Longchamp tires

Hi Mikael,
I put Pirelli P5's 215/70VR15 on mine in around 1989 and they are still on there. Have been garaged all that time, and only done around 10,000km. I inspect them very closely for any sign of perishing/cracking and they are still good, but still I will be faced with a similar question soon.

At the time there was little choice in VR rated tyres - only Michelin which was 50% more expensive than the Pirellis. I think the originals were English made Avon Turbospeed 70's, which I was told used to be fitted to Rolls Royces etc.

I still have one of the original 36 year old Avons on a spare but very corroded Campy rim. (not usable)

The owner's handbook just says to use 215/70VR15.

best of luck choosing,
Peter

Thanks Peter

I ended up ordering the same tires as I have, I liked them. Only caveat is if they are 2-4 years old, my vendor says there's a risk of that, then I'll send them back, and find another solution.

BTW Peter, are we the only sensible people here, having a Pantera and Longchamp, and both running?

Yes very sensible Mikael, but unfortunately it is only my Longchamp that runs at the moment. Blue car has several issues which I have been working through, but we left the city 2 years ago and moved to a farm, and the work here is unending. So little things like getting the headlight motors sorted, fixing a flooding Holley, etc etc have prevented me getting the Pantera on the road.

The green one needs rather a lot more work. It took me a couple of years to gather up a selection of body parts and panels to carry out the repairs. lots of parts from 4 different places in the US, including PI, Kirk Evans, Ron (accobra) and Ron McCall so now all I need is the time to get it done.

In the meantime I have been doing a lot of work on our other vehicles, practicing my welding skills ready to take on the challenge of the green car.

I'll do lots of pictures once it commences.

regards
Peter

I could probably fix the Holley for you, if you swing by Denmark...

Really like the colour, it'll be on my short list when the Pantera changes colour. About the green one, I know Roland in Germany has many parts, if you don't have it all. It looks like it should have its brakes fixed also

So let's have a poll, how many on this forum has two or more privately owned running and registered DeTomasos?

BTW, never having been to Aus, my view of the country is from Mad Max 1, which I've seen 50 times. Your ranch would fit right in

Roland in Germany has now three running and private registered De Tomasos.
Longchamp GTS
Pantera GTS
Mini DeTomaso Turbo
The Group 3 is still in parts

I recalled one tire option we did not canvas earlier. Saw this Rolls in Dubai a while back. 70 series 15 inch tires, but they may be a bit noisier than the Pirellis. The Arabs do like to go off road through the desert.

The flooding Holley has been a time waster. Its a 4150 double pumper. The accelerator pump nozzles on the secondaries continue to discharge fuel after the engine stops cranking. I put a kit through the carb (Barry Grant kit) and the problem persists. I need to check the fuel pump pressure and the floats again but need to find a day to play with it. Worst case I can grab the carb off the green car which runs well, but I'd rather leave that one alone.

I do like your website and its description of tuning a Holley, most helpful.

Peter

Michelin WXW 215/15 VR. Accept no substitudes. Transformed the handling on my car.

Hi Jani
What tires did you have before?

Rock hard Pirelli´s from late eighties.. So, any tires would´ve trasformed the handling. But in any case, I´ve been extremly happy with the Michelins. They have stiff sidewalls, are the OEM tires for the car, and they look good.

Sure they're OEM?

Never mind, I've ordered the Pirellis now, and they're Italian, which doesn't hurt.

At least they were OEM for the prototipo. It had even the sidewall texts painted yellow to highlight it. The spare in my 1975 champ is a WXW too.

The Michelins may well be the OEM's. When I bought my car in 1988 it had 4 Avons and an old part worn Michelin as spare. I threw the Michelin away as it was very hard by then, so I suspect it may have been from when car was new. (ie by then 14 years old)

Peter

Hi Mikael
I have 5 detomaso's
1983 longchamp Spyder
1982 GT4 Pantera
1985 GT5 Pantera
1986 GT5S Pantera
1991 SI Pantera
I am looking for a Mangusta to add the collection

Cheers
Joe