[DeTomaso] Pantera Width vs GT4 GT5
JDeRyke at aol.com
JDeRyke at aol.com
Sun May 25 13:50:20 EDT 2008
In a message dated 5/24/08 10:20:41 PM, jason.eaton at gmail.com writes:
> That got me thinking will what width were the GT cars and could the Pantera
> be converted. If the GT cars actually had a wider body ( where the a-arms
> mount ) then its not possible to convert a stock pantera over. I
>
At least one Brit owner bought a set of SI a-arms in the early '90s & tried
to convert an early car over; never heard any more about it. Trouble is, parts
of the late uprights were also changed, and the 4" wider a-arms need
high-negative-offset Campagnolos so as to fit within the fenders- which would also need
GR-4, Gr-5 or GT5-S flairs. All this will be unbelievably expensive using
almost-unavailable factory suspension parts, even after starting with a GT5-S
clone. The '72 clone I had last year carried some 28 FEET of TIG welding &
resulting bodywork to add GT5-S fenders. MIght be simpler to start with one of
PPC-Reno's GT-5 fiberglas shells and have someone weld up a frame carrying
domestic suspension. Pat Mical in MA faced something like this in his
home-converted SI clone, but he did it the conversion on an early car only because he
couldn't find a rare SI for sale at an affordable price.
Once you have the fenders flaired as much as you want, measure the clearance
available and have wheels with high-negative-offsets made to fit, then
calculate what the a-arm lengths would need to be for everything to hook up.
Fabricating tube-steel a-arms should be the cheapest part of this conversion. Getting
the geometry sorted out for decent handling will be fun as well. I'd talk to
Pat at Future Auto since he's really the only one in the U.S with hard info
on the last series Panteras. Good luck and bring money- J Deryke
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