1971 Dino... dignity restored

A

Apollo_Auto

New member
Hi everyone! Here's a 1971 Dino that I've just finished and I've been waiting to get my hands on this one! Let me start by clarifying that this is not a Ferrari (contrary to popular belief). Dino is a separate brand and was produced to put an "affordable" sports car out on the market; the "poor man's Ferrari" as it's been called. I believe this was one of Ferrari's final attempts to try and pull the company out of financial turmoil, but ultimately wound up in a merger with Fiat. Legend has it that right around the time of the merger Ford also showed strong interest in Ferrari, but I suppose they decided to keep it Italian and joined forces with Fiat. Anyway, nuff said here's the goods!



Very swirly monster and lifeless finish...



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Wipers removed



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Side mirrors removed (these are actually mirrors from an old Alfa Romeo... this Dino didn't come with mirrors)



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I'm not quite sure what the heck it was, but there was some hard, black gunk all over the car, which took me about 2 hours to remove with some of my swanky new super elastic heavy duty clay bar.



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This is some very elastic clay :)



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All the badges removed and given to my father-in-law for reconditioning. The Ferrari badge was a crappy aluminum one that someone made so he made a cast from it and re-poured it with brass and had it chrome-plated.



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A big chip in the paint by the trunk. This was actually a useful thing because I had no idea how thick the last layer of paint was (lots of fillers and Bondo on it).



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Years of built-up gunk... this old man's been really neglected.



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Another chip. After all the polishing was done I repainted these chips with some rosso corsa flavored paint and a very fine brush. I put about 12 coats on these to "build up" the layers so they'd be on the same level.



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The boot looked like poo... actually the entire car looked like hell, but this part really added to its aged appearance.



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"Hey look! Grandpa's colostomy bag can double as a windscreen wiper fluid reservoir!"



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This entire area was scrubbed with a wire brush to remove the old, flaky paint.



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Repainted



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All repainted with a satin black finish.



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The pans under the louvers on the engine compartment were also removed and repainted.



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I went to town with the black spray paint on this one :). It has a lot of black parts everywhere that were chipped and faded.



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Other side of the engine housing also painted.



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I didn't paint anything on the motor tough. I spent quite a while cleaning the engine with APC lots of brushes and rags.



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A refresher of the damage. These weren't your average swirls... these were deep and it was obvious that the car had never seen a "sand-free" car wash in its life. I could feel these swirls/scratches with my bare hand...



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The test area after 3 steps. This paint was actually pretty hard for a SS, so to level everything out I used a wool pad and Intsa Finish Insta Cut #15, followed by a polishing pad and #15 and then finished up with a finishing pad and Insta Cut #30.



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All covered up at the end of day 2. I wanted to keep it as dust-free as possible and also wanted to keep the polish oils on the paint as long as I could.



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Wipers repainted



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The latch that holds the small window shut had to be reglued.



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All finished! I only vacuumed and dressed the interior with Insta Finish Leather Conditioner. The total time on this was 20+ hours, but believe me I could have spent another 20+ on it... I had to finish it in time for a show that it's going to (the took it to the show by trailer on Thursday). The owner was very happy to see this old-timer sparkling again :). Wax for today was Migliore Primo. Enjoy the afters!



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Chipped paint before >>



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Now filled in. The color was slightly off, but not really noticeable.



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Refinished and new badges all back in place.



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Thanks for reading and to all the Playboy subscribers, thanks for "reading"!



- Jesse
 
now how in the hell am i supposed to post here in this section when you do work like this! that was outstanding. this has got to be my favorite write up of yours. I loved this one bud. your a true pro!
 
some of your best work Jesse! Truly amazing and I don't know how you can keep out-doing yourself bro. SICK stuff, and I can't wait to see what's next
 
TSC17 said:
Beautiful resto work there my friend! Jobs like these are always very rewarding...



:bow:bow:bow
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Thank you, Todd! Yep, I had fun doing that one, but I wish I could have spent a little more time with it :(



ramtough said:
That is one nice old ride. I bet you enjoyed yourself. Car looks amazing.
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Thanks mate and yes it was avery nicea!



bufferbarry said:
now how in the hell am i supposed to post here in this section when you do work like this! that was outstanding. this has got to be my favorite write up of yours. I loved this one bud. your a true pro!
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Thank you for the kind words my friend! I've got something coming for you soon... :)



Superior__Shine said:
I would have flown to you and helped out for free on that one (not that you needed any help)



AWESOME WORK!
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Thanks Joe! I'll be sure to let you know when the next one like this rolls around ;)!



MuttGrunt said:
some of your best work Jesse! Truly amazing and I don't know how you can keep out-doing yourself bro. SICK stuff, and I can't wait to see what's next
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Cheers Marc! :D I've got a couple Maseratis, a Porsche and some other stuff that I may post soon, but nothing special like this one :).



Cactus1 said:
Great job! The Dino 246 is my favorite sports car of all time.
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Thank you, sir!



Pats300zx said:
What a resto Jesse !!!! Amazing work.
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Cheers Pat!!
 
Amazing work Jesse! I love how you take the extra steps that others wouldn't.. such as repainted and rechroming. THAT'S attention to detail ;)
 
I know that Ferrari enthusiasts look down with disdain on the Dino. (they feel that it was a blatant attempt to dilute the storied Ferrari heritage and bring an "affordable" Ferrari to more customers). However, I think that the styling is timeless and aesthetically perfect IMO. Great job resurrecting a timeless design.
 
Holy smokes! Dignity restored??? Check! Pride restored??? Check.



That is one hell of a turn around. Excellent work Apollo...my hat is off to you!
 
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