DeTomaso Mailing List: May 98, Message #254

Rayseif wrote:

> To all:
>
>      I just read the prelim report from SS and was impressed. I have an idea
> which may boost attendance at the Vegas and Pocono events. Beleive it or not,
> many of us on this list are only handy with a wrench and may not have the time
> or talent to do major tooling on their cars. I gladly would drive my car to
> more events if I knew there would be someone,(possibly a vendor) available to
> assist or perform repairs to my car,( for a fee of course). I think many
> people, myself included, are intimidated by the fact their car may break down
> out of town. To date, it appears their are volunteers who have generoulsy
> helped out fellow owners in the past  at track events. However, it is their
> vacation too, and I feel funny about depending on the kindness of others, even
> though pantera people are fantastic I just think if there was a more organized
> garage service at these track events, more people would who are less
> mechanically inclined would participate. Just my $0.02. I would be happy to
> brainstorm this some more if anyone is interested.
>
> Ray Seifert

  Ray,
    Try not to spoil your fun by being too cautious about driving your car.
Panteras function just as any other does and they are pretty rugged at that. You
would get in your daily driver and go 300 miles without a thought. Look at the 10
out of 10 finishers at the SS. I darn near have a machine shop in my garage and
when I take a trip in my car, leave my tools at home. The question becomes which
tools do I take. As the thought of what I will need in the event of a break down
adds so many tools to the list, I don't take any.
    My wife and I drove 300 miles  to Niagara Falls and back without a problem. A
group of six cars took a 200 mile trip a few years back without a mishap. Our club
regularly gets together for weekend trips and I haven't yet seen a car in trouble.

    I understand your concerns. I relate the above experiences to try to let you
know you can go any where you wish and without much more thought than you give to
your daily transportation.
    I like your suggestions, however, and maybe through this forum some owners
will get together on their travel plans. You can see this starting to happen for
Pocono. Don't  feel awkward about asking. Everyone seems to give freely of what
help they can.
    Fred Terry