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ARTICLE - History of Our Mangusta by Gary Bartley
Background of 8MA-898: I was looking for a Pantera, I really was. Like many, I had admired them since they were first introduced but had never taken the plunge. I had even driven one in Houston about 10 years ago and saved the photographs and specs. of another in Cleveland, Ohio that I had backed out of buying a while back. Finally, I had bitten the emotional bullet and was ready… I thought. I had done my research on the web and was searching eBay for likely candidates. A GTS in Houston with a Le Mans history slipped through my fingers due to indecision. It went to California, as I understand. I was the high bidder on another Pantera that didn’t meet reserve. I had discussed this car with John Taphorn, who was very helpful and I decided to let it pass even though the seller offered to take my price. John also encouraged me to join The Pantera Club of America, which I did. And then this 1970 Mangusta showed up, Item number 4508004557. A friend of mine in Houston who is really into old cars started telling me about Mangustas and generally encouraging me to make a bid. Back on the web for more research. I had heard of them, of course, but had never seen one in person. I contacted the seller and learned this Mangusta was supposedly a European model with the desirable 289 TYPE along with some other info. Finally after much evaluation and soul searching, I made a last minute bid. “Congratulations! You won! Please pay now!” Oh My! Now what do I do…? The Purchase: The seller in Maryland was very accommodating and after I had sent a deposit, let me arrange for an inspection. Since I couldn’t inspect the car personally, this seemed to be the best alternative. Arranging for the inspection took a few days but it finally took place. The report was mixed, not a concours car but no major defects found. Some cosmetic issues like worn carpet as well as a few mechanical items like parking brakes and suspension noise that I knew about from talking to the owner’s mechanic. The inspector also noted that there were a few drips on the garage floor but he didn’t see any leaks. In short, no deal-breakers. Now all I had to do was pay the balance and get it shipped to Brazoria, Texas. While I made transportation arrangements with FedEx Passport my wife, Sylvia, went to the bank and picked up a cashier’s check for the balance. We FedEx’ed the check and in a day or so I got a phone call from the seller. “Errr… this check is made out to you, not me!” My bank had transposed the payee and payor names! After a long morning on the phone with about everyone that worked at the bank we finally got it straightened out. Phew! That was a close one as the transport company was on the way and the Christmas holidays were just around the corner. The Mangusta was delivered on December 28th and offloaded without incident. I finally got to see a real Mangusta and it was mine. The truck driver was a nice guy and we visited for a few minutes. In the course of the discussion he mentioned that the car had left a small puddle in his truck and I might want to check it out. Hummm…. After he left, Sylvia and I jumped into the car and drove about 3 miles to fill up the tank. When we got back we noticed the car was leaking some coolant. Something to check out I guessed. Registration: The next step was registration and since the title had been “floated” since 1981 I was a little worried about that. I actually had the California “Pink Slip” which they don’t use anymore as I understand it. Anyway, to get the title transferred properly I had to get a Texas “Green Sheet” inspection to prove the VIN number matched the car and that it met the safety requirements etc. Since the car didn’t have seat belts this was another concern, but after researching the Texas law I figured I could get it through. It did have a label in the trunk that said it was exempt and was signed by the President of DeTomaso Automobili. I drove the Mangusta to the inspection station where it received a lot of attention and a bunch of questions. Several questions concerned “What is leaking underneath the car?” Wow! The leak had gotten much worse. After a successful inspection I drove home with a careful eye on the temperature gauge. It was now leaking much too much to drive so I parked it and proceeded to deal with the Tax Office about the title transfer. The first couple of people I talked to at the Tax Office looked at me like I was either crazy or a car thief. They had never heard of a Mangusta nor had they seen a California Pink Slip. Finally they referred me to a veteran who knew what books to look at, what forms were required and how much it was going to cost me. Another disaster avoided but what about the leak…. My First Tech Session: At this point I should confess that I know very little about Ford TYPEs. I grew up working on brand X and while I know more than nothing I was afraid of making some expensive error by tearing into the Mangusta in ignorance. So, I had been researching and pondering the situation for several months when the Space City Pantera Club scheduled a Tech Session to prepare their cars for the Big Bend Open Road Race. I decided to attend and see what I could learn and help out where ever I could. Scans Mangusta of course due to the leak. The Houston folks would have none of that and started a campaign to get me to trailer the car up to Gray Gregory’s ranch where the Tech Session was being held. They had learned I had a trailer since I had offered to loan it to Steve Hawkins for his Big Bend effort at the request of “Mad Dog” Antenucci. They simply would not take “NO” for an answer so I trailered the car up to Pattison, Texas on April 16th where I was met by the nicest bunch of guys you could ever wish to meet. I was impressed with their knowledge and the quality of the Panteras they were working on. They made me feel welcome and before long the Mangusta was up on the lift and they were giving it a through inspection. After tightening up all the obvious leak possibilities we cranked it up and watched it pour coolant all over Gray’s garage flour. Finally one of the guys (there were so many folks helping I lost track of who was who, sorry) noted that the weep hole on the water pump was moist. Suspicions confirmed! No easy fix this time. I’ll leave out the blow by blow description and just say these guys have no fear and soon Gray Gregory, Mike Drew, Steve Hawkins and a host of others were vigorously attacking the removal of the water pump. I was pretty much elbowed out of the way since there is only so many bodies you can get around the front of the TYPE so I cleaned up the mess on the floor. Soon the offending water pump was in hand but it was starting to get late. They pointed me to an Auto Parts place that was still open and Sylvia and I took off to get a replacement pump. When we returned, disaster had struck. While we were gone the fellows had removed the coolant outlet for inspection and found it corroded beyond repair. Bad news but I was thankful for their thoroughness. Gray agreed to let me leave the Mangusta in his garage until I could have a replacement coolant outlet built, Steve arranged to pick up the trailer at Gray’s for his Big Bend Run and Sylvia and I went home. It turns out that the coolant outlet on this TYPE is not a standard Ford part but one of only 400 or so that were made in Italy some 35 years ago. There were several options but I opted to have a near identical replacement made out of stainless steel by a machinist friend. This turned out to be a long drawn out process since I was only paying in beer and he had some customers that paid in real money as well. Through the course of all this I made the e-mail acquaintance of Steve Liebenow, a recognized Mangusta expert, who was most helpful. Steve had suggested using a standard Ford part and changing the connecting hose to suit and as time went on it began to look like the superior option. Eventually, however I had the custom SS part in hand and was ready to attack the reinstall project. My Second Tech Session: As fate would have it, the Space City Pantera Club scheduled another Tech Session at Gray’s about the time I had the parts ready. So on July 23rd I traveled once again to Pattison, Texas and with a lot of help from Gray, Steve, Dave Bell and a host of others we finally managed to get the new coolant outlet and water pump installed. This turned out to be more complicated than I anticipated due to a complicated bolting arrangement and all the V-belt tension adjusters. But, thanks to Steve, Dave and Gray’s perseverance we finally got it all installed, leak checked and back on the trailer for the trip back to Brazoria. It had been nearly 7 months and I finally had a leak free Mangusta. This would not have been possible without the assistance of the great bunch of guys in the Pantera Club of American and especially the Space City group in Houston.Epilog:As soon as I got the Mangusta home, two things happened. The accelerator cable broke and the Houston folks among others began a campaign to have me enter the Italian CarFest in Grapevine, Texas. This began a month long effort to resolve some cosmetic issues and repair the cable. With Steve Liebenow’s help I was able to resolve the cable problem on my own using aircraft control cable and ends. And with Sylvia’s help we got the Mangusta presentable for the CarFest where we placed second in the Mixed Italian class! (Note we weren’t placed in the same class as the Panteras where we wouldn’t have had a chance due to the large number of outstanding cars.) Thanks to the efforts of the POCA and SCPOCA members I now have a leak free Mangusta and nice plaque to hang on my “Ego Wall”. I also have a long list of things to inspect or repair courtesy of the inspectors at Gray’s ranch. Many different people helped in one way or another and it is impossible to name them all in this article. Never the less, they have earned my undying gratitude for getting me over my fears of the Ford/Italian unknown and getting me started on the way to getting this Goose on the road. As a final footnote, Brazoria, Texas is a small town about 60 miles south of Houston, population 2851. Located not 5 miles from my home is another Mangusta that I have learned about! It was involved in a fire and is undergoing a complete rebuild. But that is a story for another time… It’s a small world! Check out more pictures under the Owner Registry for 8MA-898
 
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