What an adventure. Have a blast, and good luck.
Rocky
quote:Originally posted by No Quarter:
My view while eating
I recognize that lake! Here's a picture of a much-younger Mike Drew and Charlie McCall, having lunch next to that lake. This was during the International DeTomaso meeting organized by the Factory in 2001. What a beautiful location!
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Hi Mikael, if you change the oil on the C6 I am sure you know it has to be atf type F (or G) not GM dextron etc. Might be hard to find in Italy nowadays 
Mikael,
Thanks for sharing your story with us. I hope you are able to get the noise completely resolved and safely on your way. Keep up the posts if you can, and Safe travels!
Mark
Thanks for sharing your story with us. I hope you are able to get the noise completely resolved and safely on your way. Keep up the posts if you can, and Safe travels!
Mark
Great story, keep them coming.The prototype, well never new it excisted and not my cup of thee. It is so far of the tjaarda design. Just my one and a half cent
I'm thoroughly enjoying your story! It's making me excited for my trip next weekend through the Alps, Lake Como, Milan, and Florence. I may stop by and say hello to Santiago..but not sure they'd appreciate the late model 911 I'll be driving! I last visited the factory in 1999 but never got to see the Pantera prototype. Wouldn't mind seeing it now! 
Please keep the updates coming!
Buy it!
quote:Originally posted by No Quarter:
Buy it!
never a auto in my garage ! I want to shift
Oh no, not another one! You and Stick-shift McCall
I never ceases to amaze me how modern car owners want to elminate any small action with e.g. power windows and automatic climate control, but the most annoying action driving any car off track is shifting gears.
I never ceases to amaze me how modern car owners want to elminate any small action with e.g. power windows and automatic climate control, but the most annoying action driving any car off track is shifting gears.
So, I’m now back on the roads after 3 days of vacation. One day of “sitting down by my window, looking out at the rain” (Joplin, Ball and Chain), and two good days where the main decision was at the beach to be in shade or sun, sun or shade. And “another beer, signor?”. Prego!
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Today Saturday it was time to leave. I was driving from Venice area to Nice where I was to pick up the wife tomorrow morning. Originally I had planned to visit 3 of the previous owners (of the Longchamp), a kind of family tree for the Longchamp. All were more or less on the route, max 50 km detour. I hadn’t talked to them, maybe they wouldn’t be home, maybe they wouldn’t talk to me, but maybe they would have thought it was fun that a Dane drove down to see them. I’ll never know, because I now had other plans.
I was driving back to Modena (you can never go to often to Modena, right?), to have the transmission oil changed. The last attempt to get the noise reduced/eliminated. They had gotten super oil for me, I had been warned it was expensive, but at this point, I would have paid almost anything.
So I arrived at 10:00 where I left on Tuesday. Raffaele hadn’t arrived yet, so I could only “talk” to the two mechanics there that didn’t speak English. We got my Longchamp on the lift, and as he raised it, he pointed to some rust low on the front fender, then he pointed to the totally bare sandblasted classic car right besides us and said something. The meaning was clear, why don’t you restore that nice Longchamp? Or maybe even, I can do it for you?
Raffaele arrived, had spent the morning at the company that has bought all Ansa’s old fabrication equipment, testing out a DeTomaso exhausts. His job sounds a lot more interesting than mine I must say.
Well they emptied the pan, then took the pan off, had no new filter so it was cleaned in gasoline and with compressed air, reinstalled, pan on. All this time at least 2 people were working on the car, during my stay there 4 additional people arrived, they started working on my car as well, mostly drying of oil and dirt. All smoked cigarettes most of the time. I don’t think they were paid, they just love cars and are interested. My car was lowered, oil added, and while they checked the level the first time, I counted 6 Italians staring into my engine room. Raffaele asked about my ignition, told him about ICE and how you can change timing curve with a switch, and that it was Australian. Then we talked CHI heads, also Australian, CHI apparently does custom work for RSCorse. They also do iron heads, which is necessary in Group 4. We agreed that the Aussies are doing good work on Clevelands.
So time for first test, Raffaele by my side. Noise again lower but not gone. Back, check level, add oil, test drive. They had me do that 3 times to be sure, I doubt any Danish mechanic would have spent time and time to get it right like that. Of course they were all on my payroll I guess, but the amount I ended up paying, if you deduct the oil, there’s not much left for 2-6 people. On a Saturday.
I was driving back to Modena (you can never go to often to Modena, right?), to have the transmission oil changed. The last attempt to get the noise reduced/eliminated. They had gotten super oil for me, I had been warned it was expensive, but at this point, I would have paid almost anything.
So I arrived at 10:00 where I left on Tuesday. Raffaele hadn’t arrived yet, so I could only “talk” to the two mechanics there that didn’t speak English. We got my Longchamp on the lift, and as he raised it, he pointed to some rust low on the front fender, then he pointed to the totally bare sandblasted classic car right besides us and said something. The meaning was clear, why don’t you restore that nice Longchamp? Or maybe even, I can do it for you?
Raffaele arrived, had spent the morning at the company that has bought all Ansa’s old fabrication equipment, testing out a DeTomaso exhausts. His job sounds a lot more interesting than mine I must say.
Well they emptied the pan, then took the pan off, had no new filter so it was cleaned in gasoline and with compressed air, reinstalled, pan on. All this time at least 2 people were working on the car, during my stay there 4 additional people arrived, they started working on my car as well, mostly drying of oil and dirt. All smoked cigarettes most of the time. I don’t think they were paid, they just love cars and are interested. My car was lowered, oil added, and while they checked the level the first time, I counted 6 Italians staring into my engine room. Raffaele asked about my ignition, told him about ICE and how you can change timing curve with a switch, and that it was Australian. Then we talked CHI heads, also Australian, CHI apparently does custom work for RSCorse. They also do iron heads, which is necessary in Group 4. We agreed that the Aussies are doing good work on Clevelands.
So time for first test, Raffaele by my side. Noise again lower but not gone. Back, check level, add oil, test drive. They had me do that 3 times to be sure, I doubt any Danish mechanic would have spent time and time to get it right like that. Of course they were all on my payroll I guess, but the amount I ended up paying, if you deduct the oil, there’s not much left for 2-6 people. On a Saturday.
So, there was nothing more that could be done, I had to get on my way and hope for the best. Grazie and Arrivederci. So off I went, towards Nice. I passed the Lamborghini factory, saw it 5 years ago, and besides, it looked closed, I saw a couple in a red Miata standing looking through the closed gates. Or maybe Lamborghini doesn’t allow Japs inside?
I walked around a bit, many good parts outside, e.g. two Longchamp front fenders, would they fit in my back seat? No, I don’t do that, look but not steal. But I did sms to Raffaele to not throw them out, I might want them. Also a whole rear third of a Longchamp and two whole Longchamp frames. I could start building a new from the parts there.
Next I wanted a decent lunch. Soon entered the motorway, stopped at a Café/gas station, went inside. Waitress spoke Italian, me English. I asked for shrimp salad. No finito. OK, other salad? No finito. OK, burger? No finito. A pattern was starting to emerge… Then everything went black around me, then I realized they were closing for lunch. I repeat: A Motorway Café that was closing for lunch. Bella Italia. I got a jambon et funghi sandwich and a small beer. And I then had to sit outside on the pavement in the shade and eat my well-deserved lunch. At least I had a good view. To the left:
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Then I had 450 km to go. After driving for a while, I found a good speed on the straight Italian Autostradas. I had taken my shoes of, driving barefoot is not something I’ve done for years (what’s that strange smell?). Hot outside, A/C on low fan and one third cool managed well, quite comfortable. I looked at the GPS that said 3½ hour till destination. In a classic car in the motherland. I thought:”Great!”
When I started to go south towards Genova, the scenery changed again. No more flat plains and straight roads, now it snaked itself through the mountains, almost like a video game. Not like in Austria where speeds often were low, but at motorway speeds, brigde, tunnel, bridge etc.
When I started to go south towards Genova, the scenery changed again. No more flat plains and straight roads, now it snaked itself through the mountains, almost like a video game. Not like in Austria where speeds often were low, but at motorway speeds, brigde, tunnel, bridge etc.
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