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

[Bill Lewis]

     "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."         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Mike, when you do the article for Profiles, be sure and photoshop the picture:  Night time...thunder, lightning, rain!    "It was a dark and rainy night...Igor opened the ancient wood door!"> From: MikeLDrew at aol.com
> Date: Tue, 2 Oct 2012 17:53:49 -0400
> To: detomaso at realbig.com
> 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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