I have run into a brick wall, figuratively speaking. As you all are aware of, my Dino was less than straight...well, that is the understatement of the year. Now, trying to do a dry run, I am aligning the bumpers with the body and evidently something is amiss. Can someone kindly provide me with alignment specs or whatever suggestions you can kindly offer? Are the returns into the grille supposed to bite into it exactly in the middle? Are the bumpers referenced to the body crease? Is the crease aligned to the grille opening, where they meet? Is the bumper gap equal all around the fender? My guess is yes, as it would look more appropriate and proportionate. If so, it would be simple to adjust the posts properly with a bit of the old snip and weld, not a huge issue, it simply has to be right. I really messed up with the order of things. Oh well, I guess this is part of fixing up others' bad operations. Besides this, the original bumpers were bent, altered, and the mounting bases twitched to align stuff with a bent nose. Also, they were the wrong thickness and so are these, not as thin as the early L's or 206's. I am going to have to live with them until the proper ones are available. Meanwhile though, I would like to align things properly. I have looked at many photos, and the full garden variety is out there, so not very clear. I have gone this far, I really would like to get this proper once and for all. While on topic, are the rears just as complex to set right, do they reference the rear fender crease, or... It seems that this is one of the last rock unturned in the body adjustments needed, and I am upset at another delay, for which I can only blame myself. Thank you for your help, Regards, Alberto Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Alberto, Your front bumpers are too far away from the front-end sheetmetal. They look right for the late E-series US cars, with bumpers mounted on too struts. Your rear bumper looks fairly well aligned. Most Dinos have their own bumper idiosyncracies, but you're on the right track. The rear unit is just as difficult to align as the front, due to the single-strut mounting and the weight of the bumper blade itself. The front bumper should curve around into the grille cavity, leaving just enough clearance between the rest of the bumper and the sheetmetal. As always, your work is very painstaking. Adelante! Fred
Hello Alberto. I hope this picture from Mathias former original car helps regarding the front bumpe distance. It is the same as on my car. Regards Nicolai
Nicolai, thank you, it is great. All I need now, is one from the front to be able to see the relation to the crease line. Hope I am not being too demanding... Regards, Alberto
Thank you Fred, the rear bumpers are better than the photo. Those are ok. Just figured out that everything in these cars is cause and effect. I am paying for all the previous shoddiness. Everything is OK! Seguimos adelante... Regards, Alberto
Hello Alberto, the picture of the green car, is a picture of my M-serie #01406. M-serie is different to your L-serie. Attached a for your very interesting picture of my L-serie #01100 pre restauration with an original L-serie bumper on the left side and a wrong M-serie bumper on the right side (picture view). So here you can see both dimensions in one picture Regards Matthias restauration of #01100 should be finished in 6 weeks time, I can than take some more detailed pictures of the original bumpers Image Unavailable, Please Login
I have a question - should the mounting tubes be the same colour as the body (as in the picture of the yellow car) or should they be black? Mine are body colour and I was about to paint them satin black but before I do I thought I should check.
Matthias, your radiator fan blades look silver in the picture of , which begs the question what is the correct color for radiator fan blades...silver or black?
Hello Simon, mounting tubes are the same colour as the body. US-modells with twin mountings are original black.
My fan blades are 3-blades and are unpainted aluminium or some other similar alloy. They look genuine. Simon 73 246GT euro-spec
What color scheme should a 71 Euro GT be; black motor/black fan blades (what mine are) or silver motor/black blades?
Alberto: I cannot comment if it is different on an L series car but on the 71 M series I'm working on the bumper tubes are exactly 3 cm long sticking out of the nose of the car. In your photos your tubes look much longer which perhaps is affecting your ability to push the bumpers in. Matthias: Thank you for posting the photo of your L. It was really interesting to see the two bumpers next to one another. Ron: Easy with the thread jacking. If you want to know about the fan colours start yet another one of your threads where you are asking for something.
I was hoping it was a quick, straightforward answer, but I guess I should know better. Thanks for the `warning'.
Hi Alberto: Yes, the 206 and 246 "L" bumpers are different than the ones you have in the ways you have noted. The good news is that a skilled metal worker could easily take your "M" bumpers and turn them into "L" bumpers. Other differences in the "L" bumpers include the shape of the metal on the ends, the thinner rubber which sits in the groove rather than over the groove, etc.. Attached are a few pictures of mine on the car. I'm not sure anybody ever gets these looking perfect - they all seem a bit droopy but I'm happy with mine. If you want to send your bumpers to Seattle, there is a local person who could leverage my bumpers to modify yours. They won't be cheap but they will be perfect. Cheers. Keith Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Keith, right now I am going to have to live with the M series bumpers that I bought at Harrington's in my vast Dino details ignorance at the time. I assume that these could be sliced down the middle and remove the excess, then reweld as the are stainless, then polish. Thank you for the kind offer. Here, I don't think it can be done, as we lack the exact dimensions. Possibly Harrington might be interested in making a batch, although I am certain they would need a set to go by. It would be interesting if the 206/L group might be interested. I'll contact Harrington meanwhile. By the by, what a lovely car! Matthias, thank you for the photo, where the issue is really apparent...I need your book, and really soon, as I know I will have to change all sorts and kinds of details after I build mine Thanks for the measurements Rob, I have it solved now, I think. I am removing the legs that hold the bumper tube, elongate the hole downwards until at proper level, reset the legs to the chassis at proper height, thus causing the bumper mounting tubes that stick out the body to recede and give the proper attitude and keep the whole affair horizontal, patch the hole. I will show it in pix...possibly tomorrow. Kind regards, Alberto Ron, don't worry about the hijacking, but as Rob rightly mentions, start a new thread with every new question as then it makes it easier to "search" and keep in file.
Hi Alberto I asked my friend Mike to comment for you, i am not sure how it relates to the 'L' as i don't know what year that is from [ sorry Daytona's are my thing]. Here's the info below:- Hi Grant, Hope these pictures make it clear just where the bumper tip aligns. The swage line on the front of the car is lower than that on the rear of the front wings, that then maintains a level line throughout to the rear. The bumper tubes were always painted body colour, and the bumper did go back deep into the grill opening. I put the masking tape onto the swage line hoping to make it clearer. My car is the first in the series of the 246, the design changed slightly after about one year, bumpers and grill, to allow more air flow to the rad, rear bumpers to include number plate lamps, and things like that. My car was registered in 1972. Best regards Mike. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Thank you Grant, they help a lot. Please thank Mike on my part as my car is the 1st 246 series as his with the knockoffs on the wheels. If it's not too much trouble, I would love to see a head on photo. My trouble is that innumerable people have messed with the nose and the more I fool with it and measure, it would appear that I still need to make a few more adjustments to make the whole thing work. The swage line is a pain, as I know where it starts, but not quite clear where it ends. When others worked on my bent nose, they made the bumpers fit by messing around the mounting brackets both on the body and on the bumpers. Now, that I am working with all new items, the differences are appearing. The more Dino photos I see, the worse it gets, as differences in alignment abound...as I thought that the bumpers should be horizontal on both axes, provided the swage line is correct. I really appreciate the help and kudos on the Daytona! Thank you all. Regards, Alberto
Friends, I am not clear on the location of the crease line of the front fender in relation to the bumper. I assume the bumper should be horizontal on both axes, but what about the crease line? Can someone post a side view of an unmolested car (wishful) with a strip of tape showing the crease to the end of the fender. In the previous post's photo, the crease line ends at the bumper, which would mean that both my lines are off. I am almost there... Thank you. Regards, Alberto
Here's some more info on the step in the bumpers, from another site :- http://www.****************/forums/vintage-models/13237-who-knows-facts-about.html
You are right, it seems that f-chat edits links, thus rendering them inoperable. What's up? Regards, Alberto
