why does the Dino Not have headligh covers

The original design intent was for the Dino was to have headlamp covers. Regulations in some countries, especially the U.S. prevented this. My personal view is they complete the Dino design and create a flowing resolved fender form and line. A Dino looks unfinished without them. Remember, that is only my opinion! Check out this early image of a Dino prototype: 1967 Ferrari Dino 206/246 GT (Pininfarina) - Milestones

Freeman

P.S. If you install headlamp covers, make sure they are the ones that have the correct convex shape that continues the fender curvature and aren't the ones created from flat sheet.

 

I always felt the car looks better without them. Maybe that's the reason.

 

You can see in this original Pininfarina blueprint, the design intent Ferrari Dino 246 GT - Blueprints

I believe Superformance sells the convex ones. Their image online is difficult to see.

Freeman

 

Do all lines need to explicit in the Dino, doesn't the eye have enough information to complete the arc ?

Pebble beach winning painter Jon Byers commented that his favorite detail on the Dino is the headlight surround line where it starts as a line in the front then flares out to a width as it goes rearward and back to a line as it comes back forward on the headlight scoop. Dino 05702 shown. Adding covers would obscure this detail.

Sometimes the small things are so gorgeous on a Dino.
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If the request is there and good amount I'd Dino owners like the cover, I may be able to reproduce them. I do know of a Dino nearby that I could possible make molds of original cover and vacuum for it. Again, it's a possibility, no guarantees

 

Some of the issues facing the manufacture of covers are:

1. Every headlight opening on a Dino is slightly different making it necessary to fit covers to a particular car in order for them to sit right. This is very time intensive and scares away most owners as it is not a plug and play addition.

2. If #1 did not scare then off then the fact that you must drill your body to fit these frightens off all but the most determined souls.

When you factor in the costs to make tooling, then make brackets and supply all the hardware for an item that requires drilling and fitting you will find the number of interested parties to be very small indeed making it cost prohibitive. 40 years ago nobody thought about taking a drill to their Dino and now lets say they are a little more timid with the thought.

 

3. The fact is they didn't come that way from the factory. Whether you like them or not, the cars were not delivered to the dealer like that.

So you can go for originality or add covers and script and cavallinos.

 

Certainly #3 is another de-motivating force but I did not want to go there

 

I never would have thought the headlamp covers were so controversal. What about drilling holes for antennas or mirrors? Installing a radio? Headlamp covers in my mind are just as valid as those items in that they are all period correct. It's a matter of choice and what makes you happy.

Freeman

 

Also side profile view in the Dino Owner's Manual shows with the lenses fitted (page 110). I suspect they were cut for cost reasons as the Dino was supposed to be an "inexpensive" model.

 

scott , how about a few more pictures of the silver paint ??? looks great !!!

 

The reason it doesn't come with them? The original headlights suck in a Dino. Adding the glass just makes them suck more.

 

I have headlight covers on one of my Dinos, and the other one lacks them. My earlier car (03964) has the covers. My feeling was that, with the front bumper blades closer to the body than the "outrigger" bumpers on the later models, the silhouette described by Freeman is more complete looking on the earlier cars. I have the concave models, which came from Egidio Brandoli, near Modena. About the trimming: it took seven hours of trimming with a Dremel tool. F-Chat contributor Bob Zambelli did the work. For this reason, taking a mold off already-fitted covers would be a mistake. You need to start with oversized covers in order to custom-fit them to your particular Dino. I like the look, with and without. To my mind, the covered look is more finished, and the uncovered look is more dramatic. The Mayor raises a good point about the poor OEM headlights, though. Fred

 

That's like saying "She's not a good cook but she ....!"

We love Dinos because it's an "irrational desire"!

Freeman

 

The list of "things that suck in a Dino" is long... but today we call it "character".

 

Actually not true; The Dino is quick, light, nimble, reliable, and has a good power to weight ratio.

Headlight covers or not it is darn gorgeous either way which is why so many of us feel so emotional about it. Looking at the other Ferraris on this forum I have a hard finding a more passionate group of owners

 

Please... I had one for 15 years. It's classic late 60's Italian engineering. Let's not make it out to be anything more than it is.

 

No one on this forum is insinuating that the Dino's build quality or engineering is state of the art. They were no such thing when the cars were new. However, like it or not, the Dino has not only stood the test of time, but has finally come into its own, because of its intrinsic merits. To steal an old Harley-Davidson line, "It's a Dino thing. If I have to explain it, you probably wouldn't understand." I don't think that I will live long enough to ever see Dino-grade emotion lavished on a 458 Italia or a 360 Spider. That's not a cutting sentiment, but an opinion that I believe will be borne out over time. I've been a happy Dino owner for almost forty years. While I have no illusions about the Dino's shortcomings, I wouldn't trade my cars for any other automobile available. As for the headlights, to cover or not to cover, to each his own. Fred

 

I had Sergio Pininfarina point that exact detail out to me at Concorso Italiano back in 2001. Some of us Dino guys were discussing the headlight cover topic when we saw Pininfarina walking our way with his entourage. I figured "What the heck, why not?" so I introduced myself and asked him how he felt about headlight covers on the Dino. His smile turned to a scowl and he said, "No, no, no!" accompanied by a wagging index finger. He then ran his finger around the edge of the headlamp scoop and said that considerable time and artistry had gone into making that delicate transition around the headlight ring. He was very clear that he felt the covers detracted. I know at least one other Fchatter had a similar conversation with Pininfarina at Pebble Beach that same summer and was told the same thing. There is certainly no shortage of opinion on this subject, but I choose to respect Pinifarina's wishes.