[DeTomaso] Interesting Tidbit

dickruzzindesign dickruzzindesign at aol.com
Tue Aug 31 13:50:35 EDT 2010


I knew Herb Grasse fairly well.  He was going to Art Center when the Mangusta came out.  He could not afford one so he named his son Sterling (his favorite race car driver), Mangusta Grass.  While working at Ford Design he bought one and it turned out to have belonged to Cassius Clay.  It was black and Herb painted it McClaren orange.  He did the trim and wheels in a light gray.  It was a stunning color combination on a stunning car.

Herb came over one day to GM Design looking for a job, he had been fired from Ford for having parts for his car made in their shop, one piece was a Cobra style flip gas cap, that he installed on the Mangusta.

He put an ad in the Detroit phone book for car design, the only person in there looking for that kind of work.  He then started painting graphics on trailers, campers and cars in his garage at home to earn money.

One day his wife called him in for a phone call, someone was calling from the Detroit Airport, they found him in the phone book.
It was Malcolm Briklins right hand man.  Herb went to pick him up at the airport in the Mangusta.  Did he understand what they wanted to do?
I guess so, he was convinced before he met Herb.  The story of the Briklin goes from there.
--  
All the best,
DICK RUZZIN
_____________________________________________________________________
dickruzzinDESIGN at aol.com / Home: 313-824-0539 / Cell: 313-300-9558



More information about the DeTomaso mailing list