[DeTomaso] Bang & Olufsen factory Gr3 Pantera for sale

[boyd casey]

Mike,
 Thanks,
Now that's what I call an answer. Thank you for contributing to my
continuing   Pantera education.
Boyd

On Fri, Oct 9, 2009 at 11:57 AM, <MikeLDrew at aol.com> wrote:

>
> In a message dated 10/9/09 8 34 38, boyd411 at gmail.com writes:
>
>
> Besides the roll cage and clearly upgraded master cylinder arrangement The
> only visual clue to this being a race car is the  paint and the recaro style
> seats and 5 or 6 point harness. I know a significant race history adds
> substantially o the value of a car but what differentiates a GR3 from a
> "normal Pantera. It is unusual to me to see such a stock interior and
> instrumentation.  Is it something to do with the homologation regulations?
> What unseen mechanical differences were there to constitute A Gr 3? What
> engine modifications did it have and what does th Gr # conotate?
>
> Factory records are crucial in establishing a Gr3's provenance, because so
> many standard Panteras have been upgraded to, or even past original Gr3
> specs.
>
> Here's part of the text that I wrote back in 2000 when I featured Dale
> Eriksen's Gr3 Pantera in Profiles (the only known Gr3 Pantera running in the
> USA at the moment).
>
> =====
>
> The De Tomaso factory built a handful of full-race Panteras to compete in
> FIA Group 4, featuring a host of chassis and suspension modifications.  The
> characteristics of these cars have been fairly well documented in the past,
> including the Fall 1996 Profiles.  Due to their limited numbers, finding an
> original Group 4 car for sale is next to impossible, and those cars are
> fantastically expensive when they do trade hands, which isn’t often.
>
> What many people fail to realize is that De Tomaso also built less-radical
> race cars to compete in FIA Group 3, either for road-racing or on- and
> off-road rallying.  Comparatively little is known about these cars, as they
> received considerably less publicity, but after doing some research, Dale
> decided that a Group 3 Pantera would fit his needs perfectly.
>
> While a Group 4 Pantera is a dedicated, purpose-built race car that used
> Pantera architecture but a unique chassis and suspension, the FIA Group 3
> rules were far more restrictive, as the FIA intended for this class to
> consist solely of essentially stock, unmodified production sports cars.
> Initially, modifications from standard, production-car specification were
> few, mostly relating to pure safety issues, but after a few years, as the
> series evolved, the list of allowable modifications grew for all cars
> competing in Group 3.
>
> Unlike the Group 4 Panteras which were built utilizing special components,
> all Group 3 Panteras were constructed from ordinary, production-line
> European Panteras.  As they were all built to individual customer order,
> it’s difficult to generalize about them.  Furthermore, the nature of bespoke
> De Tomaso automobiles makes it even more difficult to differentiate between
> different models, since it was possible for any European customer to order
> each of the components used to create a Gr3 Pantera directly from the
> factory, and modify a standard car to that specification after the fact and
> then race it.
>
> It was also possible to order a Euro GTS and then have it built with all
> the Gr3 components at the factory.  So there is a very fine line between a
> factory-built Gr3 race car, a Euro GTS fitted with Gr3 components, and a
> race car converted to Gr3 specs by a private party.  While the De Tomaso
> factory public relations personnel are extremely helpful, and are capable of
> answering a query to determine if a specific car was constructed as a Gr3,
> at this time they don’t have a complete list of all Gr3 cars made, but they
> have committed to researching the information for the next edition of the De
> Tomaso registry.
>
> The process of building a Gr3 Pantera started in the engine room.  De
> Tomaso certified the Gr3 Pantera with either a standard cast-iron intake
> manifold and Motorcraft carburetor, or an optional aluminum Ford manifold
> with a Holley R-4777 650 cfm manual-secondary carburetor.  The stock oil pan
> was replaced with a large (8 liter on early cars, 10 liter on later cars)
> pan with an integral windage tray and an optional removable chassis
> crossmember.
>
> Standard exhaust manifolds, and later European GTS exhaust headers were
> fitted (consisting of 4-into-2-into-1 headers with a 2 1/2 inch collector),
> and the 2 1/2 inch tailpipes fed into either low-restriction ANSA GTS
> mufflers, or the so-called Gr3 mufflers (GTS-style muffler cans with no
> internals, and hence no sound-reduction capabilities.) Finally, the entire
> muffler assemblies could be deleted and replaced by simple straight exhaust
> pipes.  One would hope the engines were thoroughly checked over and received
> careful blueprinting and hand-assembly at the factory, but there is no
> evidence the De Tomaso engine-builders weren’t simply affixing these bolt-on
> parts to otherwise-standard engines.
>
> The radiator was unmodified, although optional 8-bladed fans replaced the
> standard units.
> The chassis received only subtle tweaks initially.  The same Ariston
> adjustable shocks fitted to conventional Panteras were standard on the Gr3
> version, but there were two levels of Koni shock upgrades available.  The
> first featured internal rebound adjustment only, while the top-of-the-line
> shocks had a threaded aluminum body with ride-height adjustment, and
> external controls for compression and rebound adjustment, with over 100
> different combinations available.  The top-of-the-line shock package cost an
> additional $1,000 back in 1973, quite a serious investment when you consider
> you could buy an entire street Pantera for under $10,000!
>
> The Gr3 Panteras were equipped with the same springs as the European GTS,
> with only one optional spacer listed (presumably for rally cars.)  The
> steering rack was repositioned using spacers to alleviate bump-steer
> concerns, but the control arms and sway bars were the same as those fitted
> on production Panteras.
>
> The brakes consisted of standard Pantera calipers squeezing ventilated
> discs measuring 282mm in diameter and 20mm thick, and actuated by a standard
> master cylinder; this was a common option for Euro GTS Panteras as well.
> Standard 7- and 8-inch Campagnolo wheels and Michelin radial XWX 185/70 and
> 215/70 tires were fitted.
>
> In 1974, the FIA approved further modifications to the suspension.  The
> rear hub carriers and front spindles were replaced by heavier Group 4 units,
> and the brakes were changed by using a larger master cylinder, larger
> cast-iron three-piston front calipers with 288mm x 31.75mm front rotors, and
> larger cast-iron three-piston rear calipers with standard GTS vented rotors
> and stronger axles with heavy-duty wheel studs.
>
> Although similar in appearance, these were not the same brakes as used on
> the Group 4 Panteras, but this system later became standard issue on the GT5
> and GT5-S.  Small auxiliary rear calipers with their own small pads were
> used for the parking brake.
>
> The stock sway bars were replaced with an adjustable system,
> philosophically similar to, but mechanically different from, the adjustable
> bars featured on the Group 4 Panteras.  The then-common 10-inch Campagnolo
> Euro GTS wheel was allowed for fitment in the rear, and 8-inch wheels were
> issued for the front.
>
> The interior of the Gr3 Pantera was surprisingly mundane.  Earlier cars had
> the two-pod dashboard, while later cars received either the one-piece molded
> USA L-model dashboard, or the similar-appearing two-piece upholstered Euro
> GTS dashboard; all were fitted with metric gauges and European switchgear.
> The stock seat belts were retained with a race harness installed for the
> driver only, and the standard Pantera seats were supplanted by one-piece
> racing bucket seats, the same as those in the Group 4 Panteras.
>
> (Interestingly enough, these one-piece racing seats were actually
> constructed from the remains of the prototype Pantera’s radical “picket
> fence” seats.  Those seats consisted of a sheetmetal frame, fitted with
> yellow foam blocks.  Visually striking, but judged by Ford as being too
> weird for the marketplace, they never went into production.  As De Tomaso
> had already produced many of these frames, they simply upholstered them with
> light padding and turned them into race car seats.)
>
> Heavily padded bolsters, as used in the Group 4 cars, were sometimes fitted
> to the door panels on one or both sides.
>
> On some cars, the ignition switch was later relocated from under the
> dashboard to the middle of the center console, behind the ashtray, and
> within easy reach of the driver while he was belted in.  A fire extinguisher
> was bolted to the floor in front of the passenger seat.
>
> The USA-model steering wheel was standard equipment, but buyers had the
> option of fitting the  three-spoke Euro GTS Momo Prototipo wheel or the
> smaller Group 4 Momo Prototipo wheel instead.  Interestingly, the Gr3
> Panteras were sold with full heating and air conditioning, electric windows,
> a radio aerial bolted to the roof, and a pair of speakers installed in the
> center kick panels (one in front of the gas pedal, and the other pointing
> into the passenger footwell), but no radio was included.  Air horns were
> also optional.
>
> The plexiglass rear window and six-point roll cage of the Group 4 Pantera
> were standard issue in the Gr3 cars as well.  Furthermore, the front engine
> cover was modified to allow easy access to the front of the engine without
> requiring the removal of the entire back panel (which would have required
> removal of the roll cage!)
>
> Cosmetically, the Gr3 Panteras slowly changed as the production Panteras
> changed.  Early Gr3 cars carried standard two-piece front and rear
> bumperettes.  After the introduction of the L-model Pantera, some Gr3 cars
> were equipped with early-style front bumperettes incorporating the front
> turn signals, while others had European L-model bumperettes with the turn
> signals residing in the standard L-model pods on the underside of the front
> fenders.  Turn signal lenses were either clear with a colored bulb, or
> bi-color with an amber and a clear section.
>
> Some cars retained two-piece rear bumperettes while others received the
> European L-model one-piece rear bumper (which was the same as the USA
> L-model bumper, except that instead of being mounted on hydraulic rams, it
> was mounted on solid brackets, considerably closer to the car’s body.)  Both
> front and rear bumpers on Gr3 cars were normally chrome.
>
> There were various driving and fog light packages issued; some cars
> received Carello fog lights, while others received massive lighting arrays
> for nighttime rally racing.  For the first few years, a simple flat blade
> front spoiler with cooling ducts for the front brakes was installed while
> later cars got a miniature air dam (also a common option on the post-1976
> European GTS) and small, riveted-on GTS flares.
>
> Apparently few of the Gr3 cars received the Euro GTS paint scheme, with a
> blacked-out front hood and rear decklid and blacked-out rocker panels.  The
> Gr3 Pantera shown in the factory brochure and postcards is solid yellow.  In
> most cases, the European GTS rocker panel decal (which said “De Tomaso” in
> large letters, then had the words “Pantera” in smaller script, above the
> word “GTS”) was used, but modified to delete the mention of “GTS.”
>
> As with the Group 4 cars, rubber tie-downs were used to secure the front
> hood and rear decklid, although unlike the Group 4, the sheetmetal was
> standard steel instead of aluminum.  An external battery cut-off switch
> without a removable key was fitted to the right front fender; the same
> switch was mounted on the the Group 4 cars.
>
> The documentation on racing Panteras is sketchy at best; it’s difficult to
> say exactly how many were built.  At least one owner claims that his Gr3 is
> one of only 10 cars produced by the factory, but the De Tomaso Registrary
> now lists at least 13 claimed Gr3 cars (although it’s possible that some of
> those were converted from regular production Panteras.)
>
> Nevertheless, the number is undeniably small, so Dale had his work cut out
> for him, and it took several years of searching before he unveiled a Gr3 car
> in the USA, and one that was for sale, no less!
>
> ----
>
> The De Tomaso racing book lists 34 different factory Gr3 cars including
> Dale's (not counting standard cars that were later converted to Gr3 spec, in
> some cases by the factory), but there were undoubtedly more than that
> made--maybe more than 50?
>
> Mike