Image Unavailable, Please Login Contact Mark at [email protected] http://www.cascu.co.uk/Start.htm https://www.facebook.com/classic.and.sports.cars.unlimited/. They were making an accurate chassis and body. Their website no longer shows the images. I look forward to what you create! Let me know if you need any ideas Keep us posted!
Talking about RUF, that's my favourite Ruf model, in the specific colour, the Ruf RT 35 Anniversary. What a car! Image Unavailable, Please Login
My Dino is a platinum level car which has scored as high as over 98%. The car has been driven from Southern Ca to Monterey several times. I really enjoy driving it in its original form. I have also decided it’s best to drive old cars slower. The type of upgrade that was done to that blue Dino is probably over $400,000 . Only a few out there can entertain such a project and should be done only to cars without matching drivetrains.
February 3rd thread….video of light blue Dino referred to us 246 R …. Total upgrade same people who did David Lee black Dino
Then there is this... A completely pointless exercise in ruining a perfect car. It even sounds wrong. Oh well, Regards, Alberto
Once, , I bought a QV V8 for the same purpose. I will rebuild it and put it on BaT My, how one evolves... Regards, Alberto
Thanks for clarifying. I agree that the cost would be at least as much (or more) than the donor vehicle.
It is interesting to see what a few are willing to do with their Dinos and how far they are willing to go. I have forever been in the 100% originality camp since the day I was bitten by the car bug more decades ago than I want to think about. I have however been finishing a restomod project that originated in the early 1980's by the car's previous owner. The man took his numbers matching 246 GTS and decided that it needed a little more shove. Instead of going the economy way and swapping a V8 of Ferrari or (gasp) engine of another origin; he was able to source all of the componentry to rebuild his engine to full 24 valve race specification as used by the factory Lancia Stratos outfit until they were banned from using them in 1977. The combination of lightened internal reciprocating mass and flywheel, 14:1 compression, Weber 44 IDF carbs, and modern programmable advance electronic ignition contribute to over 300 HP at 8,500 rpm. It is pretty shocking experience to feel an engine with such incredibly elastic characteristics after being accustomed to the stock variant. It's as happy in traffic as it is headbutting the horizon at 9,000 rpm. I have to say that having experienced this particular rocket, I wouldn't even consider returning it to original specification. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Lovely car Michael. 14:1 compression? Racetrack fuel. Engine lid? What do you do with 300HP that you can use (normally) that you cannot achieve with a stock Dino? I think that if Ferrari had wanted Dino to be more, it would have, yet they did not. If you have ridden in a Coupe, on windy roads with decent camber changes, and most important, a very good driver, you can very well adapt with the available power, and leftovers to boot... This car does not need anything else that what was factory. The car goes like stink as is. My son's GTI will beat it hands down, but no grins. Regards, Alberto
14:1 Compression? Yes, Sir. Race fuel? You better believe it! Engine lid? It has an ovalized hole to clear the stacks. Yes, I agree that if you can't outdrive 180 HP, there is no sense in having any more. I have driven more miles in stock Dinos than I can remember all the way back to when the V-12 set looked down their noses at them. I initially approached this car with the same prejudice most purists would nowadays. One spin changed my mind. If anyone asked if I would take a Dino and spend the insane amount it would cost to perform the modifications done to this particular car (especially nowadays) I would take a pass. However, the car did already exist in its present form. The previous owner took the car off the road in 1982 (when it was just another used car) and began the journey down restomod street. Sadly, he did not live to see it completed. Thankfully, it survives in any form at all. This is a "Dino Restomod" thread. I am simply sharing what is in my opinion an unusually well executed one that began the journey down the restomod path before many viewed it as a crime to do so. There is no need to worry about a "copycat" of this restomod, as the 24 valve Dino heads are rarer than hen's teeth. There was one other 246 GT to have had them fitted at one time, but the well heeled owner of an ex-works Stratos had to have them and paid dearly for the privilege. Even as a purist myself, I have to say that I'm happy such a wicked machine exists. Your son must have one cookin' GTI. In the F-car world you would need at least a well spurred 355 to keep up with this Dino.
Hello Michael, nothing wrong with your Dino, actually all is great! Incredible and rare tidbits in there, wow. 24V, no less. No crime on this car, after all you possibly made a great deal at the right time. My rambling, is not a critique on your car, it is about a Dino, in the right hands, is plenty. I keep up with the GTI (bone stock, best tires) in the twisties (the great equalizer in the proper hands) with 430's. NOT in the straights I assure you, in the proper road settings (not all out track racing) I can keep with you just as well. It is unfortunate we have the distance to contend with. Regards, Alberto
Great find! My brother was owning a pedal car (not an electric one like in the auction) like that back in 1973 https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/first-dino-in-our-family-in-1973.289603/#post-139715506 Regards, Götz
It’s nice to see some “locals” commenting on the auction. (My BAT screen name is different than the one here).
Finally someone that uses RPM's. Delightful. This is how you show what a car does. Congrats! Regards, Alberto
Still not using all the revs there. Peak power is at a heady 9,200 RPM, but I've been told on good authority that they were running up the 10,000 revs in competition. In the "Long Drive" video where the car is driven as if there was an egg under the accelerator, it becomes obvious that this is a very tractable and flexible engine that doesn't need to be revved within an inch of it's life even if it encourages the hooligan in you to do so.
Is there any documentation about who did the engine build and body modifications? I didn’t see any on the auction but it’s possible I missed it. Any details on those aux lights? Thanks.
When I received this Dino it was not running, nor was there any evidence that it ever had since being taken off the road in 1984. The car did not have a single stone chip on its nearly four decades old paint, which is quite a feat considering that the car lived at the end of a gravel road. The petrified tires that were in odd sizes unavailable since the 1980’s had clearly never made contact with the road. The car was very sanitary, but every system (cooling, brakes, suspension, steering, etc. required fresh overhaul due to age rather than use. The engine, from what my investigation has determined, was completely rebuilt by the previous owner in the 1980’s using the ex-works parts purchased from Alex Moore. It seems he got the engine to run, but not satisfactorily. All signs based on his receipts and correspondences suggest that he had an ignition problem. This led to him not being able to properly run in the engine, causing the piston rings not to seat properly forcing him to disassemble the engine again and make a second attempt to rebuild it. By this time, he decided to get rid of the distributor and convert to a crank trigger driven electronic ignition system. I presume that being a man of very advanced age, he was unable to program that system, and therefore was never able to start the engine after his second rebuild attempt. When I got the car, I drained the oil which looked as if it had just been poured into it. I figured that based on his previous track record of success in this department, the only prudent thing to do is open the engine back up and inspect the work that was done. The bearings were still coated in assembly lube; the crankshaft journals were in perfect condition, as were the rod bearings. The cylinder bores had a nice cross hatch as evidence of freshly honed bores. The piston crowns showed no sign of being exposed to combustion. The cylinder heads themselves when disassembled also revealed camshaft journals that were still coated in assembly lube. The only issue I discovered inside the heads was that the valve stem seals were not properly installed. I took this opportunity to simply replace them due to their unknown age. While I had the engine apart, I took the advice of Stratos specialist Roberto Casseta who informed me of the updated design chain slippers (Part # LC0420) that were necessary for longevity of the engine to run at speeds over 9,500 RPM for extended periods of time. After measuring all clearances and confirming that they were within factory recommended tolerances, I reassembled the engine. Once I investigated the electronic ignition components the previous owner had acquired, it became obvious that there was no support for the 1st generation Megajolt that came with the car, so I got the MKII unit, and was able to program that and get it working beautifully. From there it was a matter of properly running in the engine, which has now had approximately 900 “break-in” miles and two oil changes in the process. The gearbox only required a re-seal. The synchronizers’ function “as new” and the car is happy to slide into second immediately from cold. Investigation of the differential revealed that one of the tapered roller bearings that supports the differential shaft was poised for failure, so I took the opportunity to replace both bearings and shaft seals as well as the friction discs or “lamelles” Obviously, during the process of checking and verifying the viability of all of these mechanical components, it is only possible to do so by replacing every seal and gasket. This thread written by John Corbani on FerrariChat from 2006 that paints a picture of how this car came to be, as told to Mr. Corbani by the previous owner/modifier of the car: https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/dino-saga-061022-_-dino-stratos.126003/ This basically explains that he bought the car in 1982 with 56,000 miles, and drove it for two years, I believe getting it to the 61,667 miles that it had when it came to me. Again, I do not believe he never realized his dream of actually driving his modified Dino due to the many reasons the car simply didn’t work that I have mentioned previously. I have since added approximately 900 break-in/ test miles to the car. The AUX lights could be relocated or removed if someone wanted to. They are ridiculously bright.
