[DeTomaso] L or pre L-(long)

[JDeRyke at aol.com]

In a message dated 12/24/08 5:37:58 PM, fkhjr at cox.net writes:

> i was mainly wondering if there had been any significant changes to the 
> design, engineering, or build process as the model progressed that would make 
> the later cars the better choice.
> 
Hard to say. The 71 cars were constructed at Vignale under DeTomaso's 
supervision. In early '72, Ford bought the whole thing from DeTomaso and began 
running it their way- with many running changes while Ford learned the hard way how 
Italian manufacturing worked.... or didn't. But build quality improved. In 
early '74, Ford bailed out leaving DeTomaso to salvage what he could, so late 74 
to about '78 were again DeTomaso mfg using left-over chassis and a host of 
local craftsmen to make any missing parts by hand; when they left, Ford 
thoughtfully scrapped the body stamps and gutted Vignale as a mfg plant. And again, 
build quality improved as more detail changes accumulated. In 1980, DeTomaso 
introduced the wide-body cars and finally in 1991, the Pantera Si which was an 
amalgam of the GT5-S with an improved chassis & suspension. In '94, all Pantera 
production ceased.

As for the powertrain, the '71s got the most powerful, least civilized 351-C 
engines at 330 bhp and maybe 11:1 compression (intended for 102 octane fuel). 
In '72, the compression dropped to 9:1 and much less HP as Ford coped with the 
brand new smog laws. Likewise in '73 and whatever they impoirted in 74. The 
Cleveland ceased production in the U.S in late '73 but the pipeline had enough 
engines to last for several years. But in Europe, Australian-cast 351Cs were 
available up thru mid-1984, with about any bhp you could pay for. After that, 
Panteras got 351Ws in at least two configurations. The very late cars including 
the rare SI got injected 302s, some with turboes. All Panteras got 5-speed ZF 
transaxles; the later ones got the stronger 'racing' varient used in the BMW 
M-1 turbo cars. The wide-body cars, along with the rare GR-3 club racers. The 
interiors changed only in detail but real leather was used in a variety of 
colors from '75 onward, in place of the original black vinyl.
But as I said, Panteras lend themselves to modifications in so many areas 
that finding a completely original machine is very difficult, and may actually be 
somewhat unsafe on todays highways. So likely a given Pantera will have many 
of the early and late upgrades already done- including engine swaps, or much 
more power from 351Cs, leather interiors, structural improvements, 17" wheels 
and tires (150mph-rated 15" tires are rare these days so OEM magnesium wheels 
are laregly useless unless you enjoy going slow) and aftermarket brakes as 
strong as the 'LeMans' brakes but much lighter and more available, and so on. 
Thus, each Pantera you find- of any year- will stand on its own as a likely 
amalgam of all possibilities.
The Club has records on many of the cars by serial number, so its difficult 
to counterfeit a rare model, and we keep track of those totalled in crashes as 
well. Nevertheless, the 'lone wolf' buyer gets dry-gulched occasionally- often 
via E-Bay, and being a completely steel car with no factory undercoating, 
rust problems from the bad ol' '70s abound. We keep track of rust buckets when we 
discover one. 
If you find a car that suits your criteria, e-mail the Forum: someone local 
to the car will go with you to check it out with their experience at your 
disposal. The Clubs do this as part of their aim: 'More Panteras on the road and no 
strings attached'. POCA   Chapters also run no-cost tech sessions 
occasionally, where you bring the car and contract for parts (some parts vendors attend 
these with truckloads of stuff), and knowlegable members fix your car with your 
help. We've done engine swaps, gas tank changes and other labor-intensive 
work all in one day, usually during family-style barbecues. Stay in touch- J 
Deryke



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