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

[CharlesMcCall]

Mike - could you share some pictures? I've been to Ireland once, and can't
even begin to imagine driving a Pantera there due to the narrow roads. Those
who haven't seen the roads, with the stone walls lining both sides, can't
begin to imagine it. Two bicycles passing each other would be tough!

 

I'd love to see some of the sites... Ireland is a beautiful country

 

From: MikeLDrew at aol.com [mailto:MikeLDrew at aol.com] 
Sent: martes, 30 de agosto de 2011 20:43
To: charlesmccall at gmail.com
Cc: detomaso at realbig.com
Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] What I've been doing this week....

 


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 how
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