[DeTomaso] GT5S Brakes

JDeRyke at aol.com JDeRyke at aol.com
Sun Oct 18 01:57:38 EDT 2009


In a message dated 10/17/09 4:15:51 PM, julian_kift at hotmail.com writes:

> So to what extent did Kirk 'build' the Amerisport cars? I always thought 
> that like modern day Superformance, Noble and the like Amerisport Panteras 
> came in as rolling chassis' sans engine and transaxle and that Kirk added 
> those and a few of his own touches?
> 
You'd have to sit down with Mr Evans for a couple of hours to learn of all 
the things on his beloved GT5-S that needed changing to be "legally 
compliant". At the time (early '80s), Kirk had to contend with a U.S bureaurcracy 
gone totally nuts in terms of smog laws. Remember the Porsche 956 fiasco? Bill 
Gates bought one brand new in Germany and a Federal team actually spent 
months examining Microsoft shipping records and prowling around Seattle trying 
to find where the car was hidden so they could confiscate and crush it as a 
threat to humanity. 
Most of Kirk's problems stemmed from trying to comply with ever-changing 
rules while still trying to offer the GT5-S as a running sports GT. For 
instance, there was the special bracket that holds the AC compressor, the 
alternator and a smog pump that worked with two catalytic converters. The air 
cleaner assembly and its vacuum valves was another. Nowadays, all this stuff is 
available mail-order but back then, trying to buy catalytic converters in 
quantity triggered federal investigations since the active ingedient- palladium- 
was a 'strategic material'. 
Kirk once mentioned that had he known what he was getting into, he never 
would have started the project. He was making weekly trips from Ohio to 
Washington D.C. while trying to run a very small not too profitable business. Note 
that according to the Feds, DeTomaso was simply a parts supplier and 
Amerisport was the manufacturer of record, responsible for everything- warranties, 
insurance, the legally required stocking of spare parts- the works. Not my 
idea of a fun project- J Deryke



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