[DeTomaso] A haircut for Hugh....
Mike Drew
MikeLDrew at aol.com
Sun Jan 3 01:00:02 EST 2016
Somehow autocorrect changed Hugh at the end to Hughal???
Mike
Sent from my iPhone
On Jan 2, 2016, at 21:35, Mike Drew via DeTomaso <detomaso at poca.com> wrote:
> Hi guys,
> Today was a day intended for errands and small chores. Among the
> things I had to do was to drive to Travis Air Force Base (about 20-25
> minutes away) and get a haircut. The easy thing to do would be to just
> jump in one of my Sciroccos and zip out there. But I was thinking
> about Hugh, how much he appreciated his family's strong military
> heritage, and how much he enjoyed driving his Pantera, and decided that
> I would attempt to honor him in a very small way by taking my Pantera
> out there.
> The clutch is slipping pretty badly and I haven't had time to fix it
> yet (although I do have a new clutch disc in a box) so I have only
> driven the car a handful of times this year. Getting it out involved
> moving several cars, motorcycles, tools and debris, and a bunch of
> boxes (including the new clutch disc). It took some cranking but the
> engine fired up, initially running on only five or six cylinders, but
> after a few seconds it cleared its throat and idled at an impatient
> 1500 rpm.
> I slowly backed out of the garage, kicked it down to its normal 1000
> rpm idle and set off. The skies were leaden, although the rain that's
> supposed to happen for a full week isn't due to start until tomorrow. I
> revelled in the sound of the roller valvetrain thrashing away, the
> tactile feel of the Momo steering wheel, and the expansive view through
> the windscreen. After driving normal cars for a long time, one forgets
> how fantastic the view is to the front (and similarly, how challenging
> it is to back out of a tight space to the rear).
> I can't give the car more than about 15-20% throttle before the clutch
> slips, so it was a fairly ginger drive. However, it's amazing how fast
> you can go in a Pantera with almost no throttle application if you're
> just patient. Let it slowly gain revs and you can be moving along at
> quite a rate of knots before you know it, and because you aren't
> mashing the throttle to the mat, the acceleration is subtle and
> deceiving.
> My drive consists of a straight road alongside the edge of town for the
> first half, and then totally barren farm roads for the second half,
> arrow-straight with 15 mph 90-degree corners and formidable drainage
> ditches on each side, so this isn't the place for any sort of antics.
> Before long, I got to the base, and the young airman manning the gate
> had eyes sticking out on stalks--he'd never seen me or my Pantera (or
> any Pantera) before. So we had a brief conversation where I gave him a
> 30-second synopsis of the car, and he nodded with admiration.
> I parked in a distant spot, conveniently near an old WWII/Korean
> War-vintage C-54 that's on display in the middle of a roundabout, and
> took the opportunity to shoot a quick photo. (attached)
> When I emerged from the barber shop, it had become dark. There was no
> traffic on the country roads between the base and my town, and even
> driving gently so as to avoid clutch slippage, I was able to wick it up
> and cruise at 80-90 mph for a few minutes at a time. Once I hit town I
> settled down and just burbled back home.
> It's easy to become complacent about the Pantera in the garage, and to
> find excuses NOT to drive it. After all, it's almost always easier to
> take something else if you just have to get from point A to point B.
> And as often as not, there is some little thing wrong with the car that
> really 'needs' to be fixed, that can discourage you from taking it
> somewhere.
> But driving a Pantera is one of the most life-affirming things you can
> do, and even if it takes a little effort, it's always, always worth
> it. Each Pantera drive is a little special in its own way.
> This one was for you, Hugha|.
> Mike
> <MikePanteraandC-54.JPG>
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