Crush or Save? 1967 Fiat Dino Coupe Basket Case
When is a car past the point of saving and the best use is to melt it down and start over? Here’s a 1967 Fiat Dino that has given its 2 liter Ferrari V6 to another project. No doubt in the restoration of a Ferrari Dino or Lancia Stratos. At this point are you left with a carcass of soviet steel with some rare Fiat Dino Coupe parts attached that you could sell off…or do you jump in and restore it? Find this 1967 Fiat Dino Coupe for sale in Olympia, WA for $3,250 via craigslist.
The Fiat Dino Coupe was designed by Bertone, built by Fiat and was powered initially by a 2.0 liter all aluminum V6 designed by Enzo Ferrari’s son Alfredino. The V6 was designed to be used in Formula 2, and to meet homologation numbers Ferrari inked a deal with Fiat to use the engines in the Coupe and a Pininfarina designed Spider. The engine was also used in the Ferrari 206 Dino and the Lancia Stratos. Unfortunately, this car has been robbed of its V6 along with the transmission and Dino-plex electronic ignition. Also, there is no title.
The ad’s seller mentions that restored Coupes now go for $50K to $70K and cars powered by non-original engines like the Alfa V-6 or Fiat four go for $15K – $17K. I’d go for the SBC, but I doubt you could clean this thing up, fix the rust and swap in a motor for anything where you’d come out on top or at least flat. This thing is too far gone.
So what you are left with unfortunately is a parts car. I’m sure that there are other Dino owners out there that could use some of the parts, but I’m not sure if you could even get your $3,250 from it. I think once you remove the Ferrari V-6, you’ve pretty much removed the car’s heart and reason for being. As an aside, a good friend of mine owned a ’67 Coupe for about 10 years in the 1990’s. Every joke about owning a car with the cachet of a Fiat and expense of a Ferrari was true, but man that 2 liter V6 was magic. It’s sad to see such a cool car meet an inglorious end.
See another reason to get your tetanus booster up to date? Email us here: tips@dailyturismo.com
Gianni is Daily Turismo’s Pacific Northwest correspondent and resident two stroke fan and is sure that recent college graduates didn’t engineer the NA.
I've driven one of these. They have the Ferrari V6 Dino engine. The owner of the car I drove bought the car for $12K back in 2005 and daily drove it. Now 10 years later it's probably worth $40K. Unbelievable what people are paying. They aren't all that great. Not much better than a Fiat 124 Coupe and much more $ to maintain. This car is for anyone who is glutton for punishment or has deep pockets. Ok, I'll step off my soapbox now and get back to my stalled 1967 Alfa GTV restoration…
Listen closely… It's gasping, "Save me. Save me…"
Drag it out, just as it is.
Clean out the spiders and tidy up the interior, redo the mechanicals, make sure it's structurally sound.
But leave the body utterly and completely alone.
Stick in something weird and un-Ferrari. GM 3.4 60-degree V6 with a T5 should do it.
Then slap some yellow Fazzaz Vaselino Rampante fender shields on it.
Better still, find someone with the graphic-arts skills to do one with a wild boar mounting a Ferrari horse from the rear.
Drop in a Fiat 130 V6. It is cheaper to maintain and just as powerful as the original with more torque
Or, just let it die, Without it's heart, it is just another old Fiat, and an unworthy one at that. Spend your time and cash on any number of more worthwhile projects. Grab the gauges, switchgear and steering wheel. They are used in other cars too.
4×4 s10 chassis, 5.3, turbo, hater pipe, urban camo.
Interested to get some of the parts. So why not get in touch and find out what there is as parts.