Dino restomod

I see the car is now listed as 'Sold for $500,000' - I hope both the buyer and seller are pleased with the transaction and that the new owner has lots of fun with it!

 

Yes. All parties are happy. It looks like I will be doing a few more modifications for the new owner that will address some of the details that both of us feel fall just slightly short of absolute awesomeness. I'm already excited for the eventual result. Crayons are being sharpened already

 

I'm delighted to hear this!

 

Possibly the ULTIMATE answer for where this Dino is going and belongs!

I wish this was mine.

 

Not buying or selling…just saw this. Some of you might need to cover your eyes! What color blue metallic is the GTS?

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A early 206 modified with extra Flairs and Chairs, superb in Bleu Ischia Metallizzato

 

Hello, I have been reading this forum on and off for a long time, but never had anything relevant to say (till now) and hence have only just joined up.

It is quite a long story, so I hope that I do not bore, nor take up too much space, but the crucks of the matter, and relevance to this topic, is that Ronnie Hoare (or "Colonel" as I always addressed him) did a similar thing back in the early 1970's. So it seems indeed to be yet another example of there being nothing new in the world after all.

My background story:

Growing up I was fortunate to have a so called "wayward" uncle, who was very present in my schoolboy-life and always seemed to be taking me on wonderful adventures. These centered around mainly things of a mechanical-nature. Somehow my uncle and the Colonel were pals and the two of them were both keen model train enthusiasts, with the result that from an early age I often got to "play" (in reality virtually no touching was allowed) with the Colonel's train set up at his Ford dealership on the south coast. Given my uncle lived on my aunt's family estate close to Exmoor and my family was Bristol-based, I remember staying weekends with my uncle and aunt and then travelling down to F English early on Sunday mornings, excited to immerse myself in the Colonel's wonderful model train layout.

On arrival I would always stand to attention and smartly salute the Colonel, and he would laugh and "inspect my uniform" before allowing me to enter.

Trips were also made up to Egham and to the various UK race tracks when the Colonel was entering a car. My first memories of these races were the magical GT40 and 206SP entered by the Colonel, but I cannot for the life of me recall which race tracks these, my first forays, into motorsport occurred. Imagine my excitement as a 10 year-old or so, being surrounded by such machinery. How my school chums envied me!

From these early experiences, I became a huge motorsport fan, with a very partisan support for our English racing drivers, especially those that raced for Ferrari, which I believe was as a direct result from my time spent with and around the Colonel. Sadly Messrs. Collins and Hawthorn had died shortly after I had been born, and well before my interest in motorsport. At that time John Surtees was every schoolboys hero, but I was more keen on Mike Parkes and especially Derek Bell. I was fortunate to have met both on more than one occasion. I met Mr. Parkes a few times when he would have been driving one of the Colonel's cars (where my uncle had been invited by the Colonel and I had tagged along). I can't recall when I was fortunate enough to shake Mr. Bell's hand and pester him for an autograph (which I still have to this day).

So with that background, onto the relevance of this posting:

Sometime in the early 1970's the Colonel purchased two Ferraris for his personal use, a 246GT in a lovely gold and a blue 365 GTB/4 Daytona. On a weekend trip with my uncle to visit the Colonel, the Colonel took me for a spin in both cars (but only after me standing to attention to have my "uniform" inspected by him). The speed at which the Colonel drove made me giddy with excitement. After the drives he asked which I preferred and I pointed to the gold Dino, unable to speak.

A number of months later, when my uncle and I were travelling to London and popped into see the Colonel in Egham on route. The Colonel told me that he had something show me and took us into a small cordoned off area of the workshop, where his gold 246GT was in the process of having a 24v engine installed. I recall that the Colonel explained that Maranello Concessionaries were looking at the possibility of upgrading the Dino. I was very excited when I was told that the particular engine was one of those used by my hero Derek Bell in NZ a year or two back. As far as I recall, the engine was fuel injected too.

Sadly I never got to passenger in the the Colonel's Dino whilst it was powered by the same engine that had previously been raced by my hero Mr. Bell. I did ask the Colonel about the project when I next saw him some months later and he told me that he had been requested (more likely instructed by Mr. Ferrari perhaps?) that the project be stopped, and hence the original Dino engine had been put back into the car. With the value of hindsight and adult reasoning, I can imagine that this could be due to the 365 GT4 BB being about to be launched, and the last thing Mr. Ferrari would have wanted was a hot-Dino being sold in the UK by the Colonel with it getting close-to performance to the new BB.

But that was not the end of my relationship with my favourite gold Dino, as my aunt, who came from a rather wealthy landed family, bought it some months later from the Colonel!

I was over the moon that my aunt now owned such an amazing car, which surely meant that I would get to ride in it even more often. I was even more excited by the fact that Mr. Bell's engine was also part of the deal and hence "our family" was now inextricably linked to my hero, Mr. Bell. I am racking my brains to try and recall why Mr. Bell's 24v engine came with the car and can only assume that it must have had little value for the Colonel by then and as my uncle and the Colonel were pals it was thrown into the deal? Or did my uncle intend to re-fit it to the Dino himself?

Sadly, my aunt didn't keep the Dino very long, selling it after a few months. This tragedy in my mind was only mitigated by the fact that Mr. Bell's engine was not sold along with the Dino and was instead retained by my uncle and aunt. Amazingly, as far as I can recall, nothing was ever done with that 24v engine and possibly it is still just sitting in one of the barns on my now-deceased aunt's family estate, or more likely scrapped years ago.

A year or so after the Dino was sold I left school to start an Apprenticeship and shortly thereafter married and had children, brining my carefree days to an end - but I am ever grateful to my uncle for those wonderful childhood experiences and cherish my times in the Colonel's presence.

I hope that the above is of interest to some of you and I equally hope that I haven't rambled on too long...

Regards
Simon

 

Simon, thanks for sharing your story!

I own a 1971 oro chairo Dino 246, that was originally owned by Ronnie Hoare, with the original UK green buff book (registration document of that time) showing it registered to Maranello Concessionaries new and it being retained for just over 12 months.

I have the original buff book, as it came with the car.

This same buff book also lists the second lady owner, hence I was hoping that you would please share your aunt's name, as this would confirm (or disprove) that I now own the gold Dino you talk about.

Thanks!

 

David

It would make me very happy to learn that "THE" car of my childhood memories still exists and is hopefully being looked after.

I'm reticent to just spell out my aunt's name, as then you (or anyone else) could just say "yes, that's the name in my logbook". So let's you and I play a little game, I will give you her initials and you tell me her full name?

"EMC"

Regards
Simon

 

Emily Margaret Clapton? Just kidding but that does sound like a very fair solution.

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It's even RHD. Perfect for a run down to Brighton...

 

If not Ms. Clapton, how about Ms. Cole?
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Simon,

Great story. The 24V engine you remember would have been one of those used in the Tasman series. The 24V Dino engine used by the works Lancia Stratos rally team was a development of that power unit. I had never heard of Maranello Concessionares doing a 24V Dino road car in period, but it makes sense, as obsolete race cars and the bits that they were made of had little monetary value in this period. That's how those bits fell into the hands of the previous owner of the 24V Dino that I had. I imagine that if the factory had produced even as many as a thousand cars with the 24V engine, those cars would be thought of and valued similarly to an F40.

 

Dear Mr. Cali

I am pleased to hear that you enjoyed my childhood memories and the resultant story, as well as a few others that seem to have given a thumbs-up to it!

Mr. Cali, I believe that you are correct in all respects! Certainly at that time obsolete racing cars and racing engines had little value. I have also just done a little research and totally agree that it must have been one of Mr. Bell's Tasmin engines that the Colonel was using in his personal Dino 246GT, the gold car of my schoolboy memories.

I don't recall how long the Colonel's gold Dino ran with the 24v engine (or even if he told me). But when he explained that he had removed the 24v engine and replaced it with the original engine "under orders", he did elaborate at length at the performance the 24v engine gave - likely as I grinned at him, loving every minute of attention he bestowed on me, and imagining myself in the passenger seat alongside him, loving every note of the symphony of Mr. Bell's engine!

From what I have since read (certainly I would have been unaware of such facts as a schoolboy), the Colonel seemed to have a very close relationship with Mr. Ferrari, possibly because of how the Colonel had managed to boost sales of Ferraris into the UK? Or perhaps it was the fact that Maranello Concessionaries were important "privateer" racing entrants, winning Mr. Ferrari's favour that way? Who knows, but the Colonel seemed to have had quite a bit of "power" with Mr. Ferrari. For example, I understand that Maranello Concessionaries fitted "Ferrari" badges and "Prancing Horses" to the UK supplied Dinos, whereas elsewhere in the world, the various Ferrari agents would never have been allowed to make such bold local updates to Mr. Ferrari's cars.

I do agree that it is a great shame that the Colonel only made one 24v Dino for himself, before the project was curtailed. I will go out on a limb here and state that possibly it was a little short-sighted of Mr. Ferrari, assuming it was he was the one that stopped Maranello Concessionaries producing a limited run of 24v Dinos. I make this statement as this was essentially what Porsche did at the same time (early 1970's) when they took their 911 2.4S and upgraded it into the 2.7 Carrera. Maranello Concessionaries possibly could have created a direct competitor to the 2.7 Carrera, and one that would have knocked the stuffing out of the 2.7 Carrera!

Anyway, I am rambling on again, so I will draw my reply to your very kind message to a close.

Regards
Simon

 

Dear David, I can confirm that Eileen Mary Cole, was indeed my beloved "Auntie Eileen" - so yes, your gold Dino is the Colonel's gold Dino, which was once powered by Mr. Bell's 24v engine!

It makes me very happy to learn that this wonderful car, the centre of so many of my schoolboy memories, survives. If you would be so kind, I would appreciate seeing a photograph of it, as it is today!

Regards
Simon

 

Hi Simon

Many thanks for confirming that my gold Dino (chassis 02114) is the very same Dino previously owned by your aunt and hence the one fitted with a 24v engine by Ronnie Hoare when owned by him.

Very exciting!

I can assure you that chassis 02114 is well cared for and is very lucky never to have been restored in anyway, retaining her original paint, carpets, interior, etc. Her third owner (who would have purchased her from your aunt) was a totally fastidious engineer. For example, he recording every journey he took in 02114, even when just driving a couple of miles to fill up with fuel. I purchased the car from his estate and hence 02114 has only had two owners (including me) since she was owned by your aunt.

Today 02114 is equally well cared for and she shares her garage with lots of Italian friends, so she certainly doesn't get lonely - see following pics.

Finally, I hope you don't find this rude, but is it possible for you to please check whether the 24v engine you mention was fitted to 02114 by Ronnie Hoare is still around? Is your aunt's family estate you mention still owned by the family? I would be very interested in purchasing that 24v engine and reuniting it with 02114!

Thanks!

 

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Dear David

Thank you for posting the photographs, they brought a smile to my face.

Thank you also for the private message via the Forum and your email address.

Onto your question(s):

I would be very happy to help you in what ever way I might, to reunite Mr Bell's 24v engine with the ex-Colonel Dino, that you now own.

My Aunt's family still owns the estate, with one of my nephew's and his family residing there. Although I am not extremely close with said nephew, we are in contact. I have arranged an invite to Sunday lunch with him and his family, and I am immensely looking forward to catching up with them.

I have already raised the topic of Mr Bell's engine with said nephew and he promised that the two of us could have a look through the workshop and garages before lunch...

More anon,
Simon

 

Hi Simon

I hope you lunch with the nephew went well and I'm interested to hear what the outcome of the 24v treasure hunt was?!

Cheers
Dave

 

Good morning all

David, sorry for the delayed response, I can imagine that you have been a bit frustrated waiting for my reply and learning whether or not a 24v engine and/or parts were found.

To this end I have some good news and some less good news.

The good news: It seems that there are two 4v engines in storage in one of the Estate's workshops. One seemingly complete (or at least together) with "Dino 206" inscribed on the valve covers and a second engine totally in pieces, with "Dino 246" inscribed on its valve covers. The so-called 206 24v engine seemed to my untrained eye complete from the outside, but I have no idea of its condition inside. The so-called 246 24v engine didn't seem to have any visible damage to the heads, block, or any of the various parts that were pulled out and looked at. However, I have no idea if the entire engine is there, or what parts might be missing.

The less good news: I felt it my family-duty to fully inform my nephew of exactly what the engines might be in term of their provenance, especially the 246 24v engine which I am certain was raced in period by Mr. Bell. I also explained to him how rare they were likely to be. Hence, although my nephew has no use for said engines, and they are essentially "FOR SALE", they will not be cheap. He was pondering whether to contact some of the auction houses (Bonhams and Sotheby's possibly?) as a potential sales route and/or helping to provide a market value for them.

David, given the historical-connection of the ex-Mr. Bell 246 24v engine and the ex-Colonel Dino that you now own, I believe that my nephew would be open to giving you the opportunity to preferentially secure that engine, but only if you were willing and able to pay what it is worth on the open market.

I am sorry should the above come across as cut-throat commercially, but it is not me who owns these engines, nor decides how they might be sold...

Best regards
Simon

 

This all sounds really exciting and fair. The engines are worth what they are worth. It sounds like your nephew isn’t greedy and probably had no idea about the motors. The engine really belongs back in this Dino. It will be the ultimate spec. Looking forward to seeing this journey continue!

 

Hi Simon

Thanks for searching out the 4v engines and very exciting that TWO were unearthed, including the 246 that was fitted to 02114 in period!

I am obviously very keen to secure this particular 246 24v engine so I can have it rebuilt and re-installed into 02114. I must say that I totally agree with 4CamGT on that this engine deserves to be reunited with 02114, and I appreciate your nephew's offer to preferentially allow me to secure it.

I would also be interested to purchase the other 206 24v engine at the same time if your nephew is looking to simplify his life and sell the two of them together as a package, as that would provide insight into how these engines go together and potentially provide patterns for any parts that are possibly (likely?) missing from the 246 engine. To quote your nephew's requirements, I believe that I should be "willing and able" to pay market price, whatever that is, within reason. I would however like to have the engine(s) and parts inspected before handing over a wad of cash, I hope that this will be acceptable to you and your nephew.

On this, perhaps it would be best to arrange the required inspection and any follow-on deal privately. But given the interest on here, I will report back (as can you Simon) on what ultimately happens.

Cheers
Dave

 

I think that it important that I secure this 24v 246 engine that Ronnie Hoare installed in 02114 back in 1971 and ensure that 02114 and this rather special 24v 246 engine are not separated from each other again. But I would be interested in getting all members views (and particularly the likes of Mattias, Marcel, Alberto, etc. etc. and everyone else) on whether I should be contemplating re-installing this 24v 246 into 02114?

Today 02114 has its original 2v engine installed, and it is 100% original (including wearing its original Oro Chiaro paint), having never been restored, having only covered a little over 25k miles, with just 3 previous owners before me (Ronnie Hoare, Simon's aunt and one other gentleman).

My thinking is that given Ronnie Hoare had previously installed this particular 24v 246 engine, before putting its original 2v engine back in, that the 24v 246 engine should go back in without any permanent modifications being required.

Personally I would never install a non-Dino (206/246) type engine in a Dino and also would never consider installing a 24v engine into 02114 if it were not for the fact that this specific 24v engine was installed into 02114 by Ronnie Hoare and driven in this configuration by Ronnie when the car was essentially new in 1971.

Thoughts? Both on whether its the "right thing to do" to reinstall this 24v 246 engine and also whether I might be destroying or enhancing the value of 02114?

 

David, I do love the idea... especially if you have or can find any documentation and pictures to tell the story....

 

I would love to learn if 02114 had a modified raised engine lid to cover the IDF Webers and if it had an air box.