Did you drive your Dino today? I did!

Wonderful, I know you'll love having a drivable Dino - nothing better. Pictures would be nice. I hope that wasn't the car with the clutch cable problem.

Regardless, congratuations...

 

Let’s see pictures

 

Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login This morning I hit what I call my South Loop LeMans….. Great day.

Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I drove mine today but, sadly, just to warm it up thoroughly before putting it to bed for the upcoming winter season. Fred

 

Chilling air, burning trees today…


Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

What a lovely Fiat Dino on a gorgeous day on the road!

 

Rob Calisi was in town and helped me yesterday with my Dino. Seems my radiator fans would only stay on for a short time. We checked the radiator and seems to have a cold spot in the area of the fan switch. We hooked up a manual radiator fan switch using the right side interior fan switch (combining the right side interior fan to the left fan toggle switch. Anyone know why Ferrari would have separate switches?). Having a manual radiator fan switch gives me a bit of piece of mind and keeps my coolant temp in the range. Probably time for a new radiator or recoring. Seems Superformance is waiting for restocking the original FIM radiator. Rob says the lines in the radiator are so thin that it’s difficult to properly clean. Anyone have experiences properly cleaning a Dino radiator? Anyone have cold spot issues in their radiator or recoring experiences? Who’s the best radiator shop in SoCal? We went for a long drive afterwards. I can keep my temp in the range with the manual fan switch and seems the issue won’t keep me from driving it!


Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

cleaning out the old cores is rather hit and miss and considering all the effort you go to pulling out the rad and re-installing it = Not worth all the effort (and possible disappointment ) in my opinion.

I had mine re-cored several years ago and you hardly tell the difference, they can flow test the rad but its much better to just get it re-cored in the first place.

While you are in there try fitting a thermoswitch with a lower temp range, the original switches on at 84 C and off at 75C, try one that switches on at 80C and off at 72.

 

Thanks Tony. We tested the radiator switch that was in it and it still functioned. We did however replace it. The problem is the fan goes off when the temp gauge is above that. We’re thinking it’s the cold spot in the radiator hence the decision to make the fans turn on manually. Yes, I think recoring or a new rad is in the future.

 

The problem is that the gauge takes its temperature from the cylinder head and the fan switch from the bottom of the rad so there is a lag in between these two measuring points. The fan can dissipate the heat from the rad cores very quickly and cause "hunting" on the fans. Heat loss through the pipes before it gets to the radiator can cause lower entry flow temperatures.

Do the fans operate driving along and do you need to flick on the fans while on the move? Does it boil over when stationary?

I feel some cars now actually run slightly hotter now with much higher ethanol content in fuels, unless we see some re-jetting then engine max combustion temperatures will increase and that will transfer heat into the engine coolant ie read higher gauge values.

Tony

 

Its running really well. It’s never overheated or boiled over. Fans been have been turning on and off fine until just recently. Manually turning on the fans brings the gauge temp down to just above 90.

 

Do the fans operate driving along and do you need to flick on the fans while on the move?

Tony[/QUOTE]

Temps are fine on the move w/o the fans. Temp creeps up when sitting at idle for a bit. Fans turn on but go off almost immediately. When I turn the fans on manually temp goes down to 90. We think there’s blockage in the rad keeping the area by the radiator switch cooler.

 

I have the dreaded Dexcool nightmare in my old truck. I have used oxalic acid (wood bleach) many times and it works much better than the radiator flushes found at the parts store. It is the active ingredient used in the old GM heavy duty flushing formula. You can get it on Amazon.

 

Could be blockages in the radiator, funny why it reads a temperature to kick in then switches off so quickly - if the rad was blocked and the lower portion was cooler then it would be like that all the time. ie poor flow. However If the engine temps are elevated at idle due to poor flow then it could get a slug of hot water enough to turn on the fans momentarily!

do you know the range of the newly fitted thermoswitch? Normal units are
ON - 84 deg C
OFF - 75 deg C
DIFF. 9deg C

If you install a thermoswitch with a small band then you will be getting a similar scenario, the differential needs to be at least 10deg to stop the fans from "hunting" or short cycling.

start another thread if you want, rather than bung up this one!

Tony

 

Took the Dino for a drive this morning.

Had to wait for a large group of Canadian tourists to take their sweet time crossing in front.


Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Would it be ok to ask your thoughts on the aesthetics? In my very humble view I’m not keen on the size of the wheels, the flares or the headlamp covers. I’d love to get the Motec and injection on a standard v6 engine though.

 

From what I’ve seen, Mototechnique is really capable. Every time I’ve contacted Kevin I’ve gotten a wonderful and complete response. His Motec system looks really well thought out and looks completely standard with the DCNF look throttle bodies and standard air box. I have, as of yet, not experienced it (I’ve experienced Kevin’s V8 Dino with Andy Cohen. I was super impressed by the engineering and drivability). The benefit is getting the most out of your motor and having it function flawlessly from immediate startup to perfect drivability at all altitudes. I love the idea of hidden tech that makes the driving experience better. The Dino is underdeveloped when compared to the 911. Modern fuels are oxygenated. This creates problems with old fuel systems. A vintage Dino has the opportunity to be updated with the 1) engine, 2) gearbox, 3) electrical, 4) brakes, 5) wipers, 6) cooling system 7) HVAC and the 8) suspension in a hidden discreet way. I love the idea of making a Dino usable for everyday and capable on the track and back roads.

Freeman

 

Not yet…
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Can’t stop driving it. Weather in Colorado is unusually warm.

Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Nice sunny crisp day in London. Decided to get the car out for probably the last time before it’s put away for the winter. Had a great time with the car after recommissioning after being laid up since 1993. Not missed a beat since I drove it out of my garage in July!
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 Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

As the streets seem to be free of salt and the weather was fine today, I could not resist the temptation to finish the hibernation at least of my Fiat Dino Coupe . My other classics will sleep until end of march.

everything went well, after a minute of turning the engine without Dinoplex to build up oil pressure, the machine started immediately and ran smoothly. Great music!

 

Since I had to work on a Sunday, I took the Dino to work. Still in love after 16 years
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Stunning Sal. I remember we were parked next to each other at Concorso Italiano in ‘06.
Cheers
Pietro
01296

 

That was my second Concorso Italiano. I have made more cosmetic improvements since then and received several platinum awards. I do drive the car and enjoy driving it very much.

 

I tried to send a private message but apparently I didn’t know how. I have the phone number of a few Dino owners for a once per year greeting. If you like I would be pleased to have yours