01336 USA Prototype

Dino's are well known rust victims. They were not highly regarded back then in the 70's and 80's and therefor used a lot and stored wherever there were room. Poor steel quality and even poorer rust protection also contributed. The early Dino's were not even painted on the backside of the rear fenders. All folded edges on door skins, rear and front compartments lids, fender edges etc is prone to rust and takes great effort to repair and is often ignored by less serious restores and just painted over. Aluminum lid skins against unprotected steel also helped with galvanic corrosion. I don't think that there exists one Dino that's not been repaired for rust attach in one or another way. Extensive due diligence is the key word when buying and old Dino and photo's documentation with close up pictures is a must. The car shown in this thread shows all the typical places a Dino will rust. The best thing you can say about this car is that it is untouched and original so you don't have to remove and correct previous evidence of badly performed and non-correct repair work. This car is a great starting point for an extensive restoration job.

Best, Peter

 

Thank you Peter, very complete and accurate assessment of the history and conditions of the Dinos from the time they left the factory. No wonder they need extensive work to restore and at times make them better than the way factory made them. They are beautiful cars and fun to drive. If i was restoring one, i would only trust the best of the best.

 

Jon, I am always impressed on how fast and efficient you work!

Freeman

 

Jon,

You take things apart so fast, it is always fascinating.

I can say, this is one, I hope for the best, but am really curious what we see once it is media blasted. So cool to watch history peeled away one onion layer at a time.

PLEASE be especially soft handed around these “kooky” front turn light area.

Shawn

 

Hi Mike,

Jon made my Dino amazing!

It is amazing to have you here to see us share this experience.

Please keep contributing your thoughts and insight. I know we would like more info on how you came to own such a cool Dino years ago.

Shawn

 

Makes perfect sense but really interesting...

 

I have a box full of them.

 

Post #15?

.

 

Point taken and I admit everything is relative...- This car still seems very virgin and complete compared to what I have seen of disasters within the Dino society. I Don't see any significant previous rust work, though I see a lot of rust. A paint job from the 80's resulting in some missing and wrong fittings is in the detail department in my book. The truth will appear after the blasting process.

Best, Peter

 

I have a door top bolster like that with the aluminum cove and number 22 stamped on it.

 

The early L-series have the same aluminum insert. Please consider to let the VIN sign survive in the car.

Best, Peter

Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Jon, the aluminum reinforcement in the upper door panel is correct....
what body no. is stamped on it? "15"?
did you find other body no`s on the car, apparently "90" is the correct one....

 

Are you shipping the dash back to CA, to the place next to your old shop? (Autos International?)

 

Hi Jon, Are all the dash boards originally pop riveted together. Do you use pop rivets to put them back together when they are restored.

 

Not exactly a restoration question, but how did you get the cavallino badge on the shop floor (where did the image come from) and how is protected from wear and tear?