Dino Restoration #4946

Best job on the planet!!!

 

You may have seen this month's FerrariChat newsletter where Rob Lay has made this thread the THREAD OF THE MONTH

http://www.ferrarichat.com/newsletters/200905.html

Congratulations Jeff and Father!

 

Still the best job in the world, even with the 5 hours of non paid pulling weeds!

 

any other slots available?? I'll undercut his price!!

 

This reminds me of Woody Allen's line in a '60s movie, where he is on a psychiatrist's couch, and is asked what he does for a living, and how much he earns. He replies: "I dress showgirls at the Folies Bergere, 30 francs a week. It's all I can afford!" Fred

 

This special order Dino was owned by GM Design staff in the 70's. Bill Mitchel, VP of Design made some modifications like the mirrors , front spoiler, pin striping, plex headlight covers,ect. It was a Chairs & Flares coupe to begin with direct from the factory. Rare!
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Jon,

Thanks for taking us on this journey!

The Dino is one of my favorites...I still remember fondly the day I first drove one.

 

hmmmm...not sure Jeff's idea of the term "vacation" is the same as mine but you've got to admire his work ethic.

Forza Jeff!

 

He's a lucky young man and you're a lucky dad... congratulations!

Best,
Tom

 

Does anybody know the chassis no. of Bill Mitchel`s Dino?

 

Aloha from Maui...

The Dino is a very complex car to restore, so many parts and issues. My 59 GT Carrera Speedster was started in December and will be done in a couple of weeks,,,
Very few parts and issues. The Dino would have taken much longer and cost a lot more...great project...keep it going

Gregg
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Beautiful! I love the aluminum bucket seats!

 

WOW !!!.............. that is some body - - or great body work !!! And that engine !!!!!!!!!!!

 

Greg- as the person that is restoring your old Dino there are a lot of issues and it is expensive- but I am having a blast! It was originally silver too! The engine had blown up at one point. See the post on 01832 to see more! Have fun with the Porsche it is a beauty!

 

Tom...I had no idea of those issues....glad you're up to it, I'll post a few more shots of my 4-cam Carrera when it comes back from the seat shop.....
Engine done by Bill Doyle, using a brand new (NOS) unstamped factory block...it's Bob Kirby's old racer from California. He called it "Fred"
My 206 was born silver also....you never know....


Gregg
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Jon,

Wow, things seem to be going faster, does it feel that way to you?

Are you going to replace the A/C system or delete it? I'm going to upgrade mine with a TCCI unit, new hoses and dryer.

Regards,

Scott

 

Let's be brutally honest. The effectiveness of the A/C unit in a 246 is laughable. You have hot coolant running in a tunnel between the seats, a huge expanse of untinted glass, sticky leather seats, and one small cold air vent surrounded by two ambient air vents just to make sure that the "playing field" is totally tilted toward heat retention. I run my unit every time I take the car out, to keep the compressor operable and to lubricate internal seals. However, I have no illusions of actually cooling off due to the meager supply of "cold" air. The old Italian joke is more appropriate. When asking years ago if it were possible to rent an air-conditioned car in Italy, the response was: "Quattro ottanta!" Translation: drive 80 kph with all four windows open. On days when the heat or humidity is oppressive, I don't drive a Dino. I wish that neither of my cars were equipped with this so-called "air-conditioning system." In addition to the weight savings, you'd have a bit more passenger footroom. Fred

 

I just had the A/C in my Dino reconnected and put back to together correctly. I blows so much cold air I can't leave the fan on high. I live less than an hour north of San Diego but it gets hot where I am. I had countless trip in my 911S where I would get pretty wilted. I am glad the Dino has it!

Cheers,

 

Fred,
Of course you are correct when referring to the original configuration. It was the same on my 1972 Maserati Bora but after an A/C compressor failure I replaced that with a modern TCCI compressor unit (they bought York out) which has 40% higher CFM output, universal seals and accomodates a variety of refrigerants while retaining the universal mounting. The result was one of the best cooling systems in a vintage GT car that I've had. Looking forward to doing this in the Dino with the same results (hopefully).
http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=122110&highlight=TCCI

I've also purchased a shut off valve for the heater coolant circuit used on the 330 series for "Winter/Summer". This will cutoff hot water at the engine before it can reach the standard Dino shutoff valve up front. I suspect the standard heater shutoff allows hot water to reach the heater box exchangers by convection. This means that even when the standard valve is shut, you'll get hot air in the cabin.

 

Standard issue on Ferrari 330's and others which actually had two valves; this winter/summer "water shutoff" valve upstream and the dash lever operated ones downstream.
Here's one on eBay, but these can be found much cheaper - I paid $30 from Steve Barney at Sport Auto in N Carolina:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350109411089

Very simple operation, turn it clockwise and all water flow stops.
Ferrari must have known their hot water circuit convects to the heater core causing the cabin to get warm even when the cables have the heater off.

I learned about it from Kerry Chesebro (330 GT guru) and see Tom Yang's originally had a cruder version of the same (photo 6, blue handle)
http://www.tomyang.net/cars/ferrari838.htm
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Scott, I wish that you lived next door to me! Fred