Dinoplex - restore or replace?

[Dino John]

Does your Spider have any other kind of ignition system now or still no ignition as delivered? Many early cars have been equipped with a Dinoplex later by the dealers upon introduction in the series, so a Dinoplex can still be considered as original even if the car came without one. It's kind of a works upgrade. As already discussed above, you should strive for a Dinoplex in any case. If you already have another working ignition system, be happy and try to get one somewhen. If you have no ignition system at all, try to get a Dinoplex and get an MSA or something similar in the meantime.
Regarding the number, I don't know about a colour #466, maybe it's the motor number.

Hi Tobi and thanks for your reply,
Yes I do have a working system that could be replaced with a Dinoplex…Question is which one is best suited.
I obviously need to do some more homework on the topic…Also guess its luck of the draw to even find one !
Cheers.

Cars with a factory installed Dinoplex:
AEC 101 C: Early Fiat Dino 2.0l Coupe (from #02466 on) and Spider (from #0833 on), Abarth 2000 Sport Spider, Abarth 1300
AEC 101 CA/CB: Fiat Dino 2.0l Coupe and Spider
AEC 101 D: Ferrari Dino 206 GT
AEC 101 DA: Ferrari Dino 246 GT L Series
AEC 101 DAX: Early Ferrari Dino 246 GT M Series, Ferrari Daytona GTB/4 Coupe US (two units)
AEC 101 E/EA: Ferrari Daytona GTB/4 Coupe US (two units), Ferrari 365 GTC/4 US (two units), Ferrari 365 GT 2+2 US (two units)

[Dino John]

[quote="Dinoswede"]Dino John; Your chassis number plate with number 0466 stamped - it is not a colour code - it is the Fiat spare parts number (according to the description of the chassis number plate in the original Fiat Dino spare parts catalogues). The third number 4954 should be a homologation number, but I guess you have figured that out, already.

/ Dinoswede[/quote

Hi Dinoswede,

No I didn't know but I do now thanks to you…
Guess there's no way of finding out the paint code as it's not on the plate ,there are so many paint layers on the car so it's near impossible to know the original colour, green seems to be one of the first. Will find out more soon as the car is going back to bare metal.
Cheers

[alh]

Hi Tobi and thanks for your reply,
Yes I do have a working system that could be replaced with a Dinoplex…Question is which one is best suited.
I obviously need to do some more homework on the topic…Also guess its luck of the draw to even find one !
Cheers.

Cars with a factory installed Dinoplex:
AEC 101 C: Early Fiat Dino 2.0l Coupe (from #02466 on) and Spider (from #0833 on), Abarth 2000 Sport Spider, Abarth 1300
AEC 101 CA/CB: Fiat Dino 2.0l Coupe and Spider
AEC 101 D: Ferrari Dino 206 GT
AEC 101 DA: Ferrari Dino 246 GT L Series
AEC 101 DAX: Early Ferrari Dino 246 GT M Series, Ferrari Daytona GTB/4 Coupe US (two units)
AEC 101 E/EA: Ferrari Daytona GTB/4 Coupe US (two units), Ferrari 365 GTC/4 US (two units), Ferrari 365 GT 2+2 US (two units)

The historically correct one would be a Dinoplex C AEC101 C (the early one with the metal switch), that one was supplied by dealers for retrofits of older Dinos which came with a points ignition per factory. Have a look at the corresponding Fiat service bulletin in the Library section, which explains the retrofit for your Dino: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=10

[Dino John]

Cheers will do thank you.

[tcheathcote 0011]

[b]not sure if I am on right thread.just bought dino spider 1967 2.0the car is still with dealer having works done.my concern reading your item is. The car is a poor starter I was told this is common.when you switch on it is as if you have a flat battery. The procedure is switch on a number of times without actually engaging until you hear the fuel coming through.you then start up.This did work they have suggested to solve this they put a bypass in whatever that means but they have assured me this works.I hope this makes sense. The fact is mechanics are not exactly my strong point. [/b]

[Tobi]

Regarding the starting procedure, turn on the ignition, wait 2-3 seconds and you'll hear the fuel pump ticking (not all types are ticking). Then push down the gas pedal about three times to prime the carbs. Then crank the engine and it should start immediately. If not, you may have somme issues with ignition, carb settings or spark plugs. If everything is OK and you comply with above steps, the Dino starts perfectly. I assume you already know that you have to be careful after starting until the engine gets warm.

[alh]

As Tobi said, a well sorted Dino is an easy starter, it is not common at all to have to switch it on and off several times. It rather sounds like you need to rebuild or replace your fuelpump, a Hardi 18812 or Mitsuba is a very good replacement. Also check your fuel filter if you have one. If you have dirt or rust in your filter you might need to restore the inside of your fuel tank.

Good luck,
Adrian

[jonfink1]

Sorry to respond late, but during the restoration of my 2.4 spider I faced the same issue....crapped out dinoplex.

I gutted mine, kept the original shell and introduced an MSD inside. Car runs like a top while still keeping its original appearance. I would recommend this to anyone. yes you can still find Dinoplexes around, but the new technology is loads better.

Unless you look REALLY closely at the wiring exiting the Dinoplex you would never guess what lives inside.

[HugoHarris]

I have an update on my original post in this thread, which I will add to the latest discussion on this topic ("Large Dinoplex" thread)