[DeTomaso] RRORR vs. Mangusta 8MA898 Report... The Rest ofthe Story....

[MikeLDrew at aol.com]

In a message dated 10/20/07 1:13:59 PM, Pantera007 at sbcglobal.net writes:


> 
> Doop, I checked the wrong entry.
>   
>  I have 1294 as this one, (photo attached) also in the Registry.
>  So is this the same car?
> 
> 
>>>Yup, same one.   Freddie had been racing it hard, yet it was as rotton as 
a peach underneath--riddled with chassis rust.   George Gordon-Smith spared no 
expense in its restoration.   He had the goofy spoiler removed, but kept the 
big flares in the back.   He had custom wheels made, and made the unfortunate 
decision to have them made in 16-inch, meaning tire selection is practically 
nil these days.   

He had it painted an Aston Martin color, California Sage Green, which is 
absolutely beautiful.   It did prove to be a mistake however, because he was 
driving the car in a place where the whole damn country was California Sage Green, 
rendering himself literally invisible to other motorists.   After a few close 
calls he took to driving with the headlights on at all times.

He had a beautiful, one-off stainless steel 180-degree exhaust fitted, so it 
sounds exactly like a GT40--totally bitchin'.   The motor when he got the car 
was a very radical, full-race unit, so he had it detuned a bit to make it more 
driveable.   It has a 302 with SVO aluminum heads.

After banging the bellhousing once too many times, he took a rather radical 
step and had the entire engine and gearbox raised up two inches.   While this 
didn't do any favors in the handling department, it undoubtedly delivered some 
peace of mind.   He really had little other choice, because he wasn't able to 
buy tires tall enough to lift the car up where it was when it was stock.

Mike

> 


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