DeTomaso Mailing List: December 98, Message #185

This is for everyone who doesn't live in southern California, because you
guys already know this stuff.

Through a stroke of luck I wound up with a free day in So Cal last Friday.
I went to P.I. Motorsports and Hall Pantera.

At P.I. Motorsports  I met Jerry who had just sold me a set of their very
cool new five spoke wheels that just appeared on their website.  The wheel /
tire combo turned out just right and my dealings with them were professional
and efficient.  Jerry showed me around his shop and I got to look at a wide
variety of Panteras and Mangustas.  They had a Mangusta that was going
through a major restoration with modifications.  The workmanship looked
awesome!  I was surprised at how cramped their facility was.

What a contrast Hall Pantera was.  It is a virtual candy store for Pantera
people.  As we walked up we saw the Purple Targa Top Ultra Pantera.  This
car is so much more than awesome.  Beverly Hall met us at the door and
virtually sequestered us in their little front office until Gary got free.
Once we were introduced to Gary and he found out that I had a Pantera the
visit got much more friendly.  Gary showed us around his office, shipping
area, parts department, then the serious goodies.  His place is huge, with
something interesting everywhere.
I was looking at brake upgrades so Gary took us all around the shop showing
me all the various levels of upgrade.  I also became very interested in the
chassis stiffening kit and got to see it on several cars including Tom
Upton's new racecar.  It was very nice to see all the things that Hall has
in it's catalog.  The billet aluminum suspension parts are beautiful.  Then
we went to the showroom and got a history lesson show and tell about the
Panteras, Mangusta, and Longchamp.  We finished up with a guided tour of
some of the key points of the design and upgrade to the Ultra Pantera.  The
Purple car was used as the illustrated guide.  The visit was finished when
Beverly came out to tell Gary that it was time to go to for about the
twentieth time.

My overall impressions:    What a GREAT day.  I saw more Panteras than I had
seen totally in my life.  I saw a lot of the mods that I am interested in.
I saw a big difference in two support companies that is definitely not
evident from their web pages.

Thanks to all that took time to spend with us.

Just rambling,
Jack Tunnell