[TPR] The end of ownership

[Asa Jay Laughton]

Greeting my fellow Pantera enthusiasts,

The rumors of Asa selling his Pantera are true.  THPNNP05533 has just passed into a new chapter of ownership with another racing fan, Steve Lisa in Phoenix, AZ.

I think Sam is going to go through withdrawal soon, but that's okay, he'll have company.

It might comfort some of you to know that Steve and Les Gray also know each other and have talked at length about Panteras and racing.  05533 is now destined for a transformation to a group 3 race car.  Having proven reliability and a win at SSCC in 2015, Steve is confident in the Pantera platform to further his racing hobby.

Ownership for me has been an awesome experience, with both good and bad times; thankfully because of the overwhelming generosity and depth of experience of so many Pantera owners from the original DeTomaso email forum, members of POCA and Pantera International, the good far outweighs the bad..... Like 99.9 to 1.  Yea....  Decimal places.... you get the idea.
;)

In my 17 years of ownership, 05533 only stranded us once, when the original timing chain skipped due to the nylon on the cam gear coming off.  The rest of the time we always had a good time.

I joined POCA years before I ever purchased my Pantera and leveraged the knowledge of so many people before buying 05533.  Shelley and I attended a few Fun Rally's by driving our Pantera from Spokane to Las Vegas.  She and I helped POCA by running the club store for several years.  We took the Pantera to many car shows.  I was introduced to gentlemanly racing and soon caught the bug.

Again with help, advice and depth of knowledge from those around me, I prepared 05533 for eventual open road racing.  I did driving schools, autocross and open track all leading to my first OOR in 2012 with Team Pantera racing, who I had been supporting in one way or another for several years.

I feel I have done some awesome things with this beautiful car.  It still sports original paint and is rust free.  I've burbled along city streets and taken her to sustained triple digit speeds up to 140 MPH.  I have performed nearly all mechanical work on her myself, becoming intimately familiar with her inner workings.  The Pantera is a car you make love to, much like you would your wife (for those who have wives).

I was lucky enough to be young and the second owner of 05533.  I know people who are still the original owner of theirs.  I would have enjoyed keeping her for many more years; however I felt the time had come for someone else to enjoy the experience.  That and a few personal reasons.

We have a saying (one of many) in Team Pantera Racing; "No one gets out alive."  Well, along with that is the fact you can't take it with you when you die.  No, I'm in fine health, breathe easy.  ;)

The Pantera has become too valuable for me to continue owning.  I feel I have been fortunate to have owned one in my lifetime.  When it comes to cost and availability of parts, it will be easier with my 1971 Mach I Mustang, which has been severely neglected these past 10 years.

Funding from the sale of 05533 will go toward paying off debt and (my personal favorite) helping Shelley complete her Bachelors degree.  Hey, a guy has to have a retirement plan.  A little bit will go toward resurrecting the Mach I...

Because you don't think for a minute that I'll be letting you slackers off easy by dropping out of Open Road Racing?  Not a chance; I -will- be at SSCC this year, maybe without a car but still with enough piss and vinegar to keep all us malcontents in line.  I've already spoken to Bunny and she expects me to be there so she doesn't have whip you boys (and girls Laurie) into shape.

And if things go well, the cats will be chasing a horse in 2017.  I'm already working with contacts for Cold Steel Racing, the team we hooked up with last year, in order to get some ideas on prep for the Mach I.  Along with that will come a new engine build; faster, stronger, better than before.  The bench racing around here is about to reach new levels.

So fret not my friends, I may have encouraged 05533 into a new phase of life, but I'm not going -anywhere-.

:)
Asa Jay

PS.  Don't forget to pay your TPR dues

Sent using Jedi Mind Tricks
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