Fiat Dino Forum (FDF)

Hi, the car advertised below is claimed to be something of a time warp example. I have no connection wiht the car or seller but thought it may be of interest to this community as a reference for those like me who are restoring their cars.

http://gmtatelier.com/portfolio-item/fi ... -4-spider/

Hi Hugo, Is this car for sale in Costa Rica, seems like an unusual place for a Swiss Dino to be for sale..

Hi you guys,

in Costa Rica lives the guy (Paco) who sold a car to Hugo Harris. Don't know whether this car mentioned here has any connection to this guy... but if so... be careful.

Having read the description text re this 2,4 Litre Spider, I have noticed some strange statements.

Claiming the car is totally untouched cannot be correct. Looking at the pics, I spotted some minor,
but uncorrect details:

1. The door inner handles seem to have been replaced. (Fiat 124 Spider part?) All Dino Spiders should
have the same part here, and in the Fiat sales brochures, they don´t look as in this car.
2. The centre console´s different wood sections look as they don´t match.
3. The water temperature and oil temperature guages have switched places!
4. The author claims many Dino Spiders were delivered with the outer body sills painted in matt
black. I have never seen any Fiat promotion picture showing that...?
5. The author also claims "there are no interchangeable body parts between 2,0 and 2,4 Dino Spiders".
Having checked the Fiat Spare Parts Catalogues, I claim almost all structural parts are the same!

The outer front and rear fenders have different numbers. This only is a matter of pre-drilled holes
for the front side blinkers, Pininfarina badges and the different mounting holes for the front and
rear bumpers. Every small change in detail gives a new spare parts number, but all fenders ought
to fit both versions - you just have to weld or drill some new holes...
6. The author mentions the small difference in total body length - 25 mm. This is just the result
from the different bumpers that the 2,4 Spider got -not any changes of the actual body length.

Besides all this, the Spider looks to be above the average level.

Dinoswede

Argonaut wrote: ↑Tue Aug 27, 2019 11:44 am Hi you guys, in Costa Rica lives the guy (Paco) who sold a car to Hugo Harris. Don't know whether this car mentioned here has any connection to this guy... but if so... be careful.

Hi Gunnar, I hadn’t spotted the Costa Rica location! I don’t believe this is Paco’s outfit (“Classic Road”) but there could well be a connection. I also spotted the Fiat 124 interior door pulls after I posted the link. Hmmmm maybe not such an unmolested original example after all.

Hugo

Hi Dinoswede, thanks for explaining the body similarities - I thought as much. I think, if I recall correctly, that the comment about no body panels in common actually came from Mike Morris's book - I know I've seen it repeated in many magazines.

Hi, rozznzwpi!

Yes, I have also spotted this "rumour" about "the lengthened 2,4 Litre Spider body" now and then.
But, if you think about it:
None of the actual changes done to the 2,4 Litre Spider demanded a stretch of the structural
design or the outer body panels.
Besides that, making new press tools for body panels are extremely costly, so why should FIAT
do such a pointless change?
Also, following this argumentation, the seldom seen hardtops (Marcplas / Pininfarina), ought to
fit both Dino Spider versions.

Dinoswede

This Dino, and the ad, word for word, and all the photos, is from Fantasy Junction for this car when they sold it in 2015.

https://www.fantasyjunction.com/sold/19 ... r/overview