1971 Ferrari Dino 246GT

This 1971 Ferrari Dino 246GT was purchased because it has the rare combination of the fixed roof, more elegant Euro lighting, covered headlights, and Campagnolo wheels, all while being in great condition but with enough imperfections that it was a good candidate for actual driving. The car started its road life in Europe, it was then in the USA for a number of years, and we then purchased the car from Symbolic Motors as it was en route back to the USA from Japan. The car has just been fully serviced and given a new clutch by a very well regarded local shop and it drives very nicely.

This car is one of the 497 246GT “M” models built from October of 1970 to July of 1971, ranging from chassis numbers 01118 to 02130. We drove this car on the 2014 Anti-Football Run.

The interior features black leather upholstery and period USA-spec 3-point seatbelts. All heater controls and gauges function properly but the clock does not run. A fire extinguisher with Japanese writing is mounted forward of the shifter. The delicate door release mechanisms were just rebuilt, and the dash features a period Becker Mexico stereo.

The spare tire in the front trunk shows the stock wheel design that was fitted to the car. It wears an older Michelin XWX tire.

The car now wears these beautiful Campagnolo alloy road wheels and Pirelli P4000 tires. Bumper chrome shows some light pitting that does not come across in these photos but is visible on closer inspection.

Being a Euro-spec car, this Dino has the 2.4L V6 that was rated at 20 hp higher than the USA-spec cars that came with the emissions air pump. The car has just been serviced by The Pit Stop, a very well regarded shop in Brisbane, California. They rebuilt all three Weber carbs, installed a new clutch, and made other various fixes. The car starts easily, makes smooth power, and does not run hot. It does crackle a bit on deceleration due to some small cracks in the headers, and one of the coolant tubes has been patched.

Other work at the most recent visit include new tie rod ends and a new speedo cable. Compression was checked and showed the following:

Cylinder 1: 151
Cylinder 2: 152
Cylinder 3: 150
Cylinder 4: 155
Cylinder 5: 151
Cylinder 6: 152
The clutch pedal operates very nicely now that the cable and pressure plate have been replaced. Also, as noted on the included inspection paperwork, the first gear syncro is worn, so you need to choose second gear if you don’t take stop signs literally.

The paint finish is smooth and holds a very good shine. Closer inspection shows rust bubbles in the upper leading edges of the doors and the lower edge of the door skins. Bubbles are also apparent in the black trim of the rockers beneath the doors. The passenger door’s forward drain hole shows the most extensive corrosion damage. Some slight checking is also visible on the roof.