Spa trip 2011
Again this year McCall European Custom Tours had put together a great week for us DeTomaso fans. There's so much to tell, here's a subset that I wanted to share...
And I was fortunate enough to participate for the whole week. I had planned (actually that was what kept me going through the winter in my unheated garage) to participate in my new Pantera. It had worked perfectly, even the quite powerful engine seemed settled and happy in the engine bay. No temperament, just started and drove well as soon as it was warm enough. But 8 days before parting, I took the last test trip, planning to park it when I got back, wash and wax, and put a cover on it so it would be ready. As those of you who have followed my post called “Dropped a valve” know, that trip ended in tears. Dock-dock-dock etc.. I spent most of the next week trying to get it fixed on time, the local machinist came through, but the normally reliable FedEx boys got confused by a strike in France and sent my package with parts from the US onto Stockholm etc. It arrived 3 working days too late, and too late for my trip to Spa.
Fortunately I have another DeTomaso, I think everybody should have two… So it was time to get the Longchamp ready. Since it’s my daily driver, getting it ready meant filling it with gas, and maybe check the oil. Trunk space was a problem, there’s so much that things would move around, so I brought some extra tools and a camping chair, rain coat etc.. And lots of CDs to amuse me while cruising in style, speed and luxury across Europe...
I was supposed to leave early Sunday 29/5, but my son won all his tennis matches the day before, so I stayed home to watch his semifinal Sunday at 8:00. Priorities, priorities… So I left at 9:30, drove right onto the Denmark-Germany ferry, hardly touched the brakes.
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