Exactly right Bob. There are a lot of really good choices and ways to enjoy the car hobby besides being raked by Ford on the price of a Mustang, even a GT500. It's only a Ford, and doesn't really have much of the Shelby touch this time around, so it's just nostalgia that makes most of us interested. But I can go out to my shop and just as easily enjoy messing with my Jaguar-powered-and-suspensioned '53 pickup, my '67 Jag, or buy a '67 Porsche 911, mess with my airplane, get a Triumph TR250 or even a Ferrari 400 V-12. Heck, for the prices of the GT500 that are being thrown around here, I could do ALL OF THE ABOVE and still not spend as much. They say the 2 loveliest words in the English language when spoken together are "my Ferrari." I'd like to be able to use those words sometime. And that's going to be my plan if Ford screws this up, which I fully expect. The car isn't worth the price of a new aluminum Jag, and one of those would fit very nicely as a replacement for our older XJ8 too. It's all about choices. Roger '67 GT500 =================== It's from Roger and Jane! well, with all the fuss going on over the projected price and availability of these cars, this has turned my sights on getting another car. mabee another 65-66 convertable mustang or a GT coupe would be fun to play with and not kill the bank account. or mabee a cobra kit, so I can go and play hard with it and not care. anyone know of one? bob
Roger wrote: They say the 2 loveliest words in the English language when spoken together are "my Ferrari." >>>That's only about half the time. The other half of the time, the two most aggravating and obscenely expensive words in the English language when spoken together are "my Ferrari." Except there are usually a bunch of expletives between the two words (like, when your 308 sputters to a stop because of a cracked distributor cap, and find out that there are NONE available new, anywhere, and used ones sell for $500 each--and that's for one of the most mass-produced Ferraris ever made!) >I'd like to be able to use those words sometime. >>>Ferraris are guaranteed to both please and disappoint in equal measures. It takes a strong character and a strong wallet to put up with one. And yes, I love them too. :>) Mike (whose Pantera disappoints from time to time, but it's easy on the wallet!)
Ok, this is slightly off-subject, but I think sums up the feelings of both Roger and Mike. I had lusted after a Ferrari 275 GTB since grade school. In high school, I got to know a guy who had a 275 GTB/4. After driving that, the desire became even greater to own one , what a magnificent machine! As my restoration business grew, I actually restored a few more, even sold and brokered a few. I had owned Dinos, 308s, TRs, the usual suspects, but never the elusive 275 GTB. Even the Daytona I had was a disappointment. Fast as hell, but heavy and not much fun around town. One day, a 275 GTB/2 was offered at auction. It was from an estate , and needed work, paint, engine smoked like a train, etc. But it was Daytona money, and I just happened to have the Daytona money from the one I just sold burning a hole in my pocket. So I bought the tacky 275 GTB. Over the next 8 months, I restored the car myself, ground up, seven days a week and damn near 20 hours a day at times. Painted it Fly Yellow, just like the picture I had in my room as a kid. The car was gorgeous, I won a few major shows and also used it on some tours and even did track time in it at Road America. Early am banzai runs at 7400 RPM in 5th gear were not unheard of . What a magnificent machine! At the time I owned this car that I dearly loved and was a hell of a lot of fun, I also had a girlfriend that was, well, a hell of a lot of fun. One weekend I convinced her to take a weekend trip with me in the 275 - in spite of the fact that "it doesn't even have a radio!". When we arrived at the hotel a few hours away, not much to my surprise but unfortunately to hers, our luggage smelled of unburnt fuel and oil, a lovely smell to me. This (at this point not-so-lovely) girl demanded on the spot that we go shopping to buy her clothes that did not smell like Ferrari exhaust. Along with it was an ultimatum - find another car to drive home or she would find her own way. I always have wondered just how she got home. Of course, I never talked to her again to find out! But boy, did I love that car. We had a great weekend together tearing up back roads , just the two of us. Alas, all good things must come to an end, and I sold the Ferrari to get some money to expand my business. And the next year I bought CSX 2327. Which I love just as much, but is entirely different than a Ferrari. More of a "bull in the china shop", easier to work on, and easier to get parts for at NAPA. I still have my Dino, and usually there are no expletives between the "my" and the "Ferrari". Usually. Regards, Colin ----- Original Message ----- From: <mikeldrew@aol.com> To: <rogerhol@willapabay.org>; <ShelbyMustang@carmemories.com> Sent: Friday, April 08, 2005 11:16 AM Subject: Re: yes, there are good alternatives > Roger wrote: > > They say the 2 loveliest words in the English language when spoken > together are "my Ferrari." >>>>That's only about half the time. The other half of the time, the > two most aggravating and obscenely expensive words in the English language > when spoken together are "my Ferrari." Except there are usually a bunch > of expletives between the two words (like, when your 308 sputters to a > stop because of a cracked distributor cap, and find out that there are > NONE available new, anywhere, and used ones sell for $500 each--and that's > for one of the most mass-produced Ferraris ever made!) > >>I'd like to be able to use those words sometime. > >>>>Ferraris are guaranteed to both please and disappoint in equal > measures. It takes a strong character and a strong wallet to put up with > one. And yes, I love them too. :>) > > Mike (whose Pantera disappoints from time to time, but it's easy on the > wallet!) > >
