1968 Fiat Dino

2.0 coupe Coupe

6 - Cyl.

Manual

135AC3087

Gasoline

1968 Fiat Dino coupe Serial number AC3087 I imported this car a year ago and had great plans for it, but with a 20-month old, a 1-week old, and the loss of my garage space, I have decided it's time to part with my Fiat Dino coupe. Odometer shows 50K kilometers, but probably 150K kilometers, which equals ~90K miles. Like all Dinos, it's left hand drive and the speedo/odometer read in kilometers. I have the original Italian log book/registration and the Italian rear license plate. As far as I can tell, the car was sold in Italy in 1968 and lived there until roughly 1987, at which time it was exported to the UK for an Italian lady living there. However, once it got to England, the lady's plans apparently changed, because the car was never licensed/titled in the UK. Its condition suggests that it was garaged for most/all of the 2 decades it spent there, and a couple of pictures I've seen "out and about" tell me that it was driven occasionally despite the lack of registration. I purchased the car last year and had it imported to Tacoma, Washington. Upon receipt, I used a temporary trip permit to drive it roughly 30 miles from the port to my home. It felt very stable and solid on the freeway at 70 mph and attracted lots of attention. 1 block from my house, it suffered a minor electrical incident (see below for more info) and has been parked at the house ever since. The good: --The car runs and drives, stops and goes. Engine seems happy and healthy, transmission shifts fine, brakes feel good. --Not a single Ferrari "cavallino rampante" prancing horse badge anywhere on it, and it's not painted red. ? --as far as I can tell, it's complete (only missing parts I've noticed are the Bertone badges from the fenders and the plastic tips to a couple of dashboard ventilation levers), --as far as I can tell, it's almost 100% stock (only non-stock parts I see are the ignition system -- a good thing; original Dinoplex units were notoriously flaky) and a nearly-new stainless steel exhaust system. Some bits of interior trim are removed, but are in the trunk. --all glass is good, taillights are intact, headliner is complete and looks good for its age, there are no cracks in the dash, and the wooden steering wheel is complete (though it shows some signs of wear). --this is a "later" aka 2nd-generation or "transitional" 2-liter car -- one of the cars produced just before the switch to the 2400 Dino. It features the 2-liter alloy block and not the later 2.4-liter cast iron block, but it includes a number of engine updates by Fiat to address issues with the cam chain tensioners, carb linkage, etc. --stock rims are in good shape; car includes all 5 (the "spare tire" is just a rim with no rubber currently mounted) The bad: --was repainted in the original color -- but probably 25 years ago -- and the paint job is now a real 10-footer. From up close, paint has parts that look like an alligator's skin and others that look as though they were attacked with coarse sandpaper. --door hinge pins need replacing (very common with this era of Fiat; fix is straightforward and inexpensive) --some of the wiring will need sorting out* (see story below) -- turn signals, electric windows, etc. Headlights work, rear window defrost works, interior lights work…I've been planning to sort this out for the past year but just haven't gotten around to it. --the interior is tired and dirty…front seats have tears, and the back seats also have a split or two. Front floor mats are worn through. It looks like it hasn't had a good interior cleaning in 20 years. --carbs could use a cleaning/tune-up -- the car will bog if you stomp on the gas, but is happy to rev with a lighter foot on the pedal. --every 10th start or so, the starter motor will sound like it's grinding, but will sound (and turn over the engine) just fine the next time you turn the key. Other notes: --there is some rust, but it all appears to be relatively superficial (not structural) and appears to be straightforward to repair if you're getting the car repainted anyway. I didn't put this in "the good" or "the bad" because it's in an unusual in-between zone... the rust is minor compared to most of the "project" Dinos I've seen, but it's not a totally rust-free car either. Specifically: the right rear wheel arch has been rust-repaired in the past, and area in front of driver's door shows signs of an old Bondo repair. Bottoms of doors show signs of rust, and both rockers/sills have a single spot of rust-through on the bottoms (this according to previous owner; I haven't looked yet...you need to crawl under the car to see these, and I never got around to it). As far as I can tell, the trunk is solid, the floors are solid, the fenders are solid (except for the rust repair noted above and seen in the photos), the car is not structurally compromised due to the rust. 1960s Italian cars are notoriously rust-prone, but Bertone went to extreme lengths to try to rust-proof these vehicles. --the trunk lid is only bolted to its hinge on one side. I didn't see the bolt floating around in the trunk and haven't tried to find a replacement.--the car comes with its original Italian paperwork and US Customs clearance documentation, along with its original Rome rear plate. --receipts included from 1989-90 (20 years, but only a few hundred miles ago) show that the owner at the time went on an ambitious project to tidy up the car: the carburetors were rebuilt, stainless exhaust and new electronic ignition were installed, distributor was rebuilt, and many suspension components (all 6 shocks, ball joints, tie rod ends, suspension arm bushings, etc) were replaced. The receipts total roughly $5000 (parts are the majority of this expense). The Dino coupe is an unusual car, and this particular one is in unusual condition -- most I've seen fall into 1 of 3 categories: heaps of rusty worthless junk, pristine better-than-new restored cars, and mediocre cars with long histories of low-budget repairs, cheap red resprays and lots of Ferrari badges. This car has escaped all 3 of those fates. Mechanically, it seems very sound. Cosmetically, it could use a little love. My plan was to put in seat covers and new floor mats, give it a good washing (inside and out), and drive/enjoy it as-is, eventually fixing the hinge pins, probably repainting after a while and maybe completely restoring it eventually. This car will take very little to be a presentable driver. Body parts and trim for coupes are not hard to find because many coupes gave their engines to the more expensive Spyders and Ferraris (leaving lots of engine-less coupes with other parts to donate). There is an active community of Dino owners online, and I know of several sources with used windshields, bumpers, doors, interior parts, etc. Prospective buyers are welcome to come see the car -- I have lost my garage space and it's currently sitting exposed to the elements outdoors on my back patio. Because of the electrical issues, I would not recommend driving the car any great distance home. Please let me know if you have additional questions. $500 deposit due within 48 hours of auction close; balance due within a week. I'm also planning to list the car locally, so I reserve the right to end the auction early. I'll try to put up more pictures in the next few days -- you can always check this link to see all photos available:http://s231.photobucket.com/albums/ee182/snoutmeat/Fiat%20Dino%20AC3087/ *in pictures the seller sent me, the cover for the steering column was missing. I asked, and he said that he'd bought the car with the cover removed, but would install it before shipping it to me. When I received the car, the cover was in place. Unfortunately, it was pinching the wires against the steering column, and each time I turned the wheel, it was wearing away at the insulation. One block from home, I made a sharp left, spinning the steering wheel and pulling the wires taut. Some snapped, others came disconnected from the switches on the steering column, and one -- the wire to the horn -- shorted to ground, leaving the car's horn blaring and the insulation smoking. I have spliced all the severed wires and attempted to reattach connectors to their appropriate switches, but some work still needs to be done because not all circuits are functioning. The ignition switch works properly and the headlights work, but (for example) the electric windows and turn signals aren't working.Note -- if my feedback rating of roughly 95% seems low, I invite you to look through my feedback. In the 10+ years I have been on Ebay, I've received ONE negative point due to a laptop that was damaged in shipping and a buyer who neglected to reverse his negative feedback even after I offered him a refund. I don't buy/sell here often, so that 1 negative point has had a big effect on my score.