[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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