Bumperless in Vancouver

Gary - if you like the car at the price, then buy it. Don't let the bumper issue drive you from a purchase that 5 years from now you will either regret (having not completed) or enjoy (and have forgotten about the bumper issue). Once you own the car you can continue the search for bumpers. Surely, somewhere in the world, you can find a set.

When I restored one of my cars I removed the two protruding tubes that hold the bumper (rear). I did this to provide ease of blocking and sanding of the rear, as the tubes made it difficult. Upon reassembly I simply welded them back on to the frame.

If you open the trunk and gently remove the plastic cover over the rear lamps (runs the entire width of the car) you will be able to visualize where the mounting tubes attach to the chassis. In addition, you will be able to see where the holes for these tubes are suppose to be. If you examine carefully, you should see that someone welded a plate over the holes. There may be black paint covering the welded plates, but you should be able to see a round seam.

You will have to remove three or four small Phillips head screws to remove the plastic cover. If the owner is reasonable, taking a peek at the chassis will answer the question.

Jim S.

 

Dinoregister says the car had no front bumpers in 1991. That means imo, it had rear bumpers at that time. Not difficult to find a set of correct bumpers.

 

Gary,

I wouldn't let the bumpers get in the way in what otherwise could be a great Dino especially if its priced accordingly. Bumpers are available but are expensive and of course you have to account for the cost and time to install them. What would be more important to me would be the condition, the history, what comes with it ie books, tools etc, what's its original color, Euro vs U.S. and of course the cost. I personally have never seen a factory original Dino w/o bumpers also I think the bumpers are an essential aesthetic element for the lines and proportions as well as adding essential jewelery to the Dino. BTW, what is the asking price?

Freeman

 

#04324 could to be a fake Dino. The original #04324 was delivered to France and seems to be still there. Be very careful....
More than four potential buyers requested informations over the last couple of month.
What is the matching engine no. ?!
Gearbox no.?
Body no.?
If you have those no`s, I think I can tell you it`s matching or not.

http://www.anamera.com/en/detail/car/56525/index.html?no_cache=1&ret=63

Is it true, that it should cost only US$ 40.000,-?! ?!
If yes, that would be a warning signal.

 

Truely a fake as whereas Gary maybe is one, too. No further comment...

 

Gary, I'll leave clarification of whether any Dino's left the factory without bumper mounts to the experts. I somewhat doubt it. However, I have certainly seen Dino's without bumbers and with the mounts removed. The following website shows an example of a GTS without mounts. I assume it is a genuine but modified Dino.

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-gb:IE Address&rlz=1I7GGLR&um=1&q=ferrari+dino&sa=N&start=20&ndsp=20

I have attached some photos during the resoration of my GT so that you can see what to look for if you follow Jim's suggestion. The welds are rather clumsy, but as I found them, and I expect original. The tubes go through the body panel and protrude by about 2" on the painted side. I would have thought there would be some evidence of this weld on the car you are looking at.

Kevin
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By the way, a chassis number over 4000 is for sure build in 1972 and not in 1971.

 

Was just flicking through the book "Dino The Little Ferrari" by Doug Nye. On page 258, there is a black and white photo of 246GT in race trim with no rear bumpers. Difficult to tell if the mounts are there or not. Registration is TOE 7 7686.
Kevin

 

"Truely a fake as whereas Gary maybe is one, too. No further comment..."

Never a truer word was spoken, this car is a fake and the ad is a scam. If you read the ad the english is terrible and is so vague it gives it away. When was the last time you saw a genuine Ferrari for sale with a 3 line ad?

"The car still in excellent condition,there no have any rust,scracth or damage,the car still run until now and never race. The car is a left hand drive 1971 Ferrari Dino 246 GT."

Not meant to offend anyone but have one of the fellows that runs your local favorite 'Asian' restaurant( you know the one that serves sweet and sour chicken balls) and have him read it to you. Then decide if it's real or not.

I deal with these individuals on a regular basis. The scammer's not the restaurant owners!!!

 

Kevin (Daviekj) - your picture is worth a thousand of my words. Thanks.

Jim S.

 

Daviekj

How far along are you in your restoration?

 

Gary,
Please do not misunderstand my comments, I was not suggesting that you are a fake but the ad seems rather dubious. Like you we have all seen deals that seem to be to good to be true. If the selling price is in the 40k range then it is about 60k to 75k too low( someone correct me on pricing please). We are not trying to shut someone out of ownership but like you we also do our homework and would hate to see you get burned. There are scams all over the internet as I recently discovered when I tried to purchase an Isota-Franchisini that was advertised on Kijiji. When it seemed like I was a serious 'mark' the seller asked for a deposit and although the vehicle was advertised to have been in Toronto he then told me it was in some backwater town in Quebec. All we are suggesting is be very careful. And I hope you find what you are looking for.

p.s. Information on certain cars is available on the internet and the photos that you have been sent could have been taken at a car show for all we know. So unless you physically see the car and read the tags and inspect the chassis numbers doubt everything.

 

Hello Gary: Seems to me the asking price is too low, that is relative to the condition of the car shown in that one pic. There's too little informations to make further judgements, but things just do not seem right here. You should approach the seller with due caution. Good luck with your search. w/ smiles Jimmy

 

Gary is most definitely NOT a scammer. His 328 was well known and regarded in Vancouver.

Unfortunately, it appears the Dino in question is for sale and supposedly located in:

US: http://www.anamera.com/en/detail/car/56525/index.html?no_cache=1&ret=63

France by an Indonesian seller :http://www.carpictures.com/vehicle/04K1D044916702.html

Indonesia: http://www.classic-british-cars.com/cgi-bin/classifieds/classifieds.cgi?db=a10_carforsale&website=cbc&language=&session_key=&search_and_display_db_button=on&results_format=long&db_id=1771&query=retrieval and http://edwarcarclassic.bravehost.com/

Australia:http://aussieexotics.com/forum/ferraris-for-sale/1971-dino-246-gt-for-sale-whats-the-catch-t2836.0.html

Jon

 

Tillicum,

Well I guess that pretty much says it all.....

Keep looking Gary there is one out there for you!!

 

The posts could be easily welded on and repro bumpers can be sourced for about $1800 USD (depending on exchange rate). Kevin was very kind to give you great shots of how they attach - that is half the battle!

The Dino Fratelli group herealso has greatly documented where parts can be obtained:
http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=106045&page=4


PS - personally I do like the view of the Dino without bumpers

 

That makes at least two of us! The bumpers only detract from the clean and race-inspired lines of the Dino. Look for example at this (real) Dino for sale in Germany:

http://www.janzen-klassik.de/index.php?id=232

The rear view in particular benefits from the absence of bumpers (of course, minus the unnecessary prancing horses and Ferrari emblems!).
If you also add headlight covers, the Dino really looks like one of the Le Mans-type sports racers which obviously inspired its design.

 

I like the look of the Dino front with headlight covers, but no bumpers. However, I don't think that the rear looks as good without the bumpers. For one thing, the taillights look too small, and too high up on the rear panel. Some may disagree, but I find the later US bumpers to be the best look of all. The reason is that, being somewhat away from the bodywork, they allow the eye to grasp the entire curvature of the lower body. Additionally, the rear bumpers more closely follow the contours of the trailing edge of the rear deck lid. My earlier Dino has the headlight covers, because I think the tighter-fitting front bumpers more closely continue the line of the covers. With the later front bumpers, the look is more disjointed, as the blades protrude farther, thus disrupting the clean flow of the front fender tops and the covers themselves. Just my opinion, of course. Fred

 

My vote goes for bumpers front and rear and headlamp covers. The bumpers accentuate and connect the side feature line and moves your eye around the car. They also elongate and balance the front and rear. The headlamp covers were an intentional design feature by Aldo Brovarone to continue the fender form. Bottom line, Dinos look better with bumpers and headlamp covers.

My 2 cents,
Freeman

 

Yet, if the original poster was on a strict budget then the Dino could be ontained and the decision to deal with the bumper issue delayed until later.


PS -
For those who may not be aware of how close we are to celebrity here, Freeman Thomas is an exceptional auto designer with (IMHO) impeccable taste, responsible for quite a few major milestones/icons in the industry.
Check it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeman_Thomas