Classic car restoration is big business nowadays, because classic car themselves are. Gone, really, are the days of cheap old Porsches, Jaguars, Aston Martins and the like; with old metal more valuable than ever, it really pays for good restorative work to be done. Not so long ago, it might have not been worth the effort.
This Ferrari Dino 246 GT L is the perfect example of how things were and how they are now. It's just been subjected to an incredible four-year rebuild by Bell Sport & Classic, a certified Ferrari Classiche restorer. But it had also been 'restored' twice previously, to a shoddy standard. Because when Dinos weren't worth £300k, why bother with the best? Now, however...
This particular car, chassis 00436, was the seventh of 357 built. Completed in 1969, it was Ferrari's show car for that year's Frankfurt show, after which it went to its first owner in West Germany. Over the next 48 years and 53,000 miles, it lived in Canada, the US and France as well, before being acquired by Bell Sport & Classic "in a very sorry state of repair." Apparently it didn't look economically viable to repair, which means it must have been a right old heap given what Dinos are now worth. But where there's a will, there's a way, and the dedicated Bell Sport & Classic team - Peter Ensor, Marc Holden, Elliot East and Attilio Romano - began the project. They were helped by Matthias Bartz, a well-known Dino expert, who could help them establish the original factory spec of chassis 00436.
Tellingly, it wasn't even the right colour. It's Rosso Dino here (which is a bit orange, yes, it isn't your eyes) but had been badly resprayed Rosso Corsa at some point. The wrong interior was installed, too, the original black and orange seat towelling another one for the to-do list. But, of course, there was plenty more to be cracking on with than the colours. The Dino was rustier than an out-of-work actor, and that was just the start: the wheel arch heights didn't match, the rear roofline was wonky, the valances misshapen, scoops out of position and even a replacement front wing welded on top of the originals - locking in the rust. The stripdown to the monocoque took months, unsurprisingly enough. Still, nothing like a real dog to show off your skills.
The 2.4-litre V6, gearbox, brakes and suspension were all removed and restored as well, replaced where needed and refabricated where possible. The engine was dyno tested to ensure it produced the same 191bhp (194hp) as it did when leaving Maranello in 1969. And that's mild obsession by the standards of this Dino build; Bell Sport and Classic two weeks was spent on making the doors opened and closed correctly, with another fortnight invested in fitting the curved rear screen. The shell of the interior mirror was polished "to attain perfection". For two days. "No component, no matter how small, escaped Bell Sport and Classic's famous obsessive attention to detail", reads the bumf - you don't say!
Tim Kearns, Bell Sport and Classic MD, added: "Like every project we undertake, bringing the Dino 246 GT back to be life has been a true labour of love and most definitely not a clock-watching exercise. No amount of time, expense or attention to detail has been spared in ensuring the car is now in even better condition than when it left the factory. Along with its concours condition, the car's low mileage adds to its considerable allure." The team believe they now have perhaps the best Dino in the world, and you won't find us disagreeing. And the best bit? It's available. "Today, this concours-condition, low-mileage, early left-hand drive car represents an exceptionally rare opportunity for an aficionado to add one of the most important models built by Ferrari to their collection", which sounds a lot like 'for sale' in so many words. There's not a price, but given there are plenty of Dinos for sale at POA that's no great surprise; the nicest on PH are £400k, and this arguably looks even better. When a build includes polishing a mirror shell for two days, the result won't ever come cheap...
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