[DeTomaso] GT5-S in DC

[MikeLDrew at aol.com]

In a message dated 4/16/13 16 41 36, mbefthomas at comcast.net writes:


> Is it yellow with a blue interior?
> 

>>>No, check the link--it's white on white.

The yellow/blue (an awkward combination) GT5-S was a gray-market Euro 
import.  It was for sale in Conn. for many years before being purchased by Bruce 
Adair in Richmond, CA (near San Francisco).   It lived out here for several 
years but he could never register it here.   It went up for sale at 
Speciality Sales; Chuck Melton and I went to look at it on behalf of a prospective 
buyer in Canada, and told him that the car drove well, but generally was in 
VERY rough condition and dramatically overpriced, and we urged him to either 
pass on it entirely, or at least offer substantially less, since it needed 
so much fixing.

He bought it anyway, paying full asking price (maybe even more, as I think 
they raised the price at some point?)   It then went to Brooke Pitt's 
fantastic restoration facility outside of Salt Lake City where (I am presuming 
now) it started consuming more cash at a prodigious rate (it really was a rough 
car).   At some point the new owner ran out of steam, and the car was 
offered up for sale in a semi-completed state.   I don't know the status of it at 
the moment, whether it ever even made it across the border to Canada, or if 
it's still sitting in Brooke's shop.   Is it still for sale, or has it 
sold?

Beats me....perhaps Chuck knows?

That car was a very viable candidate for restoration, and still would 
be...at the right price.   The nice thing is, genuine GT5-S values are on the 
march.   One could arguably justify paying too much for a genuine GT5-S, 
confident in the knowledge that the car would become worth what you paid for it, 
SOMEDAY at least.   

The same can't be said for conversions done to early cars--their values 
seem to remain rather fixed, and generally substantially lower than the cost to 
create them.

Mike