DeTomaso Mailing List: May 99, Message #136

I got in touch with a French guy last night who met Jack DeRyke at Vegas, Jack got his phone number and e-mailed it to me, and after a little phone tag we finally managed to get to chat for an hour or so.

He is a pilot for Air France, who has a '71 Pantera. He's moving at the end of May from Marseille to Paris, when he will begin a complete restoration of said car. He is already in touch with several of the American vendors, spent a good deal of time talking with Gary Hall and has his catalog (parts are significantly cheaper to buy in the US and have shipped over than going through DeTomaso France). As he is a pilot for Air France, he has plenty of both time and money to devote to this project. He'll be doing all the work himself, kind of a hobby of his. He plans major upgrades in just about every area - brakes, suspension, and motor. 

He doesn't yet have e-mail, but expects to have it in a month or two. I told him about this list and its value, particularly to someone going through a restoration. He is torn between rebuilding the Cleveland and going to a Windsor. I told him about the several people who have "philosophied" about this in the past and the sites available with hints for this.

We're temporarily planning to get together and meet in Le Mans the same weekend as the British DeTomaso Club invades France for the 24-hours of LeMans.  Anyone else coming over for this? Never been there myself, it ought to be pretty interesting to begin with, but to go there with a dozen British Panteras and  a couple French guys ought to be a good time. (although the British and French haven't always been the best of friends, could this prove once again that the Pantera is the "international peacemaker"?) 

Charlie McCall
1972 Pre-L
#3847
Self-appointed DeTomaso Ambassador to France