Fiat Dino chassis number

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Tobi
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Dino: Fiat Dino 2.4 Coupe
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Re: Fiat Dino chassis number

Post by Tobi »

Dinoswede wrote: Sun Mar 07, 2021 9:41 amI remember that he was concerned over some printing errors in his book, as he never was able taking part in the proof-reading,
before the book was printed. It is probably the publisher of the book that made these errors concerning the number of zeros
before the serial numbers, at page 118.
Dinoswede
Occam's razor says: "the simplest explanation is usually the right one"
Vravolta
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Re: Fiat Dino chassis number

Post by Vravolta »

Dinoswede wrote: Sun Mar 07, 2021 9:41 am All Fiat Dino chassis number plates should show the "seven-digit number", following the FIAT "chassis number plate standard"
of the period.
As already suggested, the reason for using a long line of zeros before the actual chassis number must be to prevent any kind
of tampering with the identity. If your Dino is numbered e.g. 135 AC 000 0025, your actual chassis number is 25, not 000 0025
or 00 0025, but all these zeros need to be there, to secure your Dino´s identity.

Mike Morris and I wrote many letters to each other during the eighties´, always discussing Fiat Dinos. If anybody (at the time)
knew how the chassis number plates should look, I am convinced Mike did.
I remember that he was concerned over some printing errors in his book, as he never was able taking part in the proof-reading,
before the book was printed. It is probably the publisher of the book that made these errors concerning the number of zeros
before the serial numbers, at page 118.

Dinoswede
That’s what I was thinking and was my understanding. It’s also the only way to make it compatible with the standard length VIN we have in Europe => a big thank you!
Vravolta
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Dino: Fiat Dino 2.4 Coupe

Re: Fiat Dino chassis number

Post by Vravolta »

For information, I'm progressing regarding my work based on correcting Mike Morris's book. I'm also adding hundreds of photos each time something is described and footnotes regarding things where there is a debate. The error regarding VIN length was not only made on page 118 but also anywhere else in the book where a VIN is mentioned. So, the simple explanation of a "one of" error on page 118 seems hard to believe.
hanskristianjepsen
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Re: Fiat Dino chassis number

Post by hanskristianjepsen »

Same applies for the engine ser.nos., they were also all 7 digits
Vravolta
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Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2016 4:41 pm
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Re: Fiat Dino chassis number

Post by Vravolta »

I just found this picture:
https://petrolicious.com/articles/an-ar ... dino-coupe

It's an extract from a book on the Fiat Dino. The amazing thing is that it displays the plate number AND the number stamped on the chassis and surprize, the plate is 7 digits, the number on the chassis 6 digits.
As this is quite hard to "unstamp" a digit in the middle of a number, it's hard to believe that this was modified. So, maybe that depending on the mood of the guys that were stamping the numbers, sometimes the used 7 digits, sometimes 6 digits and the mood may even differ between the plate and the chassis.

Has someone a better explanation? I can easiely understand that plates get lost and can be restamped with the wrong number, but in this case, this is the chassis number that is strange.
Fanalone
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Re: Fiat Dino chassis number

Post by Fanalone »

Hi Vravolta

This car is owned by a good friend of mine, and the engine bay has been restored & repainted some years ago.
So I suspect the stamping of this "0" initially has been a little "week", and is now filled with original primer & paint + new primer & paint.
Here you can see an example of another one with 7 digits, where this "0" is weekly stamped, an left unpainted during restauration:https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/de ... d=1&pid=21
BC5222
Vravolta
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Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2016 4:41 pm
Dino: Fiat Dino 2.4 Coupe

Re: Fiat Dino chassis number

Post by Vravolta »

Thanks for the answer that sounds realistic.
@All, I’m progressing quite well on my work originally based on Mike Morris book. It was meant to be a simple translation to french originally, but there was some unsolvable copyright issues after Mike passed away. However, due to the time that passed since he wrote the book, there were too many things to update or correct. So, after taking some legal advices on this, the current idea is to write a book based on Mike’s book but that should be roughly twice as big. The main difference will be that the book will not consist in a book about the Spider with addition of some sections related to the Coupé but it will be a full fledge book on all the Fiat Dinos. The other idea is to put in a single book as many information as possible on the suject, including pictures and technical data.

I currently have reached a point where roughly 85% of the sections covered in Mike’s book have been translated, reworked and enhanced (228 pages as of yesterday). I plan to reach the end by the end of this year. Then, I plan to add a few new chapters that couldn’t be included in the existing ones, to perform a final correction pass and see how I can setup an on demand printing as obviously, there is not many people interested in buying detailed books on the Dino. Then, I’ll see if it would be meaningful to translate back my work to english.
HugoHarris
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Re: Fiat Dino chassis number

Post by HugoHarris »

Good luck with finishing the book, Vravolta. Super important and will be a great asset for this community. Please don't quit before completing the English translation though! Us Brits (and most Americans) are too ignorant to learn foreign languages and consequently English is the universal lingua franca. Your work will reach a much wider audience in English (including all the clever Germans, Dutch and Danes who speak better English than most of us natives!)
2400 Spider #1364
Kal
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Joined: Sat Nov 12, 2022 1:19 pm
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Re: Fiat Dino chassis number

Post by Kal »

Hi All. My first post....

I would love a copy in English. It would be an invaluable reference, as I am not willing to spend the insane amount required to obtain a copy of Mike's book.

I've been looking for a Dino Coupe on and off for a while. I had a 1971 Fiat 124 Sport Coupe (BC) with similar headlight configuration/look to the Dino Coupe as a teenager/young adult, and have lusted after a Dino ever since.
Vravolta
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Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2016 4:41 pm
Dino: Fiat Dino 2.4 Coupe

Re: Fiat Dino chassis number

Post by Vravolta »

Still in the writing process and information checking, Mike wrote in his book that Dinoplex first arrived on Coupé # 2466 but on a list from Dinoswede, it is written #2436. The answer should be on the parts catalog for Dino 2000, II-1970 version, but unfortunately, I only have VII-1967 in my files. Has anyone an idea of what the right # is?
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