246 Dino Wanted

If I can find a nice 246 Dino, preferrably GTS, I will sell my 56 Jaguar XK 140 MC Roadster to a ready buyer. I realize there is a significant difference to pay, and am prepared. Would prefer a nice car to start with, although I can handle cosmetics if the car is mechanically sound and solid. Can anyone supply me with leads? Any input on the pros and cons of a Euro car?
Thank you

 

Re: Euro cars, I would say that the pros would be:

1) Slightly cleaner looks due to the absence of big side marker lights, etc. Some US cars have had these removed during restoration.

2) No smog equipment (though most US cars have had this stuff removed by now anyway). In original form, US-spec cars were a full second slower 0-60.

No cons, provided there isn't some questionable / illegal importation in the car's history that might come back to haunt you, though this would be extremely unlikely after so many years.

 

Excellent points; thank you.

 

Check with Steve Harris Ferrari in Salt Lake City. I was on their web page and spoke with them a couple days ago about a different car.

They have a really nice GTS without the side marker lights. Known history, rebuilt suspension etc.

Good luck. I'm sorry I'm passing on it to get a less expensive 360.

 

It does look pretty nice. It's a US car that has had the side marker lights removed. This is apparent from the lack of the small Euro sidelights on the front fenders, recessed turn signal lenses, and the round thingie on the cam cover. Impressive that it has the manuals and original-looking (at least) pouch. The price is right in the ballpark, assuming that everything's mechanically sound.

http://www.ferrarisales.com/more.phtml?method=lkup&firsthid=945&offset=0&qty=6&id=

 

My Euro 246 GTS has a seemingly higher top end which the previous owner characterized as a "kick".
My USA version has a more linear power curve and is very fun but doesn't have the seemingly rawness in the power band.
Well informed members posting here on F-chat disclaim that there were different cams so I don't dispute them, but the Euro is definitely more "spirited". Fellow club members with 12 cyl cars get quite a smile when they drive with (behind) me.

 

I agree, Euro model is more purposeful and raw compared to US versions which have too many amenities and luxuries. Jimmy

 

What "too many amenities and luxuries"? European cars ALSO had RADIOS, many had electric windows, and many also had A/C. Given that there weren't any other significant options available just for the American market (do you really think that different sidemarkers are a big deal or were somehow an "option"?), it really is impossible to claim that a Euro model is "more purposeful and raw." The issue in the end really centers around pollution controls, which Europe and Japan at the time could not have cared less about. Or, do I detect typical anti-US bias in your assertion?

 

I didn't know that Mars was US too. Jimmy

 

Wow! "Anti-US bias" creeps into the vintage Dino discussion. Don't tell me that this thread will have to be moved to P&R!

(Too bad Strangelove isn't around. It might be time to play the "Lighten Up" card...)

 

I have 2 Dino's GTS's an US version and an European version, the US is an all original car with all the smog parts still on it, but to be honest I do not really notice the difference like it is with 308's.
To my knowledge there is not such a big difference in both the cars.

 

Many times I have read the same type of comment that Jimmy made (notably in Euro and Brit magazines), except that Jimmy specifically asserts that the US Dinos had too many "amenities and luxuries" in comparison to Euro spec Dinos. So, I want to know what the specific "amenities and luxuries" are that Jimmy was talking about that somehow were only on US Dinos. In fact, it seems to me that if anything, UK Dinos have more "bling" on them such as badge bars/over-rider bars and headlight covers than US Dinos do. (well, I guess maybe I'd better exclude the Ponder Dino from this discussion!!)

Clearly, the early US attempts at pollution control robbed performance on many vehicles, but I don't understand how pollution controls could be considered "amenities and luxuries," and in most cases, most US Dinos no longer are saddled with the pollution control equipment that they were built with. Now, I also know that timing was in some cases set up differently on US cars to try to allow the US cars to run better with the emission controls, but as above, many (if not most) of the older US spec Dinos have "lost" their pollution equipment, their carbs have been re-jetted, and they have now been adjusted to standard Euro timing. While some cam profiles may also have been different with respect to duration and overlap on other models, I haven't seen anything specific that states what, if any, were the differences in cam profiles between US and Euro spec Dinos.

Anyway, with respect to "amenities and luxuries," until informed otherwise, Jimmy's "amenities and luxuries" comment is spurious, at least with respect to Dinos, and it gets a little tiresome reading the same old Euro spec Dino vs. US spec Dino comments without any concrete evidence offered.

 

Thanks for the discussion.

 

So, have you looked at any? Driven any? Made any offers?

 

I have not driven a Dino for years, and probably won't until I find the appropriate car. I was pursuing a car in the Bay Area, very private sale, seller decided not to sell at this time. Due to prices, think I'll end up with a GT, even though I prefer the GTS, still think the GT looks great, and I have other open cars for that purpose. Thanks for the interest and wish me luck.

 

Did you ever locate one?

 

!

Someties, you'd better have bucks than luck !!!

 

Laguna? LAGUNA? Hey, wake up from your nap. I would have thought that after almost 4 years you would have woken up refreshed and ready to catch the school bus in time to make it to home room.