[DeTomaso] What I've been doing this week....

Tue Aug 30 14:56:08 EDT 2011

Nice write up Mike,
I always enjoy reading about your adventures.
And now we understand how you manage to fly around the globe so often!
$300 for the plane tickets....How come?
Cheers Bjoern

On Tue, Aug 30, 2011 at 8:42 PM, <MikeLDrew at aol.com> wrote:

>
> In a message dated 8/24/11 23 08 58, charlesmccall at gmail.com writes:
>
>
> > What????
> >
> >  ONE MEASLY PHOTO and one line???
> >
> >  Inquiring minds want to know how it was!
> >
> >
>
> Great, is how it was!!!
>
> Stephen Burke, an Irish owner of a blue GT5-S and regular participant in
> Charlie McCall's Euro road trips, took it upon himself to organize the
> event
> on behalf of the DTDC, the De Tomaso Driver's Club of Great Britain.   The
> drive wasn't tied to any specific event, but instead was just a gentle
> driving
> holiday through the Irish countryside.
>
> Here was the rundown of the planned events that Steve sent to all of us:
>
> De Tomaso Ireland Trip 2011- 4 night stay
>
> The trip will commence on Sunday August 21st with an overnight stay in
> Waterford, at the Faithlegg House Hotel, www.faithlegg.com   For those
> arriving
> early on the Sunday, there is a leisure and swimming pool, and golf course.
> We will dine at the hotel, on Sunday night, and depart on Monday morning
> after breakfast, to drive towards the west coast.
>
> Along the way we will pass through County Tipperary, where we will visit
> the Rock of Cashel, www.cashel.ie one of the most famous and iconic
> attractions in the country.
>
> We will then drive to the village of Bunratty, County Clare, where we will
> stay for two nights in the Bunratty Manor Hotel, a small family run
> establishment, known for its friendly service and excellent food.
> http://www.bunrattymanor.ie/
>
>  Spa and swimming can be easily arranged in the neighboring Castle Hotel
> for guests. We will dine on the first night in the Manor Hotel, and the
> second
> night, Tuesday 23rd, we will attend the Medieval Banquet, in the 15th
> century Bunratty Castle, which begins with a mead reception, followed by a
> four
> course meal with wine, followed by traditional music and entertainment.
>
> During our stay in Bunratty, we will also visit the spectacular Cliffs of
> Moher (seen in the opening scenes of the movie, The Princess Bride). There
> is
> much to do here for those wishing to explore, the beautiful city of Galway
> is just a 50 minute drive, or stroll the heritage park, and visit Blarney
> Wollen Mills. Bunratty is also home to Durty Nellies, probably the worlds
> most
> famous pub, with great food   and night time craic.
> www.shannonheritage.com
>
> We depart Bunratty on Wednesday 23rd   after breakfast to drive to
> Tullamore County Offaly, where we visit the Tullamore Dew Heritage Centre,
>   home of
> the world famous Tullamore Dew Irish Whiskey. Following a lunch in
> Tullamore, we will then take a short drive to visit the site of
> Clonmacnoise, the
> oldest monastic site in the country and a stunning place to visit.
>
> We will then continue to Maynooth, to spend the final night at the Carton
> House Hotel, a beautiful estate, our stay here will include evening dining.
> www.cartonhouse.com.
>
> =====
>
> So, that was the agenda, and that's pretty much how it played out.   We
> wound up going to the Medieval Banquet on the first night instead of the
> second
> in Bunratty, and we skipped Clonmacnoise because the roads were all chewed
> up and very Pantera-unfriendly.
>
> There were four Panteras taking part on the full tour (Steven Burke, Roger
> and Melanie Coates, Roger and Thelma Brotton, and Geoff Peters and a girl
> he'd met the night before he left home, and broke up with the day he
> returned
> home!).   A couple of Irish Pantera owners whose cars were in bits joined
> us
> in their cars, along with an English couple who sold their GT5-S last fall
> to Andy May, but they have since regretted it and they like hanging with
> the
> De Tomaso crowd.   From the USA, Lori and I were joined by Pat Mical and
> his buddy Seth.   Oh, and Steven's sister, son, and one of his friends and
> his
> wife and etc. and so forth joined us as well, so our group ranged up and
> down in size, roughly 20 people most of the time.
>
> Ireland is a delightful country, although not particularly well-suited for
> driving a Pantera in many places.   The roads are impossibly narrow
> (narrower than rural England even), and in fact when we encountered a tour
> bus going
> the other way on a narrow lane, Steven curbed one of his rear Campagnolo
> wheels on a stone wall while squeezing past at walking pace.
>
> This was very much a holiday tour; our days didn't begin until 10:30 a.m.
> We'd drive for a couple of hours, see something incredible and amazing,
> then have a late lunch in a small cafe or pub, then get to our hotel around
> 4
> or 4:30 in the afternoon.   Then *everybody* would go take a nap!   We'd
> rise
> for dinner around 7:30, eat for hours, then find our way to a pub, where
> old Irishmen sang songs and played music.   We all got to know one another
> as
> the event went on, and sometimes we wouldn't get to bed until 2 or 3:00
> a.m.!
>
> Repeat for four days. :>)
>
> The weather was unusually cooperative--partly cloudy with temps in the low
> 60s, and only a brief shower on the last day.   The locals were amazed at
> ho
> w great the weather was, for such a long duration.   Lori and I took credit
> for bringing it with us from California. :>)
>
> On the first night in Bunratty, a local who didn't have time to take part
> on the tour, drove his Pantera and his mechanic drove his Bora, and he hung
> out with us for a few hours.   As it turns out, I had carried exactly ONE
> Pantera part with me, by accident--somehow I had one of Curt Hall's
> headlight/gas tank door bumpers in my pocket.   Turns out this guy needed a
> gas tank
> door bumper!
>
> The Panteras all ran flawlessly for the four days of the tour.   Geoff's
> car conked out on the way to the ferry on the way home; the electric fuel
> pump
> was blowing fuses.   Saint Roger Coates stopped to help him (and missed his
> own ferry in the process) but they managed to get him going.   It failed
> three more times in England and he finally gave up and towed the car home,
> and
> changed the pump the next day (Holley Blue, was making expensive noises
> before he left so he had a spare in-hand).
>
> After the tour ended, Lori and I had a full open day in Dublin, and Tony
> Condren, one of the Irish Pantera guys, took the day off and gave us a tour
> of
> the city, and also showed us his Pantera restoration in progress.   His
> goal is to drive it to Le Mans Classic next year!
>
> We then flew to England and spent a few days visiting with George
> Gordon-Smith, and some of the other UK Pantera folks.   Sunday some of us
> went to
> Wings and Wheels (http://www.wingsandwheels.net/), a combination air show
> and
> car show held at the airport where "Top Gear" is filmed.   What makes it
> unique is that the runway is opened up to the participating cars, who just
> drive
> down the runway at whatever speed they feel like!   Geoff's Pantera was
> running nicely (he also found a broken spark plug while working on the fuel
> pump, replacing that made it run much smoother).   He took Lori for two
> runs
> down the runway, side-by-side with a new Ferrari 458 Italia, reaching 170
> mph
> before the braking zone.
>
> No helmets!
>
> Cars of all vintages were taking part, including a grand prix race car from
> 1913 and several aero-engined monsters, including the incredible
> Napier-Railton from the Brooklands Museum.   This car is powered by a
> 24-liter (!)
> W-12 (!!!) and is simply stunning.
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napier-Railton
>
> Watching it tear down the runway at 140 mph was amazing!
>
> The day ended with a fine meal and we then flew home yesterday morning,
> managing to get seats in first class on the London-to-LAX flight.   Those
> seats
> normally cost $11,000 each; we paid about $300 instead.
>
> Nice. :>)
>
> Hats off to Stephen, who pulled off his first-ever event without a single
> hitch.   Due to the depressed Irish economy, it was incredibly inexpensive
> too--shockingly so in fact.   When all was said and done, we were all
> amazed
> at how much we got for so little.   There's no way that sort of thing could
> be pulled off in the USA for less than three times the cost.
>
> He has ambitions of hosting another, similar tour in a couple of years.
> Plan on being there!
>
> Roger (Coates), how about sharing your reflections on the event?
>
> Mike
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