These days, when Dinos tend to be driven on and off trailers, it's easy to forget what great road cars they are, especially for long distances. When I was invited to show my cars at ConcoursUSA, about 300 miles (500 km) away, I looked forward to the drive. I've done a number of long drives over the years - a few over 600 miles a day, and I knew what a pleasure it would be. Getting ready mechanically was straightforward. I had the shop check it over and give me a spare engine fuse (the one that is on the firewall). I also had them glue the vent window latches back on, in case it rained. Long distance traveling in my Mercedes is better in 3 ways: it's quieter, I can hear the radio, and there's a GPS to keep me on route. Could I make up for that? Yes. First, I needed a way to mount an iPhone. Sticking it to the windshield didn't look like it was going to work. The angles are wrong and I'd lose too much visibility. Plus, there would be a charge cord getting in the way of shifting. Instead, I found a gooseneck mount for a phone that plugged into the cigarette lighter, with a USB plug for charging. Universal USB Power Dock Pro Flex | Bracketron That worked fine. I used a bit of sandpaper to clean the contacts on the lighter so there was good contact. The phone on the end of the gooseneck flopped around until I fastened the mount to the handbrake using a rubber band. Next step was earbuds. There was no point in trying to put in speakers to drown out the noise of the wind and engine. Instead, I went with noise reducing earbuds. I used the Sennheiser MM 70i, which seem to reduce outside noise by about 20db. Sennheiser MM 70i - Stereo headset for iPhone? - Integrated volume control, Call control, Foldable, Closed acoustic design The effect was miraculous. The background noise of wind and engine was greatly reduced. I could still hear cars and sirens around me: they were at a pleasant volume, not loud. I could hear the instructions from the GPS clearly as well as music or podcasts. At street speed, talking on the phone was fine. At 80mph (130kmph) talking on the phone was marginal, though it was easy to hear the other person. Siri even worked. Here's how the setup looked: Image Unavailable, Please Login
Part 2: With a full tank of gas and a clean windshield, I set out. The trip there was completely uneventful. I was able on sit back and enjoy the drive. I settled into a speed of 4000 rpm (I'm too tall to see the speedometer): that works out pretty close to 80 mph or 130kmph. All the gauges settled down to good values. You'd think that a seat with only one adjustment and minimal padding would get uncomfortable. It isn't, at least for me. The angles are just right. The dead pedal is perhaps the right width for a size 7 Italian loafer: it's too small for my sneakers. A minor complaint at best. There's no air conditioning in my black on black car, but with the vent windows wide open there is lots of breeze. I got there on a single tank, which worked out to 18mpg (7.65 kpl), not bad at all. The show went well, but it's not part of this story. It was scheduled to end at 4PM, hot and muggy. I looked at the radar: thunderstorms were on the far side of Ann Arbor. I left the show grounds a few minutes before I was supposed to beat the inevitable traffic jam. 300+ cars, 1 narrow exit road. Raindrops started right away. I tried to close my vent window: the latch fell off right away. I reached over to close the passenger window: same thing again. Everything normal. With the storms coming from the west, I headed east. Drops would appear now and then, but I stayed ahead for a few hours. Just as the sun set, the storms caught me. Lighting and torrential rain. I felt like I was in a Donzi on Lago di Garda in a thunderstorm at night. Waves from passing cars washed over the little Dino. I could feel the tires digging through the river of water on the road. The headlights were as useless as always. But the handling of the car was great. The Dino gives such direct, complete feedback about what is it doing that I felt more in control than with any other car. Even in those rotten conditions, it was a thrill to drive. I got home in one piece, 5 hours after setting out. What a great drive!
Sounds like the drive to and from was the fun part! These cars beg to be driven, I'm guilty myself of taking my car only short distances and need to plan some sort of long distance road trip. Thanks for posting!
How did you work the cigarette lighter angle? Is it a different type of lighter, as the original ones do not allow for plugging anything in except smokables... Kudos on your great drive! Regards, Alberto
Please excuse any unintended sarcasm, but as someone who truly enjoys long distance vintage driving and does it as often as possible (few thousand or so miles per year) with variety of vehicles from early '30's to '70's, including upcoming (and highly anticipated) annual 1000+ mile round trip (mostly scenic back roads/highways and this time with an early '30's Roadster) to Monterey in couple of weeks, I'm just curious if "the lost art of driving a vintage car" in itself could now be considered so uninteresting or unpleasant experience that all this modern gizmo stuff is needed to provide adequate distraction from it ? Yet, my hat's off to any one who's willing/able to enjoy their vintage car(s) by actually driving it/them, with or without pads/pods/gizmos. I admit I do carry a cell phone, in case of an emergency, but prefer to keep it turned off during my vintage enjoyment/driving and I prefer to exercise my brain to find my way around with occasional assistance from old fashion map. Timo
+1, good catch Alberto! I've never been able to use a power cord in my Dinos' cigar lighter either I prefer a Garmin on the left side of the windshield, it tells you Nav data and also your speed should you need to be accurate around cops. I run a power line from under the dash up the A pillar. I have gone up/down teh West Coast 6 times in my Euro Dino and would not hesitate to do it again, but i do carry a travel kit of tools/spares. For any trip I would buy a modern 60 Amp fuse + holder from a stereo shop and use that. It is more accurate, preserves the original expensive unit, and takes seconds to move the connecting wires to the same sized blade connections http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/206-246/189438-dino-diy-alternator-fuse-box-modern-replacement.html Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Here's a picture of the lighter and the plug that goes into it. It didn't work for me until I used sandpaper to clean the contacts. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Looks like a replacement lighter receptacle to me. Wrong interior diameter, contacts wrong. The lighter receptacle did one thing only - an element at the bottom heated up enough to light a cig placed in it, and that was it. The receptacle could not accept any regular lighter plug.
Hmmm... wonder when it was fitted. It currently has the common style where you push in a button - it pops up 30 seconds later. Remove and use it to light your cigarette.
Dug out the insert: sure enough, it's marked 72 Casco 12V. Looks like a previous owner fitted it. I have the service records going back 35 years - there is no mention of it.
I am confused by your post (I admit to get periodically confused by many other things too). Are you saying that he needs these to replace the receptacle AND that there is an appropriate plug that will allow you to connect an iPod or a radar detector to the original factory style plug? Or, are you saying that these plugs will replace the original ONE PURPOSE ONLY plug and receptacle?
This type, is the original Brico lighter that belongs in a Dino. No provisions for Ipod, pads, or detectors. Only smokables of the proper length, otherwise it will smoke it for you The normal lighters that you will find in all USA cars are not correct, but if you prefer them, they can be installed. Regards, Alberto
Having put more miles on my Euro Dino than all other prior owners combined I have developed a travel kit of spares and tools from lessons learned by myself and issues gathered from others; accelerator cable, alternator + belt and Neiman key ignition contacts are the top of that list. It is realtively a compact kit for space in the Dino trunk is tight. The kit has facilitated trips over 1200 miles from home for months at a time Here, the accelerator cable was used, a big Thank You to OMGjon for use of his lift to get the final last minor adjust of the cable length just right. Kira brings her own glass cleaner Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
If I'm traveling with my wife, the spare tire gets replaced with a spare-tire-in-a-can, so there is more room for shoes. I've stopped asking why so many. Wrap all luggage in plastic garbage bags so it doesn't smell of fumes on arrival.
ghenne, thank you for bringing your car to the show. It is an immaculate machine, and I was very happy to see it. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I couldn't agree more with the view that people should drive these cars. I'm currently sitting on the shores of Lake Como after driving our 330 GT from the UK. More than 1000 miles Will be driving back this weekend. See photos attached. Image Unavailable, Please Login
That beautiful lady in that beautiful car on Como and your best photo is of a chain link fence? How 'bout a lake or villa in the background?
The occupant is not as attractive but the background is Bellagio ,Lake Como a few years back. Just under 3000 miles. the best bit was driving back from Lake Lucerne Switzerland to North of England in a day - over 800 miles. I felt fine when I got home until I got out of the car and realised I was half deaf. Image Unavailable, Please Login
