Projects can take different directions and sometimes with different owners. In its current form this 1976 Ferrari Dino houses a twin-turbo 4.8L (LR4) iron-block Gen3 SBC. The engine is mated to a Subaru five-speed transaxle with upgraded PPG gears. The engine will gain a nice flat-plane crank sound thanks to some hand-made 180 degree headers.
The Dino was purchased as a roller by a college student at McPherson College where he is working on a four-year degree in automotive restoration. Apparently McPherson College is one of the only schools in the US that offers a four-year degree in that field. Attending college to learn about restoring automobiles and you get to practice on your own project car. What a dream.
But this project started in a very different direction. The first owner chose a Subaru flat-four from a 1997 Impreza STI to power it. The project progressed up to the point of having the motor installed and cranking. Then someone offered to trade an Alfa Romeo for the Ferrari and became the second owner. It didn’t take too long before the second owner decided it was too much work to continue. So the motor was pulled and the body was sold on eBay to the current owner’s capable hands.
It always sad when a project can’t be finished because it usually means the end of someone’s dream. In this case it’s great to see a project continue on to become another’s dream.
Source: Grassroots Motorsports via Motor Authority
The Dino has for years been ignored as being “not a real Ferrari”, but that is so shortsighted. The Dino came with a V6, and the 2019 Indy cars are a V6 with a turbo. Someone needs to make a new narrow-angle aluminum block V6 that accepts Chevy LS internals (pistons, connecting rods, valves, pushrods, etc). The LS V8’s in their stock form are being supercharged to 1,000-HP, and the design is holding up. Imagine a light and narrow 4.5L V6 that can take 750-HP, and you can get parts for it dirt cheap.