What can I say, I am in love...

They sound sooo amazing. Just love that engine note!

 

This is a guys car local to me, very sweet looking cars. I like the coupes as well, not quite as valuable or well like but with the engines they have.....

Mikeyr's car:
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I have seriously looked at getting one for sometime now. I've driven one and I really like it. It has that classic "Dino" sound. Personally, I think they are beautiful but it's an acquired taste.

Prices have shot up a lot in the past couple of years which has put me off. They used to be really a great bargin for what they were. I'm not crazy about the Coupes though.

They are RUST BUCKETS. That's one thing you really have to pay attention too.

There's an excellent yahoo group that follows these if you're interested. What's interesting is that most think the 2000 L engine and solid rear axle was a better car than the 2400 with independent rear. They made only something like 360 of the 2400's so they are rare.

The Fiat Dino is greatly underrated in terms of rarity, style, and engine.

 

http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/fiatdino/

I don't think you'll find anything but a beater for 20K. A lot of them were really abused and have high mileage. Like I said, rusting is a real problem. Some body parts are unobtainium. And, we know that Dino motors are not cheap to rebuild. I learned a lot from this group. Like -- only the 2.4L cars have the chrome stripe in the grill -- things like that.

They are really a tight bunch from all over the world. They do send a lot of messages out so I warn you about that.

My big issues with Fiat Dino's is that I hate it when owners of them add Ferrari badges. It's unnecessary and in my opinion, poor taste. They are what they are and that's enough without pretention.

A lot of good ones go for more about 60K. Considering the kind of 308/328 you can get for that amount of money, it's difficult to justify the expense in my opinion.

Still, a wonderful car. I would really like to own one someday. A couple of years ago, I was exactly like you. I had the BUG BAD. If it weren't for the 430 on the way, I would have bought a really nice one in San Diego. It was gorgeous. And, nothing on this planet sounds like a Dino V-6.

 

Yeah I love these cars too

Here ya go Joe
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Love 'em too - would die to have one.

What car from that era ISN'T a rust bucket? My just-sold 240Z was and my E-Type is as well.

I think the lines are unbelievably sexy, fitting for a Pininfarina design.

Some day...sigh

 

geez, I leave for 3 days and you guys talk about Fiat Dino's when I am not here, NOT FAIR

They are awesome cars and the Yahoo group is absolutely worth joining if you are interested in them. And yes, because they were worth less (or worthless?) for many years they were abused, finding a good one is difficult but they are out there. Rust is the big killer but again you can find them without rust (I did).

The worst part I think is that because they were not worth much for a long time, they were driven hard and not maintained. My own car, the kid welded the distributor weights in place so the car would not idle/run below about 3,500RPM and needed starting fluid to start, but it ran great at the redline, so take a wild guess what my motor was like. Ferrari's were taken to proper shops for maintenance and these were maintained by the Chevy/Ford mechanic at the corner garage station, wires were cut and circuits bypassed, SAE bolts were forced into metric holes, a lot of the Fiat Dino's do not have good history. On the good side, their value has gone up and they are finally appreciated so they are finally being restored and properly maintained.

Body wise, parts are unobtanium, mechanically there are a lot of hard to find parts as well, my car which I drive A LOT has worn splines on the hubs and goes "click" when first moving forward, I can't find new splines and these are a wear item so they will eventually go, I have 2 sets of spares in better shape but they are still used parts. The gearbox is pretty strong, although I have broken mine (the only time on a tow truck) and most parts but not all are available. Motor wise its a Dino so parts are just very expensive. My car is a driver, gets driven once or twice a week at minimum and with the exception of breaking the gearbox that had been badly abused before I owned it, its never broken down. Gave me lots of headaches when I first started driving it but with some friends help we got it running perfectly and it has stayed in tune for thousands of miles at a time.

 

it was NOT meant to be depressing ! I drive my car all the time and its my favorite car to drive.

Yes, there are issues with these cars but like all beautiful women, the more beautiful they are the more issues they have but usually the issues are worth it.

Seriously, it was not meant to depress, just warn you about the joys of ownership.

 

+1!!!

(BTW... I love the Coupé too)