve as a warning to anybody contemplating the purchase of a Dino, to check with the Dino register, ask questions on this forum, etc. For now, we just have to acknowledge that there are two Dinos with #02740 running around, and that only the one in Germany has the correct identity. The only good news in all this is that we have discovered another L-series Dino, one that we have not known about before. After all, there are not too many of them left. The owner and I agreed to meet again in the spring, when the car is out in the open, and I hope to report on it then. If the owner agrees, and with the help from everyone on this forum, we could probably figure out the correct identity of this "lost L-series Dino".

Now on to more enjoyable things: This car is quite interesting for other reasons. The tall bulge on the engine decklid is there because the engine has been fitted with intake manifold, carburators and valves(?) from the Lancia Stratos. The carburators are said to be Weber 44IDFs. Together with a higher compression and slightly hotter camshafts, the engine is said to produce around 235 hp. (I am for it!) The owner reports that the driveability is still very good, with as much low end torque as before, and excellent throttle response.

I am attaching some photos of the car below. The first four are provided by the owner, the remaining four are my own, taken in the dimly lit storage space. The photo of the engine on the bench shows air horns (intake trumpets) on the carburators, but in the car it is fitted with a standard air cleaner. Just a thought for use on the track: If you removed the air cleaner, the horns would probably fit under that roomy engine lid. Besides gaining a few horsepowers, just imagine what that would sound like when you floor the throttle!

Happy New Year, everyone!
Lars
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No, he will not regret it. This is a matter strictly between members of the Dino community. Anything that could cause legal problems for anybody will be kept confidential, unless the owner agrees to make it public. I would never abuse the graciousness of a fellow enthusiast by causing any kind of problems for him. So, fear not, this will all be handled in the friendly spirit of one Dino enthusiast to another.

I also believe that this change of identity was more a result of expediency and bad judgement, rather than dishonesty. The duplication of registration and serial numbers were just too easy to do during the years after the European market opened up. You could purchase a car in one country, take into another and register it there without too many questions being asked. The market was international but the registration authorities were strictly national in their scope and jurisdiction. This loophole has now been closed. Today, you can not register a car in another EU country unless proof of export and original title has been received from the country where it was registered before. But for a few years, the abuse of this loophole was apparently widespread. That is another reason to be extra careful when buying a car which has been registered in more than one EU country.