Hi Gentlemen, My name is Dan and I am a Corvette restorer and specialty car enthusiast. I own a Corvette restoration business in Westchester, NY specializing in NCRS/Bloomington original style restorations. I am a stickler for originality which is what brings me here. I am looking for a '73-'74 Ferrari Dino with fender flares and striped seats. I've checked the normal sources, Hemmings, Anamera.com, Dupont Registry, along with regular Google searches of private dealers. No luck. Color combination is unimportant. The car must be mechanically sound. Receipts within the last five years would be ideal. Also, document books and paper work proving prominence is important to me. The more original the better! Where would the community suggest finding such a car? Money is no object for the right Ferrari. I can email my cell number if calling is easier. I look forward to learning with the community. Thanks, Dan
Dan, I would love to say this will be simple..... It will be hard to find an ORIGINAL CHAIRS/FLARES car. Most unrestored cars are few and far between. Add on SPECIFIC items.... Most cars you will find will have Daytona chairs and maybe flared wheel arches or one of the the two.... When it come to originality, you have a whole new world at your hands.... I have never been a fan or "FLARES", so I have always avoided them.... That being said, I have cars that have original "chairs" interiors. Althought they are dated and worn, you can't replace originality. to what degree do you ask the quesion?
Tex, Thanks for your response. My research has lead me to believe that finding an unrestored Dino will be a challenging feat, let alone one that has chairs/flares. I am not restricting my search to unrestored cars. Restored examples are perfectly acceptable for me and frankly, I'd like a restored original! Being an NCRS judge, I need to have an eye for craftsmanship. I hope this answers some of your questions. I'd also like input as to where I would find one of these cars. I gather 4000 Dinos were made, and only 350 had chairs/flares? Thanks, Dan
There are 2 original RHD flares and chairs Dinos for sale in Hong Kong. The black one is registered in HK. The red one (concours winner) is registered in UK
I hit send too soon. Both of these cars are for sale. There are quite a few Dinos in HK - no idea if any others are for sale or flares and chairs.
You may already know this so apologies in advance for duplication, but one of the best resources for Dino history by VIN is the free Dino Register. Before you buy any Dino, submit the VIN and check out gthe prospective car's history. Be aware that it was very popular forowners to add these items after the fact. http://www.dinoregister.com/dr.php The Dino fender flares are historic in that they are a Pinin Farina first; the demarcation point of the start of a design style where the edge lines up as you sight down the car body. It also propogated to many follow on cars; Boxer 308, 288GTO, etc. The Dino Register allegedly shows that only 145 Flares and Chairs cars are in the register (scroll waaaay down to see it) http://www.dinoregister.com/production.php text: Wide wheels and wide fender flares-optional in 246 Dinos These options started appearing on 246 Dinos in the car number range of the 4000s (earliest in the register is 04676). A Dino is Germany, 03650, is said to have flares, but unknown if the option is a factory original, or not, and confirmation has not been possible. The total number of Dinos which were produced with this option is unknown, however the register has 145 cars listed which suggests there were certainly less than 200-250 so equipped. The option appears most common on USA and British version cars. The breakdown is as follows. 246GT coupes: British version-22 cars, European version-5 cars, and USA version-5 cars. 246GTS spyders: USA version-91 cars, British version-21 cars, and European version only 2 cars. It is difficult to get a good sampling of cars in Europe and the flares option on the European Dinos may not be as rare as the figures would seem to indicate. What would you pay for a two owner, factory documented Flares and Chairs Dino GTS in excellent mechanical and cosmetic condition?
Dan, No offense intended, but we've all seen the phrase "Money is no object for the right Ferrari," before. Good luck in your search, but soooooo many poseurs have drifted in and out of here over the years (like that guy who claimed that he had $2 million or so to invest in Dinos and Ferraris over 3 years - whatever happened to him?) who have started their first posting to the Dino section with the same type of intro . . . . I am skeptical until proven otherwise. I hope you prove us otherwise. Here's one SURE-FIRE way to do it - follow up on Scott.Mac's reply. He's got a ROCK-SOLID lead on a beauty of a Chairs-n-Flairs. Mark
Me thinks this "Dan Banks" is another in an illustrious line of POSEURS/POSERS who have graced the Dino section from time to time. "Dan" listed on his FCHAT user profile his supposed webpage as www.mbcgarage.com - but that leads to nowhere but a "parked" listing on GoDaddy.com. The domain name may be registered or reserved, but still, nothing's there. If you are going to list a domain name in your profile but you've got nothing to show for it, it makes one suspicious. Mark P.S. If I could have thought of another "P" word for the title, I would have had a nice and really long alliterative phrase . . . . Mark
Mark, If you have questions, just send me a PM or email. I'll explain anything you want. My search is legit. I am not a scammer, poser, or anything in between. I have already PM'ed Scott.Mac with my cell number. The website goes to godaddy.com because my website designer has not finished the site but it should hit any day now. A big portion of you don't fill out your profiles in any sort of complete fashion but I thought that would be a great way to prove I was not a scammer nor poser of any sort. I hope the contrary is not true... Believe me, I understand skepticism. I deal in Corvettes valued very close to their Italian counterparts. You do not have to lecture me in morals or ethics. Edit: Scott.Mac you have an email and a PM. Thanks! DINOgts, you have a PM too. Thanks. Best, Dan
Hi Scott, It was a pleasure talking with you today. Best of luck completing the restoration of your Dino! Best, Dan
DBanks, welcome to the board. I would like to make you aware of some of our rules here so you don't accidentally step on yourself in the process of settling in. Since you're a professional in the car restoration business, can you confirm that this search is for yourself or for a customer of yours? If it's for a customer of yours, you should refrain from pursuing your search on the board any further as it would be considered commercial activity, unless you become a sponsor. If it's for yourself, the recommended procedure would be to subscribe and post your "want" in a classified ad on FerrariAds.com, then you can discuss that "want" in a thread on the forum of your choice. Thanks and again, welcome!
Hey Dan! Welcome to Fchat. Happy to see that your on the site. I to will vouch that Dan is 1,000X legitimate. He is a car enthusiast, honest, and one of the nicest people you will meet. His knowledge of Corvettes will blow you away, knows the history of them and other iconic muscle cars. Happens to know a majority of all the good cars still in existence and can tell you about them on the spot as he is constantly following the market and going to corvette events around the country. You will enjoy Fchat as a resource to learn about this fantastic mark and meet other car owners and enthusiasts just like yourself. Have fun and give Dan a warm welcome to the forum.
Nick Soprano is your Neighbor, He always has a leed on a 246 CH and Fl... I have purchased 2 such cars from him in the past and did quite well with them.. 08232 and 08312.. There is or was a doc in westchester trying to sell such car, ask Nick http://www.motorclassiccorp.com/ The thrill of finding the right car is as good as ownership! I am a neighbor Too! May I have your shops web site or name.. My wife still has her original 1976 corvette coupe, it has sat for over 15 years now, but getting her to sell it would be harder than finding the Al Queda stronghold...She wants it restored for our Son!
I am in the process of drafting a wanted ad for the Ferrariads.com wanted section. Thank you for the recommendation. I did not see that in the rules so I appreciate you explaining the process to me. Thanks for the kind note. I have spoken to Nick and he has my request on file. I have passed his shop for years, never been inside, but I did witness the restoration of one of his GT40s in a shop of a close friend of mine. He always has a diverse inventory! Your wife's car seems like a great car with lots of family history! Congrats for keeping it through the years! Thanks, Dan
BTW.... Champion motors in plainview long Island had 3 dinos last summer including the infamous Babs chairs and flares dino..they have these cars on consignment and always have a leed to get them back try a salesman there, you never know! http://www.championmotorgroup.com/commercial-inventory/
Just out of mordant curiosity, as the owner of about as untouched and original a '74 Flares and Chairs car with low mileage (14k) and an absolutely pristine, complete and documented provenance as one could possibly hope to find in this world, and which drives like it came out of the factory last week, I sent this gent a PM several days ago to ask exactly what he meant by "money no object." Mind you, I explained that I am about as likely to sell the car as I am my left lung, but that phrase merits a response. Needless to say, I've heard back nothing. So, clearly, money is an object, he's simply not for real, or his internet bill has gone unpaid a bit too long. It may be he has no idea what a car that really meets those specs is worth (I mean, seriously, how many 73/74 f&c low-mileage cars in untouched condition that also run perfectly can there really be left out there that weren't restored at some point?) Not that there's anything wrong with a restored car! Je pense que peut etre c'est possible qu'il est un peitit poseur! (too much Canadian French on TV lately....)
Interesting. Would you mind telling us how much money would be required for you to consider selling your left lung, and by inference, your Dino? I am not in the market for such a car, but somebody else reading this forum might be. It sounds like your car would be priced at the very top of the market for a 246 in the US. Trouble is, many of us do not know exactly where that price level is right now. Hence the question.
IMO, No Dino on Earth would go for over $225,000 right now.. And that price would be only for one with a more interesting History than good provenance. The Magic mark right now is $175 to $200 G's. With Muts going for $125 G'ss Anyone Agree!
I'm not surprised you didn't hear back. You made it clear you aren't going to sell, so why should he bother throwing numbers at you? Why should he waste his time?
I have been looking for a good chairs and flares Dino for about 2 months now. Cant find one to buy for less than $225,000. If anyone has a Rosso Rubino please PM me . I have good money on the table,
I agree, actually, but can't help but be reminded of the market discussion in the "Blue Dino at Cooper Classics" thread, in which the consensus was that $90,000+ was all the money for a good Dino then. http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=78990 I don't particularly care for a run-up in prices. Just makes it expensive for enthusiasts to indulge.
