DeTomaso Mailing List: November 99, Message #382

What were the car weights?

-----Original Message-----
From: MikeLDrew@aol.com <MikeLDrew@aol.com>
To: Multiple recipients of list <detomaso@realbig.com>
Date: Sunday, November 14, 1999 4:40 AM
Subject: Sacto Tech Session report


>Hi guys,
>
>Just got home from Rick Moseley's house in Sacramento, site of the first
>full-up Gold Country Panteras tech session.
>
>This event really came together more or less by itself.  Initially, I alone
>was scheduled to go up to Rick's and help him install his new/used Wilwood
>brake system (ex-Chuck Engles.)
>
>List guy and new Pantera owner Piccolo Pete down in LeMoore, CA (three
hours
>south) wanted to have some experienced eyeballs look over his new purchase,
>so he and his buddy Derek (also interested in getting one for himself)
>arranged to drive up and join us.  Once word got out, several other
>Sacramento club members decided to come too.
>
>Next thing you know, we had a party on our hands!  Three Panteras present,
>plus my GT-350 replica.  I still have Gary Roys' digital scales, and he
>fortunately left explicit instructions for chassis setup, so we dialed in
two
>of the Panteras, and weighed the other cars just for grins.
>
>Also present was another pilot from my squadron who's starting to hanker
for
>a Pantera.  This guy was smart enough to invest in Qualcom back in '95 when
>it was trading for $12 a share.  Yesterday it closed out at $375 a share,
>which is pretty damn good return on your investement no matter how you look
>at it!  So he's looking to turn some of that profit into Italian garage
>sculpture.  We were interested in checking out his '85 Corvette which
looked
>virtually showroom new.
>
>Actually, the demographics were somewhat similar to the PCNC sessions but
on
>a smaller scale--there was one brand-new owner there with his car to learn
>about it, two would-be owners there to learn about the cars in general, one
>guy who just likes to lean on the workbench with a soda in hand and watch
the
>young guys work (and periodically slide a jack stand underneath a car
>supported only by a hydraulic jack, lest we get squished), one guy with a
>beautiful car who doesn't do major work on it, wanting something minor
done,
>one experienced mechanic about to undertake an ambitious job on his own
car,
>and one semi-experienced and semi-capable mechanic (me) there to lend a
hand.
>
>The weather was super, and the camaraderie was great too.  Rick managed to
>get 90% of his brake system installation done (brake lines?  We need brake
>lines?) and a few other minor jobs as well.  I managed to again bleed
>profusely, a virtual necessity whenever I work on a Pantera.  (Note to
self:
>When dropping heavy wrenches, it is NOT a good idea to have your face
>positioned directly underneath said falling wrench.)  Pete got to find out
>what lived behind his taillights (lots and lots of dirt and leaves), and a
>minor tweak of his decklid rubber bumpers got his decklid sitting squarely.
>
>(His story is pretty neat by the way--he well deserves the Big Balls award
>for the year!  He surfed the internet, found a Pantera for sale at a
>dealership in Missouri and purchased it the next day, sight unseen!!!!
Lucky
>for him he found what must be the most honest used car salesman on the
>planet, because the car is exactly what it was purported to be, and was
>offered and sold at an extremely fair price.  It's a rust-free driver that
>needs a few minor things (new radiator, steering rack bushing, a light bulb
>here and there) but is otherwise in pretty damn good shape.  The brand-new
>engine breathing through GTS exhausts sounded stout too, although the fact
>that his Hall Big Throat headers were GLOWING RED after the engine had been
>running on fast idle for a few minutes makes us think the timing could use
a
>little tweak!)
>
>All in all, a great day.  You'd be amazed how much more fun it is to wrench
>on your Pantera when there's one or two others in the driveway and a
>half-dozen guys hanging out, shooting the breeze and fetching tools (and
>bandages.)  You don't have to have a formal club to make something like
this
>happen either; witness Mike Dailey's success recently in Atlanta, and Chuck
>Engles' social gatherings in Oklahoma City.
>
>If you know of other owners in your area, you owe it to yourselves to get
>together once in awhile.  Have a cooler filled with beer, some warm coals
>going, pick up the phone and cold-call somebody.  It's a safe bet you'll
have
>a happening of your own before too long!
>
>Mike
>