[DeTomaso] After three months and six days, PANDOR IS BACK!

[Christopher Kimball]

I finally got the call today from the body shop--they told me my car was done!

I immediately went to the shop, got the car and drove it home.  The paint work is absolutely beautiful and the car seems to run great, although the shop is only two miles from my house.  I hope to give it a longer run over the next couple of days, and with luck, a car show in Bellevue on Saturday (about an hour's drive each way).

The lower rear deck shock mount on the passenger side  gave up as soon as I got home, probably another casualty of what went on in the mechanic's shop.  The bracket was on its last legs anyway, though, so I took the opportunity to fabricate two steel brackets which I mounted on the surface of the engine bay, just back a bit from where the original ones poked up from underneath.

Tomorrow I'm going to check the coolant to be sure the system's been sufficiently burped, check a few other things, and if I have time, install the new fuse box I've had sitting in my garage for the last three months.

Soon I hope to have the Panteras Northwest guys help me give it a complete check-up, just to be sure there's nothing wrong I don't know about.

By the way, if any of you are going to be around Lakewood, WA on Sunday, I'm organizing a great drive around some fantastic, curvy roads in the Lakewood/Olympia area, starting a 2 PM.  Let me know if you're interested.  I'll actually be able to drive my Pantera for this event (finally)!

Thanks for all your support, helpful suggestions and encouragement over the last three months.  I feel as if I have an extended family of a few thousand people.

Sincerely,

Chris Kimball
#3846