[DeTomaso] Race Mangusta on Ebay

[MikeLDrew at aol.com]

In a message dated 6/6/12 14 55 27, julian_kift at hotmail.com writes:


> 
> I gave it some serious consideration previously, it is a beautiful car but 
> price is way out of my range especially for a car that doesn't really have 
> any real coveted racing history, other than an SCCA logbook (which I have 
> for just about all my cars so I can run local SCCA events).
> 
> There's lots of photos at Chuck's registry, including it's demise during 
> the Cannonball Run in the late 90's (?) at which time it was still a road 
> registered car. Most of the modifications appear to be mor modern. I'm not 
> sure why it is now reputedly getting coveted FIA Papers.
> 
> http://www.provamo.com/Members/Registry/RegistryImages/R8MA1212/R8MA1212.as
> p
> 

...and there is some oddness about the SCCA logbook too.   Supposedly this 
car ran events way back in the day, in Florida.   However, a Canadian 
Mangusta owner did some research on this car, and thanks to Canada's more liberal 
laws, he was able to do a title/ownership history that shows that this car 
lived its whole life in Ontario, Canada, prior to its fateful drive to the 
USA where the owner put it on its roof.   It still had Canada plates at the 
time; he was driving it to California in the hopes of selling it, apparently, 
and just wanted to get one last good drive in before doing so.

There is an SCCA logbook from Florida for a Mangusta with the same VIN as 
the car in question.   But I wonder if they gooned up the VIN when they 
filled out the logbook, back in the day?   Especially since there were one or two 
other Mangustas that were racing at the time in the south, one prepared in 
Atlanta, and the other was photographed in Mid-Ohio but its origin is 
unknown to me.   Thus I can't help but wonder if one of those two cars is the car 
that this SCCA logbook belongs to.

I don't think the current seller is trying to pull a fast one--I've met him 
and he's a super guy.   I just wonder if perhaps there isn't a glitch 
somewhere that is affording a street car from Ontario a race history in 
Florida???

I think it's all rather academic anyway--the car has been seriously 
modified and improved, and bears little resemblence to its former self.   It's a 
great car, and it is what it is--whatever that is! :>)

Mike