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1974 Ferrari Dino 246 GTS Found Buried in a Garden Remains Most Famous Dino

Purists will often say that the Dino is nothing short of a glorified Fiat and, as such, a tarnish on the Ferrari name, but try telling that to Brad Howard. He’s been driving his for more than four decades.
This 1974 Ferrari Dino 246 GTS was found buried in L.A. after 4 years, still runs 13 photos
Photo: YouTube/Barcroft Cars
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And it’s no ordinary Dino, either. With the exception of the 1965 Dino Berlinetta Speciale concept that sold in 2017 for the incredible amount of €4.4 million (roughly $5.3 million at the current rate exchange), it is perhaps the most famous Dino in the world and, at one point, it was also the most controversial. That's because no one could possibly explain how it ended up buried in front of a Los Angeles house.

Today, Brad Howard still calls the 1974 Ferrari Dino 246 GTS his daily. It’s not just the excellent handling that does it for him; this is a car that Howard bought after it was found buried in a garden, brought back to life, and has long decided that he will never sell it. It’s not just a classic still in perfect running condition, but a classic with the most gripping, unlikely story to tell.

1974 Ferrari Dino 246 GTS found buried in L\.A\.
Photo: YouTube / Barcroft Cars
Last August, Howard sat down for an interview featured on a new episode of Ridiculous Rides by Barcroft Cars. The mystery of how the Dino had ended up buried had actually been solved years prior, in 2012, thanks to a story on Jalopnik that had gone viral. You will find both the Barcroft interview and the older video report at the bottom of the page.

This Dino (serial number 07862) started life just like any other. It was bought in October 1974 by a plumber named Rosendo Cruz from Alhambra, California, as a present to the wife. The wife would not get to enjoy it that much, just for some 500 miles (805 km) because, in December of that same year, while she and her loving husband were having dinner, it was stolen.

There was nothing strange about the story of how the Dino went missing. The two Cruzes went out for dinner on their anniversary, and Rosendo, noticing a suspicious gleam in the valet’s eye, decided to park it some distance from the restaurant. He and the missus went to dinner and, at the end of it, received the much unwelcome surprise of finding the car... gone.

1974 Ferrari Dino 246 GTS found buried in L\.A\.
Photo: YouTube / Barcroft Cars
A police report was filed, as was an insurance claim. Nearly four years later, in February 1978, after heavy rains, the Dino was found buried in front of a house in central L.A., in what was believed to have once been a pool. It had been wrapped in tarp, loose plastic, and even blankets, with towels shoved up the exhaust to keep worms and water out. Whoever had buried it there clearly did not want it damaged.

The discovery came just as Sandra West’s case had caused a national frenzy one year before. The socialite died at her Los Angeles home after a drug overdose but made sure to have her body and her beloved car, a powder blue 1964 Ferrari 330 America, transported to Texas, where both were buried. She was dressed in a lace negligee and plopped comfortably in the driver seat, and the Ferrari was encased in concrete and lowered into the ground.

In short, everyone assumed that you could find buried Ferraris wherever you were willing to look.

1974 Ferrari Dino 246 GTS found buried in L\.A\.
Photo: YouTube / Barcroft Cars
It would be another while until police were able to close the case, initially ruling it a “righteous theft,” and the insurance company paid off the owner the same amount he’d paid for it: $22,500. Only in 2012 did it emerge that Cruz had actually hired the thieves to steal his precious Dino so he could claim insurance on it and split the money among themselves. The thieves were supposed to bury it until Cruz filed the claim, then return for it, take it apart, and dump it wherever they could.

In what is perhaps the most hilarious part of this strange tale is that the thieves forgot where they had buried the Dino. The fact that they bothered to wrap it up so nicely seems to indicate that their loss was theirs only because they clearly had no intention of taking it apart, but were planning to keep it or sell it off.

Reports vary on the state of the Dino at the moment of discovery. An AutoWeek piece in the print issue of March 3, 1986, claimed that it was in terrible condition despite the thieves’ efforts—or maybe because of their efforts, since they forgot to roll the windows all the way up. All 21 layers of paint were eaten through by rust, erosion had “wasted” the wheels, the interior was ruined, and to boot, the engine had been crushed when the car was extracted from the ground.

1974 Ferrari Dino 246 GTS found buried in L\.A\.
Photo: YouTube / Barcroft Cars
Howard says the contrary. He bought the car less than a year after it was discovered and had it professionally restored by Ferrari expert Giuseppe Cappalonga. He says the only serious damage was to the windshield, which the thieves had smashed on purpose, but everything else, down to the leather and the chrome, was intact. He believes the drought of 1976-1978 helped preserve the car, even though it was underground.

To this day, the Dino still has the original windows, trim and chrome, and two of the original Campagnolo wheels and proudly wears the plate that reads “DUG UP.” It’s not the most subtle vanity plate, but it’s on point. The metallic green paint was applied during the restoration in late ‘70s and is the same as the original. “For a car that got painted over 40 years ago, it’s still holding up pretty good,” Howard says with false modesty.

He knows he has a classic on his hands, whether a “real” Ferrari or not. Over the years, because of the wild backstory attached to it, he’s received countless offers to buy it but he says his Dino is not—and will not be—for sale.

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About the author: Elena Gorgan
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Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends.
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