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JH Classics
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DGT VII
DGT is
a familiar
name from the
past in replica
circles. DGT’s all-new
kit now has an inspired
base – and a new lease
of life. As Chris Rees
recently found out.
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T
wo cars are sat on the driveway
in front of me. One’s a 16-yearold, generously-used blue
Toyota MR2. The other’s a
stunning red Dino 246. The man who
owns them both, John Hurst, leans over
and confides: “I reckon Toyota must have
been thinking about the Dino when they
designed the MR2.”
He should know. He made his ‘Eureka’
discovery of just how close the Toyota
and Dino are in terms of dimensions
when he pulled apart an MR2 in his back
garden and offered up a Dino front end. It
fitted almost perfectly!
Many readers will know the name JH
Classics, and the name of
John Hurst, who
gave his
initials to the
company. He was
the man who, in 1987,
conceived the Deon DGT, an accurate
Dino replica using its own chassis and a
Lancia engine. He made some 220
DGTs in all, making it one of the kitcar
world’s more successful stories.
After a 14-year absence from the kitcar
scene, John made a return at this year’s
Stoneleigh Show. You could be forgiven
for thinking that his new car is simply a
revival of the old Dino replica – but it’s
actually an all-new machine, called the
DGT VII. Instead of the previous separate
chassis and Lancia engine, underneath
the VII is essentially a second-generation
Toyota MR2.
Although the Dino shape fitted closely
over the MR2, it wasn’t quite exact. John
embarked on a programme of minor
remodelling to suit the new basis and not
lose those ‘Sophia Loren’s thighs’ wing
shapes, particularly around the arches
and rear wings. But surprisingly little
modification was needed. Compared to the
original Dino, the rear end is now wider
by 50mm, the doors are longer by 100mm
and the whole car is about 25mm taller,
but fore and aft of the doors, the
dimensions are all but identical to the Dino.
As several kitcar enterprises have
discovered, the fine-handling, nonrusting, plentiful and cheap MR2 makes
an ideal basis for a mid-engined kit. One
tkc mag September/October 2011
builder
will need to
remove quite a
bit of the original MR2.
Much of the base car simply unbolts,
including the bonnet, engine cover, boot
lid, bumpers, front wings and all of the
lights. John reckons the main panels can
be removed in one day, but recommends
allowing three days to strip the donor
MR2 completely.
Cutting is required (using an angle
grinder) along the top of the rear wings
and at the bumper line. You’ll also need
significant
advantage is the
fact that, retaining the MR2
structure intact, the DGT VII doesn’t
need require an IVA test. And the base
car usually comes with a big spec,
including power steering, air conditioning,
ABS and electric windows.
DGT’s conversion is designed to be as
easy-to-build as possible. I won’t go into
huge detail here, but essentially, the
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to make cuts in the rear wheelarches to
provide a foundation for the new arch
panelling. The front arches and doors
also need some remodelling. Don’t worry
– all of this is detailed in the build manual.
The side grilles, rubbing strips and
door handles are then removed. The door
mirrors need to be cut back (John can
laminate blanking panels if required). All
the MR2 glass is left alone, although the
C-pillar grille is used to site the new fuel
filler. The engine compartment remains
exactly as it was, and the original wiring
loom is also kept (only needing an
extension for the front running lights).
As for the new glassfibre bodywork, it
fits extremely simply. The front end, for
instance, needs just seven bolts to
attach. John doesn’t recommend bonding
it in, as that will make any future
windscreen replacement trickier. After
fitting the new doors, the back end,
whose inner section is moulded off an
original MR2, simply glues into place
using Sikoflex. The door locks are binned
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and Dino-style push toggles then mate
up with the original MR2 door
mechanism.
Inside, the donor seats are remodelled
by DGT as part of the interior package.
The headrests are removed and the
runners bolted into new GRP shells
reinforced with coremat and plywood.
The door cards are modified MR2 items,
including altered electric window
switches (the original Dino’s were in the
centre console but to duplicate this would
have required a major rewire). The
original carpet in the cabin and the rear
boot is kept.
DGT supplies a new gear lever shaft,
knob and lever plate in metal H-gate
Ferrari style. The whole MR2 dash
remains in situ, with a glassfibre replica
shell placed over the top, while a
separate instrument binnacle housing the
original MR2 dials uses white-painted
needles and a steel facing to evoke a
1970s feel. The steering wheel and boss
are DGT replica items.
The DGT sits on lowering springs,
which maintain the correct distance
between the tyres and wheelarches.
These springs need to be fitted before
doing the body conversion – ideally, says
John, while the MR2 is still running so
that they can settle in.
Those Ferrari replica wheels are 16x7,
adapted to fit the MR2’s stud pattern.
While the original Dino had 14in wheels,
John opted for 16in ones because they
behave so much better with their lowerprofile rubber – indeed, many owners of
genuine Dinos have made the switch to
16in wheels. The tyres are 205/50 at the
front and 225/50 at the rear. The front
tyres do protrude from the body a little in
this format but John thinks it’s worth the
slight sacrifice in looks for the better
driving characteristics.
John recommends buying a donor
MR2 in the colour you want the replica to
be. That way you don’t need to repaint
areas such as the door jambs and
engine bay (although John notes that,
tkc mag September/October 2011
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since the original Dino had a black
engine bay, you could consider buying a
black donor).
The full DGT VII kit costs £9204. DGT
has had quite a few requests for a lower
price point, so he’s decided to offer the
kit in package stages as well. For
example, if you don’t want to splash out
on the interior for a while, you can build
the car and run around with the original
MR2 interior for as long as you like, and
then do it at a later stage.
The packs consist of: Body Pack &
Essentials (£4650), Lighting (£312.50),
Bumpers and Brightwork (£1809),
Interior and Dash (£1646), Exhaust and
Fuel (£466), Ancillaries (£90.50), and
Wheels (£1646). You can buy original
lights from Ferrari, says John, but they
cost a load more than he is able to
supply them at – just the chrome
surrounds will cost £160 from Ferrari!
Strictly speaking, you don’t need the
exhaust either but there’s no denying the
tailpipes do look the part. The superb
tkc mag September/October 2011
bumpers, by the way, are made in
Vietnam.
A quick spin in the 2-litre four-cylinder
demo car confirms that it’s plenty quick
enough. It’s no surprise that it drives very
much like an MR2, because that’s what it
is! If you want more power, tuning the
engine is very easy, and Toyota even
made a turbo version, so you can make
a very quick car if you want. The next
DGT VII demo car is likely to have a V6
engine conversion, which will chime with
the Dino thing a bit more: MR2 fans have
long since discovered the merits of
transplanting the V6 from a Toyota Camry
into the MR2.
Another body style option is the GTS
targa. Since Toyota helpfully made its
own T-top MR2, this makes an ideal
donor. OK, the MR2 has a two-piece
glass roof, not a one-piece metal one like
the Dino, but as John points out, Toyota
spent millions making its roof waterproof.
You’d never get a replica roof to fit as
well. A GTS will be DGT’s next demo car.
The quality of the glassfibre is
excellent and the fully painted finish
looks sensational. Not everything is
perfect on the prototype, as John admits,
and small changes will include better
electric window switches, a 1970s-style
centre console, full chrome rear window
surround and a better reversing light.
John has already sold his first kit and
his first complete car and has had
enquiries from as far afield as Japan and
the USA. This will only ever be a small
operation, he says, with capacity standing
at ten kits and six fully built cars per year.
So if you want an excellent-value, highquality, well-engineered Dino lookalike,
the path you beat to John’s Somerset
door had better be hasty…
For more information contact:
JH Classics;
Hedging, Somerset.
Tel: 07941 990 366
www.jhclassics.com
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