Sebring Version (?) 246GTS on eBay

There's a 246GTS on eBay that is advertised as a "very rare Sebring Version" -

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ferrari-246gts-GTS-Very-rare-Sebring-version-Dino-246gts-US-So-Cal-car_W0QQitemZ220563339182QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars_Trucks?hash=item335a9977ae

Anyone know what a "Sebring Version" is? I have a factory temporary vinyl top for my GTS that I have seen described as a "Sebring" top, but I have no idea what a "Sebring Version" 246GTS is. The serial number is 04254. I looked the car up on dinoregister.com and found that the car was apparently originally blue. Also, the engine looks, at a minimum, cosmetically modified - red valve covers, cut away airbox over the carbs, etc.

Anybody here familiar with this Dino?

Mark

 

Back in the old days some people erroneously referred to Dinos with the fender flares & wide Campy wheels as "Sebring Spyders". This ignores the fact that some (albeit very few) coupes had the flares/wheels too, and that the Daytona seats were never part of a flares/wheels "package", but rather separate options.
Maybe this seller has allowed himself to believe that this car, which probably didn't have Campy wheels originally (and may not have had Daytone seats either) is somehow special, but that's not the case, unless it's an original flared fender/wide wheel car- that IS rare.
I never understood the "Sebring" appellation- maybe attributable to the rumor that the flares/wheels (but not the seats) were part of a plan to homologate the 246 for racing?

 

#04254 seems to have been delivered original with Daytona seats and no flares
but "Sebring" sounds cool
;-)

 

It is not a cut-away air box, just the stock air box with missing top cover (and missing knurled nuts). But I agree, the engine compartment does not look impressive. The red valve covers look strange. (Mini Testa Rossa?)
Other peculiarities with this car: The European yellow tail lights on a US Dino.

Interesting to see the bids, now already at $91,600 (reserve not met). It seems that any Dino will bring $100,000 now, as long as it is running - no matter how much work it needs.

Lars

 

Hopefully he has not been driving around with no top on the air box.

 

Looks like it had a new interior put in, the trim looks a little fatter than normal, with the heads repainted one would presume engine work too.

 

Well, I like the fact that it's "west coast rust" and not that nasty "east coast rust"....

In my mind, that makes ALL the difference!!

WTF?? LOL!

 

Call me a snob, but I don't think there's anything that can compare to European rust.

 

And just imagine if it had been over here in rainy old England lying on some old dirt driveway!

 

Still, for originality, you need that old-fashioned "a funny thing happened on the way to the paint booth" Maranello rust! Fred

 

Dang! I've been looking for a Sebring Dino with a little of the ol' West Coast patina.

Not to mention the very rare testarossa option.

How'd they get those Michelins to fit those rims, BTW?

 

Yes, the British rust is the worst because it never stops. 24/7

Its sort of like painting a bridge. You start on one end and by the time your done you have to start over again. It pains me to see all those car show pictures of beautiful cars over there sitting in the rain. Then there is the cold weather and small garages and dirt driveways...........

California rust is on vacation

 

I, too, can attest to the superiority of European rust, but having lived many years in Chicago, I have also been very impressed by Midwestern rust. Only in the road salt saturated Midwest can you see cars running around with the entire bottom 1/3 of the body missing… Midwestern rust just has more depth to it, and seems more genuine, somehow. California rust, on the other hand, appears lacking in depth and seems so… how shall I put it…superficial.

More seriously though, I think anybody on this forum will react to the statement “just a little surface rust”. It usually means “completely rusted through from the inside – now starting to show on the surface”. That may or may not be true for this car, but to me it has all the warning signs of a Dino “looking for a fresh wallet”, as somebody phrased it.
It would make a good starting point for a new restoration thread, though.

 

I'm particularly fond of Dutch, Belgian, and especially Luxembourgian oxidation, as it has that certain rustic je ne sais quoi Cathodic Catholic quality about it.

 

Way off point, and likely previously discussed, were Dinos ever GP campaigned? I know the Fiat Dinos were, any 246s?

 

Sorry guys, my rust, believed to be Canadian mixed with original Sicilian, is by a zillion miles better than anybody's. I will take bets.
So there.
Regards, Alberto

 

The brighter the red the higher the score!

 

The bidding ended at US $118,100.00, reserve not met.

 

Re-listed with a Buy-It-No at $145k.

The $118k price is dumb, but the $145k price seems to be a bit high but not too far off.

 

sorry for the glare ,but here is a nice poster referring to the "flares and chairs ", campy wheel gts as "246 gts sebring . dz
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I thought I stole that off your wall the last time I was visiting. You must have had another copy floating around somewhere . . . .

 

I owned and restored this 246 gts I bought this car from MDR enterprises in 1986 it was a black GTS U.S spec car always wanted a chairs and flairs car and could not buy one so I had it repainted black in the process I had all the paint stripped I found that it was originally a blue car no major rust but had been hit in the left rear and had a lot of bondo on that side I had it all repaired properly and painted black had the interior done in Daytona type seats they were originally black and I had the engine rebuilt by Cosimo of Costa Mesa in California the car had 43,000 miles apprx then 1990 and I really liked a testa rosa engine I had seen at Pebble so I painted the valve covers in the red wrinkle finish and baked them in my kitchen oven my personal preference , I also added the campagnola wheels with xwx tires I still have the original Graku wheels that came with the car with a set of Michelin tires that have just a trip to pebble and back I had the car at the Italiana concours in Carmel in between 93 and 95 not sure exactly what year and also added the plexiglass headlight covers and then sold the car around that time, a lot of fun and a lot of good memories and that is the scoop on 246 GTS 04254 the pics look like nothing was done to the car since then besides someone losing the aircleaner cover if I remember correctly it was chrome and the euro lights were also another one of my preferences I did contact the owner a couple years back but he hadjustsold it hope whoever has it is still enjoying it

 

I can't tell the VIN number but is this the same car?

1974 Ferrari Dino 246 GTS - Motor Classic & Competition Corp.

 

no look in ny section under bradan
that's the car we are restoring back to original

 

For future search content....

"Sebring" package is NOT a real package!

Chairs and Flares is also the same "Said" package.

The seats could be upgraded.

The wheel arches and rims could upgraded.

Both were separate options. They were not a COMBO option.

Shawn