[DeTomaso] The Vallelunga in the barn....

LS lashdeep at yahoo.com
Tue Oct 2 18:11:22 EDT 2012


Awesome story Mike...keep them coming!

Let us know if he buys it!


 



central 
wines-spirits   est 1934


625 e street nw

washington, dc 20004

centralwines.com


facebook.com/CentralLiquors 


202-737-2800




________________________________
 From: "MikeLDrew at aol.com" <MikeLDrew at aol.com>
To: detomaso at realbig.com 
Sent: Tuesday, October 2, 2012 5:53 PM
Subject: [DeTomaso] The Vallelunga in the barn....
 
Hi guys,

So, I had a long trek from San Francisco to New York, then an overnight 
flight to Milan.   I'm here serving as a seeing-eye dog for Fred Phillips, 
owner of the Mangusta Spyder, De Tomaso Competizione Sport 2000, De Tomaso/BRM 
1-liter sports prototype, and a two-headlight Mangusta.   He wants to go 
visit RS Corse and De Tomaso and see what he can pry loose from their 
collection, whether it's cars, parts or both, and wanted my help with that project.

He also brought along a guy named Les Burd, who is a big-time Abarth guy.  
Fred has a few Abarths and is seeking more, as well as a ton of parts and 
stories and memorabelia etc.

Our first stop from Milan on the way to Modena was an Abarth shop about 
halfway in between--a guy who is sort of like the Wilkinson or Hall of the 
Abarth world.   Oddly, he's a Welshman of Italian heritage who moved to Italy in 
1979 and never left, so he has a strong English accent yet is totally 
'native' Italian.

While checking out his cars and parts, he casually mentioned that one of 
his friends in his town (population less than 2000) happened to own a 
Vallelunga.   Fred's eyes popped out of his head and he reached for his checkbook!  
Calls were made, and we drove three blocks to check it out.

We pulled up in front of a large medieval stone house, whose flat front 
faces the street with shuttered windows.   There was a single archway with a 
pair of ancient wood and iron doors, with iron gates behind them.   We went 
through the gates into a giant courtyard filled with fruit trees.   The house 
was shaped like a U, with the living quarters facing the street, and one arm 
of the U being stables, and the other a barn, all made of stone.   Inside 
the dimly lit barn were a few motorcycles, a hot-rodded Ferrari 308, a Lotus 
Exige, and a Vallelunga, DT0148, very much a driver.   It seems to have 
original paint, and is mostly stock other than the fact that the stock engine 
and exhaust are sitting on a wooden crate (more parts inside), and a Lotus 
twin-cam lies nestled between the frame rails.

The paint is crazed and chipped from 45+ years of hard use, but the car is 
all there.   It has a couple of NACA ducts cut into the sides to feed engine 
and trans oil coolers, but otherwise appears completely standard--which is 
to say, fantastic.

It definitely needs a full restoration, but if the price is right, Fred 
might take the project on.   Negotiations have yet to commence, but will soon, 
I think....

What are the odds of standing in a little village talking with an Abarth 
guy, and finding out that a Vallelunga is lurking in a nearby barn?   Not 
high, I imagine!

Now in the hotel, and tomorrow going to meet the De Tomasos and get the 
latest scoop on the goings-on over here.....

Mike
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