Who Owned a Dino WAY BACK WHEN (Pre-1985-ish) Any Original Owners?

G. Blue would have been our oldest (maybe original?) owner in the Section with his 206 in HI.
I'm not sure he is still living as he was a contemporary of Miki Dora, and was quoted about that...

Certainly a long time owner, who bailed at the "right time" against his age...

 

God, I wonder how many Dinos got this conversion? Touch of class, indeed.

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I bought a 246GT in 1977 and owned it for a year. Nothing except fantastic memories and they still look and sound incredible.

http://pless.com.au/cars/new/dino/index.htm



Sig www.pless.com.au/mechanics.htm

 

In the link I posted.

Sig www.pless.com.au/mechanics.htm

 

This is my favorite statement!

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Barf!

 

I bought mine in 1980. It was a 1970 Euro model. It was a one owner with only 3000 KM on it. It was also complete trashed having sat in the Arizona desert for 8 years. Why I don't know but the story was it was a divorce thing. I'm guessing no AC in Arizona may have had something to do with it not being used much and then no one in Phoenix to work on it in the early 70's. It was originally sold by Ron Tomkin to a doctor in San Francisco is what I was told. How it ended up in Phoenix is was a mystery but I didn't care.

At that time I had a 74 Alfa Romeo Spider. A friend of mine had a small Alfa shop in Phoenix who restored it for me. I went to visit him one day on a trip home for Thanksgiving and I saw the Dino on a trailer. I asked him if it was for sale and he said he thought so. I asked my friend if he wouldn't mind putting it back together to get running and we agreed.

I paid 8 grand in cash for it, which was a lot of money for me and also a non-running Dino GT at the time. I saw them on used car lots for $16-18K in LA. In 1980 the Dino was just another old car and GTS's were more popular than GT's. Most people at the time were hot to trot about the 308 which seemed like light years in advancement from the Dino. The biggest advantage this car had is that it had no rust and was a complete car. All the parts were there. Most of the work needed was electrical and interior and all the rubber parts, then a new coat of red paint. I was pretty naive at the time but it didn't look like that much work to me.

Over a year I "restored it" (aka got it running and a new paint job and interior). When finished it spent most of its life in LA and had it another 15 years. It needed a complete restoration before falling even further downhill after 15 years of use and I didn't have the money or time and sold it for what I thought was a pretty good price in the mid 90's.

In the period I owned it I drove it up and down the CA coast 2 or 3 times, over and back to Phoenix to LA a few times, and generally every weekend. For about a year it was my only car. I think it had like 18,000 miles when I sold it. The door panels started to show a few rust bubbles from its years in LA near the coast being parked outside.

It was certainly one of the more interesting cars I've owned. Instead of a 1970's car it seemed more like something from 196o's. Kinda crude, simple, noisy, and smelly but with a lot more character than the 308 (I had 2 of them also). It had a quirky gearbox, an always leaking distributor, seats with no side bolster, a steering wheel position that was perfect for 5ft 7 in me and no one else, and a hot interior even in winter (I never turned on the heater-- no need to!). But it had fly windows which in LA was enough to make it drivable, even in summer.

It also made the most amazing noises of any car I've owned and got the most attention of any car I've owned. And I think Dino Gt's are still one of the most prettiest mass production cars ever made.

 

I bought my first Dino 246 GT in 1976, then bought a second GT in 1983. My first and forever Dino is in immaculate condition. The second Dino was rough when purchased, but I had it restored and finally traded it in 2014 toward a 458 spider. When I was a new Dino owner, while all who saw my car raved about it, there was no question that Dinos were the stepchildren of the Ferrari clan. At one local car show in1979 or 1980, the owner of a Daytona spider parked next to me remarked that my car had "half an engine." That kind of talk never bothered me, and we members of the Dino faithful are now enjoying the last laugh. Forza Dino! Fred

 

Never got the Dino, as Dad would not have it, but her...

Regards, Alberto

 

I bought mine in 1974- still have her-still drive her. I have many driving stories.

 

Wowie......that's really something!

 

I bought my 1971, 01458, in May, 1976. I will keep it until the day I die. I'm the second owner. The original owner was Ivan Russino in Rome, Italy.

 

My father Carlo bought 01296 on June 10th 1976. We lived in Rome at the time. I was 12. Still with me .. Never to be sold. Pietro
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Pietro, That looks like Parioli, or nearby?

Great photo!

Regards, Alberto

 

Alberto
Corso Trieste. Near Via Nomentana! Great memories
Cheers
Pietro

 

I know I have shown this photo before- but this is my tiny garage in 1975. I had moved from VA where I was assigned insurance by the state of VA, to Maryland which wanted $4K per year since no insurance would voluntarily insure a 25-year-old single guy. This is why my Dino has no license plate on it.

Yeah, I did drive her often - I would just put my 1974 Carrara (with sugar scoop "ducktail" and 911 "safety" strips down the front hood) plate on it.

It took a bit of time to sort the insurance thing out.

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Neat photo and story. Thanks for sharing it.

 

I love the old ads!

 

Pietro!
How/when did I miss your move to Erie?
Cheers,
Coop

 

Coop!!
Yes moved to Colorado oct 2020. We love it here.
Cheers
Pietro

 

I ha

I haven't owned a 246 (yet) but four Speedsters and an R90S!

 

Brothers with different mothers--

My everyday car is my '61 cab which I built 35 years back for autocross with parts I had leftover from restoring 10 356's. A set of Hoosiers on her and she rocks up here in the mountains. Way more fun than my Speedster so when it came time to pare down I sold the Speedster. Bad financial move since I sold her in 2005 before the big run-up in value. She was all an all-original '55 with no rust or dents-- but I own to enjoy, not to make a profit.

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