Met John Corbanis Dino today

Today and tomorrow is on the Begium Race track in Spa the well know Ferrari event "Modena Track Days". I was there with my yellow 246 GT and saw two other 246 in the pits. The blue metallic GT was #4504 and the yellow GTS #4366. Both obviously US versions. I was surprised that the GT was Johns 246, bought from current owner around 2009 from his wife.
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thank you for posting. john was such a credit to this site. still missed.

 

I'd say both John, and his posts are greatly missed. Wonderful to see his Dino lives on.

 

It appears that John's Dino has been retrofitted with European front parking/turn signal lenses and fender turn signal repeaters. I think that it may have had amber rear turn signal lenses while John owned it. He was very helpful to me when I joined Ferrari Chat in 2008, and I am still sad to think that he is no longer a part of this online community. Thanks for the photos of his Dino in its new life in Germany. Fred

 

Very nice....RIP

 

always wondered what happened to that car...many a mile spent in the drivers seat or behind it. I miss seeing John and the car around town

 

his corner is a wealth of information, I read bits of sagas here and there, its nice to keep tabs on the car

 

Nice to see .... thanks for posting!

 

The owner told a nice story that Johns wife still drove the Dino after his dead a while, beeing herself almost 80 years old. And she loved the color so much that her current daily driver has the same .
If you look carefully on this picture you might recognize some deviations from older pictures. The owner had a accident on the front and during this repair he already modified to European spec´s (sidemarkers and turn lights). He said that if he had to repaint the car once a time he is thinking about giving the Dino it´s original color (whithe) back.
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Glad the car is in good hands, I like the wheels.

 

regards Matthias

PS: Spa was great
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what happened to John's wheels? Or is that covered elsewhere?

 

I really liked the look with the 16" Gotti wheels. Had his signature on them.

Freeman

 

I didn`t ask......

 

His wheels had some pretty extensive repairs, IIRC.

Most likely retired for new castings.
No harm there!

Nor with the new sheet metal...

 

Great photo...thanks.

 

It's wonderful to see John's old Dino again.

Cheers,

Hank

 

I agree Freeman, Gotti wheels have something so particular about them and I think they were the only ones ever on a Dino.

An Alpine would never be the same without them, they just go hand in hand

Regards, Alberto

 

Just a thought... Is present owner aware of cars history? It did not race or get buried, but the Corbani Dino, does hold a significant place in Dino lore, does it not?
Fchat would be missing a whole chapter and, Dino owners all over the world would be missing out on some great Dino stories and insights.
A museum piece perhaps? Like I said, jus a thought.

 

yes, I talked him through the history of his Dino......

 

I think John would be upset if his car became a museum piece, it was just a car to him, a very special car but just a car. I remember seeing him drive around town with 8foot 2x4's sticking out the passengers window, I saw him loading concrete bags in the passenger seat at Home Depot and most of all, I remember seeing it on the road A LOT. Remember he had near 200,000 miles on the car (I think 193k at his death).

It was a well used car and putting it in a museum would not have been what he wanted for his car, at least I don't think so, I can't ask him anymore.

 

It handled better than ANY 246 I have ever driven with those wheels and tires (although the rims were a little scary if you were familiar with the repairs).

JC really had it dialed in, despite having evidence of front end frame damage and repairs underneath (thanks mikeyr for the use of your lift!). Carlo Durante, my wife, and I drove it when we all flew down to Santa Barbara to look at with synchro, and I have got to tell you, it really dug in in the curvy roads in the hills above and around SB, and was incredibly stable.

When I drove it I believe it had about 198,000 miles on it. I made an offer to Candi, she said no at the time, and then sold it later for just a little more than I had offered. I miss JC and his Dino.

 

Would you atrribute the handling to the 16" tire or the dialing in?
Do yiu know the chages in geometry for 16" wheels?

 

Just curious, befor or after he bought it?

 

I am sure you are right, I never met him, the new owners do what they please. Its nice of Matthias to keep an eye on it