Ferrari had a problem they needed to solve. Somehow, they needed to sell a bunch of cars to homologate their new Formula 2 V6 engine. There was no way they were going to sell enough 206 “Dino” Ferraris. The solution was to put the engine into a Fiat coupe and spider, confusingly also called Dinos. The coupes were designed by Bertone with an exceptionally clean appearance. This one is available in Homestead, Florida and is offered here on eBay at no reserve with bids opening at $3,000.
This picture shows some of the rust issues. The seller is very honest and states that “rust has taken over” after the car sat in the Florida weather for at least 8 years. With both sun and rain, Florida can be miserable on cars, particularly mid-60’s Italian steel.
There is rust-through in places in the chassis (I wish there were pictures of it) and obvious rust in the fenders and hood. The hood perforations are so bad it makes me wonder whether the lead picture in the listing was taken in the past. One of 5,774 coupes produced from 1966 to 1973, if it has the original engine it will be the 2.0 L version. The three downdraft Weber carbs look like they were the recipient of two cans of starting fluid the last time someone tried to start the car. As the ad does not claim a running engine, there’s no telling how long ago this was, and the rusty top to one of the cans implies it’s been a while.
Kudos to the seller for being brutally honest with their pictures of the rust. The base of the rear window shown here is going to require some major reconstruction (maybe I should just use the term construction as there isn’t any good metal to work with now!) I wonder if it’s worth it?
This Fiat is pretty tired on the inside as well. But with a low retail in the value guide of just under $12,000 and a high end of over $34,000, there is some room to work with. For someone with some time and some metalworking skills, this might make sense for a long-term project. I’m afraid, though, that someone will buy this car and part it out, and the $500 fee for a title (according to the seller) makes the restoration option that much less attractive. Are you interested in putting this Fiat back together, or do you think its future is a parts donor?
I don’t know if it would be worth restoring this one or getting the other one I submitted with this one. That one has a restored body and interior but unfortunately has had the engine replaced with a 2 liter (Fiat?) in-line 4 engine for $14,500. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fiat-Other-coupe-1967-fiat-dino-amazing-condition-/221712115486
This is just sad.
But this explains that these cars are disappearing………
Hard for me to understand, I am in the Southern California desert.
Nothing really gets rusty here at all.
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And yet another low mileage claim .
24755 kilometers,………..sure.
In the early 70’s, I had a friend that worked at a Fiat dealer, and one of these came in. With 4 adults, it seemed like it was going fast, but could have been the screaming of the engine, which sounded sweet. It’s a shame this is so far gone, although, as rare as it is, it just may be worth it.
It looks like a parts car to me.
That’s gonna be very expensive to restore
Sadly, I think this is a parts car. I hope someone has a Dino coupe body in decent shape and could make one complete car. These are beautifully elegant and restrained inside and out — more than photos show — and, I’m told, lovely drivers. Hoping the right person finds this one for a rescue project.