12/1/07
2007 Pledge Drive

It’s that time of year to run my Annual Pledge Drive. I want to thank everyone who contributed last year, and hope you found this site to offer another year of great entertainment. Your contribution will help offset the time I spend bringing this website to you, along with fund some of the things I plan for Tomyang.net in 2008.

Here’s a recap of the happenings in 2007 on Tomyang.net. In January I continued the rebuild of  my 289 V-8 Mustang engine. It was a good winter project while I waited for Spring. Another remedy for the cold weather in the Northeast was a trip to West Palm Beach, Florida for my first visit to Cavallino. The track, parties, and Ferrari event at the Breakers was the perfect setting for what I’m sure will continue to grow in scope and size for the years to come.

Completing the eighth year of the restoration of my 330 America, my transmission was finally ready to be installed, and I began the process of putting her interior together for the last time. Here’s Mike M. helping me line up the transmission with the engine. The grille was polished, and the grille shell was sent out for rechroming. The end of the restoration was in sight as I planned to show the completed car in June for the Scarsdale Concours.

In early Spring, I started working at François shop on a 365GTC/4 with a bent rod. This job began the education of working on C/4s. François shared with me, and I with you, some of the tricks that make working on these engines easier, and oil-leak free. We also learned how leaky fuel floats can hydrolock an engine and cause a very expensive repair. Faulty head gaskets were also discovered during this repair, and finding a reliable manufacturer took three tries.

Besides working on regular cars at François’ shop, I had a chance to see and even work on some truly spectacular cars from a 1965 Ferrari Formula One car, to a 250 California Spyder. I showed you some of the details of these cars that were of interest to me, and I’m sure you saw things that you’d never get to see at a car show.

In June, after several days of polishing my Borrani wire wheels, I was ready to take my car to the Scarsdale Concours. I almost didn’t make the show with an electrical problem, but managed to not only show up, but also took “Best Ferrari” at Concours! She had to be towed home, but my 330 America did me proud with her first public showing.

In early Summer, I began work at a second Ferrari Shop, Sport Auto by Bill Pollard. The variety of Ferraris I got to work on continued to grow as I serviced a 365GT 2+2, an Ellena, and a handful of 308s. My time was split between the two shops as I began my new career as a Ferrari mechanic. I also posted my first tomyang.net podcast for what I hope to do plenty more.

The end of the summer brought me and many friends of tomyang.net to the Monterey peninsula for a week of car events. I began my trip from Los Angeles, and worked my way up the coast. As usual, it was an action packed week kicked off with the Tomyang.net West Coast party. The auctions, the track, the Quail, Concorso, and Pebble Beach were just some of the events I attended and reported back to you here on this site. I returned to NY with only one week to prepare to take my 330 America to the Ferrari Club of America National Meet at Watkin’s Glen, NY. I threw caution into the wind and decided to have the car judged for her first FCA event. I was pleasantly surprised to win a Third Place award in my class, and was very proud of my personal accomplishment. What was an even bigger surprise was being awarded a Special Merit Award for my contribution to the Ferrari Community!

The Fall found me working hard at both shops working on old projects and new projects making up for lost time. Bill Pollard and I prepared to host the third annual Tomyang.net Fall Gathering. A lot of work went into the new shop to get it ready for visitors, and although we were met with heavy rain in the morning, four Vintage Ferraris made it to Northwestern Connecticut along with about 40 people to share in our enthusiasm for old cars and Vintage Ferraris.

As we head into the winter, I ‘m planning my projects for the cold months ahead. The Ferrari had her throttle shafts and linkages refinished, but I’d like to drive her a little more before the snow really starts to fall. The Mustang needs to have a transmission seal replaced, so I certainly have my share of projects.

I’m looking forward to 2008 and what I hope to bring to you for the new year. The success of the Fall Party has Bill Pollard excited about doing something for the Spring. As we put together some ideas and dates, you can look forward to seeing more Ferraris and fun for gear heads! I plan to be in Monterey again this year so plan on meeting at the tomyang.net West Coast party. I may even have a new venue for the Fall Party in the Washington D.C. area to bring some of the Mid Atlantic fans together, but you’ll have to stay tuned for more details!

I’ve really enjoyed recording podcasts and I look forward to bringing you more.  Maybe I can even get some of you to record a couple with me! I’m always open to sharing more types of media with you all on the Internet, and hope to shoot some more video as well.

As always, you’ll get to follow along with me as I work on the variety of cars at the Ferrari shops. You’ll learn with me as I continue my education in this world of Ferrari mechanics and restoration.

Along with the Forum which links us all together to information to keep our cars running, I also try my best to organize some of the information in a more permanent “Tips” section. Daily access to this site, if not more often, offers you perhaps more entertainment than any other car magazine or website. If you find what you like on this website and want to support what I do, you can donate in a couple ways. Paypal users can simply click the paypal button below.
If you’re having trouble with the paypal link, my paypal account is

tom@tomyang.net

Checks can be made payable to “Tomyang.net LLC” and sent to this address:
Tomyang.net LLC
P.O. Box 36
Hollowville, NY 12530

Thank you for your support, and have a great holiday season!

Tom Yang

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