Alfredo the Dino 308 GT4 Finally Hits the Road!

Last Thursday, after a month of staring at him in my garage, I finally got all the Belgian paperwork sorted and received my license plate — which meant Alfredo could finally stretch his legs on the public road.

For those who haven’t been following along: Alfredo is my 1974 Dino 308 GT4. He’d been sitting still since 2020, with his last documented service in 2016. Before going on sale in 2020, he barely saw open road and then spent years in a showroom. So when I bought him, he went from showroom limbo straight to a small garage… probably wondering if his life was going to improve at all or was it getting worse — lol.

The chassis and body are in good condition (famous last words), but the engine, although running, needed some TLC just to pass the technical inspection. With a very tight budget, the goal was simply to get him legal so I could finish the registration process.

I lucked out — just 4 km from my home is a Ferrari specialist who trained in Maranello, was part of pit crews for Viper, Pagani, and others, and has done 24 Hours of Le Mans six times, Spa-Francorchamps 24 Hours countless times, and even Daytona. In short — he knows what he’s doing. Having someone like that in my backyard still blows my mind.

Kurt (the mechanic) balanced what the engine needed with the budget I didn’t have, and got it running well enough to pass inspection. That was all that mattered at that moment.

The second I got my plate, I bolted it on, finished work early, and hit the road. Since Thursday, Alfredo’s been out every single day.

There’s nothing like coming home from work, firing up that V8, and reversing out of the garage with the biggest turning circle known to mankind. Fun fact: the Titanic had a smaller turning circle than the 308 GT4.

That first drive lasted two hours. By the time I got home, my legs were jelly — pure adrenaline and the stress of piloting a car I never thought I’d own. But now, only a few days later, I’m more relaxed behind the wheel… and the joy is growing with every drive.

Five days in, here’s what I’ve learned:

1. The dream of driving a GT4? Zero disappointment.
   
   
2. The engine needs TLC — badly.
   
   
3. The speedometer is dead... which came as a surprise
   
   
4. The fuel gauge has gone on strike.
   
   
5. Electrical gremlins are everywhere.

Four out of five mean more bills — but point #1 is the one that matters most.

Driving this car is something no EV or modern car can replicate. It’s as analogue as it gets. You watch every gauge. You listen to the engine. You learn what the car wants and what it doesn’t.

It’s living, breathing, mechanical joy. And for me — no matter the faults — every single drive is worth it.

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https://www.youtube.com/@PuroDino-74

 

Hi Erik,

Overall the engine seems to be doing okay, especially considering how long it’s been sitting. That said, you can feel it needs some TLC before it can really run well. At the moment I’ve noticed a few things: the engine likes to be in higher revs, but when I shift into 4th and push the revs up, it feels like it can’t quite keep up. If I stay in 5th gear for a bit, there’s a risk of emptying the carburetor bowls and stalling the engine.

I only know this because Kurt warned me about it — and sure enough, it happens. Once I have a better setup in the car to film my drives, I’ll try to capture an example of when the engine stalls so you can see what I mean.

As soon as the budget is available I'll get the belts done. For now I'm keeping the drives in the Dino short, not pushing the car in any way. But even then, I was distracted yesterday and I wasn't checking my water temperature like I should have and it overheated. So when I got in the garage, I heard dripping and then noticed that coolant was dripping from the header tank...

So more things to check... why did it overheat, what is the damage to the header tank etc etc

 

My experience with old cars stops with an Austin Mini from 1982, so no great experience. But I'm willing to learn some of the DIY stuff needs to happen on these cars. I would not start doing straight up mechanic stuff, I just wouldn't be confident with that and I would probably make a situation worse instead of better. But the basic stuff I want to learn.