Late to the party, who still makes a Ferrari Dino kit

[cutlass442 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close cutlass442]

The convertible makes it look 100x better as the main weak point , the roofline , is gone

[MunkyKing Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close MunkyKing]

How close is the JHClassics Dino to the real thing?
It looks pretty convincing to my untrained eye and the thought of modern Toyota mechanicals and engine options seem to make sense.

[disilva Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close disilva]

Thr best replica of a Dino in the U.K. Is dehavilland , it's based on an mg
But they are doing a custom chassis

[geoz3 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close geoz3]

Here you go



http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2012-FERRA...YAAOSw~oFXIopJ

[emccomas Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close emccomas]

Here you go



http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2012-FERRA...YAAOSw~oFXIopJ

Beautiful car but out of my price range. $60K plus shipping to the US.

I might be in the $40K range max.

[rossnzwpi Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close rossnzwpi]

My two cents worth is that the Dino is beautiful because of the unity of its design. The curves, proportions and stance are all vital. Most of the UK kits all come from the same source - a real 206 Dino that a mould was taken from and then the rear wheel arches were shifted slightly to fit on a Lotus Europa Chassis. These moulds were used in one form or another for the first JH Classics DGT (with Lancia Beta engine and tubular steel chassis frame), then the Deon, Scoperto, Classic Replicas and currently the Dehavilland. http://www.dehavillandmotorcompany.co.uk

Now The new JH Classics DGT has arrived and it is based on a mk2 Toyota MR2. This looks convincing from some angles but has a front that is way too low and a rear that is way to high to clear the rear struts of the MR2. Its a bit of a dog's breakfast from most angles but looks nice to the untrained eye not concerned about originality or stance. http://www.jhclassics.com

CASCU has moulded good bodies from a genuine Dino 246 and makes a replica chassis too. https://www.facebook.com/classic.and...43581589022890

[275NART Active Users Find all posts View Profile Close 275NART]

this has a lot of potential
I would change hood shut lines, shorten nose and shorten the tail and it'd be close to the real thing
The problem with the MR2 and fiero kits is the body is too tall. the dino has a very low slung body especially right behind the front fenders.

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sf...130253468.html

[rossnzwpi Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close rossnzwpi]

Nice find. Looks like a Porsche 914 base? I agree that the high struts and glasshouses cause many replicas built on modern donors to look out of proportion. This one is a very cool "inspired-by" type rather than a replica.

[aflo Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close aflo]

A very large part of automotive design has to do with proportions. Obviously the exotic manufacturers (like Ferrari) do not have to package +90% of the adult male/female population (like the major companies do) and really don't care about those people who are not willing to crawl into their car on their hands and knees. Thus Ferrari creates cars that have proportions based on performance and aesthetic issues, not practicality. This is why their cars are so great looking.
The proportions are far more important than any design feature or its lines.
This vehicle is living proof of the fact that bad proportions will kill the design. The final result of this thing is just horrible.

[cutlass442 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close cutlass442]

Again , the flat tall windshield of the 914 makes it look horrific

The only decent windshield was in post 26 of this thread but the rest of that kit looked terrible

[rossnzwpi Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close rossnzwpi]

Again , the flat tall windshield of the 914 makes it look horrific

The only decent windshield was in post 26 of this thread but the rest of that kit looked terrible

Those two cars are a.) a Deon - the UK kit derived from a genuine 206 with custom tubular chassis frame to fit and b.) a genuine car. Both have the real windscreen. The Deon has drooped a little front and rear, possibly from being removed from a mould while too green. it is amazing what difference a small change makes to the stance.

[275NART Active Users Find all posts View Profile Close 275NART]

Changing from the 914 to dino windshield would be a challenge but I'd argue the 914 could still be a good base. Depending on the height of the dino screen the 914 side glass and vent windows might still be able to be used. One would have to be well versed in welding and using a shrink and stretch tools.

[Don Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Don]

I agree with the others that an unfortunate aspect of the replicas is the roof line on the Dino replicas. Norm's Fiero replica was taken from a real Dino and then fitted to the Fiero chassis though some roof and sail panel work and front screen area. I believe the rear engine hatch and fender areas were left alone.

I had toyed with playing with the roof line to slope the roof back to lower the rear B-Pillar area height. I wouldn't change the angle between the roof and the a-pillar though. A lot of chop tops on Fieros have lowered the roof to keep the roof level and changed the angle between the roof line and the a-pillar so that new side windows would be required. The more common chop tops also take out about 2-4" height which changes a lot of the aspects of the Fiero roof.

My thoughts for the mod. Cut a slot in the bottom back edges of the a-pillar on each side, cut 1-1.5" from the B-Pillars bottom edge (top of the firewall) and rotate the roof back until the gap in the B-Pillar is gone. This leaves you several things that are more desirable than a regular chop top.

1. You get a rearward sloping roof line which would mate into the rear sail panels on the Dino much nicer.
2. You can still use factory Fiero side windows by moving the bottom of both front and back track mounts forward to match the new B-Pillar slope rearward
   1. The window travels up and down at a slight rearward angle to match the B-Pillar
   2. You will probably need to move the rear tracks outward a slight amount as well as the B-Pillar will also have a bit more slope inward when taking the 1-1.5" out
   3. I don't believe the new inward slope will cause any leakage issues though
   
   
3. You can use the stock Fiero screen or you can also replace that with one of the old 355 screens or cut down a Breeze or Sebring coupe screen like macgyver did on his Ferrari replica
   1. I would be inclined to use the extended bottom to give a more rounded look as the flat Fiero front screen is also a noticeable difference compared to a real one.
   2. Bloozberry has written up an incredible diy explanation about setting up the new defroster location compared to how I did mine on the 308. His is MUCH better than the way I did mine
   
   
4. The rear sale panels are reduced in size to flow more cleanly down into the rear fenders.

All a bit of work but you are already tearing a car apart and replacing everything anyway when building a replica on a Fiero....

I like Norm's Dino replica as a good starting point that can be "finessed" for us anally retentive folks that need to look more oem than some.....

Good luck with your decision as every replica has pros and cons.
Don

[275NART Active Users Find all posts View Profile Close 275NART]

That's great but that has absolutely nothing to do with Ferrari Dino replicas.