Dino 246 GT: Our hands in the Ferrari Legacy
Dino is a lesser known, but still very interesting, marque from Ferrari back in the 1970s. As a juggernaut of the V8 and V12 high performance sports car industry, the Ferrari nameplate came along with a prestigious reputation and impressive racing pedigree. Their niche was firmly solidified at the tippy top of the automotive food chain, and they wanted to keep it that way.
This presented a bit of a problem when they wanted to enter the growing sector of (relatively) low cost, smaller engined sports cars that included the Porsche 911, Alfa Romeo Giulia, or Datsun 240z. These cars were significantly cheaper, slower, and less exciting than the V12 and V8s coming out of the Italian factory at the time but were much more easily obtained by working class buyers. Dino was created to enter this market and produce V6 road cars at a much lower price point without associating the Ferrari name with slower, cheaper cars.
We have had the opportunity to perform extensive work on one of these Dinos. This particular example is a Dino 246 GT, built for the North American market. It has a Fiat-sourced 2.4 liter V6 powering the rear wheels. The car has spent time with various owners and went through some unfortunately low-quality repairs at one point in its life.
We removed the engine, stripped it down, sent the engine block and heads off for machining, replaced some internal components, and began the task of rebuilding it from the ground up. Referencing and translating factory service literature to ensure all tolerances were where they needed to be, and everything would be as good as the day it left the factory.
We formed relationships with niche Dino parts suppliers around the world, and when certain parts such as hoses, belts, and sections of wiring were not available as a direct-fit replacement, we would source and fabricate our own replacement parts as necessary. Our goal was to make sure each repair was done to the highest standard and prepare this car to be used as it was originally intended.
It has been a long journey and an incredible learning experience for our team, but the end product is worth it. This car is a lesser-known piece of Ferrari history, and we are proud to have been able to do our part in maintaining the legacy for future generations.
Written by Tyler Schick.
