Which restorer?

Hi guys, I'm new to the forum and I'd really like some advice.

We have a 246 in the family and it is in dire need of restoration.

It's been parked in our garage since 1979, but was fully functioning and running when parked.

What I would really like some advice on who I should use to restore the car in the UK. I don't just want to get it running again, I want a full restoration.

It seems to be more than a dozen big names that specialise in classic Ferrari restoration, all of them claim to be the best. I really don't know where to turn. Who is the best? Who is just plain good? Who to avoid?

All advice greatly appreciated.

Chris

 

DK Engineering, GTO Engineering....all ferrari specialists.

 

Chris do you have some pictures of your Dino, chassis no.?

 

Some of the good independent specialists will allow you to build a relationship and be involved in the project (to the extent you want to), and often produce excellent work at more competitive prices than the big names. A few from personal experience I would recommend are:

Grimaldi Engineering, Halstead, Essex
Bob Houghton, North Leach, Oxfordshire
Mototechnique, East Molesey, London

I have seen a restored Dino from Rob Grimaldi at Grimldi Engineering a year or so ago. Absolutely immaculate. I use him for all my servicing work despite being 100+ miles away. Worth checking him out.

 

If it were me i would consider heading over to Toni Auto ,Maranello.

Home | Toni Auto Maranello - Toni Auto Maranello

 

When the car is finished we intend to use it on weekends etc. In other words it won't be a trailered car. Does that mean it is a waste to go for the very best restorer?

 

Sound idea if you live in Italy but from the UK it would be difficult to control and monitor progress.......bad idea imo

All of them will give you the impression that they know what they are doing and I have seen some woeful restorations by the top names. My advice is beware and get to know what you are letting yourself in for. The dino compendium by Mathias Bartz (germandino)is a starting point. It can be very expensive if you don't approach it correctly.

There is so much you can do yourself by sourcing specialists and not just rely on one company.

Some photos would be nice to kick of the subject. ?if its been stuck in a garage since 1979 then you have a valuable reference of how the Dino came out the factory. Take 100's of photos for reference AND share on here.

Almost everything is available but your biggest headache (and you are going to get plenty of them) is really how far to go, how much money you have to do it and how quickly you want it done
.
Yes to your last post........but with rising values its does put you off bombing around country lanes

 

I'll try to get some photos, the car is underneath 20 years of suitcases and bicycles.

There is one contentious point. The car is brown.

I'm assuming a colour change would be sacrilege.

 

It would be advisable to keep the car in it's original colour scheme if you want to maintain overall originality and enhance the value of the car. I assume it is Marrone Dino Metallizzato from your description of brown. If so there were 27 cars supplied to the UK market in this colour - 10 GT models and 17 GTS - and I doubt many survive in this shade today. It was the seventh most popular colour for the car in terms of sales volume in the UK market. Repainting it into an alternative colour that was available when the car was built is a personal choice but it would be a real pity for a survivor that has kept it's original colour all of it's life to now be painted in another colour IMHO.

I have had 4 Dinos restored and used a specialist bodyshop in Nottingham who have a very long history of working on classic Ferraris and who know the 246 inside out. At least three other people have used them since seeing the end results on my cars. One of those cars had been restored only a year earlier by another supposed marque specialist at great expense but the work done on it was not great hence why the owner elected to have it completely redone after seeing one of my cars. I had the mechanical restoration work carried out by Carrs Ferrari in Exeter who were excellent. They stripped the cars down and sent the bodies up to Nottingham on special wheeled dollies they made so that the body and mechanical restorations could be carried out at the same time which speeded things up considerably.

As Tony says above if you are prepared to get involved in finding and sourcing any parts you may need then it will likely cut your final bill quite significantly.

 

I saw a Marrone Dino in the flesh and I thought it looked great. Plus it is not one of the usual colors so a little unique. I found this link off the web:

http://teamspeed.com/articles/canepa-offering-beautiful-brown-dino/

 

Welcome to the forum, Chris.
You have come to the right place for invaluable input. I cannot offer advice, per se; however, I will suggest that you consider your options only after you extricate your Dino, clean it up, document everything and do a thorough assessment of its condition. There is great interest/value in 'barn finds' and, though yours has been in your own barn, you possess a piece of history that has been preserved for nearly 40 years! As you likely know, many of the most famous car venues include a Preservation Class.

On another note, I can say from personal experience that you will probably enjoy driving your car more...and much sooner...in a freshened state than in (very expensive) show condition. We drove our Dino more often and more places before it received an awesome body resto. I am now hesitant to take it out in harm's way. And, I worry more about the next step in restoring than just driving it!

Remember, Chris and family, it's only original once!
Cheers,
Coop

 

Kevin is a member here and post from time to time.

 

I dont know if I have done this right.

I have attached 4 photos.
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Ups.....you need a very skilled body shop / restorer with high focus on panel fabrication, chassis alignment and welding.

Best regards Peter

 

do you have the chassis no. too?

 

Looks like an abandoned project. Are they old photos, more up to date ones would be good?

Try to document all the parts and look at the chassis for rust and the dreaded rot. It can look worse than it actually is. The cills look like they need work but difficult to tell.

If you are mechanically inclined then you may still be able to undertake the work "in house" but using specialists.

Restoration isn't going to be cheap unfortunately, I got the impression from your 1st post it was a runner when parked up!

Tony

 

I like the colour.

 

As did I. If it looks like this now, strike my suggestion to preserve/refresh it! Restoration would seem to be the only reasonable process.
Cheers,
Coop

 

I was hoping Iain would chime in.

+100

 

I would keep the colour. It suits the car and looks good.

 

It was a runner!

Those photos are old but they are exactly how the car stands right now. My uncle was attempting the restoration himself, but shortly after taking it apart there was a wedding and several children and we all know how that takes over your life.

I am the car enthusiasts in the family, I own several classics myself hence I have been given the job of getting this car sorted.

The car was running perfectly and being used daily, in fact it was the daily commute car and left on the street back then. It was purchased for £6000 from Hexagon of Highgate in 75.

I must say I am very impressed with Iain's knowledge of these cars. He has given me some great pointers on what to look out for. I have booked approximately three appointments to go and visit some restorers and have a chat. A big decision maker for me is that the garage needs to be a reasonably short distance from North London so that I can regularly check on the car

 

Very nice discovery !
Do you have documents like parts catalogs, handbooks, or other papers with the car ? The Dino Compendium would also be very useful for you (See post #15 > contact GermanDino/Matthias Bartz for his fantastic Dino book).
The location of the serial number is indicated by the green arrow.
Good luck.
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If you are still in the Highgate area,i can recommend Eddie Noone just a couple of miles away in Hornsey, has a lot of experience with older Ferraris .let me know if you need a contact.

Exciting times ahead ,will work out great.

 

Hi Chris,

I've recently taken over the watch on a Dino resoration that's being done by Barkaways down in Kent, the Dino owner having sadly passed away in January.
Having had mine worked on by them and having see the fantastic work they're doing on my friend's, I'd have not qualms in recommending them.
This project is very similar to yours; rusty chassis and lots of boxes of bits.
This car is planned to be entred for Salon Prive, 31st August - 2nd September 2017 at Blenheim Palace. Worth a visit even if your not looking for restorers.

Best of luck

Chris

 

Iain is very knowledgable on these cars, he has helped me out on more than one occasion. Stick to him like glue....

Unfortunatley sitting like that for over 40 years is going to take its toll on all manner of components, you have tough road ahead but worth it in the end.

Good luck

tony