Dino Tracking

By: Denny Schue

In 1957 I was working for Wacky Arnolt at one of his BMC dealerships in Indiana. At the time I owned an MG-TD and had never seen a Ferrari in person. One of my fellow workers at Arnolt's was Bob Tarwacki, and he was the one who introduced me to the world of Ferrari cars. It was not until later that Bob finally bought his first one, but when I met him he was already knowledgeable in the elusive details of these rare cars from Italy. In 1958, Arnolt took a 250GT Europa in on trade on a new Aston-Martin, and it was then I had my first chance to drive one of the cars from Maranello. I can't remember much about that drive, but I will never forget the sounds of the V12 engine on that day. Bob went on to own many Ferraris over the next several years, and always gave me a turn behind the wheel of each of his cars. Bob ended up being one of about a dozen enthusiasts from Illinois, Michigan, and Indiana who formed the Ferrari Club of America. In 1966 I attended the Ferrari Club of America annual meeting which was held at Bernie Morgan's house in Indianapolis. It was my opportunity to look over 25 different cars, all in one place! Quite a turnout from a club that only had 50 members. It appeared all of the cars were driven in and not a car trailer anywhere in sight. A 250LM was driven all the way from New Orleans with the passenger holding all the luggage in her lap, another from Florida, one from New Hampshire, and a 166 Inter Vignale from Long Island. I was only a guest that day and had to park my Bertone bodied Arnolt-Bristol down the street. Little did I know that years later I would be a member of the Ferrari Club of America. After leaving Arnolt in the 1970s and moving the family to California, owning a sports car had to take a back seat to the business of raising a family.

It was in 1980 that the time was right, and I was in the market for one of those Italian cars. The shape of the 206SP Dinos was something that really caught my eye while attending races in the 1960s, and I decided that a Dino would suit me just fine... besides the prices were more in line with my budget as compared to the V12 cars. Now the story starts gaining momentum into something that has outgrown all expectations. My plan was a simple one. Join the Ferrari Clubs, subscribe to all the Ferrari publications, and sit back, watch, and wait for someone who had their Dino for sale for a long time. It was my logic that after a period of time I could make a ridiculous offer and buy a car for a "song". In order to stay organized I started recording chassis numbers of ones that were offered. It was a little over a year later in 1981 that I bought my Dino, but sorry to say my original plan did not work. I purchased a car that was not previously on my list. By this time I had collected about 30-35 chassis numbers and decided, for fun, to continue adding club member Dinos to my list. Next came the mailing of forms to known owners to find out more about the cars and their owners. From there it was all down hill! Today, after 15 years, the Dino Register has history on almost 3,100 of the approximately 4,000 made, and past and present owner names that number close to 12,000. Assistance started coming in from newly found Dino friends from around the country, and from Japan, Germany, Switzerland, Hong Kong, France, Australia, and England. Maranello Concessionaires in England, the sole distributor for right hand drive cars for Ferrari during the Dino years, supplied a list of all Dinos that went through their firm which listed first owners, dates, and colors. Their list also included all the rhd cars that were destined for Australia, New Zealand, and the Orient. Garage Francorchamps in Belgium made a similar list available. Dealers in the USA also have been very helpful in supplying chassis numbers on new and used Dinos going through their dealerships. It is with the help of these countless people who ma

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