[DeTomaso] Re: MANGUSTA INFORMATION / Dick Ruzzin

[zumzum at cox.net]

Dick Ruzzin, I have been trying get all the facts I can about this car.  Serial #'s for Mangustas seem to have no true relevance to time. Mine is 1196 and that only shows up on a left rear frame spar close to the left rear upper control arm pivot. The vin plate on dash is hand stamped and glued to the dash cover, about 10 x 26mm. The government exclusion plate under hood states it was made in June of 69. True or not I do not know, maybe this was done to get the car in the country? The vin plate has no stamp. The engine is from a 68 Torino 302 family as the Ford #'s state. What I mean about the prototype is this. This past August Tom Tjjarda told my wife and I that this car was built so that Ford could understand if they could build a mass production car. Ford said no they could not if it would be a Mangusta due the hand built nature. So the Pantera was created that could handle the new regs. This car has its front end styled to see what a bumpered mangusta would look like, the quite mufflers for the new sound regulations that were coming out in the late 60's and Michelin radial tires 70 series tires that America was falling in love with. About car till death I meant Mr. Bordinat owned this cae till his death in and about 1983. I would like to have a better understanding and facts about serial #'s and this cars history. When I took apart the drivers door to fix a stuck window motor and I removed front trunk plates to look around, I found the number 69 or 66 (Too early in morning to remember) marked on all the panels in chalk just like I seen for years on my other Italian cars. So what would this number indicate? Seems to indicate number of car made. What is factory fact I do not know. Thanks for your help.  Jeff Cobb